things that matter

i'm probably the only person that finds this interesting. but whatever. so Kiswahili has noun classes. People and animals, or "living locomotive things" as my kiswahili teacher would say, are in one noun class, the m/wa noun class. Exept there are some people that are not in the m/wa class. These people are:
vijana: youths
vipofu: blind people
viwete: lame/handicapped people
viziwi: deaf people
vibarua: day laborer
vibiongo: hunchbacks
vibogoyo: toothless people
vibushuti: very short people
vijakazi: slave-girls
vimada: concubines
vimwana: pretty young girls
virukanjia: prostitutes
kisura: a beautiful girl, a looker
kifunguamimba: first-born
kitindamimba: last-born
kitoto: infant
kipusa: rhino horn; slang: pretty girl/woman
kizee: old woman

I don't think it is a coincidence that some of the people that are not included in the people noun class are women and people with disabilities.
Although then I found out that the word for leader, "kiongozi" is also not in the m/wa noun class. So maybe that blows my theory.


In other news, I dropped my phone in the choo (latrine) today, fished it back out and it still works.(!)(...gross?)

On Saturday I was hanging out at my house and a guy on a bike showed up with a letter for me inviting me to a government meeting the following day. I went to the government meeting and found out that next week I am going to be going to a bunch of neighboring villages and doing something, not sure what. I asked the WEO (Ward Executive Officer) what I was going to be doing, and he said we would walk to his house and he would explain it. He took me to his neighbor's house and left. I sat in the living room by myself for a little while and then left. I still have no idea what I'm doing next week or where these villages are.

My days consist mainly of: going on random walks in my village, stopping to talk to people, who then either: laugh at me, stare at me blankly when i try to speak swahili, offer me food, or ask me for money/food/presents. Or all of the above.