Not a Native Speaker
Today is the last day of our Kiswahili intensive. I never knew I could feel so much pride at completing a Level 2 paragraph (about 2nd grade)! We definitely have more Kiswahili than we came here with, but we are also clear that there is so much more to learn as well. It is hard knowing that we are slowing down in our ability to learn languages-as you get older it is just harder to do. My tongue just doesn’t want to curl around certain consonant combinations and my ears are resistant to all these vowels strung together. But this is such a beautiful language that I seem to have some sort of affinity to, so I trudge on. The good thing is that I understand some of the language’s logic and can figure things out if given enough time. I am thankful that Jennie, the woman who manages the house, is willing to be patient as I figure out how to say, “We would like a breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon and toast at 7:45am tomorrow.” (Tutapenda mayai yaliyovurugwa, baconi na slici chai kesho saa mbili kasarobo asubuhi, tafadhali.) The fun part is that this has brought Jennie and me together in some strange way. I suppose she gets to be the expert on something and can appreciate that I am a willing learner. Either way, I am glad that our desire for learning the language can be endearing rather than annoying. It does make me wonder why native English speakers in the US get so damn hostile about people trying to learn from a place of emersion. It is the best way to learn language and does take a lot of patience on the end of the listener. It also takes a lot of courage on the part of the learner. At least this has been my experience.