I recently returned from AGC's Kilimanjaro climb & safari. Our intrepid group of five, plus our helpful and encouraging Tanzanian guides, all made it to the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro (in very windy conditions). What an incredible feeling, to be at the highest point on the African continent!
One thing I enjoy about this trip is getting to know the guides and porters we work with. Most of the porters know very little English, so our interactions were based on smiles and the few words of Kiswahili I've learned. They seemed pleased (or perhaps amused?) that I could say "you are very strong!" as they passed us on the trail carrying loads on their heads.
The guides, on the other hand, are required to know English, and some of them speak it well. Our guides hiked with us every day so we had plenty of time to talk. We learned about their families, how they ended up working as a Kilimanjaro guide, and what they do for work in the off-season. Three of our guides usually work together as a team and it was nice to see how much they enjoyed each other's company. I hope we can work with them again on our next trip to Tanzania!
Anne from AGC
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Viema, Anne! I found an excellent Kiswahili source at http://research.yale.edu/cgi-bin/swahili/main.cgi?right_frame_src=http%3A//research.yale.edu/swahili/serve_pages/grammar/grammar.php
I've also use a set of tapes with booklet titled "Swahili" Educational Services Language/30 Kiswahili Phrase Dictionary and Study Guide, Washington, D.C.; Educational Services,1974.ISBN 0910542198. Although the technology is a bit outmoded, the cassettes were handy to use while walking my dog. The tapes teach you to say a bunch of useful phrases without having to worry about grammar & sentence construction, and were a good place to start.
Since my return from our Kili trip last year, I've been really fortunate that 2 people from Kenya have been hired here in the library where I work! They've helped me to continue to learn their language. I'm sure that someday in the not so distant future I'll be making return visit to East Africa and really look forward to being able to speak the lingua franca with at least some degree of competency.
chris
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