Hello all- I need to figure out how to write more often so that I can tell you everything... Alas, this will have to do.
As usual, so much has happened in the past week. Just in the past two days we have travelled by dalla dalla, by airplane, boat, bus, and foot all over Zanzibar. So let me give you a few highlights.
After taking our ridiculously easy exams a few days ago we had two days off. The first day I spent relaxing with some friends in the morning until we left for (who knew) the beach in the afternoon. We gave ourselves mud baths, played cards on a dock in the sunset, drank ginger sodas on huge couches with big, plush cushions, and relaxed the day away before we went out to see the night life of Stone Town (which never fails to shock me).
The next day was almost as good as the safari day I wrote about last post :) We have all been getting a lot better at Swahili, to the point where we can kind of communicate enough to have real friends who speak Swahili. It is SO awesome. So another girl (Chris) and I went to visit a cave on our day off with a friend. It took about 45 minutes to get there, down deserted gravel roads in a bus packed tight with smiling strangers. We got off at what seemed like a random stop and walked a little bit when we came to a small clearing. We were greeted by two men- one old and wrinkly, the other young and chipper. The younger one brought us down into the cave with a flashlight. It turns out that during the days of Omani sultans in Zanzibar- after the slave trade was abolished- the sultan used to hide hundreds of slaves in this cave. It was pitch black when you turned the light off- and a python lives inside of the cave- so our guide would whistle to make sure we were not about to step on it. He said that he likes to hold it, though, and we shouldn't worry (yeah right!). you could walk about 3 km back into the cave, but we climbed out a small hole about 1/3 of a mile in. It was so cool- Luke you would love to rock climb here, but all the rock is old coral so it is sharp. After the cave, we talked with the man who had shown us around in the cave about America. Everyone wants to know different things about our country- and it is so sweet to hear how (sometimes) misinformed they are. This man wanted to talk about discrimination in the US. He said that they had heard that there was no discrimination in the US, that black people could marry white people, white people could marry Asian people, and anyone would be friends with anyone. We told him that this was true but tried to explain that there was still sometimes racism and discrimination. You could tell that he was so enamored by the idea of equality in the US, I didn't want to tell him too much. :)
After our chat, Chris, our friend (I'm leaving out names intentionally), and I walked to the beach. It is amazing how few people here know how to swim, despite living so close to the ocean (No women really know how to swim)! Our friend didn't know how to swim, so we tried to teach him. He really got the hang of it. It made me realize that there is so much to remember. For example, he kept coming up and saying that his eyes really hurt, and of course they did, because we didn't think to tell him to close his eyes to stop salt water from getting in them! It was so fun to chat and swim and splash in the beautiful water.
The dalla dalla ride home was hilarious- after walking for about a half hour, a bus finally came to pick us up. Picture this: a pickup truck, with a top over the back, PACKED with people, huge stacks of eggs, fruits, and anything you could think of. At one point I mouthed to my friend on the other side of the dalla dalla "Count how many people are here". A few minutes later she looked back and said, I count 65 just on the seats- that wasn't including the people spilling out the sides and on the floor or in the front of the truck. I dont't even know how to describe the trip. BUT it gets better- lucky us- everyone has massive respect for white people so when we got on the bus they tried to make space on the seats. :) I would have been perfectly happy on the floor, but they scooted over, one by one, to make space for me in the corner seat (prime seat). Unfortunately, there were so many people that the people on either side of me's knees met, leaving just a tiny square of open bench. So I flopped down, sitting on top of these two sweet women, knees up to my chin, and laughed hysterically with everyone about the situation. It was so funny. :)
We took a plane to the other island in Zanzibar two days ago (Pemba Island). I am already so in love with the people and the place! The geography is totally different. THere are rolling hills and fertile soil. They grow cloves and jasmine and have salt farms. We are staying with new host families now- and my family is so amazing. The first night, my host "mom" (she's 27) taught me to cook about 8 Swahili dishes, and yesterday we went out to "kutembea" (to walk around) around thte city. We started with 3 of us, but she has so many friends and family that when we stopped there were at least 16 people with us! It was so fun- and they all want to help us learn Swahili and feed us exotic fruits.
Yesterday and today we went to Misali Island (a small, protected island nearby). We snorkeled in the coral gardens, played in the sand - we even saw a sea turtle! Since our lessons from an amazing marine biologist who has been living in Tanzania for about 15 years, we have all learned to identify lots of the fish and coral species. We knoow some molluscs and other invertebrates- like sea squirts and sea slugs and all kinds of things. It is really neat to see the coral reefs and to know that it is healthy because we see butterflyfish and parrotfish and triggerfish and goatfish... I could go on and on. Long story short, I am really enjoying the marine biology part of what we are doing.
Well, I should probably go home to my host family, but I definitely miss you all very much! There isn't much internet on this island (or power at all, really) and we will be here for another week, so I may not get a chance to write emails back to people or on the blog again- but know that I love and miss you and can't wait to hear what you have all been doing! And, of course, to tell you what I have been doing.
Also, I'm getting desperate for a summer job or volunteer opportunity- anybody have any leads? :) Thanks!
Baadaye.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Imagine this....
This may have been the best week of my 20-year long life so far. I can’t possibly tell you everything that happened, but I’ll start with what I think may have been the best day of the best week of my life. My “Birthday”.
Last Saturday I woke up at around 6 to watch the sunrise atop the roof of our six story tall hotel in Dar Es Salaam (six stories is very high for that area- most buildings are about the size of Minnesotan ice houses). I think the smog makes the sunrise more beautiful, as distressing as that thought is. I read my book (The Poisonwood Bible- highly recommended) for an hour before I went down to meet all of my fellow students to go on SAFARI! We ate breakfast and hopped in our land rover (ridiculous in the city but absolutely necessary in the bush).
