Jambo!

Your Swahili lesson for the day....

Jambo - Hello

Karibu - Welcome

Kwaheri - Good-bye

Asante - Thank You

Asante san - Thank You Very Much

Hakuna Matata - No Problem (you know you just want to break into the Lion King song, don't deny it......)

A matatu is a small taxi bus that drives around like crazy and tries to pick up as many people as it can cram inside

Tipping is not generally done here like it is in the U.S. unless you feel that you had exceptional service, then you may leave a tip (usually 10%)

When at a conference or meeting, before you adjourn for lunch, a group blessing is given

Security is highly rampant, everywhere you go there is a locked gate a security guard will let you enter through (at home, office, grocery store, mall)

When somebody says they're going to 'flash you' they mean they will send you their cell phone number to your phone

You don't see too many police officers around, mainly traffic cops at round-abouts directing the chaos

You will find small piles of burning trash alongside the road. There is no formal trash collection service here but they have managed to ban thin plastic bags

The national dish is called nyama choma which means roasted meat. They serve goat, mutton, beef, chicken, liver. There's a famous restaurant called Carnivore that we haven't been to yet but they also serve ostrich and crocodile. They used to serve other game like zebra but new restrictions have barred such items from the menu

The traditional staple is ugali which is thick maize meal

Most dishes are accompanied by chipatti which is like a compressed naan

This is a picture of a vegetarian dish I had last weekend: red beans and rice with coconut milk, there are a few pieces of chipatti on the side (very yummy)