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Published: August 8th 2008
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my apartment
red roof in the center...top floor Wow. I cannot believe that I am only in Africa for 6 more days. The past three have been spent pounding out ISP papers (literally...the keyboard I have been using you have to bang on to get the keys to work!). I am so happy to have mine done. I spent 12 hours in front of a computer on Friday getting it done, two hours yesterday morning, and then went to get it printed, copied and bound. It is done! One interesting note that now seems relevant. There are places to get photocopies made on almost every corner of every town that I have visited. Photocopy places are like the Starbucks of Africa. It cracks me up!
I have been living in an apartment on the third floor of this really old building near the cathedral in the middle of the maze of stone town. It has an old carved front door painted faded baby blue that never opens on the first try with the key. It is rather frustrating at night or when you are carrying lots of stuff. From that door you go up two flights of cement very narrow stairs to our apartment. It has four bedrooms.
I was living there with two other girls, and then some guy that we have never talked to, just had rather awkward interactions as we pass by one another in towels en route to the shower. The first night after moving in, I had the rather interesting experience of locking the key to my room's padlock in the room. It was in my backpack on the far side from the window. Luckily, the window screen was ripped, so we fashioned a hook made from a wooden pole and part of the ironing board to reach through the bars to slide the backpack close enough to retrieve the keys. Thank goodness for creative solutions! The humidity and heat here right now is insane. I cranked up the ceiling fan in my room, and you still sweat all night long. I would also like to note that the fan in my room is probably the loudest on earth. When it is running I cannot even hear someone talking right outside the room! I had to fall asleep listening to my iPOD to drown it out. Tonight we are back in the Mauwani Inn though. I had to pack up all my scattered belongings (it always amazes me how stuff seems to explode everywhere no matter how long I am there!) and move them down those flights of stairs. Not the easiest task. Also, the doors here are normal sized, but they open in two halves, like a side by side fridge...with about as much space to walk through! Usually one side is locked shut, so to wedge me, a huge backpack, a small daypack (on my front), a duffel, a box and a huge basket through the doors, down the stairs and across town was a trek. I was super sweaty when I arrived. It would have been much easier to take two trips, but I was really glad that I did not when it started to downpour about 20 minutes after I had moved. Streets flooded in less than a minute. Looks like it will be a really wet day. One of my roommates, Nora, came into the office and looked like she had just jumped in a pool. I decided to use my dry bag as a purse today. To escape the rain, Mary and I went to the Stone Town Cafe (one of our new favorite hang out places) for coffee and to talk. It is really nice to have some down time.
Yesterday I went to visit with some members of my family from Pemba. My dad came to pick me up and we rode a dala dala to his daughters house out of town. It was a really good visit. They are some of the best people I have ever met. I really hope to come back and visit them at some point. The ride home on the dala dala was good reflection time. It hit me how normal some very un-normal (for me at home) experiences have become. I was crammed into the back of this vehicle smashed in way tighter than anyone ever would imagine possible. It does not phase me anymore to have people constantly stare at me as the only white person around. It also does not surprise me to see all the women with their heads covered, and even the ones wearing a full veil (they call it a ninja) do not throw me off. I am also so used to being totally dripping with sweat 24 hours a day. That I will not miss at all!!!
Monday is my presentation, then we have two more days of listening, then we are done! I am going to be leaving Zanzibar on the 15th, and will be home on the 16th!
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