On the way out of the city we stopped at a market where one of the three cars was swarmed by about 300 screaming children. I swear that sound is unlike anything I have ever heard… It was unbelievable to see that many kids come out of one street dressed in the same blue bottoms and white tops, screaming in unison and running as fast as their little legs could take them- directly at us. While we were stopped I smiled at a woman in another car and she offered me a MONKEY. She wanted to give us this baby monkey… after much debating, we decided against accepting the monkey, but I still wish we had taken it. Afterwards, we drove and drove out into rural Tanzania- we passed through cities made entirely of bright red dirt- the houses, the roads, the landscape, everything is a firey red color. As you drive through each village you hear the screams of children as they come sprinting toward your car screaming, “Mzungu!” We passed pineapple plantations, where they grow most of the pineapple for the entire country. There are papayas, mangoes, coconuts and cassava growing everywhere- and nearly all of the countryside looks like it has been used for slash and burn agriculture in the past few decades. Baobab trees tower over everything else and you can see them way off in the distance. When we drove to the top of a hill and saw the mountains for the first time I swear we all stopped talking.
After about three hours of driving, one of the cars got a flat tire. This might sound bad, but it was a really good thing. We stopped in a town along the way, where another student and I befriended a young girl named Sofia. She took us around the town, introduced us to her friend’s mother, took us to the market, and showed us around a bit. It was so awesome to be able to communicate in Swahili with someone I never imagined I would meet.
Our safari guides drove like madmen. I don’t think I would have been able to visualize the types of roads that we would be driving on before seeing them. But the drivers drove down them at no less than 100 km/hr (is that like 60-65 mph?). They are narrow, to the point where one car might have to drive partly off the road if you want to pass, and enormous trucks full of pineapples or 40 people hanging out the sides or maybe full of mattresses and bricks would come barreling down the road, head-on, at about the same speed. The rules of the road are as follows: the larger of two vehicles honks continuously at the smaller of two (or more) vehicle(s), until the smaller one moves off the road. There is no slowing down, certainly no stopping, unless absolutely necessary. You go faster on straight road, slightly slowed on curvy/bumpy/washed out road, but you never, ever, waste any time. These rules apply to anything on the road- including women with 5 gallon buckets of water on their heads, or bikes carrying enormous heaps of charcoal ar tree branches. It is unbelievable. The two people in the backseat of my car were holding hands, while one clutched a small stuffed animal like her life depended on it. At the moment, I was having a great time- about 15% terrified and 85% thrilled at the adventure. In retrospect, I probably should have reversed those percentages.
As we approached our destination, Saadani National Park, warthogs and baboons greeted us from the trees. After about 5 hours of driving, we pitched our tents and went out on safari. Almost immediately we saw monkeys, baboons, lots of different kinds of antelope-like animals (waterbucks, redbacks, and at least 2-3 other kinds). Off in the distance we saw giraffes, and as we got closer I could see their eyeballs through binoculars. We spotted 2 lions ever so briefly, just their faces among the trees. We drove right up next to small herds of zebras, wildebeasts and water buffalo. It was awesome. I think my favorite was probably the warthogs, though- I never realized that they had blonde-ish Mohawk-like hair and big, poofy mutton chops. And they walk so funny…. Cohabitating with the wildebeasts, but so obviously less graceful. We drove into the lion king-like sunset and came back to our campsite/cabin to eat a delicious dinner prepared over a campfire, including my birthday cake, which was delicious.
I think it was destiny that it would be such a good day, because people were planning to make it special for about a week in advance. My birthday falls on August third (8-3-87) and it just so happens that the date 8-3-87 means MARCH 8 in most of the rest of the world… so a couple nights before March 8, people started asking me when my birthday was. To make a long story short, all of the students figured out it was not going to be my birthday for another 5 months, but we decided to keep it a secret so we could get a cake… and the card that they made was pretty funny (with inscriptions such as: “Happy fake birthday” and “I can’t believe you lied and told me your birthday was in August”) so we decided to have a grand celebration anyways. I told our academic director that it was not my birthday, and even she said to pretend so that we could have a birthday cake. So ridiculous. So we celebrated my birthday, ate cake, and walked about 20 yards out to the Indian Ocean to go swimming.
The night was incredibly clear- the Milky Way has NEVER looked so bright to me, not even in the boundary waters. You can see some of the same constellations as the northern hemisphere, but so many other ones as well. I think there are more stars in the southern hemisphere, personally, or maybe there are just fewer lights. I haven’t figured that one out yet. So the sky was full of sparkles, but the WATER was full of more. If any of you have ever been swimming in the ocean at night you know that there are tiny plankton that light up when you splash- so we swam at night, with the water full of lights and the sky full of lights and a light up Frisbee being thrown on the beach and shooting stars everywhere. It rained that night, and we got drenched our tent, but it was good because we woke up at about 4:50 AM (before our 5:30 wake up call), but enough time to swim in the ocean before our sunrise safari.
So that was one day of our trip- I can’t imagine telling you about every day because each one has crazy adventures like that. We saw hippos and crocodiles on our boat safari the next day, and just the day before that we went sailing to a remote island in a traditional dhow sailing boat, where I saw sting rays and cuddlefish, and squids. We did this thing called a “Manta tow,” where you cling to a wooden plank and get dragged behind a motor boat with a snorkel and mask to see everything in the water quickly. If you tilt the board downwards, you speed under water and can dive way down to get a closer look at sea turtles or coral formations or whatever you want. It was so fun. And we did it with the man who wrote our textbook about the Indian Ocean… It was really cool.
