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I can tell you that here in the Dominican republic 1 means sometime between 1 and 5 or so.
Also manana does not mean tomorrow but rather not today with no real sense of time for the future. 

Bob K

Depending on the country, an hour is never an hour ;-)
When my father says "I'll pick you up in 5 minutes", I usually get the time to take a shower and eat a whole meal ;-)

Thanks for your replies. I guess I/my wife took what the hotel employee said to her as a point in time, a starting point, and that's why it sounded strange to me. But maybe, as you have replied, it was meant as a more general time period. But still, this was the evening before, and I couldn't imagine he was saying something like, "Oh, breakfast will start sometime later (could be tonight or tomorrow morning)." My wife was trying to get fairly specific information, and by asking about breakfast (that meal specifically), she assumed that breakfast would be available in the morning and wanted to know when exactly, and assumed that the hotel employee would make the same assumption about morning being the proper period for breakfast too. My wife just wanted to know when in the morning so we could schedule our departure accordingly.

This is merely one example of how we Americans have found communication in African countries very challenging - it's often not specific or clear in the ways we're used to. It's understandable if times are spoken about in general (as in giving a broad time period when something will happen), but the way questions are asked, we are expecting more specific information to be given in return. It's frustrating to essentially be given answers that don't correspond to the question.

Hi, Time is actually very simple in Kiswahili.
Time starts at sunrise 06:00 am
One o'clock means one hour after sunrise so actually 7 am
two o'clock is 8 am and so on until 12 o'clock which is 6pm then start with 1 which equals one hour after sunset so 7pm etc.
I hope this explains it.
Cheers

Bwana2bob, thanks for that explanation. I love that idea of setting the hours with the sunrise !

Yeah !! Bwana2Bob is right...   Thanks for your correct answer !

This is so confusing, indeed.

This is why you need to tell if it is English or Kiswahili time.

Don't just say "Come at 1" but "Come at 1, ENGLISH time !!!  You know it ?? I'll show you".

Now, I only said the time in Kiswahili.  But still find it hard to count, it still takes some time although it is very easy in fact !!

Example (saa = hour in Kiswahili)
7:30am = saa 2 na nusu (na nusu = and one half)
10am = saa 4
5 pm = saa 11
7 pm = saa 2

Bwana2bob: That's it! I knew there had to be some logic to this different way of telling time and another system that we weren't aware of!

This is merely one example of the challenges we have come up against in communicating as Americans/Westerners with Kenyans/Kiswahili speakers. And when we ask Kenyans for explanations of this sort of stuff, we are only met with more confusion (they can't understand why we're asking or what we're asking). In other words, we have found that Kenyans aren't really good at offering a "key" to their society for outsiders (just look at the lack of signs to direct tourists to the major sites, despite the fact that thousands of tourists come here every year from Europe and elsewhere to visit the world-class game parks).

So I have to ask you/others here: Where can one get an explanation of these sort of things? Is there a good website I can go to? A site or book that not only gives the English translation of some common Kiswahili words, but an explanation of some of the Kenyan/Swahili customs, like telling time differently than a regular English speaker would.

Another example that I just can't figure out: Why nearly every time I return to the locker room after finishing my workout at the gym am I asked by a Kenyan who works there: Are you finished? Of course I am if I'm back in the locker room getting undressed for a shower! If I try to ask him, "Why are you asking me that? What information are you trying to get from me by asking that, and what will you do with that information?" I will only confuse him! I'm not opposed to providing this sort of information, but I like to know what's behind some of these interactions - then I'll be much more willing to participate in the communication!

Any good English/Kiswahili dictionnary (the one with extra chapters about East African culture) will give you all the answer you are looking for.

That guy asking you "if you are finished" is just asking you to know...  It is important to know if you are done or not !!!  That the African chit-chat, he just expect you to give him a big smile, respond and why not, start a conversation with him (or a small joke).  That's it !!

This may be strange at the beginning... but at the end, you'll do the same - As asking people in the street what they are doing, make jokes and have fun.

Dear shpadre

Your posts are really interesting to read. I guess its amazing to see the what people entering a different culture go through and think about it.

hope you'll still have a great time despite all the confusion.

Bwana2bob when we say time in swahili like saa moja, we had to say if it is morning (asubuhi), afternoon (jioni) au Usiku (night). Saying saa moja is not enough, saa moja asubuhi is the correct way (in english = 7am).

And don't say swahili time in english, like you did (quote two oclock = 8am) it is not correct. We supposed to say time in english after changing to english version.

Shpadre ...... I've been reading your posts and i feel like laughing at you (sorry ) hehehe you must have had hell in Kenya lol , just stop  coming to Kenya , it will save you the trouble lol.. But at least now you know how we Africans feel when we are asked obvious questions like " oh you come from Africa ? Do you get to ride the elephants ? " lol