Shiblingi, Sponge Bed Square Pants, and Fat Ties

It’s Young Whan and Sophy’s Kiswanglish lesson time:

Shiblingi = Tanzanian money coveted by young urban people

Sponge Bed Square Pants = the unfortunate source of almost all mattresses in Tanzania

Mchizi kama ndizi = crazy like a banana

Shikamoo marahaba jambo sijambo mambo poa safi habari ya nyumbani salama nzuri asabuhi njema na wewe pia = a typical greeting to a single person, to be combined with vigorous hand-shaking, bowing and cheek-to-cheek facial contact

Tanzanian fashion trends we are importing:

Fat ties!! [check out the photo above] Yes, Young Whan will be rockin' his fat tie this fall. Where's yours?

Kitenge kraze!!! Yes, i am still obsessed with Tanzanian fabrics. Joelle connected me with a very talented young tailor, Rita, in Moshi. She’s made some beautiful and functional shoulder bags for me out of kitenge cloth. Kasimu, a tailor-man in Tabora, also made a nice tank top and long skirt outfit for me. Check out the collage below of my most recent kitenge finds.