nina watoto watatu

That's the closest way to say that I have three children. It actually means "I am with three children." The idea of ownership here is...non-existent...or very very minimal.

I am with a computer...irregardless of rather it's mine or not. I am with a house, thankfully! This is a very communal society and what I have, you have and vice versa. It's not uncommon to be asked for a ride. In America we have the idea that I have a car and you don't, so I drive and you walk...unless I know you well and then, sure hop in! Well, here we can't give rides to total strangers so we have decided to only give rides to those we know. They work very hard and walk far, so a short ride isn't really such a big deal. One day we had a car full of language school friends and a total stranger asked for a ride as we rounded a corner. One of the Tanzanian teachers showed us how to say (with our hands) that we were full. I thought it was funny that it would have to be for that reason that we refuse a person, but it isn't my job to assess this culture...it's my job to learn it. By the way, you hold your hand out, face down and bend your fingers up and down, like you're picking up a bunch of little things off the ground. You never know when knowing that might come in handy:).