FROM VENEZUELA TO NORWAY

I migrated from Venezuela to the USA when I was a kid.  My mother had been having a long distance seven-year romance with a Cuban American and we moved to Miami, Florida in 1984 when the couple finally decided to wed.   Back then there were few Venezuelans living outside of Venezuela and I found myself explaining to most people that it was a country in South America next door to Colombia J The political scene, placing Venezuela in the media, in recent years has however changed all of that.   Today, besides Venezuela’s petroleum and politics being shipped out for export so is the country’s most precious resource, its engineers, many with over 20+ yrs of experience in the Petroleum industry.  They are leaving in search of political and financial stability and Norway with a stable economy and booming petroleum industry provides just the haven.  The only caveat is well the cold winters and the language barrier. 

Even as a young kid the cultural and language transition, I know from personal experience, can be painful so I sympathize with my cousins who recently moved to Norway.  Hender Alejandro Nava, 16 and Paola Nava, 18 have been attending to their studies in Norwegian and the English language (both languages being foreign to them). Their older sister Patricia Nava, who is due to graduate this November with a Chemical Engineering degree from Zulia University in Venezuela has a head start being fluent in English, but will ultimately face the same challenge as the rest of her family should she follow in her father’s footsteps and pursue a career in Norway. 

I interviewed Paola Nava in English and was impressed by how quickly she has captured the English Language.  When I asked her what has been the greatest challenge in trasitioning to Norway from Venezuela she said:  

"The people and the language.  In Venezuela, I did not have contact with other cultures but in Norway my classmates are from all over the world, France, China, Ethiopia, Germany etc.  The Norwegian language has been more difficult to understand than English because it's unlike anything I have ever heard."

When I asked Paola what she enjoyed the most about Norway she replied: 

"The security.  I can walk anywhere without the fear of being kidnapped or harmed."

During the 1960s large reserves of petroleum and natural gas were discovered in Norway.  Today, Norway ranks as the wealthiest country in the world, with the largest capital reserve per capita of any nation.  Norway is the world’s seventh largest oil exporter and the petroleum industry accounts for around a quarter of its GDP (Gross Domestic Product).  

Norwegian (norsk) is a North Germanic language and the official language of Norway.

Pictured above from Left to right is Hender Alejandro Nava, Paola Nava, Lourdes Nava and Hender Nava. 

Check out BBC interview (fall 2008) on the subject of Hugo Chavez, Venezuela's current president.

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Kenya - Mutara

During visit to Nairobi, Kenya, my best friend and architect Natalie Waters and I had the opportunity to visit the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust Centre located in Nairobi National Park.  This is the “Nursery” where both orphaned baby elephants and Rhinos are taken after they are rescued.  At the Centre they are looked after 24 hours a day and raised by a group of keepers which go to the extent of taking turns sleeping with the orphans in their pens. The emotionally and physically rehabilitated elephants and Rhinos are ultimately re-introduced into the wild in Tsavo East National Park. 

The visit inspired me to learn more about elephants and as it turns out, they have an interesting way of communicating.    Elephants have an instinctive body language and telepathic abilities.  They also communicate with a spoken language that they learn from other elephants, some sounds of which are audible to human hearing, but also communicating over distance with low frequency infrasound hidden to human ears.  Additionally, they can detect and interpret seismic sound through their sensitive trunks & feet, a phenomenon which was confirmed when in Dec. 26, 2004, tsunami disaster in Asia, trained elephants in Thailand became agitated and fled to higher ground before the devastating wave struck, thus saving their own lives and those of the tourists riding on their backs.

JAM Language Ltd. is the proud sponsor of MUTARA, an orphaned elephant who arrived at The David Sheldrick Wildlife Centre, July 20th, 2009 as a week old baby and a victim of poaching.

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Kenya - Mombasa & Swahili

Mombasa is Kenya’s vibrant coastal city on the Indian Ocean. Home to the Swahili tribe in Kenya, one can visually see the influences left behind by more than twelve centuries of contact with Arab traders;  the mosques, the calling sound to player and the parade of Kaftans and Hijabs.

Swahili comes from the plural sawāḥil (سواحل) of the Arabic word sāḥil (ساحل), meaning "boundary" or "coast".  Swahili is a language adapted from Bantu and enriched with vocabulary from the Arabic (35%), Portuguese and Hindi Languages.  Swahili is the national language of both Kenya and Tanzania and is also spoken widely across other Eastern and Central African countries. From the Comoros islands, Zanzibar, Burundi, Rwanda, northern Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, and southern coastal Somalia.

The Swahili tribe are coastal people with very rich historical and cultural heritage.  Some of the earliest inhabitants of the East African coast were their ancestors, Cushitic herdsmen. The Cushitic people were joined by Bantu speaking tribes.  Other groups later migrated to this coastline, including Arab, Hindi, Portuguese, and Indonesian traders. They, too, intermarried with the indigenous people, giving rise to a new culture, people and language.

The Arabic culture though has had the greatest influence in shaping Swahili traditions. One major legacy of the Arab culture is the prevalence of the Islamic religion among the Swahili people. Swahili children, for example, must attend Madrassa - religious classes in which they study the Koran and learn the Arabic language -from an early age.

