'Amefanya drifti'

A constant source of amusement amongst our team (and indeed I would imagine any Mzungu who has spent any time learning and using Kiswahili) is the way in which it is possible to substitute the English word for any Swahili word that you are unsure of or simply don't know. The only rule is that you need to put an 'i' (pronounced like our 'e') on the end of the word and chances are you will be understood. Some recent examples that we have come across and have given us some amusement are 'lefti handi drivi' and 'drifti'.

This last example was one Rich came across yesterday while at the school. Apparently a group of boy racers like to speed past the school in their people carriers performing handbrake turns just in front of our gate. Yesterday Rich was in the office when he heard a loud bang just outside on the road. Assuming the worst and that it was one of our workers in a customers car, he went out nervously to inspect. He found that one of these boy racers, having attempted a handbrake turn, had lost control and totaled his car when it smashed into a row of shops just opposite the school. Apparently 'amefanya drifti', or he had been doing a 'drifti' when he rammed his bus of a car into the poor shop owners wall. From the look of the car he won't be doing it again any time soon and I doubt that there will be any insurance paid up... Gutted!