Kiswahili Part Mbili

Before our start in on Swahili lesson number two, I thought I would share an amusing tale of two teachers. You see, it isn’t enough that I attend weekly classes with Tulip – I also have a full time, self-appointed tutor who is determined that I will be fluent by the end of year. And unlike Tulip, I can’t avoid my tutor and his daily tests to improve my comprehension. Or rather, what he hopes will someday be my improved comprehension.

Who is this mystery educator? My driver, Rock, of course! Disappointed that I didn’t start taking classes sooner, and frustrated with how much further along my classmate Wrestler is, Rock drills me daily on everything from greetings and goodbyes, to numbers and everyday phrases. He has also begun to make a weekly worksheet of words and phrases for me to study.

Those of you who know me well may recall that I’m a lousy student. My memory is only slightly superior to that of a Pavlovian dog. Heck, I can’t even remember the names of all the ladies in my book club and I see them all the time! How am I supposed to learn an entirely new language quickly enough to please my harsh taskmaster?

Luckily, Rock has proven to be more patient than Tulip. Last week she taught me the phrase kazi nyingi (a lot of work) and I think she was trying to tell me something. Of course, it might help if I ever studied, read my flash cards, opened my Swahili book, or spent any time at all forcing my brain to remember my lessons. But that seems like a lot of effort.

Today, instead of studying, I’m going to teach you guys some new words taught to me by both Rock and Tulip.



So get to studying people because there will be a test. Now, if you’ll excuse me, all of the effort I’ve been putting into avoiding studying is giving me a kichwa (headache) and I need to lie down. Kwaheri!