I was grading exams, and encountered a multimedia student answer about DRMs to the effect of, and I quote, "DRM is inappropriate and it's full of shit." Normally the only reason I end up laughing while grading is because of something really stupid like students claiming x-rays come out of the back of computers, but in this case the answer was not only funny but completely legitimate and actually better than most, since the question was "state your opinion of DRM," which may sound like an easy question if you haven't realized that under most circumstances here, getting a student to have an opinion or express it is like pulling teeth. Ask them what they think and they are likely to just recite everything they know about a subject, which about half of them are doing.
I went to the market yesterday morning to greet all my market mamas and collect my new dress from my dressmaker. Also to buy onions. I was sitting in the dressmaker's shop while she sewed on the zipper for my dress (for some reason she always leaves the zippers until I am physically present to collect the dress), mostly just listening to the mamas talk and yell at the occasional passing salesman for being annoying (which is hilarious). I did some yelling of my own when some passing kid called me "mzungu," just to the effect that I am not an mzungu, and I have a name and should be greeted properly. The mamas around me joined in yelling at the kid! They said yes, she isn't an mzungu, she's an African, and she is ours! I found that wonderful. Seriously. My black and twisted heart went pitter pat.
Finally, I am spending the next few days babysitting the expats' puppy for them again. I love my expat sponsored hot shower days. They need to make sure the puppy has someone to cuddle with because he's very clingy. It works. Besides which, they need someone who knows the good Kiswahili to teach their house girl to work their new washing machine. This is actually tricky since the washing machine is smarter than I am. Seriously, it is programmable. It beeps and has flashing lights. I had to read the owner's manual. I have a master's degree in computer science from a highly regarded institution and I'm feeling intimidated by a washing machine. I can't program anything I can't connect to with my laptop! Eventually I figured out how to make it start cleaning my sheets (hey, if I'm giving laundry lessons I'm bringing all my dirty laundry to do it). The house girl was fascinated, asked questions that I had trouble understanding because they were both highly unexpected and I don't necessarily know, e.g. 'how does the water get hot?' and 'why does it spin?' and 'why does it start and stop spinning?' Then she sat in front of the washing machine for a while watching the clothes spin around, which was somewhat adorable. When I reported this on Facebook, one of my former professors sent me a link to this rather wonderful TED talk.
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