Word for the Travel Wise (04/11/06)

Funny how certain things prompt me to
think of a particular word to provide on a particular day. For instance a friend of mine called me from Africa this
morning and I missed the call.  Unfortunately I was unable to call him back. Mainly because I didn’t have a
calling card and I’m really trying to be mindful of my phone bill these days. I have a bad habit for splurging on
breathy overseas calls of no real importance other than checking on the well being of friends afar. Sigh. If for some
reason you need a phone in Kenya here is one way to say the word. The other
is in English.

Today’s word is a Swahili (Kiswahili)
word used in Kenya:

simu
telephone

Masai-Mara has a section devoted
to useful Swahili and Kenya Travels has a similar list,
but to catch the missing words between the two I suggest looking at them both. The Kamusi Project is the internet’s only living Swahili dictionary which has
been suspended due to funding issues. Sad, seeing it seems like one of the best sources to learning the lang, but the
if you’re willing to donate a few dollars you can help keep the website alive. To learn basic background facts about
Swahili check out Wikipedia. Did you know the name Swahili comes
from the plural of Arabic word sahel (singular) or its plural sawahil meaning "boundary" or "coast?" Just one cool fact I
discovered during the first lesson I taught.

Past Swahili words: unasemaje