Well, obviously there is more to tell you, but I will leave it at that for now. I miss and love you all. I want to send birthday love to some of you- there are a lot of birthdays in March- especially Megan (my sister- for those of you who haven’t met her), Kayla, and Lauren O. Thanks for the letters James and Jean- I got them this morning and will write back soon! And I know that I’ve had a few people still have trouble calling, so let me reiterate phone numbers. Dial 011 (to get out of the country) 255 (To get to Zanzibar) and then 0777641798 (my phone number). If that doesn’t work- double check the country code for Tanzania/Zanzibar on google.
I also want to ask all of your advice/help on summer plans. I’m pretty sure I want to stay after the program for at least two weeks to travel to the Serengetti, Ngorongoro crater, and Mt. Kilimanjaro, and I might even want to stay after to volunteer somewhere in Tanzania for the summer. I know a lot of you told me you had connections in Tanzania- if you do and think they might like a volunteer for a month or so, please let me know and I will get in contact with them (my email is anna.santo@oberlin.edu). I’m getting nervous about not having a summer job- I applied for a few but have a feeling that I may not get any of them, so I’m trying to figure something out… OR, if any of you know anyone looking for someone to work this summer- PLEASE let me know. It’s definitely harder to find a job in Africa . I would love to work anywhere around the country, so even if it is far away, that is a good thing… I obviously love to travel. THANKS!
Here comes the downpour- the rainy season has begun!!!! Maybe I’ll go splash in the puddles once it calms down.
Last Saturday I woke up at around 6 to watch the sunrise atop the roof of our six story tall hotel in Dar Es Salaam (six stories is very high for that area- most buildings are about the size of Minnesotan ice houses). I think the smog makes the sunrise more beautiful, as distressing as that thought is. I read my book (The Poisonwood Bible- highly recommended) for an hour before I went down to meet all of my fellow students to go on SAFARI! We ate breakfast and hopped in our land rover (ridiculous in the city but absolutely necessary in the bush).
On the way out of the city we stopped at a market where one of the three cars was swarmed by about 300 screaming children. I swear that sound is unlike anything I have ever heard… It was unbelievable to see that many kids come out of one street dressed in the same blue bottoms and white tops, screaming in unison and running as fast as their little legs could take them- directly at us. While we were stopped I smiled at a woman in another car and she offered me a MONKEY. She wanted to give us this baby monkey… after much debating, we decided against accepting the monkey, but I still wish we had taken it. Afterwards, we drove and drove out into rural Tanzania- we passed through cities made entirely of bright red dirt- the houses, the roads, the landscape, everything is a firey red color. As you drive through each village you hear the screams of children as they come sprinting toward your car screaming, “Mzungu!” We passed pineapple plantations, where they grow most of the pineapple for the entire country. There are papayas, mangoes, coconuts and cassava growing everywhere- and nearly all of the countryside looks like it has been used for slash and burn agriculture in the past few decades. Baobab trees tower over everything else and you can see them way off in the distance. When we drove to the top of a hill and saw the mountains for the first time I swear we all stopped talking.
After about three hours of driving, one of the cars got a flat tire. This might sound bad, but it was a really good thing. We stopped in a town along the way, where another student and I befriended a young girl named Sofia. She took us around the town, introduced us to her friend’s mother, took us to the market, and showed us around a bit. It was so awesome to be able to communicate in Swahili with someone I never imagined I would meet.
Our safari guides drove like madmen. I don’t think I would have been able to visualize the types of roads that we would be driving on before seeing them. But the drivers drove down them at no less than 100 km/hr (is that like 60-65 mph?). They are narrow, to the point where one car might have to drive partly off the road if you want to pass, and enormous trucks full of pineapples or 40 people hanging out the sides or maybe full of mattresses and bricks would come barreling down the road, head-on, at about the same speed. The rules of the road are as follows: the larger of two vehicles honks continuously at the smaller of two (or more) vehicle(s), until the smaller one moves off the road. There is no slowing down, certainly no stopping, unless absolutely necessary. You go faster on straight road, slightly slowed on curvy/bumpy/washed out road, but you never, ever, waste any time. These rules apply to anything on the road- including women with 5 gallon buckets of water on their heads, or bikes carrying enormous heaps of charcoal ar tree branches. It is unbelievable. The two people in the backseat of my car were holding hands, while one clutched a small stuffed animal like her life depended on it. At the moment, I was having a great time- about 15% terrified and 85% thrilled at the adventure. In retrospect, I probably should have reversed those percentages.
As we approached our destination, Saadani National Park, warthogs and baboons greeted us from the trees. After about 5 hours of driving, we pitched our tents and went out on safari. Almost immediately we saw monkeys, baboons, lots of different kinds of antelope-like animals (waterbucks, redbacks, and at least 2-3 other kinds). Off in the distance we saw giraffes, and as we got closer I could see their eyeballs through binoculars. We spotted 2 lions ever so briefly, just their faces among the trees. We drove right up next to small herds of zebras, wildebeasts and water buffalo. It was awesome. I think my favorite was probably the warthogs, though- I never realized that they had blonde-ish Mohawk-like hair and big, poofy mutton chops. And they walk so funny…. Cohabitating with the wildebeasts, but so obviously less graceful. We drove into the lion king-like sunset and came back to our campsite/cabin to eat a delicious dinner prepared over a campfire, including my birthday cake, which was delicious.
