Language School- week 3

This week, we discovered that Swahili has no fewer than 9 noun classes- which basically means at least 24 ways of saying that/these/this or these, depending on which noun you are using in your sentence, and whether the noun is plural or singular, and 9 different ways to say which or who in a sentence, also according to the noun being used. Confused? So are we!! There is a LOT to learn!!
On the plus side, we did manage to write a short (very short!!) speech in Swahili, which I read out at the informal graduation ceremony for the SIL students, who finished their 4 month Swahili course this week and have now left for their new posts in Tanzania. It was fun to be part of the brief graduation ceremony in the dining banda.
Wednesday was a very exciting day. Benjamin turned 2!! He had a very happy birthday. He wore a crown of honour, made out of an old margarine tub, at the evening meal, where he also had a magnificent birthday cake, baked by the Tanzanian chef on the campsite. We'll have to post a photo at a later date, as the internet connection here is too slow to add pictures today. But we can vouch for the fact that Wednesday was a fun day for Ben and that his excitement about his cake was unmatched! All the guests here sang "Happy Birthday" to him before we all shared his cake.
Wednesday was also a day of celebration for Tanzanians, as it was the National Day of Independence- a public holiday; but not for us, nor our teachers! We found oursleves buckling down to studying Swahili noun classes, as the uplifting sounds of singing drifted across the river from the fields, where locals were celebrating their special day.
One more week of study lies ahead for us, then we'll return to Dodoma for Christmas, before taking up our notepads and pens for the next 4 weeks of language learning in January...