On tape

2/23/08
Hey, did I tell you that Hausa is the 2nd most "popular" African language, after Swahili? It is! It is spoken in Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Ghana, Sudan, and maybe a few other places. I think that is so cool, because the likelihood that I'll be able to use the language outside of PC is higher. Yesterday we had our second official language exam, and they even tape-recorded everything. Yikes! I was more nervous for this one, but I had the same tester, Soba, and he knows my ability because we talk outside of class. Soba has facial scarring, called tsage, that is typical of a few ethnic groups here, and his look is particularly fierce. His scars radiate outwards on his cheeks so he resembles a tiger. Many women have a pattern called "Tears of the Desired Woman," which I think look sweet and very sad at once.
So anyway, there we were, me and Soba with a tape recorder between us, talking about stuff in Hausa. He asked me if I have any friends, which I found to be a very silly question...I told him about Marilyn, how we met, and what she is doing. Soba couldn't pronounce her name, which was so great, because now I have him on tape, mispronouncing a word!
I got my results today: Intermediate-Mid!! YAY! This means I have reached the standard required to be allowed to swear-in. Whew.