I think it was destiny that it would be such a good day, because people were planning to make it special for about a week in advance. My birthday falls on August third (8-3-87) and it just so happens that the date 8-3-87 means MARCH 8 in most of the rest of the world… so a couple nights before March 8, people started asking me when my birthday was. To make a long story short, all of the students figured out it was not going to be my birthday for another 5 months, but we decided to keep it a secret so we could get a cake… and the card that they made was pretty funny (with inscriptions such as: “Happy fake birthday” and “I can’t believe you lied and told me your birthday was in August”) so we decided to have a grand celebration anyways. I told our academic director that it was not my birthday, and even she said to pretend so that we could have a birthday cake. So ridiculous. So we celebrated my birthday, ate cake, and walked about 20 yards out to the Indian Ocean to go swimming.
The night was incredibly clear- the Milky Way has NEVER looked so bright to me, not even in the boundary waters. You can see some of the same constellations as the northern hemisphere, but so many other ones as well. I think there are more stars in the southern hemisphere, personally, or maybe there are just fewer lights. I haven’t figured that one out yet. So the sky was full of sparkles, but the WATER was full of more. If any of you have ever been swimming in the ocean at night you know that there are tiny plankton that light up when you splash- so we swam at night, with the water full of lights and the sky full of lights and a light up Frisbee being thrown on the beach and shooting stars everywhere. It rained that night, and we got drenched our tent, but it was good because we woke up at about 4:50 AM (before our 5:30 wake up call), but enough time to swim in the ocean before our sunrise safari.
So that was one day of our trip- I can’t imagine telling you about every day because each one has crazy adventures like that. We saw hippos and crocodiles on our boat safari the next day, and just the day before that we went sailing to a remote island in a traditional dhow sailing boat, where I saw sting rays and cuddlefish, and squids. We did this thing called a “Manta tow,” where you cling to a wooden plank and get dragged behind a motor boat with a snorkel and mask to see everything in the water quickly. If you tilt the board downwards, you speed under water and can dive way down to get a closer look at sea turtles or coral formations or whatever you want. It was so fun. And we did it with the man who wrote our textbook about the Indian Ocean… It was really cool.
Well, obviously there is more to tell you, but I will leave it at that for now. I miss and love you all. I want to send birthday love to some of you- there are a lot of birthdays in March- especially Megan (my sister- for those of you who haven’t met her), Kayla, and Lauren O. Thanks for the letters James and Jean- I got them this morning and will write back soon! And I know that I’ve had a few people still have trouble calling, so let me reiterate phone numbers. Dial 011 (to get out of the country) 255 (To get to Zanzibar) and then 0777641798 (my phone number). If that doesn’t work- double check the country code for Tanzania/Zanzibar on google.
I also want to ask all of your advice/help on summer plans. I’m pretty sure I want to stay after the program for at least two weeks to travel to the Serengetti, Ngorongoro crater, and Mt. Kilimanjaro, and I might even want to stay after to volunteer somewhere in Tanzania for the summer. I know a lot of you told me you had connections in Tanzania- if you do and think they might like a volunteer for a month or so, please let me know and I will get in contact with them (my email is anna.santo@oberlin.edu). I’m getting nervous about not having a summer job- I applied for a few but have a feeling that I may not get any of them, so I’m trying to figure something out… OR, if any of you know anyone looking for someone to work this summer- PLEASE let me know. It’s definitely harder to find a job in Africa . I would love to work anywhere around the country, so even if it is far away, that is a good thing… I obviously love to travel. THANKS!
Here comes the downpour- the rainy season has begun!!!! Maybe I’ll go splash in the puddles once it calms down.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Niko wapi?
Translated: Where am I?
We made it to the GIANT city of Dar Es Salaam (Translation- "Haven of Peace") where we are taking classes at the University for a few days. I can't believe how enormous this city seems. Maybe it's because every street looks exactly the same to me, with dirt roads, huge, filthy trenches, fruit stands and french fry/chicken vendors, and people zooming past in every direction at alarming speeds on bicycles, or down the "sidewalks" in minivans and taxis.. or maybe it's because I'm used to vertical cities with tall skyscrapers and and tall people everywhere, and the one story shacks that are everywhere let you see for miles and miles... or maybe it is just because the city is gigantic. I still haven't figured it out. For whatever reason, though, each time I ask for directions I find myself going the exact opposite direction that I expected to go, only to find myself at the desired destination. It's like the largest-scale game of hide and seek I have ever played, except I don't speak the same language as anyone and there are new, unusual smells around every corner. ANd everyone wants to help you, but there is an insurmountable language barrier. It is so fun.
Last night 10 of us piled onto an already over-capacity Dalla-Dalla to go into town. It would not be an exaggeration to estimate 25-30 people on that one minivan. It was ridiculous. At one point we thought we lost someone along the side of the street. "Where's Chuck?" someone said... turns out they had ushered him up, along with a couple of other people, to the front, left side of the van where the passenger's seats are. Everytime I see someone in that seat, though, I can't help but think that they're driving (the driver is on the right side of the van). Naturally, I thought Chuck was driving the van for a moment. :)
When we arrived downtown we walked around in circles for at least an hour. We met a man who was an aspiring musician security guard who said that if we came back he would sing us no less than 5 songs that had been inspired by bird sounds. We found a really strange fast food court in the middle of nowhere, saw the hotel where Bush stayed when he was here, and circled back to where we had come from. Before getting back on a Dalla Dalla, though, I naturally received a marriage proposal (they still crack me up- This one went like this: "Where are you from?" "America" "Oh, good, I need an American fiancee- are you ready?" "Gotta go. See you later" Run away....). After all of our adventuring, we got on a bus back towards the hotel... but we quickly discovered it didn't go to the hotel. So we had lots of young guys trying to help us 10 wazungu (westerners) get back to the Rombo View hotel. It was so funny. We passed by flaming trees and and the Bollywood Disco, saw people out drinking everywhere and businessmen on their way back from downtown (around 9:30). There is always so much activity in this city , but at the same time it seems like nothing is going on anywhere. People just lounge around in any place that seems suitable.
