We are supposed to speak only French, but most of the teachers speak Kabiye, too, so they scold us in Kabiye if we have misbehaved. You say “Bonjour, Monsieur” ("Hello, Sir") and stand up whenever a teacher enters the room.
Lots of kids share the same last names, such as Bassao, Bisso, Sogoyou orTchedre. People have several first names as well. For example, I have a Christian first name, Delphine, and a Kabiye first name, Tchilalo. Tchilalo means "a girl born on Wednesday". There are names for every day of the week. There are a lot of other Tchilalos at school.
We study French, History and Geography, Life Sciences, Mathematics, English, Civics and Physical Education. I like English and Physical Education best.
The teachers say we should reread our school notebooks every night to study. Sometimes, at the end of class, we have to write down exercises from the blackboard and finish them at home.
After school, I help my mom sell fried tofu at the market. Sometimes I stay a little longer at school to play with friends, but I cannot be too late coming home. I like to go to the water pump at the same time as my friends so we can chat.
