There's No "Fun" in Swahili

During one of my Swahili lessons last week, I was telling my teacher about my day at the sewing shop and I wanted to tell her "It was so much fun!"  I realized I had not learned the word for fun.  She laughed and told me that there is no "fun" in Swahili.  I have a different opinion, because I have been having a ton of fun!  

I went to hang out at the sewing shop last Thursday, and they put me to work, as usual!  My task was to figure out how to sew a sidiria- AKA a bra.  I laughed when Bibi Josephine told me that is what she wanted me to do that day. (For those of you who don't get my newsletter, I have been sewing skirts, shirts, purses, pretty much anything- and I have no experience except for Mrs. Chang's sewing class my ninth grade year-which was the best, by the way!). She told me that her and another guy had attempted to make a bra out of kitenge- which is the beautiful fabric here- but they both failed.  I told her that I literally had no idea where to start.  She said, "No problem, just try. Try! Try!" So I did.  I really was clueless, but studied a very worn hand-me-down bra they had as a model, and gave it my best shot.  They all seemed super impressed and gave me a lot of "Nzuri sana"s.  They are always overly complimentary of everything I do, so I am always hesitant to believe them. Truth is, I'm just really not that good at sewing.  I finished as much of the sidiria as I could on Thursday before I had to go to class, and when I returned on Friday, Saidi had completed it for me.  That was a relief to me because I wasn't sure how I was going to finish it!  I had done the easy part, but to figure out how to fasten it and do the neat finishing, I was nervous about.  Luckily, the bra was complete (and actually kinda cute), and us women had a fashion show with it (on top of our clothes)- but super fun to laugh and joke around with them. After our fashion show, the women decided to play a trick on one of their customers.  A lady had come in with a big bag that needed to be sewn at the bottom.  They decided they wanted to put Josephine's son, Joel, inside the bag so when the lady came to pick it up, he would pop out and scare her.  The lady came, attempted to pick up the bag, but was unable.  She proceeded to unzip it, and out popped Joel!  She screamed, and the sewing mamas thought it was the funniest thing.  I love how much fun is had at that place.  They beam with joy and are so loving towards other people here.  I love that. 

How cute is this little boy!

Joel getting prepared

Another fun thing that happened last week was I got to teach my friend, Linda, how to drive my piki piki.  Linda was born and raised on the mainland, but moved here about seven months ago.  Her job is to sell seaweed soap to hotels around the Island, and back in June I got to accompany her on one of her business ventures.  It was awesome to see how deals go down here.  Linda is really good at being a saleswoman, but her real passion is fashion.  She plays the role of fashion designer on the side, designing pieces out of kitenge and then sells them through her sister in America.  Earlier this summer, we had become good friends because she was spending a lot of time at the sewing shop.  Recently, she has been MIA, but I found out she had been in Dar for the past several weeks because her brother passed away.  So when she showed up at the shop, I was happy to see my friend again!  She asked if I would teach her how to drive my piki piki, so I took a break from sewing to give her a little lesson.  It was HILARIOUS, although I almost lost my piki in a tragic accident with a concrete wall.  Luckily, she just missed it, and she and the piki made it out alive.  Remember I told you that she wants to be a fashion designer?  Well imagine a very girly girl- 4 inch heals (at least), long skirt, dressy top, lots of jewelry and make-up, flying down the extremely muddy road (it had been raining a ton here that day) splashing through puddles.  We attracted quite the crowd.  Neighbors all came out to see what was going on.  Doesn't take much.  Haha. She now is trying to figure out how she can get her own piki piki.

Today, I took the dala dala to town with my tutor, Josephine (different than the sewing shop Josephine- confusing, right?) because I wanted to go on a "field trip".  My brain is so full of the grammar her and my other teacher have been teaching me, that I needed a break.  I had asked her to help me pick out an African dress to take to the little Island with me.  She wears beautiful ones every day and I told her I needed her fashion advice as to which one(s) to get.  We had a blast.  She, too, is full of joy and laughs about everything.  The laughing started when we couldn't catch a dala dala and had to call a friend to take us by car.  Then it continued as I tried on dresses and explained to her that I am picky when it comes to clothes and it could be a long process.  I did manage to get two really pretty dresses to take with me!  I took some selfies so you could see my new garb!  They are basically moo moos with matching head scarves, and they are super comfortable!  I'm excited to show mine off to the locals!

In other news, I am moving to the little Island on this coming Sunday, and I am so excited!  I am finishing up classes, saying goodbye to friends here, and packing up all my things this week.  I've loved how much fun language learning has been, and I'm stoked to continue not only the language learning, but the relationship building, and the FUN on the little Island!  So grateful for laughter, joy, and fun.