The boat over here was so cool. I got to ride on the front with a bunch of other students. You could see schools of fish was off in the distance and close by, beautiful old sailboats that must have sailed for days to get so far out in the ocean, and islands all over the place. It was amazing and I took about a thousand pictures, so I'm sure you will all be seeing them. :) Dar Es Salaam was quite a sight from the water- big buildings unlike anything we've seen in the past month, boats everywhere, and SO MANY people.
On a totally different note: I conquered my first experience with international medical care. I got pretty sick a few days ago (maybe a week) and ended up going to the doctor. He treated me for malaria, though he never tested me for it... (Hmmm. Strange). Anyways, I got better, but I don't think I had malaria... I think it was probably something I ate. Anyways, I stopped throwing up and started sleeping, so I was very happy. But the trip was quite an experience. They wanted to take me to the hospital to keep me on an IV to not lose liquids, but I refused, imagining the alternatives of our hotel or the hospital... So instead I got a shot in the "bum" as he described it (His technique was very comical). In restrospect, the situation was really funny. My friend Chris came with me- and she witnessed the whole thing. I am so glad she came, though... I don't think I would have made it without her. :) Now I feel better, so now worries family.
A few days ago we went to an ecoreserve called Chumbe Island where there is a protected coral reef. We saw sting rays, squids, trumpetfish, parrotfish, and dozens of kinds of fish. At htis one reef alone there are 200 species of coral. It was amazing. The United Nations Environmental Program and other organizations have given it all kinds of awards. If you are interested, you should google it and learn more. It was unbelievable. AND they have the world's largest crab on that island. It's endangered-- it's called the coconut crab. It gets to be 2-3 feet long or so. We saw one sleeping in a crack of an old coral bed. SO COOL.
Another thing that is really different here is electricity. It often just doesn't exist. I bet the power goes out 6-8 times a day for various amounts of time... It went out for about 3-4 days in Stone Town when we were there (That was during the doctor incident). It isn't so much a problem for us because we buy or filter water anyway, but my homesaty family was telling me that they have to go buy water every time that happens- for about 30 cents a gallon (which is a lot here). It's a really big problem with government infrastructure. I don't know how many people heard about the scandal with the Tanzanian Prime Minister and power supply in the country- he resigned a few weeks ago because they discovered that he and several other officials had been pocketing money that was supposedly going to a fraudulent electricity company in the US rather than relieving the power shortage around the country. It's a big deal here.
Well, today is our day off so we're going to hop a bus to a nearby forest where our academic director has a friend who is a yoga master. I think we're going to spend the afternoon digging in the garden, doing yoga, and going to the beach. Not too bad, huh? I love you all. Hope things are good... Those of you in MN- hang in there- I heard spring is coming after the long, bleak midwinter... :) I'll send sunshine and sunburns your way.
We made it to the GIANT city of Dar Es Salaam (Translation- "Haven of Peace") where we are taking classes at the University for a few days. I can't believe how enormous this city seems. Maybe it's because every street looks exactly the same to me, with dirt roads, huge, filthy trenches, fruit stands and french fry/chicken vendors, and people zooming past in every direction at alarming speeds on bicycles, or down the "sidewalks" in minivans and taxis.. or maybe it's because I'm used to vertical cities with tall skyscrapers and and tall people everywhere, and the one story shacks that are everywhere let you see for miles and miles... or maybe it is just because the city is gigantic. I still haven't figured it out. For whatever reason, though, each time I ask for directions I find myself going the exact opposite direction that I expected to go, only to find myself at the desired destination. It's like the largest-scale game of hide and seek I have ever played, except I don't speak the same language as anyone and there are new, unusual smells around every corner. ANd everyone wants to help you, but there is an insurmountable language barrier. It is so fun.
Last night 10 of us piled onto an already over-capacity Dalla-Dalla to go into town. It would not be an exaggeration to estimate 25-30 people on that one minivan. It was ridiculous. At one point we thought we lost someone along the side of the street. "Where's Chuck?" someone said... turns out they had ushered him up, along with a couple of other people, to the front, left side of the van where the passenger's seats are. Everytime I see someone in that seat, though, I can't help but think that they're driving (the driver is on the right side of the van). Naturally, I thought Chuck was driving the van for a moment. :)
When we arrived downtown we walked around in circles for at least an hour. We met a man who was an aspiring musician security guard who said that if we came back he would sing us no less than 5 songs that had been inspired by bird sounds. We found a really strange fast food court in the middle of nowhere, saw the hotel where Bush stayed when he was here, and circled back to where we had come from. Before getting back on a Dalla Dalla, though, I naturally received a marriage proposal (they still crack me up- This one went like this: "Where are you from?" "America" "Oh, good, I need an American fiancee- are you ready?" "Gotta go. See you later" Run away....). After all of our adventuring, we got on a bus back towards the hotel... but we quickly discovered it didn't go to the hotel. So we had lots of young guys trying to help us 10 wazungu (westerners) get back to the Rombo View hotel. It was so funny. We passed by flaming trees and and the Bollywood Disco, saw people out drinking everywhere and businessmen on their way back from downtown (around 9:30). There is always so much activity in this city , but at the same time it seems like nothing is going on anywhere. People just lounge around in any place that seems suitable.
