The ABC's of Kitale

A-ir plane. That's how I got here.

B-eep beep, move out the way, Nimechoka kupoteza time"...That is one of the two songs that seems to be played constantly here.

C-a? Cadees? The usual pronunciation of my name.

D-ada yangu. 'my sister' in Swahili. (I talk about her a lot.)

E-asy Coach. The busline that gets us to and from Nairobi.

F-reezing showers. We stopped paying for hot water about a month into our stay, because we worked out that we would each save around $150 over the course of our trip if we cut out that expense.

G-ive me 5 bob. 5 bob is 5 shillings, and we often have people come up to us out of nowhere and demand money.

H-alf cakes. A pastry type thing that I ate to much of when I first got here, and am now totally sick of.

I-roko's. The restaurant that we eat at quite often.

J-aza happa. What it says on the signs for phone credit topups. It means something like "fill up here."

K-itale, Kenya

L-ala salama! 'goodnight' in swahili. It literally means sleep peacefully.

M-zungu! We get this yelled at us everywhere we go. Mzungu! Mzungu! Mzungu! How are you Mzungu?! (It means European)

N-aenda town. 'I'm going to town' in Swahili

O-chanas. The Kenyan family we are staying with.

P-iki pikis are motorbikes, and my favourite means of transportation in Kitale.

Q-uiet evenings. We usually get back to the house around 6pm in the evening, and then have dinner around 8pm, so I have lots of time to read, listen to music, nap or whatever I please. When my Gramma was here, we played cards, but now that she is gone, there is only so much solo-clock that I can take!

R-ed dirt. Everything white becomes red.

S-hillings. The currency here. 100Ksh is approximately $1.50.

T-rans Matt. My grocery store of choice.

U-na fanya nini? 'What are you doing?' in Swahili. I find myself saying this to Frank (the Ochana's 4 year old grandson) a lot.

V-ision Gate. The name of the building that our favouite internet cafe is in. (I'm there right now!)

W-atoto. 'Children' in Swahili. Have you ever heard of the Watoto Children's choir? It is the Children Childrens choir I suppose.

X-I never did like the letter X.

Y-ori yori. The other song that is played nonstop here. "I'm with you my lovie lovie, with you everything is wellie wellie, you make my heart to go yori yori..."

Z-ebras. Many can be seen on the drive to and from Nairobi.

So there you have it. The ABC's of Kitale. And I have to leave it all on March 9th. I'm freaking out a little.
My flight lands in Vancouver on March 11th, and then I'll be back in Gibsons on the 12th. It's all going so fast! I'll be home before I know it.