Letter To My Peers

Dumelang Bo Rra le Bo Mma,

Ke bidiwa Tierra Holmes. Ke tswa ko Philadelphia ko Amerika. One of me Setswana names is Bonolo. I am here for a student exchange program. I want you to know that I love gape appreciate your culture. Botswana are beautiful people who speak a beautiful language. Setswana is a language I have yet learnt how to speak fluently or understand fully. However, I encourage you to speak Setswana in my presence. Teach me your language so that I may better understand you. Write your poems in Setswana and coach me as I write my own. Read your poems in Setswana and teach me how to pronounce your words. Be proud of the language you speak and grateful that you were born knowing your mother tongue/native language. All I ask is that you ask questions pertaining to the class- questions that could benefit me-please ask them in English. Do not assume that ke value English more than I value Setswana. I do not. But English is the language I speak and the only language I know well enough to express myself. Anyway, I hope that we can get to know each other while I am in your country. And I hope that we can appreciate each other's differences.

Ke a leboga for listening.

• Setswana Words Used
• Dumelang (plural for hi) 
• Rra (sir)
• Mma (ma'am) 
• Bidiwa (name)
• Ke (I)
• Tswa (from)  
• Ke a leboga (thank you)
• Bonolo-humble/kind/gentle

As you can see, I attempted to use the little Setswana I knew.

• This is a letter that was never read to or shared with my classmates. But, in the heat of the moment I decided to write it. What provoked me to write this letter was a feeling of misunderstanding. My classmates and professor assume that I could speak Setswana. Once I made them aware that I was from America, my professor made a joke about having another student translate for me. He also said, "for those not proficient in Setswana, they will need to take another lesson at a later time in the day so that they may learn to appreciate the language". In my heart I already respected their language and value their culture. And, my classmates kept expressing their disdain for English. One guy said he didn't like reading poetry when it was in English. Then, another classmate asked the professor if her poetry had to be written in Setswana or English (while) I was asking him to relay important information in English. Call me sensitive, but I sensed a vibe of resentment towards me. The last thing I wanted to do was appear to be 'the oppressor' forcing my peers to speak in a language said to be more "favorable".  I had no intention of forcing them to do anything. So, there was a pressing need for me to make my intentions clear. However, I could not an can not speak Setswana fluently.I wrote this letter hoping to rid my classmates of any confusion.

• In the end, I spoke with the professor and told him that I dd not mind reading poetry in Setswana and provide the English translation. I asked him to encourage the students to read their poems in Setswana as if I am not in the room because hey would help me learn. I also asked him to help me write my own poems in Setswana. He seemed to understand me and assured me that classes would be taught in English and that I would have to bare with him when he needed to speak in Setswana. I humbly agreed. Alhough, he change our class time from 10:00am to 7:00am, he's a pretty cool guy. Since our conversation, classes have been taught in English with occasional jokes in Setswana and cultural references which I appreciate. I can't wait until I write my first poem in Setswana :)