The boat over here was so cool. I got to ride on the front with a bunch of other students. You could see schools of fish was off in the distance and close by, beautiful old sailboats that must have sailed for days to get so far out in the ocean, and islands all over the place. It was amazing and I took about a thousand pictures, so I'm sure you will all be seeing them. :) Dar Es Salaam was quite a sight from the water- big buildings unlike anything we've seen in the past month, boats everywhere, and SO MANY people.
On a totally different note: I conquered my first experience with international medical care. I got pretty sick a few days ago (maybe a week) and ended up going to the doctor. He treated me for malaria, though he never tested me for it... (Hmmm. Strange). Anyways, I got better, but I don't think I had malaria... I think it was probably something I ate. Anyways, I stopped throwing up and started sleeping, so I was very happy. But the trip was quite an experience. They wanted to take me to the hospital to keep me on an IV to not lose liquids, but I refused, imagining the alternatives of our hotel or the hospital... So instead I got a shot in the "bum" as he described it (His technique was very comical). In restrospect, the situation was really funny. My friend Chris came with me- and she witnessed the whole thing. I am so glad she came, though... I don't think I would have made it without her. :) Now I feel better, so now worries family.
A few days ago we went to an ecoreserve called Chumbe Island where there is a protected coral reef. We saw sting rays, squids, trumpetfish, parrotfish, and dozens of kinds of fish. At htis one reef alone there are 200 species of coral. It was amazing. The United Nations Environmental Program and other organizations have given it all kinds of awards. If you are interested, you should google it and learn more. It was unbelievable. AND they have the world's largest crab on that island. It's endangered-- it's called the coconut crab. It gets to be 2-3 feet long or so. We saw one sleeping in a crack of an old coral bed. SO COOL.
Another thing that is really different here is electricity. It often just doesn't exist. I bet the power goes out 6-8 times a day for various amounts of time... It went out for about 3-4 days in Stone Town when we were there (That was during the doctor incident). It isn't so much a problem for us because we buy or filter water anyway, but my homesaty family was telling me that they have to go buy water every time that happens- for about 30 cents a gallon (which is a lot here). It's a really big problem with government infrastructure. I don't know how many people heard about the scandal with the Tanzanian Prime Minister and power supply in the country- he resigned a few weeks ago because they discovered that he and several other officials had been pocketing money that was supposedly going to a fraudulent electricity company in the US rather than relieving the power shortage around the country. It's a big deal here.
Well, today is our day off so we're going to hop a bus to a nearby forest where our academic director has a friend who is a yoga master. I think we're going to spend the afternoon digging in the garden, doing yoga, and going to the beach. Not too bad, huh? I love you all. Hope things are good... Those of you in MN- hang in there- I heard spring is coming after the long, bleak midwinter... :) I'll send sunshine and sunburns your way.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Pick your dinner from a tree...
Yesterday, as a group, we took a bus to the other end of Unguja island (about 60 km away, I believe) and stopped along the way to see seaweed farms, boat building, the fish markets, a sea turtle sanctuary, and a few other places. We passed through lots of villages, all very different- where the huts were made of bright red mud, white coral and lyme, palm-thatched roofs, or homemade cement blocks. As we were driving, though, I realized that the scenery that we were seeing could have been from a hundred years ago and I don't think it would have looked any different. There were no identifying markers that we were living in the 21st century-- that's when I started talking with another guy here (Nick- from Idaho) about how time just seems different here. At home, everything is very linear, and you do things for a reason. I feel like I always have a goal in mind at home. Here- time is more circular. People just hang out everywhere on benches, on tires, in the shade, at home, on the streets... Most people aren't going anywhere or trying to accomplish anything in particular, they're just living. It's weird how there's such a little sense of the future-- everything is about the present. Someone said to us that in Zanzibar there is no stability of the future, and I think it makes so much sense. People here die so young but live so joyously. I can't really explain it, I guess, but I'm starting to understand it...
It's also really strange to have people, especially kids, ask you for things that seem so basic. Yesterday I had kids ask me for water, for pens, for paper, for food. I was in an elementary school about a week and a half ago, and they were telling me that there is no potable water in the school. A group of German people donated a water tank for them to fill with water for the kids, but they didn't have the $250 to build a stand for it. So kids have to go home from school to get water to drink when they are thirsty. It's crazy to me because I know that where I grew up, if an entire school was without potable water and it was going to cost $250 to install it, the money would come instantly. Here, though, in the entire village nobody had even a fraction of that to spend on water. Monthly salaries are around $50-80, and like the family I am staying with, that might have to support 8 people. It's really a different world. I wish Mr. Bush would donate a little more money for kids to have water...
Also -side note- yesterday on our drive home the bus got a flat tire, so we all got out of the bus in the middle of what seemed like nowhere, but LOTS of people came, including a man with a monkey on a leash. He let us pet it and play with it- it was pretty funny to see everyone jump every time the monkey made a sudden movement. Laurie- I thought Jared might like that... :)
Today is our last day with our homestay families. To say goodbye- my family gave me this lovely pink dress and khanga and painted my hands and feet with beautiful henna. We had a reception yesterday with all of the families- I have never seen so many kids in one room. My family alone brought nine of them (3 were neighbors, the rest live with us). Later my mom is going to teach me how to cook Chipatti! I've had a really great time living with them, and I'm sad to leave, but I am SO EXCITED for the next part of our trip! We are going to another island tomorrow, and ion 2 days we're going to Dar Es Saalam for 2 weeks! THEN, we are going on safari for two days- to see hippos! I can't wait.
Well, the power is out everywhere in the city (I think this place has a generator), so I'm going home to our candlelit home. But I will send more news soon!
