Swahili

"Love will find its way through all languages on its own."

-Rumi

so true, but I still take Swahili lessons twice a week!

When I returned home from Ghana the summer I was 19, it had become clear to me that Africa was going to be a big part of my life.  After working with the kids at the orphanage, many of whom only spoke the local language, Ewe, I saw how valuable it would be to know a foreign language like that.  My family wanted me to take something more practical, but I signed up for Swahili- it turned out to be one of the best decisions I ever made.  I took two semesters of Kiswahili at UW, and in addition to learning a wonderful foundation of the language, I was introduced to East African culture through my Tanzanian and Kenyan teachers, and met one of my best college friends in the class (shoutout to Laura "Ajula"!).

When I studied abroad in Kenya, Kiswahili class was really intense but fun, and in combination with my UW education gave me the confidence and knowledge to speak a TON of the language when I went to Msambweni.  My Mama and Baba on the Coast speak really great English, but other family members and friends in town speak varying degrees of it, with the grandparents and littlest children giving me the best opportunity to immerse myself in Swahili completely.

Jina langu ni Zawadi!

My name is Zawadi (the name I picked up in my first Swahili class- I now occasionally introduce myself as this at markets to get the vendor to laugh and lower their prices a little bit!)  I wanted to continue my Swahili education while I'm in Kenya so I've been going to Kibera twice a week to take lessons with Zaddock, the Swahili teacher at Nazarene Primary School.  It's been really fun learning in this environment, and he often has primary school kids "test" me by asking me questions in Swahili after our lessons.  

Definitely my favorite benefit of all of this Swahili so far is getting to have relationships with family members in Msambweni who I wouldn't be able to talk to and get to know otherwise.  My life is so much richer through Swahili conversations with Nyanya and Babu (grandma and grandpa), all of the younger cousins, and especially little Suleiman!