It’s Swahili to me

It used to be that when I was confused by something, I might say something like “He may as well have been speaking Swahili because I have NO idea what that guy was talking about.”  Or something to that effect.  It’s still pretty much the case that when people speak Swahili here in Kenya, I still don’t know what they’re saying, but I have been learning some key phrases. These are my favorites that I have used the most so far: 

Asante sana (pronounced uh-son-tee sau-na) which means "thank you very much"

Karibu (pronounced ka-ree-boo) which can be used to say "you’re welcome" after someone says thank you or also means "welcome," like welcome to my home.

Pole (pronounced pole-ay) which means "Sorry!"  This is often said when you drop something or trip, or something like that. It seems like I hear this one a lot, as I can tend to be a bit clumsy.

Hakuna stima (pronounced ha-kuhn-uh stee-muh), which is used all too often, and means "no power." It also makes me think of Hakuna Matata from the Lion King.

Mzuri sana (pronounced: Missouri sau-na ),which means "very good" (mzuri=good).  I like this one because you say it like Missouri, and it makes me think of my friends in the show me state.