PS Janine- thank you for the letter- it was so great to see pictures of everyone!
PPS Bad news about the pictures- none of the internet places have a fast enough connection to upload pictures, but I will keep trying. I tried to upload one and it still hadn't loaded after about 10 minutes... Oh well.
It's also really strange to have people, especially kids, ask you for things that seem so basic. Yesterday I had kids ask me for water, for pens, for paper, for food. I was in an elementary school about a week and a half ago, and they were telling me that there is no potable water in the school. A group of German people donated a water tank for them to fill with water for the kids, but they didn't have the $250 to build a stand for it. So kids have to go home from school to get water to drink when they are thirsty. It's crazy to me because I know that where I grew up, if an entire school was without potable water and it was going to cost $250 to install it, the money would come instantly. Here, though, in the entire village nobody had even a fraction of that to spend on water. Monthly salaries are around $50-80, and like the family I am staying with, that might have to support 8 people. It's really a different world. I wish Mr. Bush would donate a little more money for kids to have water...
Also -side note- yesterday on our drive home the bus got a flat tire, so we all got out of the bus in the middle of what seemed like nowhere, but LOTS of people came, including a man with a monkey on a leash. He let us pet it and play with it- it was pretty funny to see everyone jump every time the monkey made a sudden movement. Laurie- I thought Jared might like that... :)
Today is our last day with our homestay families. To say goodbye- my family gave me this lovely pink dress and khanga and painted my hands and feet with beautiful henna. We had a reception yesterday with all of the families- I have never seen so many kids in one room. My family alone brought nine of them (3 were neighbors, the rest live with us). Later my mom is going to teach me how to cook Chipatti! I've had a really great time living with them, and I'm sad to leave, but I am SO EXCITED for the next part of our trip! We are going to another island tomorrow, and ion 2 days we're going to Dar Es Saalam for 2 weeks! THEN, we are going on safari for two days- to see hippos! I can't wait.
Well, the power is out everywhere in the city (I think this place has a generator), so I'm going home to our candlelit home. But I will send more news soon!
PS Janine- thank you for the letter- it was so great to see pictures of everyone!
PPS Bad news about the pictures- none of the internet places have a fast enough connection to upload pictures, but I will keep trying. I tried to upload one and it still hadn't loaded after about 10 minutes... Oh well.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Mambo
Hello again! It's great to hear that everyone is doing really well. Zanzibar continues to be paradise... Beaches and boats, giant clams and 2 foot long sea cucumbers.
I realized today that in the past 48 hours I have received at least 4 marriage proposals. Some of them were typical requests, such as, "Will you marry me?" While others were more demanding- "I will marry you. I will come with you to America tomorrow with Mr. Bush to get married!" Others, yet, were more round-about. For instance, "I want to tell you the story of how we got married. Will you sit with me and listen to my story," and, "take me back in your suitcase so we can get married" I think I should start keeping a journal of all of the funny one-liners that people use on us.
I'm definitely having a lesson in frugality here. The other day we went to the beach on our day off. I thought I was going to buy 3 mangoes for 1000 Tsh to share with everyone (note $1=1200 Tsh), but the man I bought them from gave me two extras... so 5 mangoes for less than a dollar. It's insane! But it's also really unbelievable to see some of the poverty... Even though the mangoes were literally dimes, many families can't afford them. I think it's giving us all a really new perspective on the distribution of wealth in this world.
Well, class in 5 minutes, gotta go. Happy Birthday, Laurie-- I hope it was a good one!
I also wanted to tell everyone that I goofed up with my phone number. I think you call this number: 011 255 0777641798. Maybe that will work for those of you who said the other one didn't. :) What an adventure. Later!
I realized today that in the past 48 hours I have received at least 4 marriage proposals. Some of them were typical requests, such as, "Will you marry me?" While others were more demanding- "I will marry you. I will come with you to America tomorrow with Mr. Bush to get married!" Others, yet, were more round-about. For instance, "I want to tell you the story of how we got married. Will you sit with me and listen to my story," and, "take me back in your suitcase so we can get married" I think I should start keeping a journal of all of the funny one-liners that people use on us.
I'm definitely having a lesson in frugality here. The other day we went to the beach on our day off. I thought I was going to buy 3 mangoes for 1000 Tsh to share with everyone (note $1=1200 Tsh), but the man I bought them from gave me two extras... so 5 mangoes for less than a dollar. It's insane! But it's also really unbelievable to see some of the poverty... Even though the mangoes were literally dimes, many families can't afford them. I think it's giving us all a really new perspective on the distribution of wealth in this world.
Well, class in 5 minutes, gotta go. Happy Birthday, Laurie-- I hope it was a good one!
I also wanted to tell everyone that I goofed up with my phone number. I think you call this number: 011 255 0777641798. Maybe that will work for those of you who said the other one didn't. :) What an adventure. Later!
Friday, February 15, 2008
Sikukukumbuka. I'll give you ten Shillings if you can figure out what that means...
Hello again! Thanks for all the emails- it is so fantastic to hear from everyone.
Zanzibar just keeps getting better... We are all staying with our host families now (for 2 weeks) and it has been really awesome to get to know families who have lived in stone town for literally generations. My family is really ridiculous- there are 6 children, ages 15, 8, 5, 4, 2, 7 months, and two parents, so it ends up being absolute chaos in the house. My new Swahili name is Aysha-- and the youngest son runs around screaming at the top of his lungs, Eshe, Eshe, Eshe. My host mother says that he's in love with me and my sister says she thinks we should get married. I'm considering, but I'll have to consult with my parents first... to work out the dowry and everything.
