TWENDE TWENDE LAMU
TWENDE TWENDE LAMU
(pronounced too-wen-deh)
For The Kenyan Child;YOUR Story.
In Lamu, I learnt beauty.
Hi. My name is Kimu and I am 5 years old. I am an African girl, born in Kenya, and my name is Swahili.
Today I am very, very excited. My Ma woke me up very very early, which is okay because we are going somewhere special. It is still dark. The clock says 5:30am. I get dressed, eat breakfast and enter the car. We are going on a journey. Baba, Ma and I. Ma says we need to be at the airport by 7am.
Dad says, “Twende Twende”. That’s Kiswahili for, let’s go, let’s go. Baba is always in a hurry.
At the airport, we put our bags through a machine, and we are also supposed to go through the machine. This machine beeps if you have anything in your pockets that you’re not supposed to have, like metal. Baba removes his belt, Ma removes her jewelry; so I remove my plastic watch.
“No, funny bunny,” Ma says, laughing, “plastic does not make the machine beep.”
“Twende Twende,” Baba calls. Always in a hurry.
On the plane, I sit by the window and can see many other aeroplanes-big and small, white, yellow and even orange. Where are we going? Twende twende; you will see.
When we land it is very hot. I remove my sweater, put on a hat and put on my yellow star sunglasses. Our bags come to us on a moving machine and we go outside and enter a very cold van. That’s better. Twende Twende,Baba tells the driver. Where are we going? We will see.
We reach the end of the road and the ocean begins. The Indian Ocean. There are many boats-big ones,small ones,fancy ones,old ones. We leave the car and get on a small boat with an engine on it's end. The water is a beautiful clear blue colour. The captain of the boat jumps in after he puts in our bags. I ask him where we are going. To Lamu Island,the man tells me. He explains that an island is a piece of dry land surrounded by a lot of water, like an ocean, lake or sea. Twende Twende,Baba tells him. And off we go!
After some time the boat stops,and the captain helps us out onto the dry land. The boat ride had been fun-I looked over the side of the boat and saw yellow coloured fish in the water. We passed between low-hanging trees where the captain had to come out and walk through what looked like tall grass growing up from the ocean,and he pushed the boat through. After this part,which the captain told us was called a Marsh,we sailed across the ocean towards a beautiful island. The ocean was beautiful and the sun was shining on it like little glitter stars. I saw some dolphins jumping in and out the water and I couldn't believe it. Kenya is beautiful! Lamu is beautiful! The Indian Ocean is beautiful!
On the island we were taken to our bed and breakfast hotel. [My room was connected to my Ma and Baba's room;and I had my own single bed with a mosquito net covering it,and my own bathroom.] Can you believe the rooms windows and doors were only covered with thick net to protect us from mosquitoes,and light curtains. So we could see outside and the cool air could blow inside. Lamu is very hot. Ma told me to get my swimming costume ready;and said we'd swim after we had some lunch. Twende Twende,Baba said. He was hungry,and so was I.
We sat at the table in the local food place; it had no windows and we could see the ocean and hear the fishermen calling at each other. Baba ordered our food, and after some time the waiter put a large dish with a whole fish on it-fresh from the ocean, and a side of fried rice and vegetables called biryiani. We all drank coconut water, straight from the half cut shell of a coconut. Everything was very delicious, although a bit spicy. After that, we swam in the ocean. Sometimes the ocean seems big and scary, but in Lamu it is clear, warm and beautiful.
The next morning I am woken up by a man chanting loudly on a microphone. I ask Ma what he is doing and she says he is an Imam, or muslim religious leader, and he is reminding muslims to do their Salat al-fajr, which is the early morning prayer before sunrise. She tells me that muslims pray up to 5 times a day and so I should not be alarmed when I hear the loud calls later in the day. She also tells me that different people have different religions and that is okay.
After breakfast, we take a walk into the town and see the only car that is allowed on the island. People either walk, ride on donkeys or sometimes a motorbike. Twende Twende, Baba called at us, but nobody is in a hurry in Lamu.
We went to a little hut where a local swahili lady in a beautiful orange outfit that covered her from head to toe, only showing her face, said she would draw henna on my hands.
Henna is a red-brown paint that has been used for years in Africa and Asia to decorate the arms and feet of women. She draws pretty flowers on my arms and feet, and tells me to wait for them to dry off then I can peel them. She says they will last for nearly three weeks before fading away.
The rest of our trip to Lamu was spent swimming in the Indian Ocean,eating freshly fished sea food,and buying local handmade jewellery for my friends at home.
For further information on Lamu, Kenya.
Brief History of Lamu: “Lamu is a place like no other, a peaceful tropical island where life is lived at its own relaxed rhythm, but a place whose history is as mysterious and fascinating as the winding streets of its medieval stone town”.
(information found on https://magicalkenya.com/places-to-visit/coastal-kenya/lamu/)
Useful Swahili words and their translations: Swahili is the most spoken language for most East Africans (although it's not necessarily their first language). In Kenya and Tanzania, Swahili is an official language alongside English, and most primary school children are taught in Swahili.
Hello: jambo
How are you?: habari gani
Fine (response): nzuri
Goodbye: kwa heri
Yes: ndiyo
No: hapana
Thank you: asante
Please: tafadhali
OK: sawa
Excuse me: samahani
Friend: rafiki
(information found at https://www.tripsavvy.com/swahili-or-kiswahili-for-travelers-1454482)
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