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Kenya - Kikuyu Wedding

My dear friend Sammy Njenga is Kikuyu. The Kikuyu tribe are bantus and neighbors of Embu, Mbeere and Meru tribes along Mt. Kenya. They are the most popular and largest ethnic tribe of Kenya making up 22% of Kenya's population. The Kikuyu language is predominantly spoken thriving to the point of becoming Kenya’s third language of choice, English and Swahili being the first two.  In keeping with Kikuyu traditions, the visiting wedding guests and bride received the complete trimmings of the rich traditions of the Kikuyu culture.    Sammy is married to Cecilie Folkestad, a gorgeous ‘saucy’ witty Norwegian with a quick tongue ☺, when I first met her I knew straight away they were perfect for each other.   So it was an honour to not just witness the union of two friends but also the union of two completely different cultures.  The wedding day started in true Kikuyu fashion with Sammy’s family parading to Cecilie’s home dancing and singing in Kikuyu demanding that the bride be handed over.  Cecilie and her family played their role in stalling the convoy at their doorstep for as long as humanly possible thus extending the singing and dancing to the amusement of everyone.   The short clip captures the moment and is a beautiful sample of Kikuyu song and dance. 

Kikuyus have historically influenced leadership and politics in Kenya.  The current president, his Excellency Emilio Mwai Kibakis is Kikuyu and so is Professor Wangari Maathari, Africa’s first female Nobel peace price winner and the first environmentalist to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for her contributions to sustainable development, democracy and peace.  

Sammy is fluent in Kikuyu, Swahili, English and is currently undertaking the challenge of Norwegian.

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Kenya - Maasai

  My friend Sammy Njenga’s wedding celebration finally brought me to Kenya.   During the 6 years I have known Sammy he has never failed to remind me just how much I would enjoy adding Kenya to my travel circuit.  I wish I had taken his advice years earlier as the place is bursting with natural beauty although in my opinion the country's biggest hidden treasure is it's people.

  Enthusiastic to finally have the chance to showcase his homeland, Sammy organized the most decadent of itineraries.  A traditional Kenyan wedding celebration in Nairobi followed by Safari in Maasai Mara and then complete relaxation in Mombasa bathing in the Indian Ocean. 

  It was during the trip to Maasai Mara that I stumbled across the Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Project.  Virgin Atlantic worked with Sarova Hotels, Water For All and 10 frequent flyer volunteers from Virgin Atlantic’s Flying Club to renovate the Senekani School.  The project focused on revamping the boys & girls dormitories and adding shower facilities. This upgrade qualified the school with ‘boarding school status’ and therefore allowed the school to qualify for government funding.   The school founded in 1989 provides education to over 650 Maasai children in the Sekanani Township.  This was just 2Kms away from where we were staying at Sarova Mara Game Camp.

  The Maasai are an indigenous African ethnic group located in both Kenya and northern Tanzania. They speak Maa, a member of the Nilo-Saharan language family that is related to Dinka and Nuer. Maasai is taught in schools to some extent, though the languages of instruction are Swahili and English. There is a Maasai dictionary, a Maasai translation of the Bible, and a few other publications, but generally the language is primarily a spoken language.

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JAM English Flashcards: Fruit & Vegetables

Laura Bush and Literacy

Krsna Harilela is a Senior Editorial Producer with CNN International and as a part of her job she arranges for high-profile interviews. A few weeks ago she traveled to Paris to produce an interview with Laura Bush for International Literacy Day. I know that Mrs Bush’s trademark interests are education and literacy and I wanted to get the inside scoop from Krsna!

Krsna: “It was fascinating on several levels, I was excited to meet the former First Lady- and being a fiend for news and all issues relating to US foreign policy… it was intriguing to meet a first hand witness to one of the most controversial presidents of our time. But there was a bigger reason to why we were there and that is because Mrs Bush was there as an ambassador for UNESCO and was there to highlight problems with literacy. 771 million adults cannot read…think about that… that to me seems outrageous… and I think collectively we can do better to put this right!”

Mrs Bush’s love for literacy has been reflected in all she’s accomplished so far. With her love to read books she became a teacher and eventually a librarian. When she became First Lady, she made education for children and women one of her main priorities. She has established The Laura Bush Foundation which raises funds to buy books for libraries in America. But she also uses her profile and her international travel to urge governments to invest in the education of their people.

She was also made an Honorary Ambassador for United Nation’s Decade of Literacy and in this position has hosted a number of conferences on global literacy.

“Literacy is at the core of sustainable solutions to the world's greatest problems. Literacy builds the foundation for freedom from poverty, freedom from disease, and freedom from oppression.”

Mrs. Laura Bush

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JAM.HOW FOR TEACHERS

Energetic & Enthusiastic?

1. Quiz your student during a 1:1 session for vocabulary, pronunciation and memory recall
2. Spread JAM and split the class into small working groups
3. Play & Learn.  Teams competing to recognize JAM words, keep score and watch the competitive nature unfold
4. Define: a word with your back to the board  
5. Add JAM cards on the back to school 'must have' list

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JAM English Flashcards: Fruit & Vegetables

 

JAM.HOW FOR EVERYONE

Language Lovers & Survivors

1. Learn: a new word a day on the go 
2. Quiz yourself:  memory recall
3. Take with you while you wait...doctor's office, airport, bank, post office, bus stop, tube stop...
4. Take JAM with you everywhere, even to private places ...we'll leave it to your imagination :)
5. Leave laptop & instead take some JAM on holiday
6. Play with friends (memory and snap with 2 JAM packs)  

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JAM English Flashcards: Fruit & Vegetables