Both of my host parents speak English, but we don't really speak much at home. I spend a lot of time listening and making funny faces at the little kids. They have been really good to me.
We're in the thick of school now, but it didn't take me long to realize that the experiential learning part of this program means minimal homework. We have class for 6-8 hours a day (4 hours of Swahili, 2 hours of Coastal Ecology seminars, and sometimes another 2 hour lecture- we had one on Zanzibari history and one on Islamic culture this week). I really love our Swahili classes- we have two teachers, Almasi and Bi. Asia. Bi Asia is, without a doubt, among the most jovial people I have ever met. She is basically a mother to all of us and I will be so sad when Swahili ends in a week. But she's coming on our adventure to another island in a few weeks, so that's when we'll really show her a good time.
We usually have a few hours in the middle of each day to wander the world and see the sights. Two days ago, some of us hopped on a DalaDala (minibus) for about 25 cents and went to the beach outside of Stone Town. It was SO amazing. It was low tide so we walked out probably 1/4 mile through bubble crab sand balls, then through thick mud, past the mangroves out to a little rock peninsula... And the only other people that were there were some kids having a rock fight (note: bring more toys for kids). As we walked further out into the water we all saw these bright red things in the water, so we picked one up-- it was the most beautiful, bright red, orancge, and tan, opaque starfish I have ever seen. It looked like a creature straight out of the stone age. After enough of us had cut our feet on things we couldn't see we all sat around watching the microscopic crabs scurry all over the rocks. And sunbathed... all before we went back to class.
My first introduction into the Muslim world has been really interesting. I feel like there is so much that I have always tried to understand about the religion and culture that only took me a few days to understand while living here. The calls to worship (prayer is 5 times a day) are so beautiful- the first is around 5:15 AM, but I'm usually stirring about around that time anyway. (I definitely haven't mastered sleeping in a new place yet). Yesterday we had a lecture where we talked about gender roles, polygamy, the pillars of the reilgion, etc. I'm trying really hard not to judge gender roles in this society, but there is so much that is still so foreign to me... For example, we learned that a man can divorce his wife simply by uttering 'I divorce you' in front of two people, whereas a woman can only divorce a man if she presents her case to a high court. A man may also decide within 3 months that he wants to remarry the wife he recently divorced and she must accept (he can do this up to three times before it is no longer valid). I am really interested to learn more about the religion.
Well, I have to go back to class soon... but I WILL put up pictures soon. It's just an issue of bringing cameras and cables to internet cafes... but they will come soon. I love you all! I miss you all (but not enough to come home yet)!
Zanzibar just keeps getting better... We are all staying with our host families now (for 2 weeks) and it has been really awesome to get to know families who have lived in stone town for literally generations. My family is really ridiculous- there are 6 children, ages 15, 8, 5, 4, 2, 7 months, and two parents, so it ends up being absolute chaos in the house. My new Swahili name is Aysha-- and the youngest son runs around screaming at the top of his lungs, Eshe, Eshe, Eshe. My host mother says that he's in love with me and my sister says she thinks we should get married. I'm considering, but I'll have to consult with my parents first... to work out the dowry and everything.
Both of my host parents speak English, but we don't really speak much at home. I spend a lot of time listening and making funny faces at the little kids. They have been really good to me.
We're in the thick of school now, but it didn't take me long to realize that the experiential learning part of this program means minimal homework. We have class for 6-8 hours a day (4 hours of Swahili, 2 hours of Coastal Ecology seminars, and sometimes another 2 hour lecture- we had one on Zanzibari history and one on Islamic culture this week). I really love our Swahili classes- we have two teachers, Almasi and Bi. Asia. Bi Asia is, without a doubt, among the most jovial people I have ever met. She is basically a mother to all of us and I will be so sad when Swahili ends in a week. But she's coming on our adventure to another island in a few weeks, so that's when we'll really show her a good time.
We usually have a few hours in the middle of each day to wander the world and see the sights. Two days ago, some of us hopped on a DalaDala (minibus) for about 25 cents and went to the beach outside of Stone Town. It was SO amazing. It was low tide so we walked out probably 1/4 mile through bubble crab sand balls, then through thick mud, past the mangroves out to a little rock peninsula... And the only other people that were there were some kids having a rock fight (note: bring more toys for kids). As we walked further out into the water we all saw these bright red things in the water, so we picked one up-- it was the most beautiful, bright red, orancge, and tan, opaque starfish I have ever seen. It looked like a creature straight out of the stone age. After enough of us had cut our feet on things we couldn't see we all sat around watching the microscopic crabs scurry all over the rocks. And sunbathed... all before we went back to class.
My first introduction into the Muslim world has been really interesting. I feel like there is so much that I have always tried to understand about the religion and culture that only took me a few days to understand while living here. The calls to worship (prayer is 5 times a day) are so beautiful- the first is around 5:15 AM, but I'm usually stirring about around that time anyway. (I definitely haven't mastered sleeping in a new place yet). Yesterday we had a lecture where we talked about gender roles, polygamy, the pillars of the reilgion, etc. I'm trying really hard not to judge gender roles in this society, but there is so much that is still so foreign to me... For example, we learned that a man can divorce his wife simply by uttering 'I divorce you' in front of two people, whereas a woman can only divorce a man if she presents her case to a high court. A man may also decide within 3 months that he wants to remarry the wife he recently divorced and she must accept (he can do this up to three times before it is no longer valid). I am really interested to learn more about the religion.
Well, I have to go back to class soon... but I WILL put up pictures soon. It's just an issue of bringing cameras and cables to internet cafes... but they will come soon. I love you all! I miss you all (but not enough to come home yet)!
Sunday, February 10, 2008
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).
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).
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