'Mbrrrr' Sio Mbusi Hapa It’s Money

Mbrrrr is the word here; it's the word that everyone speaketh. In emphasis they mispronounce it and in doing so brings out that sound of Mbusi-that Kenyan radio presenter known for his word jocular and ‘hakuna mbrrrr’ which, according to him means no trouble-as in another way of saying Hakuna Matata.

Not in Ethiopia though. The word (m)brrr means something else. Something good. Anything life. Anything money. When you say that anyone with apt hearing sense definitely looks up in expectation of Ethiopian money-Birr-hugging the atmosphere. You know Birr is their fuel of life just like the sweet Kenyan shilling or American Dollar. So (m)birr is not a word to joke about here unless you are hawking, which might be a novel thing because it’s very rare in the streets. There’s no dawa ya mende 50 birr*5, or handukachif 1 birr or such money-minting business in this African city-Addis Ababa. This is a serious city with serious people-though I hear at night it turns its silver lining to a corrosive coating where prostitutes take over this cold city. 

Nonetheless, daytime it’s a wonderful place to live in but only if you learn to speak faster the popular language here-birr. Woe unto you if your only claim to fame is that you speak fluent Swahili which make the likes of Qfm’s Rashid Abdala shiver. That Rashid language is as useless as it’s raw here so your fame will be equally nought. You may try your broken English though because you’ll find a good home here. AmhaRic is the national language and that R, oh my, is like it opens a floodgate of R. The letter is emphasized in every worrrd. Everrrything they sayr herer hasr an R everrywhererr. 

If you are planning to shift base to herer you betterrr starrrt doing a goodr sessionr of Amharic in oner of the colleges in townr, if there is any. Kenyans, by the way, should learn Amharic, it’s one of the most spoken languages in Eastern Africa. You know it’s spoken by over 80 million East Africans who don’t care how fluent your Queen English is or how your Arabic-born Swahili sounds.

So when you’re subscribing for that French, Germany or Chinese class please think Amharic too. You don’t won’t 80 million people to gossip about you when you are with them. Do you?