To say that anyone can adapt in any country at any time is a philosophy invented by either gypsies or migrating birds. For most human beings, it’s not that simple. There are too many factors, plus the ideal combination of any part of them, that will determine your quality of life, not to mention your happiness in your new home.
What are these factors? People, weather, language, religion, environment, the local market, travel opportunities, schools, work, restaurants, the list goes on and on here. And yet, only one of these items can ruin your stay abroad, even if the others are perfectly aligned. Let's say the people are nice, check. The weather: 25 degrees Celsius per day. The schools are well established institutions that prepare your kids for change in the future, like at your next post or further down the road when their college days start. And yet, all of these things will not be worth the computer page they are printed on if you don’t like your work. You might like your work but be uncomfortable with people, their religion, etc. Although I liked living in Nepal, I never took the time to learn Nepali, because I saw no use for it. Do you think this made a difference in how I connected with the country and its people as a whole? You bet it did.
In most places, we were lucky. We didn’t mind learning Arabic or Spanish, because we thought these languages would serve us well down the line. In Tanzania, of course, the language is Swahili, and I love studying it.
It is different, and yet it has numerous elements that it borrowed from other languages. For example, try counting by the tens. Ashirini (20), Thelatini (30), Arobaini (40), Hamsini (50)…sound familiar? Here, the Arab speakers get to slam the buzzer.
And yet, there are a couple of hooks to this language that will befuddle you. For example, Nina sema Swahili, Sisema Swahili. As somebody well-schooled in languages, I am looking at ni- and si-, and assume: okay, one is positive and one is negative. Excellent, world chump. Only one problem here: they have the opposite meaning of what you’d expect as a westerner. Nina sema means ‘I speak’ (affirmative) while Sisema means ‘I don’t speak’. You think somebody was trying to confuse the mzungus out here?
Then there is telling the time. In order to tell the time here, you have to subtract or add six from the time you’re reading on the clock. So the clock says ten o’clock? Right, that will be four o’clock, mornings or evenings. The first hour of the day starts at six o’clock. And just why can’t they adjust to western time? Why should they? The first hour for them starts at six in the morning: that makes sense, doesn’t it? The first hour starts at sunrise. Who ever said that one o’clock has to be when everybody is sleeping? You start to wonder who really invented logic here.
Another positive trait of the language is one that, again, links to Arabic: the greetings. These can go on and on. I remember the whole spiel where you would ask how you were, the family, the dog, etc. Not much different here. Here are a few greetings that will get you by in Tanzania and at least bring a smile to some local’s face:
Mambo! (How are you?) Poa! (Fine)
Hodi! Hodi! (Knock! Knock!). Karibu! (Welcome!)
Shikamoo! (Greeting for an elder) Marahaba! (lit. I acknowledge your respect)
Some languages are, shall we say, a little lighter on their feet (and on our ears) when you hear them. Swahili is one of these languages.
More importantly, it is one of those languages worth pursuing further. I’m looking forward to it. Hamna shida. No problem.
What are these factors? People, weather, language, religion, environment, the local market, travel opportunities, schools, work, restaurants, the list goes on and on here. And yet, only one of these items can ruin your stay abroad, even if the others are perfectly aligned. Let's say the people are nice, check. The weather: 25 degrees Celsius per day. The schools are well established institutions that prepare your kids for change in the future, like at your next post or further down the road when their college days start. And yet, all of these things will not be worth the computer page they are printed on if you don’t like your work. You might like your work but be uncomfortable with people, their religion, etc. Although I liked living in Nepal, I never took the time to learn Nepali, because I saw no use for it. Do you think this made a difference in how I connected with the country and its people as a whole? You bet it did.
In most places, we were lucky. We didn’t mind learning Arabic or Spanish, because we thought these languages would serve us well down the line. In Tanzania, of course, the language is Swahili, and I love studying it.
It is different, and yet it has numerous elements that it borrowed from other languages. For example, try counting by the tens. Ashirini (20), Thelatini (30), Arobaini (40), Hamsini (50)…sound familiar? Here, the Arab speakers get to slam the buzzer.
And yet, there are a couple of hooks to this language that will befuddle you. For example, Nina sema Swahili, Sisema Swahili. As somebody well-schooled in languages, I am looking at ni- and si-, and assume: okay, one is positive and one is negative. Excellent, world chump. Only one problem here: they have the opposite meaning of what you’d expect as a westerner. Nina sema means ‘I speak’ (affirmative) while Sisema means ‘I don’t speak’. You think somebody was trying to confuse the mzungus out here?
Then there is telling the time. In order to tell the time here, you have to subtract or add six from the time you’re reading on the clock. So the clock says ten o’clock? Right, that will be four o’clock, mornings or evenings. The first hour of the day starts at six o’clock. And just why can’t they adjust to western time? Why should they? The first hour for them starts at six in the morning: that makes sense, doesn’t it? The first hour starts at sunrise. Who ever said that one o’clock has to be when everybody is sleeping? You start to wonder who really invented logic here.
Another positive trait of the language is one that, again, links to Arabic: the greetings. These can go on and on. I remember the whole spiel where you would ask how you were, the family, the dog, etc. Not much different here. Here are a few greetings that will get you by in Tanzania and at least bring a smile to some local’s face:
Mambo! (How are you?) Poa! (Fine)
Hodi! Hodi! (Knock! Knock!). Karibu! (Welcome!)
Shikamoo! (Greeting for an elder) Marahaba! (lit. I acknowledge your respect)
Some languages are, shall we say, a little lighter on their feet (and on our ears) when you hear them. Swahili is one of these languages.
More importantly, it is one of those languages worth pursuing further. I’m looking forward to it. Hamna shida. No problem.
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