Story 2: They Teach Me to Be a Very Good Brother

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We got a Muslim school in Kenya. They teach me to be a very good brother. And my parents teach me too. So when I come home, they tell us not to do this, not to do this. When one parent calls me, I say yes or brother, say dad or mom, show respect, everything.

When you go to Muslim school, you’ve got to read your assignment. After you read your assignment, they’ll give you another assignment. And then when they give you another assignment, you’ve got to read another hour. Then the teacher will stand up and tell everybody, “Quiet!” Then they will tell all to be quiet. He tells them, “Don’t do this. Be a nice brother,” or just stuff so the students will follow the religion.

The school was big like the library, no shelves, nothing. Then everybody comes and sits on the floor. There’s a rug on the floor so everybody will sit and will take their book. If they don’t got the book, the teacher will get them a book. Then the teacher will write them in. They don’t write themselves. It’s not like school. The teacher will get up and write notes. The teacher will come and call one on one, write the assignment for him. Then they will sit back, and they will read. They will read out loud so the teacher will have to hear you reading or if you’re making a mistake or not. That’s how it is. You got to go in the morning, 6 in the morning to 11 a.m. Again you got to go back at 4:00, and you have to come back at 7:00, sometimes 8:00.

To be a student is when you go there, there’s no bad language, nothing. You go there, you do what you’re supposed to. You don’t touch others. You keep your hands to yourself. If you touch someone, the teacher will punish you. You don’t pick on people. There’s a lot of kids, like 100-something in one class. It’s not like class in a classroom. That’s why there’s a big place where everybody sits, different ages, male, females. And you cannot talk to others during class.

I went a lot. Since I was a kid until I left [for the] United States and until 2004.