kitu ninapenda kiswahili

 Things I like about Swahili.

• saying: Even the calves knock each other over. This was used one time when josey and i were making fun of each other. It must be a cultural thing 'cause i'm not seeing it as pithy commentary.
• There is a different word to differentiate regular farts from "silent but deadly" farts.
• The word for drunk and the word for tired have an implied past tense because you can't just be drunk or tired right this very second without having built to that. (unless you're at a rugby fundraiser with an empty stomach... or, and I haven't done this, drinking banana beer)
• The word for clubs in a deck of cards is goat shit because it looks like a clump of goat shit.
• For a while, the gardener would great me with "hujambo say sijambo". I thought this was a very elaborate greeting that I had not heard of but she was really telling me that I need to say sijambo when she greets me with hujambo. 
• piga ________. This means beat and is always used in conjunction with another word.
• piga decki - beat the deck. wash the floor. comes from washing the deck of a ship. 
• piga rangi - beat the colours. paint. 
• piga makofi - beat your hands. clap. remember by: what do want to do when someone makes you coffee? 
• piga simu - beat the phone. call me!
• piga pasi - beat the iron. do the ironing. 
• my personal favourite: pika migoti. beat the knees. kneel. 

We were planning on flying to Gombe today for a visit to see chimpanzees tomorrow. Those plans have fallen through as the only plane that makes the trip is in Kigoma being repaired. It was touch and go anyway as the runway is not tarmac but rather clay. If there are heavy rains (!!) then they can't land or take off. Josey may take off for the weekend to Zanzibar and leave me here. Some friends are planning on attending a toga party tomorrow night. I appreciate the exuberance of youth but I don't think that I and my grey temples can pull it off gracefully (and I appreciate that toga parties are not about grace, but you know what I mean).  In a couple of hours we will head to Slipway to watch the sunset and eat a lot of sashimi.