Neno hili lina maana gani? (What does that word mean?)

After much toil, the blog is finally back up and running. Sorry to all of you who sent emails saying it wasn't working. Let me know if there are still problems.

SO MUCH has happened in the past week and a half it is really difficult to start telling you all about it... but I'll try my best! I left Minneapolis for New York on January 31 and didn't get to Zanzibar until 11 PM February 2-- I flew from Minneapolis to JFK in New York, New YOrk to Dubai, Dubai to Nairobi, Nairobi to Kiliminjaro, Kiliminjaro to Zanzibar. It was an epic several days, but the planes that travel half way across the world are very posh. It was almost impossible to be bored (Kate- I watched the Bee Movie and HSM2 for you). THe man sitting next to me watched friends all the way across the Atlantic and Europe. It was really amusing. And I sat next to some interesting characters, too... For example, I sat next to a Chinese Kenyan man who had been living in Singapore for several years. He had a lot of questions regarding "sporks"-- apparently he was under the impression that Americans were obsessed with the spoon-fork hybrid. The trip was really good- long and exhausting, but good- and it was great to meet everyone who would be on the trip during our many, many hours of boredom in airports. :)

Zanzibar is awesome! The streets are only a few feet wide and you can't see more than 50 or so yards in front of you. It's SO easy to get lost.. It's really beautiful and the people are incredibly friendly. I was very surprised how many people speak English here- and it's not just because of American tourists. It's common to see Zanzibari peope speaking English with people from all over the world, including some other Zanzibaris. Naturally, there are english words everywhere. For example, people will say "Mambo" to you, to which you can respond, "Fresh". It would be really easy to speak English the entire time I was here, but I hope to be able to use evweryone's English to help me learn Kiswahili!

We have already gone on some amazing adventures. One of the first days we were here we geared up in our snorkels, flippers, masks and SCUBA booties and took two boats out into the Indian Ocean. We snorkeled near a shipwreck and saw amazing things-- like pufferfish. I swam with a student from the Marine Institute who taught me the names of many of the fish. After we got back in the boat they brought us to a deserted sand island, built a shelter and we ate lunch along the beach. The next day we got onto a Dala Dala (Minibus) and drove to the rural village of Kizimkazi. Along the way we stopped at a butterfly project site where they raise butterflies for educational purposes. We also stopped at Zala Park, where a boy Ramadan, who couldn't have been much more than 20 showed us many native Zanzibari species. It was really amusing-- there were cement walls to the "cages" (some as short as one or two feet) with all kinds of crazy animals that he had caught himself. He tracked down chameleons, these giant crabs, LOTS of poisonous and dangerous snakes (including Mambos and Pythons), giant lizard-things (I forgot the name), mini antelopes, monkeys, etc. He took us around to see and hold all of the animals (it was really funny to watch our academic director freak out when we held the pythons and other dangerous animals...). It was a really great way to keep the animals for educational purposes- and ot protect them. Mot of them could have easily left, but Ramadan took such good care of them that they apparently had no reason to leave. It was in the middle of the jungle- with monkeys jumping over our heads. I still chuckle when I visualize this very small man tracking down and capturing these enormous, incredibly dangerous snakes. Heh.

Kizimkazi was a really neat place as well. We went there to study Swahili intensively and to learn about marine mammals. Swahili is going okay... it's still really difficult to understand anything, but I think I am getting the hang of it. We are all really good at being polite to people. I guess for only studying for a week we are all doimg okay. On occasion we really screw up, though. For example, today in class someone confused "Kumi" (the humber 10) with "Kuma", which I will let you look up at your own disgression. :) In Kizimkazi we walked through the village in small groups assigned to things we were to find out about the village. Unfortunately, our group asked someone which way to town, and while they appeared to understand us, they pointed us toward the next town over. So after an hour or so of walking, we arrived at the next town- the OTHER Kizimkazi. It was funny, though, because when we were there we ran into the students from the marine institute that we had been snorkeling with on the beach (ufukwe) a few days earlier. They were dissecting a dolphin that had died and washed up on shore... there were dozens of men gathered around weighing pieces of the animal and jut watching. It was really cool.

We were staying right next to the beach- and taking classes ina gazebo on the oceanside. During our breaks we'd go hunting for shells or swimming in the water. Talk about amazing. It made Oberlin look pretty bad... At night we walked out into the water (low tide was at night) and found Octopi and sea cucumbers, crabs, eels, fish, jellyfish, sea horses, and tons of stuff that no one had ANY idea what it might have been. And bioluminescence will never, ever, stop being cool to me. Amazing.

The next morning we went out on a boat with people from the marine institute at 6:30 AM to see the dolphins before many tourists arrived (there was a little bit of tourism there...). We found a pod of around 60 dolphins and they let us jump in the water and swim with them (with snorkels, etc). It was amazing. You could see them playing, feeding, jumping, and could hear them... we swam with them for probably a half an hour to an hour before we came back in. The only down side of swimming in the Indian Ocean is the jellyfish- they REALLY hurt when they sting you- and they're everywhere. One girl had an allergic reaction to a sting. She had hives, couldn't stop shaking, was curled up feeling freezing cold, and she said her muscles were so tight that they were incredibly painful and she could hardly speak. It was really crazy- but there is a girl here who spent last semster living on a boat and she said it used to happen to people all of the time. We'll see... The girl is better now, but it was pretty scary.

Right now in Zanzibar (Stone TOwn) there is a big music festival called "Busara". There are TONS of people there, mostly Mzungu (european), and music from all over Africa- a big emphasis on West Africa. I can't wait to show people little video clips of the musicians singing and dancing. It's absolutely beautiful. We will go tonight for the third night in a row... Last night I met some people from Minnesota! They are living and teaching at an international school in Dar Es Saalam. One of them had spent the past several years in THailand, another had spent the last three years in Bangladesh... They said that when they go to the internaitonal school job fairs there are usually 900 jobs and only 300 people, so they can choose to go to pretty much any country that they would like. It made me really want to teach at one of those schools (DOnna-- you definitely shoul consider).

Tonight I am staying with my host family for the first time. There is a baba na mama (father and mother) and 4 dada (sisters) and 2 kaka (brothers). They are wonderful- I will tell you more about them soon. So far my Swahili is so bad that I can't really say/understand anything. Both parents speak English well, though, so hopefully I will learn Swahili fast enough to get to know the kids before the two weeks are up! :)

I hope to put pictures and videos up soon! I haven't quite figured that out yet... but I really want to make sure you all get to see them because everything looks, smells, tastes, and sounds really different here! It's absolutely wonderful. I love and miss you all- I will keep you updated on everything here! Kwa herini (good bye)! Baadaye (later)!

PS I got a cell phone-- feel free to call it. You dial 024 0777641798 (I think). I am probably 8-9 hours later than you (depending on where you are).