How I came to know the Swahili Language as an American

A love note in Kiswahili.

Starting off in Nairobi 

When deciding to learn a language it can be so difficult to pick which one. Many often choose a prominent international language like French, Spanish, or Arabic. African languages are often overlooked. Luckily for me I didn’t need to make a decision. Swahili and its people chose me, and I did not resist. When I first arrived in Kenya I was in the midst of teaching myself a totally different language - Chinese. Back in 2017 at this time I had already invested myself in the Chinese language before my arrival in Kenya. I remembered about 100 characters and their pronunciation and could have an extremely basic conversation. I thought that this would be the language that would give me the most opportunity. Being in Kenya surrounded by Kenyans I naturally started picking up some Swahili, nothing serious just some phrases picked up in daily conversation.  After I left Kenya and did my tour in China. Although the Chinese people were good to me and I had an excellent experience, nothing could compare to my experience in Kenya. 

After my time in China I canceled my trip to Thailand and returned to Kenya to be with the people I connected with and collaborated so well with. I continued to learn Swahili on the streets of Nairobi, which I came to realize later was not standard Swahili, but rather an urban dialect of Swahili - Sheng Swahili English. Starting in this dialect really helped me kickstart my conversation because I could just mix Swahili with my native language English. Simple sentences such as “Bus stop Iko wapi” ( Where is the bus stop)  seemed very much in place in Nairobi.

During this time the thing that really made it easy to learn Swahili was not the language itself, but rather the friendliness of the people who spoke it. On a bus or in a cafe I always had the chance to talk to locals who were usually excited to speak with me in their African national language. In Nairobi most people could also explain to me the English meaning of Swahili words I did not know.

Kenya is a great place to learn Swahili, but there are a few challenges. Although very helpful at times English being widely spoken, especially in Nairobi, means that as soon as you make a mistake in Swahili the speaker will instantly switch to English, Radio and TV were typically broadcasted in English most of the time, and finding written Swahili material was difficult. Although in Kenya the majority language of communication is Swahili it often feels like Swahili is belittled by English. In official places like banks and offices speaking Swahili is viewed as improper.  

Learning Swahili in America

I was volunteering in Kenya with a limited amount of funds, so I had to return home to the United States. At this point I could have a casual conversation in Swahili by no means was I fluent but at this point, I was very good for a “Mzungu ''. The greatest milestone is that I could now consider myself bilingual. Although I was far away from my goal I was speaking Swahili, which in my opinion does make me a Swahili speaker. My routine in America was this- Work as much as you can during the summer, do one semester at Community College, Then travel to Africa for 4 months. The thought of returning to East Africa made me work and save so hard. It motivated me to study more, especially because I was doing education volunteering. It also encouraged me to learn more Swahili for my future travels. Instead of spending my hard-earned money out at bars and restaurants I stayed home and crammed Swahili flashcards. I started to search for different things about Swahili culture. I fell in love with old school Bongo Flava and Taarab music. I started planning my return to Africa. 

I decided that I would land in Nairobi because it was familiar to me, and then I would make my way to Tanzania to see what it is really like there. I assumed that Tanzania and Kenya would be similar and the only difference is that Tanzanians speak less English.

Tanga- my first experience in Tanzania 

I traveled back to Nairobi first because it was familiar to me and I wanted to see my friends. People who I had known during my last trip told me I look older and that my Swahili has greatly improved. I traveled to Mombasa which was amazing, but many of the same problems persisted - English speaking population that would prefer the language that is easiest to communicate rather than my broken sometimes unintelligible  Swahili. 

I took a bus from Mombasa to the Northern coastal town of Tanga. The moment I stepped off the bus I heard a Daladala / Matatu (Mini bus) playing Taarabu music. This opened my heart with joy. This music was truly the greatest soundtrack for the location. After living with young people in Nairobi I thought all East Africans exclusively listened to Western music, and maybe music specific to their tribe.  I then walked from the bus stand to the Tigo store to buy a SIM card. During the transaction they told me the price, which I did not understand. At that moment I realized some basic things like numbers and days of the week. I just used English words because that’s what I was used to in Nairobi. Even though it was challenging I filled with joy knowing that my skills that I worked so hard for would help me in this country. The store owner showed me on a phone the amount I needed to pay. I paid and then I started the next phase of my Swahili quest.  I continued to travel and volunteer in different places in Tanzania like Moshi, Dar, Zanzibar, Mwanza, and Kigoma. This was truly an experience of a lifetime that I will never forget.

Becoming fluent and professionally capable

What I have written so far only covers about a year and a half of my learning. I have now been studying the language for over 7 years. The more I learn and study the more I am rewarded. I am now a caseworker for refugees and a professional Swahili interpreter at my home in the State of Maine in the United States. Learning the Language has opened so many doors for me and can open doors for other people; African people or someone of any nationality can reap so many benefits by learning the international African language.