jewels of the day

1. US-$ 320 million. Now THAT’S a lot of money.

2. I really miss my guitar(s) as mentioned earlier. Something that will sweeten up lonely evenings in Embu and/or make me play along to the One Man Guitar show next door which happens to entertain me every single evening. Btw, what do you call these big (kikuyu) country hats anyways?

On my way to work, I stopped by Nairobi’s oldest music shop Assanands on Moi Avenue and asked for cheap guitars. There are these pictured below which sell for about Ksh. 4.550 /= and are actually made somewhere in Western Kenya. The finish isn’t that nice, but they work and, again, they are MADE IN KENYA. Holadiho!

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…and then of course there are some Made in China which sell for slightly more, around Ksh. 5.000/= and have a much better finish:

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Now let me think about this investment.

3. Next door to Asanands is the “Bookpoint” – a very nice book shop for those books you won’t find in other places of the country. I came here to look for another copy of these Kikuyu-language books I bought earlier this year. They didn’t have them. But what they have is this:

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An “English-Kikuyu , Kikuyu-English” dictionary for a horrendous price (Ksh. 500/=) – but since I’d been looking for something like this for a long long time, I invested my last money (hey, I am only left with the Matatu fare back home!) to get a copy. Now this is something I shall copy for Kui! :-)

Says the author, Gerald J. Wanjohi: “(…)..Here in Kenya we know that rural children quite often outdo their urban counterparts at the national exams. The latter have very little knowledge, if any, of indigenous African languages…..(…)….The aim of this small book is to help Gikuyu-speaking people love and learn their language along with their traditions.”

Mageria no mo mahota. (~ trying is succeeding)

Author: jke

Hi, I am an engineer who freelances in water & sanitation-related IT projects at Saniblog.org. You'll also find me on Twitter @jke and Instagram.

7 thoughts on “jewels of the day”

  1. hi buddy. i have problem if u could pliz help me.i urgently need gprs setings for nokia 6230i.i have tried many times to send an empty sms or help gprs to 4777 for more than two weeks now and have neva got the settings to date.pliz could u assist me with the gprs settings?.thanks

  2. That is a lot of money from the world bank. I read financing. is it a grant, aid or a loan?

    And the kikuyu – english dictionary; if that’s any good please let me know.

  3. The $320 Million is excellent news from the WB. The Athi Water Services Board should execute the project well.

    Ngubia icio nene cia Gikuyu ciitagwo ngodifatha kana godpapaa.

  4. Guitars:

    My first guitar a Yamaha F310 worth about KES 7800 in 2004 from Assanands. It’s worth about KES 6900. It was good to start off with.

    Then I had the opportunity to be somewhere much closer to the Emirates Stadium at the beginning of the year and got a Westfield TF656P worth about 160 GBP (about 20k at that time). Lovely Compact guitar with great sound. good value for money

    Then I landed a deal to get a Base Guitar and Electric Guitar both for 20k in nai. Both at throwaway prices.

    I’m stil learning more and more guitar…:). The quality of the guitar really can give u sike… i think. but nothing like a little strumming to pass away an otherwise boring evening.

  5. Mimz, the dictionary is very simple and incomplete, but it works and is somehow affordable. Nice for a start. You hear me, Kui? :-)

    Josiah, now that’s a nice line up of guitars you’re having there. Cool! I agree, the quality adds to the pleasure.

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