Random Travel Observation 1

I've been back in Nairobi, after my whirlwind malaria conference trip to Dar, since Saturday afternoon. As usual, running errands took up half of the rest of the weekend, and prepping for a 3-day radio news reporting workshop that began this morning consumed the other half. Today's sessions went really well, and I'll probably write about the workshop eventually. But thanks to this recent burst of activity, I'm a complete marshmallow head lying here on the couch trying to decide if I want another glass of wine or a scoop of the Malaga gelato that's beckoning me from the freezer.

But I wanted to share a couple random observations while I'm waiting for something really pithy and intriguing to occur to me. First, as I headed to the boarding area for the return flight to Jomo Kenyatta International, I snapped this picture because it reminded me that after a year of living in Kenya, I still only know some bare bones basics of Kiswahili. I know that "Safari Njema" means, roughly, "Have a Good Journey." I know how to say "My name is Rachel", and I can tell you to sit down in this chair and relax.

This sign reminded me that with all the travel I'm starting to do in this region, and the strong possibility that it will increase dramatically over the next 12 months, there's really no excuse for me to not learn it. People in parts of Uganda speak Kiswahili. It's the second official language of Kenya, and it's Number 1 in Tanzania. So what's stopping me?? I'd guess that subconsciously, I'm resisting because I'm telling myself, "What's the point? I'll be back in the US in a year, and the only language I need to know there is Spanish. I mean...English."

I tried to take a few lessons awhile back, but my schedule, and a none-too-dynamic though earnest young teacher, made me lose interest. But I'm determined to make a serious effort to learn enough Kiswahili over the next year to sound more like the Kenyan some people think I am anyway, at least until I open my mouth and they hear my nasal, "black Mzungu" intonations.

One day at a time, Sweet Jesus. Just don't ask me to learn how to speak Kinyarwanda, the official language of Rwanda, in time for NEXT week's workshop in Kigali...

Oi VEY!!!!