Friday afternoon has arrived. Two weeks of Kiswahili completed and one remaining. I thought you might like to see what I learned today, and be able to understand why we were given 10 pages of homework for the weekend.

I found this illustration of Kiswahili time online at http://www.kamusiproject.org/?q=swahili_clock that can better explain the time here.

It’s not just the numbers in a different place, read the message below where this same website gives a great description.

What is Swahili time? Swahili speakers count time differently than most other people. In Swahili Time, 1 o’clock in the morning is the first hour after sunrise (what everyone else calls 7:00 a.m.), and 1 o’clock at night is the first hour after sunset (what the rest of the world calls 7:00 p.m.). Why? Because most Swahili speakers live close to the equator, and on the equator the sun rises and sets at the same time every day of the year. Unlike countries far from the equator, where sunrise in June might occur at 4:30 a.m and sunrise in December might be at 8:30 a.m., the sunrise in the Swahili speaking world is so consistent that you can set your clock by it – so people do.

Its a bit tricky to catch on, but once you do, I find it easy to know the time if you can look at both clocks at the same time. However, writing out the time is another matter. The clock above indicates 4:10 and thats easy to determine. But this is how you write it: saa nne na dakika kumi!

Many people here now set their watches using standard time which is great. However, any speeches, etc are given in Kiswahili time. The school schedule and all the clocks are regular clocks with standard time, but when someone here speaks to you about time, it is Kiswahili time!

Looking forward to attending church Sunday with one of my teachers. I knew she was a Christian but found out today, she is a Pastor’s wife! That explains why throughout my time with her, she makes great comments when I use the bible or Christian illustrations when I am writing a sentence.

I will walk to their church and join them. She said their services are from 9:15 until 12:15! Or should I say from saa tisa na robo mapika saa kumi na mbili na robo! I am looking forward to worshiping with them. I might even understand some of the words!

Must close now, no more time to write, must get busy on homework.

Love to all,

Joy Breedlove

Missionary – East Africa