Beth's Namlish Top Ten List

Alright, so the "official" national language of Namibia is English, but some things come out a bit differently than the English that you all are familiar with in the U.S. resulting in what Peace Corps volunteers affectionately call Namlish.  For those of you who are planning to come and visit, study up because these will sound sooooo weird to you when you hear them for the first time without any previous exposure!  Speaking of visits, Mom and Ellen are landing in Windhoek on June 15!!!  Perhaps we will have to ride in a bakkie to a braai where we will have toasties, braai vleis (meat), and kooldrink!  Enjoy the Namlish!  I enjoy it daily!

1."I am coming now."/"I will see you just now." This actually means I am leaving and will be back sometime later.  It can also be used to let someone know that you are coming later.  If a Namibian tells you that he/she is coming to visit you now, it could mean anytime in the next few hours. 

2. "now now" is faster than "now".  If you are the training manager for a group of 60 new volunteers who have just arrived in Namibia and the bus breaks down on the way to the training post, you call the bus company and have them send another bus or a mechanic NOW NOW!  

3. "Make a turn" means to stop by someplace.  You can "make a turn" at a friend's house, the school, a store, etc.  Also, when sitting at a large dinner table with several other volunteers someone may ask if the salt & pepper would "make a turn" at their side of the table.

4. "Go with the stream" really means the same as "go with the flow" and was a phrase frequently used by our training manager during our pre-service training when he wanted to encourage us to be flexible with the changes in the schedule/times of meetings.

5. "Where do you stay?" means the same as "Where do you live?"  It is totally fine to wave your hand in an arbitrary direction and respond, "I stay just there" which means somewhere in this community.  

6. "braai" is essentially the same as bbq in the U.S.  You can braai meat, toasties, etc. which means to cook them on a grill.  You can also host a braai which is when friends come over and you cook delicious food on the grill.  The grill is also called a braai, so you can braai steaks on the braai at a braai!  

7. "toasties" are these amazing sandwiches that you toast on a braai!  I may never go back to grilled cheese again.  The butter is inside along with tomato, onion, spices, and cheese.  They are quite possibly my favorite thing to eat at a braai.

8. "bakkie" sounds like bah-key and is the word used for pickup trucks.  Bakkies are one of the most common vehicles on the road here.

9. "kombi" This is a Volkswagon-looking van.  They are commonly used to travel between towns however one needs to be careful to find a combination of a sober, safe driver and a sound, roadworthy kombi before climbing on board!  

10. "kooldrink" is pronounced cool-drink and refers to any kind of soda.  The favorites here are Coke, Fanta Orange, and sometimes Lemon Twist (like Squirt).