I'm Taking Amharic Classes Y'all!

While the building is plain on the outside, its impact
to the community is enormous!

This past Saturday, I took my first of 12 classes to learn basic Amharic. BIG thanks to Miss Madie for researching and finding one for me. This woman has been a gem in bridging the gap between our culture and Selah's. Love her for that!

I love the home-like feel of Bete.

The class is held at the Ethiopian Community Center in Silver Spring. Silver Spring is a mecca for Ethiopian culture and you'll find at least one or two Ethiopian restaurants/markets on each block. (Speaking of which, you know I popped into my favorite restaurant, Bete, after class was over to grab a sambusa.)

Although the building is a little plain without any signage on the outside, I quickly found that the real jewel was inside the building with the Director and staff. This facility is a huge asset to the community in that it offers many services to immigrants, refugees, and those seeking to learn more about the Ethiopian culture...like me!

Our class is really small...about 6 of us which is fantastic! I think I'm the only one that is not Ethiopian. The instructor was a little nervous and struggled a little but it was totally fine because this language program is a pilot program. I realized that by the end of the class, I'll probably need to add in some additional resources and use the class for structure and lots of conversation practice....so worth it!!!

We spent much of our time this past Saturday going through the Fidel (Ethiopian alphabet). I came home and found this video which will serve as my practice this week.



BTW: I also purchased this cd/book set from another adoptive mom who creates conversational books/cds for families adopting internationally.  Check her out here: http://www.adoptlanguage.com/Amharic.htm

So hey...pray for me y'all! This is going to be a challenge but preserving Selah's culture is so worth it!