13 (12) Hippos

Holiday Classes are exactly what they sound like-classes held during the holidays for students who wish to remain in school during that time period. For obvious reasons, there are fewer students during this period, so several schools congregate into a single school, and usually teaching just one hour is enough to work with each student. When it's not your hour to teach, you have the rest of the day to grade the previous day's assignments, re-look over the lesson plans, and talk big pedagogical alignment theories.

It was during this time that I got a phone call from a colleague who asked, "Madame, are you busy busy?"

"No, I am not busy busy," I said. (I was like medium busy).

"Madame, you must come quick, there are many many hippos by the river!"

I had a few questions, like, why was he by the river and not at work? But there was no time to explain, and I literally did not explain to my English team. I just said, "I need to go!" in a sort of panic-induced-whimsical voice. They had known me for days now, so I think they sort of understood my personality.

I wanted to run, but my colleague told me not to, so instead I awkwardly fast walked a quarter mile down to the river, where, as you guessed it, were hippos! The view was...ok, but I could still see a group lounging in the river and soaking up the sun! I'm not exactly sure what hippos do, but this seemed accurate to me.

My colleague remembered that he knew a better view, and since we had plenty of time on our hands,

we walked down the road to someone's house who had converted their space to a proper hippo viewing attraction. Once we arrived at the gate, we were greeted by the husband and wife, who then had a conversation in Rukwangali with my coworker. I am by no means fluent in any regard in Rukwangali, but this is how this conversation went down:

Coworker: Hello, we would like to see the hippos!

Husband: It costs money to see the hippos.

I butted in that I did not bring my wallet.

Coworker: How much?

Husband (to wife): How much?

Wife (to husband): 30 dollar.

Husband (to us): 30 dollar.

Coworker: No, this woman is from America and she has never seen a hippo before. Please, we must go see the hippos right now.

And that's all it took! We were let onto the property and led right down to the river to see them. It was just the four of us there-the husband, wife, my coworker, and me. No one else was by the river at all! It made for a very personable, fun moment that we shared together.

Here's my takeaway of hippos: They're big! Bigger than you think they are when you see them in the zoo. Somehow when they're in their natural habitat they take up more space. They are super round. Why are they so round? I have no idea. Also they oink just like a pig, but a very, very big pig. I counted 12 hippos, but the husband told me that they were 13. Actually, he said that there were 23 in total, but only 13 at this moment. My pictures tell me 12, though.

It was all fun and games until the hippo who had been standing the whole time turned his head and locked eyes with us. Have you ever made direct eye contact with a hippo? I have, and it's not the best feeling in the world. We left shortly after.

On the way back, I ran into my boss on the side of the road (was anyone ever actually at the school?). I showed him my pictures with so much pride, and all he said back was, "Ye-es, those are hippos..." I showed every single coworker my photos, and they all said, "Yes, those are hippos." This sparked a conversation where they tried to ask me, "Do you still get excited about seeing deer on the side of the road in America?" Yes, I do! They

were all very happy that I was happy, but just not as thrilled to see a hippo as much as I was.

Anyway, I'm hoping all of you appreciate my hippo photos as much as I do.