swahili

I have been waking up lately thinking in swahili. Not full sentences, mind you, but there is always at least one word on repeat in my brain. Yesterday it was "kifaranza", the word for french language. Couldn't it at least be a useful word? Interestingly, I spoke some french with a man from Niger later that day. Earlier in the week, the word was "mgonjwa" meaning "to be a patient" or "to be sick." I have been telling people that my hand is sick, Mkono yangu ni mgonjwa.

Swahili started out easy enough. Who can't remember "Ninapenda kahawa", or I love coffee. I had that phrase down in 5 minutes. I could say, I am eating, I am from Canada, Hello, how is your morning. However, I cannot spend 2 1/2 years telling people i am from canada and i love coffee. Hence, my language lessons became more complex. I learned past tense, negative, future tense. All relatively simple, except actual words completely change their spelling in some cases. For example, I eat is "Ninakula." If you want to say I don't eat, it becomes "Sili." The only letter left from the word kula (to eat) is the letter L! How am I supposed to follow that! It only becomes more difficult when you get into the 9 different noun classes, the exceptions for each class, and the possessive pronouns get really messy. I hardly know what a possessive pronoun is in english!! (I have also learned how little I know about the structure of the english language - like what is a subject prefix and a gerrand? Who knew these words were in the english language!)

It is coming though, polepole, (slowly) and people appreciate the efforts I make to converse with them. They are often quite amazed I can actually answer questions in swahili and ask me why I am even trying to learn it when everyone in Nairobi speaks english. I explain I am moving to another town, and they usually raise their eyebrows, start laughing, and explain I will have to learn the mother tongue of Kalenjin in addition to swahili. As if my brain could stand any more. I already pull dutch words out when I can't think of the swahili word. It sounds strange to say "Ninakwenda boodscaapen doen" (I am going to do errands - first half is swahili, second half is dutch).
I will persevere, and perhaps one day I will think only in swahili and have difficulty speaking english...