No More Monkeys Jumping on our Roof

The sound of monkeys playing on our roof during the night became familiar to us as we were at language school in Arusha. What at first was a startling racket to wake up to in the middle of the night soon became a routine sound of “home.” We have now moved into our housing in Morogoro, and have no more monkeys waking us up at night. We have new sounds that are becoming familiar – birds chirping beautifully and the sound of children playing and singing.

This past week has been very exciting for us. We are now in the town that will be our home for the next two years. We have met many of our new colleagues who are all exceptionally kind and welcoming. Bishop Jacob Mameo, who Josh will be working with, invited us into his home for supper with his family our first day here. We are extremely grateful to him for giving us such a gracious reception.

Our housing is on the campus of Lutheran Junior Seminary, which also contains a language school where we hope to continue our language studies.

Swahili lesson – Are you familiar with the game “Jenga?” We were excited to learn that it means “to build” in Swahili. How appropriate! Now you can dazzle your friends with your new Swahili word.

Learning to Speak

"Habari za (asubuhi, mchana, leo, or Jioni)?"

Many times during any given day you will hear this friendly greeting used among Swahili speakers. Translated from the Swahili, the phrase inquires of "The news of the (morning, afternoon, day or evening)?"

To this, the appropriate response is "Nzuri" or "Nzuri sana." It is always "good" or "very good" as long as you are breathing. Remember this exchange if you ever plan to come to East Africa. It will come in handy as greetings are an important part of the culture.

Habari is one of many ways to politely greet people in Tanzania, rather than the stereotypical greeting, "Jambo"-which, I think, originated with the old Tarzan movies and we have learned is actually incorrect usage-used primarily by tourists. Sue was disappointed to learn this, as she had been singing a song with her students in the States incorrectly using "Jambo." However, we were glad to find out that "Hakuna Matata" is appropriate - no worries!

The people of Tanzania speak Swahili, and since our arrival here in northern Tanzania nearly three weeks ago, it has become abundantly clear that the Tanzanians love their language. What's more is that the majority of the people are more than willing to spend their time helping visitors learn. As we have progressed in our introductory language training, we have remarked many times how Tanzania must be a nation of Swahili teachers. Whether we are riding the daladala (bus), or walking down the street, chances are that someone will enjoy letting us practice what we have learned and then give us a tutorial of their own.

Since we are trying to learn Swahili, this has proven to be very helpful to us. We have found that wherever we are, the people are genuinely thrilled at our effort to speak in their language. Even the smallest phrases (which is about all we can muster at this point) brings an appreciative smile. We are having a lot of fun with Swahili school and are excited to put what we've learned to use.