Learned something goofy about life in Mogadishu today. It's about shukaansi, which according to an online Somali-English dictionary means "courting" or "wooing"

I heard this telephone shukaansi is very popular and you don't even have to know who you are calling.

Waxaa la dhahaa "Ku Nasiibso" meaning "try your luck" which means you call any number in Muqdisho and if a female answers you have your date provided she is willing to talk to you and doesn't hang up on you.

My mother ignored my telephone calls few times before when I called her during evenings in Muqdisho. Her explanation was that I should have called the usual times she expected to recieve calls from me to avoid other callers from the city who are looking for women to seduce. Very funny.