A Second Front

A few weeks ago I declared a temporary cessation in the war between Kiswahili and me. Today I have opened up a second front in the battle to learn the language: I am writing a beginner's guide to the language for other volunteers at the orphanage to use.

Now, you may be asking yourself, didn't he say he was having problems learning the language himself. The answer, unfortunately, is yes. However, that does not mean that I do not understand the grammar and syntax of Kiswahili. In actual fact, I find the language to be far easier to understand in theory than the other languages I have attempted to learn. The problem, as always, is being able to identify what people are saying to me and being able to remember the vocabulary to allow me to speak to them.

This time I have an ace up my sleeve. Every night the girls at the orphange study in the great hall from dinner time to 9:30. Once I complete my beginner's guide, I am going to spend me evenings studying hard and being tutored by 90 Kiswahili-speaking orphans.