Cat 1, Cat 2

As I’ve mentioned before I am working with two Somalian girls at St. Andrew’s for our DukeEngage English Program. Sahro and Jamila are two of four sisters living in Cairo, with three sisters and two brothers still in Somalia.

When I ask them about their hopes for the future they say that they want to return to Somalia – but are unable to because of war. So instead they want to go to America. They have also said several times that they “hate Ethiopia”. Interestingly, we never taught them the word “hate”… As Ethiopia is feeding many of the Somalian militant groups with weapons and supplies it comes as no surprise that Ethiopia is no dear friend.

But to know the word “hate” when they don’t even know the word “love”?


In happier news, my girls have two cats – who they call “cat 1” and “cat 2”. Obviously they aren’t really named Cat 1 or Cat 2, but it’s how the Sahro and Jamila refer to them. For some reason I find their discussions of “cat 1” and “cat 2” very entertaining, and they get a hoot out of my reactions. Conveniently, I use our furry little friends as teaching tools.

Yesterday, to provide a brief anecdote, we were learning feelings – like happy, sad, angry, tired, etc. Sahro immediately piped up and said:

“Cat 1 is tai’ban schwa’ah. Cat 2 is very good”.

(Tai’ban schwa’ah is aymiyyah (Egyptian dialect) for “a little tired”)

Me: “Why is Cat 1 tired?”

Sahro: “Cat 1 is tired because she goes to school”

Me: “Oh, that’s great! Why is Cat 2 very good?”

Sahro: “Cat 2 cleans the house”

Me: ** chuckle chuckle **

(Tina gives me a funny look, and Jamila looks confused)


The point of the story is that over the course of six weeks not only have our girls gained some elementary degree of proficiency (I’m an optimist) but they have learned to communicate their ideas in a new language. I was very impressed, and very entertained.

It has been a treat, to say the least, to watch them progress from the alphabet to astrophysics. Well, we taught them the word star … it’s a start.

Cheers,
Jonathan