Tanzanian Cooking

Hamjambo !

Hi. Last week we had a cooking lesson.

Our Swahili teacher taught us how to cook Tanzanian food. We made a sort of stew with beef and banana, onion salad, curry with tomate, okra and beef, okura soup, chapati and spice milk tea.

The banana we cooked was very hard, and we had to peel their skin by knife. The taste and texture of the cooked banana was like potate. In Japan, we think banana is just a fruit and never cook them, so it was interesting for us to taste cooked banana.

During the cooking, we learned several expressions and words in Kiswahili. Next week, we are supposed to do a short presentation about our mission in Tanzania in Kiswahili.

By the way, I will leave for Tanzania on 24 June.

Have a nice weekend.

Tutaonana tena.

Midterm Exam

Hamjambo !

Today we had a mid-term exam. I was really tired.

The test today had three parts. The first period was for listening test, and the second period was for a grammar and writing test. In the afternoon, we had oral tests.

As for the oral tests, at first, two of us were tested together and we were told to demonstrate a conversation at a sort of cafeteria. One of us ordered coffee and donuts, and the other was a waiter or waitress. After that, we were interviewed individually for about 10 minitues.

The exam today was much more difficult than I expected. Especially the oral exam was difficult for me, since my teacher spoke faster than usual..... Anyway I faltered and asked some questions again, however I think I managed to anwer them.

Half of the training schedule has finished. I wonder how much my Swahili will develop.

Today the concert will be held at the gym in this training center. I'll go now and I hope I can enjoy it and have nice time then.

Tutaonana tena !

My diary in Swahili

Hi.

One day my teacher told us to write our diary in Kiswahili. Actually she tells us to do it from time to time. Please have a look my diarly in Swahili. I translated it into English below.

(The photo: Tsurugajo Castle in Aizuwakamatsu. I went there this weekend by train from the training center. It was the first time to take a train since the training had started. It took about two hours from the training center which is on the mountain. )

(Swahili)

Alhamisi tarehe moja, mwezi wa tano, mwaka elfu mbili na nane

Kuna jua leo. Niliamka saa kumi na mbili. Halafu nilinawa uso na nilipiga mswaki saa kumi na mbili na dakika tano. Kabla ya kula, nilijipodoa. Kisha nilikwenda kula chakula cha asubuhi baada ya kufanya mazoezi ya riadha. Leo kuna shuguhuli za namna za pekee. Mimi pamojya na watu watano tuliondoka NTC saa mbili na robo na tulikwenda Day Service Centre Nihonmatsu kwa teksi kubwa. Tulifika Day Service Centre saa mbili na nusu. Mfanyakazi wa Centre alitueleza kufusu ratiba ya leo. Wazee wana matatizo ya kufanya vitu mbalimbali. Kwa hivyo tuliwasaidia wazee, wakisogea, wakila, wakioga na kadhalika. Wazee walikula chakula cha mchana saa sita, kwa hivyo tuliwasaidia wakati ule. Halafu sisi pamoja na wazee tulitazama video. Wazee walirudi nyumbani saa tisa na nusu. Baadaye tulisafisha chumbani. Kisha teksi kubwa ilikuja na tulipanda teksi saa kumi na dakika kumi. Tulifika NTC saa kumi na nusu. Kisha nililala kabla ya kula chakula cha usiku. Halafu nilioga saa moja. Baadaye nilijifunza Kiswahili na niliandika shajara.

May 1st, 2008, Friday It is sunny.
I got up at six. Then I washed my face and brushed my teeth at six ten. Before eating breakfast, I made myself up. Then I went to have breakfast after doing exercise. Today I had a special activity. Five others and I left the training center called NTC at quarter past eight and went to Day Service Center Nihonmatsu by big taxi. We arrived at the Day Service Centre Nihonmatsu at half past eight. A staff explained us about the schedule of the day. Elderly people have difficulties to do anything, so we helped or supported them when they move, eat, take a bath and so on. The elderly ate lunch at twelve o’clock, so we helped them then. Then the elderly and we watched video together. The old people went home at half past three. After that, we cleaned the room. Then a big taxi came and we got on the taxi at four ten. We arrived at NTC at half past four. Then I slept before eating supper. Then I took a bath at seven. Later I studied Kiswahili and I wrote my diary.

My life in the training center

Hamjambo?

Hi. I am going to greet every time “Hamjambo?” Those who have traveled to Kenya may think we should say “Jampo” rather than “Hamjambo” as a greeting!
However, “jambo” means “big trouble” and “ham” means somehow “you(plural) don’t have”, so if a Swahili speaker meets some of his or her friends, he or she says “ Hamjambo?” rather than “Jambo!” meaning “Don’t you have any big trouble now?” We, who don’t know so much about the language, tend to say “Jambo!” , but if you say so, you are saying “Big trouble!”

My life in this training center is like a sort of life of the students living in a boarding school. We are provided one room, and eight people live in the same block with one common space and a small kitchen. We have to have every meal within 40 minutes in the canteen. Every morning, we have to gather outside or in the gym if it is rain, and we have a kind of an assembly. I will be sent to Tanzania, but other trainees in this center will sent to other countries mainly Africa and Asia, so every morning one of the national flags from those countries is hoisted with its national anthem. We have to sleep at eleven officially, and the internet cannot be used after eleven o’clock. The radio wave of the internet is cut at eleven o’clock.

My diary today seems like an excuse why I couldn’t renew my page…, but I hope you know more about my life as a trainee and some information of Kiswahili.

Tutaonana tena (See you again.)


The photo: Cherry blossoms seen in the training center. The center is located in the mountain in the national park. We could finally see the cherry blossoms which normally seen in early April.

Kiswahili

Hamjambo!

About a week has passed since we started learning Swahili(Kiswahili) in the class. My teacher is from Tanzania. She is a well-trained and good teacher. In the first lesson, she said to us, "You have to learn Kiswahili before you leave for Tanzania, otherwise you cannot live there!"

We started learning how to greet each other in Kiswahili. Greeting is very very important in the conversation in Tanzania. It is said that people spend some time to greet each other and the greeting is the key to be on good terms with Tanzanian people. We learned several expressions to ask how they are, however the answer must be always " Good!" or "Very good!"

Our training is very intensive, so that now we can already say "I must do・・・・”　or "I must not do ・・・・” I must study Kiswahili every day now.

We have about 65 days training, which is mainly language training.

I hope I will be albe to manage to speak Swahili after this intensive training.

Kuwa heri (Good by)

* the photo above・・・ the English -Swahili dictionary and the Swahili-English dictionary, which my teacher borrowed me.