It is definitely the rainy season here. Every day, for at least 1-2 hours, it pours buckets. Today, as my friend and I walked to town, we had to plow through areas of many inches of carrot-juice colored flowing water. I think we are quite the spectacle, two Americans, me wearing a bright yellow raincoat and her wearing an ankle-length green poncho, trudging through small rivers while everyone leans out their windowns screaming at us, welcoming us into their homes. I can't help but laugh at what they might be thinking.
It is now time for us to choose anything we want to study individually- we have finished our marine biology classes and have all split up all over the country. My friend Chris and I returned to Pemba Island, where we were before, to come live at the Essential Oil Distillery and learn to make different essential oils. Our little home is very cozy- with bright green walls, blue doors, yellow plaid sheets and little wooden shutters. Right outside of our front door is a jasmine plant, two toads that hang out near our doorstep, a field of lemnongrass and a field of sweet basil. I really love it so far.
We took the night boat to Pemba- it left arouind 10 pM and arrived around 6 AM. It was a surreal experience. I mostly remember a lot of thick fog, mist, spray, some huge waves, freezing cold air conditioning, and people coughing the entire way. I got up and went outside around 4 AM and couldn't even see to the end of the boat. I felt like we were in The Perfect Storm. :) While I might have slept, I really have no idea whether I did or not.
Last night we tried to cook our first meal in the kitchen- but when we arrived it was locked. After several phone calls and several visits from strangers, a man arrived with the key. Unfortunately, we absolutely could not communicate with this man on any level. After he left, we made a delicious soup, and just as it was almost finished, he returned with someone who might have been his son (?). We quickly found out that the only word that we knew in common with each other was "Roast" because he took one look at our soup and assumed it was a roast. I bet he repeated that word at least 20 times before our conversation was over, and I think that to this moment he still thinks that we had made a roast last night. We offered him some to try, so that he would believe us that is was, in fact, something other than "Roast", but I think he feared our American concoction. It was really funny...
One of the things that still amazes me after living here for more than 2 months is the fact that every single person that we see wants to greet us. CHris and I befriended a hotel manager who offered to put us up for free in his hotel the other night. We accepted, went and spent an awesomely luxurious night lounging in a seaside pool and listening to drums on the beach, and the next morning rented bicycles and rode across the island. It was so funny to ride through little villages where I swear every single person who saw you would not only greet you, but scream greetings at the top of their lungs until you a) responded, b) were out of sight, or c) they ran out of breath. I wish I could record the sound and play it back to you- it is unlike any sound I have ever heard in the US. It's also funny to think about how they greet you- I'm not sure if it is a cultural difference or a language barrier- but the way that people greet us is so hilarious. For example, a common one, "Hello how are you i love you welcome!" or "Hello how are you welcome home come closer". We receive at least 3-5 marriage proposals a day, and now have an impressive set of reasons that we could recite of why it is better to marry a Zanzibari man than an american man.
Well, my half hour of internet is up. I miss you and love you all... Big decisions for summer plans are pending. I so far have 0 job options, 1 offer for a marine ornithology class in Alaska, and several options that I'm still waiting to hear back from. Later, gators.
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