arrival: zanzibar

mmmm I haven’t had a blog since Xanga was the rage back in high school…

My mother claims that in order to start, I must make it short and sweet so as not to intimidate myself

Oh dear… Blogs are weird to me for the following reasons:

1) who am I writing to???

Actually that’s the main reason…

As certain people can 

attest

I have no problem expressing 

myself 

through voluminous amounts of typing, 

however 

this is because I know to whom I am addressing

my words

I apologize for my ridiculous vocabulary, but this happens to be how I feel like communicating today

I will present to you proof that I have indeed arrived to a foreign country:

Exhibit A: my passport now indicates that, if I so desire, I am allowed to reside in Tanzania until September 9^th, 2011

Exhibit B: although a sign in a foreign language proves little – we could be in New York at that rate – I am currently studying at the Taasisi ya Kiswahili na Lugha za Kigeni, or the Institute of Kiswahili and Foreign Languages (IKFL). Locally known as the Taasisi. By locally, I mean Stone Town, Zanzibar!

Exhibit C: the neighborhood in which I stay with a local family is filled with palm trees, and every surface of the ground is considered an acceptable place to throw your trash – don’t worry, the trash fairies will take care of it! This is a very nice and clean corner of the village

Exhibit D: my current residence, where I stay with Mama Thambra, her sister, her daughter Marium, and Marium’s 2 children – Zowena (7) and Mundhil (16 – returned to boarding school now that Ramadan is over). Have my own room and bathroom, and 3 home-cooked meals a day! [I believe that’s some water tower-thingy above the door, but running water is spotty. 50% of showers are via bucket –actually quite refreshing and simple]

Exhibit E: the courtyard of the house where we eat dinner on a mat on the floor, and which is usually filled with various transient neighborhood guests. The assorted buckets hold water when the aforementioned water tower thing is inoperable.

Exhibit F: transportation used go outside the city – “daladala,” a kind of open-air bus/truckbed type thing? Now picture this, but with 25 people in the space you now see just 8 people sitting…add buckets/bags/chickens/children on the floor, and 10 men standing on the back bumper. Whatever you do, you don’t want to be caught sitting in the corner…you won’t be able to slip a piece of paper in between your knees. If you think they can’t fit anymore, scoot over and think again! There is definitely room for another person in the 2 inches of bare bench to your left.

Exhibit G: In this and the last 2 pictures, you can observe the local style of dress (Zanzibar is almost entirely Muslim). These kids are dressed up for Ramadan, but might normally be wearing t-shirt/pants and simple dresses. ‘Kofia’ hats for the men, and it varies widely how much of the face/head the women cover (from no head-covering, to only eyes showing); some wear full black but most wear crazy colorful prints or ‘kangas’