My tone must not have been very inviting when I looked
at him fiercely and asked what he meant. "Oh, just asking," he
apologized before quickly scurrying off.
I sat on a roadside wall, checking if my toes were
getting blisters from my flip-flops.
"Jambo bwana!" A not-so-young
man, sat next to me, introduced himself as a veterinary student, and was deeply
honored to meet me. When I assured him I didn’t mind, he invited me for a
drink.
Janin Klemenčič (to be continued)
When they realized that even this wish would go
unfulfilled due to my dire financial state: my story
is just as tragic, and I would be grateful if they could spare some shillings
and help me.
They suddenly had urgent business elsewhere. Before
I could even pay for the drink they had invited me to, they were gone.
Janin Klemenčič (to be continued)
In short, my story is just as tragic as theirs, and
I would be grateful if they could spare some shillings and help me. .
Janin Klemenčič (to be continued)
The situation was now much clearer to me.
Alright, let’s go then!
Wait, hadn’t he said earlier that he studied
medicine? Well, veterinary is animal medicine. And hadn’t the
Ugandan civil war ended years ago? True, the authorities claimed so, but in
reality, the country was extremely dangerous—just today, six people had been
killed, guerrillas were everywhere, trains weren’t running, boats on Lake
Victoria were very unsafe, and they strongly advised me against going there.
Janin Klemenčič (to be continued)
Then his friend appeared— considerably older
and not particularly intelligent-looking. He was also very polite, though his
English was much worse.
Janin Klemenčič (to be continued)
When we entered a building with no sign of a
restaurant, I checked if my knife was still in place.
On the first
floor, you could indeed get a drink, but there were no other guests.
In East Africa, soft drinks and beer are a state
monopoly, and their price in shops is almost the same as in the best hotels.
All other drinks are significantly more expensive.
Janin Klemenčič (to be continued)
I concluded that he was probably the son of wealthy
parents, not often in Nairobi, and thus didn’t see many white people. Well, I
could spare some time—maybe he’d have something interesting to say.
Janin Klemenčič (to be continued)
It comes from the Kiswahili verb kuzunguka:
'to wander around aimlessly, like a mad person.' The Swahili word for a
hangover, kuzungu-zungu ('my head's going round and round'),
comes from the same root.
Travelers wandering around aimlessly and nursing
hangovers? Not much has changed...
Janin Klemenčič (to be continued)
Swahili is a mixture of East African languages,
Arabic, and English.
In Tanzania, Kenya, and parts of neighboring
countries, it is introduced as a second official language because communication
among the multitude of tribal languages would otherwise be difficult.
"Habari?" for
example, is a distorted version of "How are you?"
Janin Klemenčič (to be continued)
"Jambo!" I replied, slightly surprised.
He probably wanted something from me— in Africa, people rarely greet without a
specific reason.
He was a head shorter than me and likely not yet of legal age.
Janin Klemenčič (to be continued)
