The ocean and the rocks nearby

This week, many things have happened to me:

• I learnt about the passing on of my friend's father-that was really hard. 
• I got to do most of my work because I had a set time table-yes!
• I partially failed to follow the timetable and...
• I had a 'what is all this stuff' moment. 

The one that is still on my mind up until now is the latter....'WHAT IS ALL THIS STUFF!' 

I am a music scholar, in another country and I am learning the way certain things are named in certain ways. 

In music there are things called beats. The first thing that comes to my mind is a matatu (the public transport back at home)-these 14 seater vehicles play loud music and all you hear from outside is the beat of the song because there are sub woofers fitted at the bottom of the chairs that are at the back. However, it is extremely loud inside!I have friends who cannot enter into a matatu that does not have booming music. Its incredible! 

Anyway, back to what I was talking about-beats. Back at home, since the day I was taught music in Standard 4(fourth grade) up until later in life-well, before I came to study here, I learnt that every beat has a name. For example, we have a breve, semibreve, minim, crotchet, quaver, semi-quaver, semi demi quaver...etc. However, when I came here, my whole world was turned upside down...

I am not a very enthusiastic person when it comes to matters pertaining to anything mathematical or scientific. This is explained by the grades that I got in math and chemistry when I was in high school. I remember my father at some point asking me why I would be passing in the liberal arts and music while my grades were on the other extreme in the sciences. I remember looking at him straight in the eye and saying 'Dad, if they taught chemistry, biology and math in musical form, I promise you that I would be scoring A's' I think he was so surprised by my answer that he still remembers it until today...and tells people about it. 

When I came here, we begun classes and everything was going on well, until we started learning rhythms and they had new names: whole note, half note, quarter note...Mathematics in my music!!!I accepted it and tried to adapt. I was really trying. 

When clapping a rhythm, back at home, the beats also had names. 

• minim= ta-aa
• crotchet=ta
• quaver=ta-te 
• 4 semi-demi quavers=ta-fa-te-fe...and so on. 

However, when I came here, my world was turned upside down...

Instead of saying the beats like I was used to, we were giving them numbers!!!Mathematics again, in my music!!!The most fascinating ones are 

• 1 &, and 
• 1 e & a

 the (1&) is equivalent to my (ta-te) while the (1 e & a)is equivalent to my (ta- fa-te-fe.) 

These things (the numbers) in the week have haunted my life. I remember shocking my teacher in one of my classes. She asked my what the time signature 2/4 meant, and without thinking I said,

 'it means that you should have two crotchet beats in a bar'  

That was how we say it back at home...for a short while she looked at me and I think she thought I was joking because I was speaking these strange things. (what  is a crotchet!!!)  it then hit me that I was using my home language and I quickly corrected myself. We, of course, had a laugh about it and I explained to her my dilemma. She understood me...thank heavens! but I have come to accept that for this time, I will need to adjust to these things.

When the ocean is coming close to the shore, at one point on the beach, where it is really close to where the tide comes, there are rocks nearby. This still does not stop the waves from coming to the beach. Yes, there will be colliding going on, but the water will still get to where it is supposed to get to.  

Just like the water and the rocks, my life in this wonderful school is so. My previous learning and the current learning is having a collision but still, I will not whimper away and refuse to get to where am supposed to be. I will, like the ocean, push on. It will be rough and a bit noisy. It will hurt me and make me tired, but I will just continue. Besides, I have nothing to lose. I will, in the end, have the experience from both worlds. Hey, maybe all this stuff is not bad. Ama kweli. 

Mwalimu