Hello, My Name is…
Last Sunday we attended our first Swahili church service. Afterwards we had lunch in the home of one of the members of the church where we were treated to a delicious meal. It was an opportunity to visit a home of our Tanzanian friends and experience cross-cultural interactions first hands.
Our hosts were Baba and Mama Ima Sylvester. Who, you may ask? In Tanzanian culture it is uncommon to refer to one another by first names. Although this is not uncommon in other cultures, particularly when it comes to younger generations referring to older generations, this applies here across peer groups. Furthermore, parents ‘take’ the name of the first born. So, for example, Ima is the first born of our Tanzanian friends.
Our names? Baba Judah and Mama Judah.
