Swahili and Swanglish

     I have had several tests this week on my Swahili skills and as I was walking up the hill to my one-on-one verbal test this morning I realized there were so many funny parts of the Swahili language that I want to share with you all. I'd like to start by saying that I scored "novice-high" in my proficiency, which is one step below the "intermediate-low" that we have to obtain before week 8 of training. I'm hoping to get that score by monday if I study well enough this weekend!!
     Swhahili 101: when in doubt, just add an "i" to the end of any english word. For example the swahili word for "cheese" is "chezi" (pronounced cheesy). The Swahili word for "shirt" is "shati" (pronouced shirti but with a british accent). Some words are not this easy however, for example, the word for green pepper is "pilipilihoho" and watermelon is "tikitimaji." These have been fun words that we throw around just for shits and giggles.
     Gusa: My last name is very simple for Kenyans to say and remember because the word "Guza" means touch in Kiswahili and its pronounced the same as my last name. You can also use the word "kupunguza" which means to bargain, "kuuguza" which means the act of being a nurse, or "kuuza" which means to sell.
     One last thing that I absolutely must comment on is the way Kenyans use the english words "smart" and "sweet" for everything. I have gathered enough information to realize that if something is "sweet" it literally means that it is good. A very salty food is considered "sweet" if you like the way it tastes. My host mama and sister ask me constantly if things are "sweet" and were very concerned that I wasn't going to eat any of the food because for my first few weeks I told them that nothing was sweet (and that is because it was literally salty.) oops. The second word "smart" is used for anything but typically about dress. Not a day goes by that my mama doesn't say my skirt is smart, or my hair is smart, or my shoes are smart. Last weekend she even told me "the smart market doesn't start until 10am."
      Last but not least, I think you will all be tickled to know that my host family's last name is Kariuki and it is pronounced Karaoke. I desperately attempted to explain Karaoke to my family and i'm sure they still don't understand what i'm talking about. That's all for now! Enjoy the Swanglish!