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.

1 thought on “Shiblingi, Sponge Bed Square Pants, and Fat Ties”

  1. These fabrics are stunning. So awesome! It's so cool that you are able to get such unique fabric (and as a result, unique clothing & bags).

Comments are closed.