My Birthday and Kiswahili Kenyan-Style

I had a sweet birthday! Janine, Jake and Doug took me out to the Border Point Hotel for dinner. Philip joined us too. We had a couple drinks, played Scrabble (love it, nerd style!) and had a delicious dinner approximately 1.5 hours after we ordered.

It was a hilarious and fun night. Janine ordered tilapia and they brought out a full fish roasted, eyes and all. She said it was pretty tasty. The rest of us got a beef dish with chips (French fries), and it was actually pretty tender and had some good spice on it. We had a really great time. It was good to get out of the house, take a break, laugh together, and eat something other than ugali and beef stew (although Jake and Doug make a mean meal). It’s really a joy to be part of such a great team. These guys aren't just co-workers but good friends and family even!

Janine and Jake even paid for Doug and me to stay the night at the hotel, which was a wonderful surprise. The house we’re living in temporarily, until construction on the Nuru house is complete, isn’t quite finished and doesn’t have ceilings. Also, although we love our bucket baths, a hot shower was delightful! Time alone together was really a gift for Doug and I. We enjoyed every moment!

At dinner, I got a chance to check in with Philip on a few Kiswahili phrases. We had a Kiswahili class during Nuru training in Palo Alto, I managed to get through 9 of the 10 Pimsleur language lessons during our long train rides through Europe, and I’ve been trying to use all I know and pick up a phrase or two every day. I really thought I was doing ok. Come to find out, the words I’ve been using for “sir” and “miss” aren’t exactly the best choices. Kiswahili will be in italics and English in quotes, just to keep it straight…

So, just I’ve been walking through the market saying Asante, bibi (“thank you, miss”) to young women who don’t seem to have kids yet (if they did, I’d use mama) and Samahani, bwana (“excuse me, sir”) to men just as my trusty Pimsleur lessons taught me. It turns out that bibi is used for old women and bwana translates as “husband” or “lord”. What?! So, I’ve probably offended a lot of women in the market and flattered a few men. Oops! They have been gracious though to say the least, loving every line that we attempt in Kiswahili, so thrilled that we’re actually trying. Philip set me straight (maybe Pimsleur was teaching me Kiswahili Tanzania-style or old school Kenyan-style)- there’s really no need to use “sir” or “miss” like we do in the U.S. (example: “Excuse me, sir”, “Thank you, miss.”).

Yet another lesson learned after the fact... My goal for this week- skip bibi and reserve bwana for Doug.