The chillest of weeks

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Sorry for not posting in a while, a quick recap: the last couple of days have been wonderful. Sauti za Busara is a four day music festival that features a diverse lineup of African artists that is held in Zanzibar City's old fort. The best part is its only a five minute walk from my homestay house and only 3,000 schillings (less than 3 dollars) for an entire night of music. Some great music, some good beats, some incredible dancing. Before Sauti za Busara (Swahili for "sounds of wisdom) started, I didn't think that I would go all four nights (mostly because we had four assignments due Monday) but I just did them all quickly in the morning than went to the old fort.

Yesterday, I took my first daladala. A few of us went north a few miles to a beach because you can't swim in the Stone Town beaches; pollution, trash, and shit (literally) are pumped offshore. It cost about a quarter each way and your in a van that can hold about 15 people (though for those of you familiar with F&M 15 person vans, the daladalas are much smaller.) But just because there were only 15 seats didn't stop us from pilling about two dozen of us in.

Lots of fun and everybody is really nice. It’s a great way to practice Swahili too. Unfortunately, it’s a lot of "sema tena" and "sielewi" (say it again and I don't understand) because they speak so fast. At one point, after asking somebody to repeat the question for the third time, I just gave up and said "mimi ni muzunga, sijui cho chote" (I am a white person, I don't know anything). They loved it and one of the guys even turned that into a song, pretty amusing.

I leave for Pemba on Thursday and probably won't have internet for about a week and a half, so don't expect any posts. I'm about ready to get out of Stone Town too, especially now that Sauti is over. Anytime and everytime I walk through town I get hassled by the vendors selling crap (t-shirts, CD's, sunglasses, mangos, ect) and its always overpriced. And I've done a good job of befriending a bunch of them, maybe too good of a job. I've always told them that I'm not interested in purchasing anything. Yet every time they think that I'm going to buy it, every time I tell them politely that I'm not, and every time they look offended or confused as to why I don't want their junk. It gets old.

So my Swahili class is almost over and I have my first exam on Wednesday. In between four hours of that, I've had lectures 6 days a week on coastal ecology, coral reefs, sea turtles, ecotourism, managing coastal resources, pollution, history of Zanzibar, ect. Occasionally their good but most of the time their not. Like today, the lecturer made us wait an hour before he finally showed up and gave a 45 minute talk on preventing coastal erosion, which he had to shorten. It amazed me that someone could be so late but that's kind of how it is here, time isn't really an issue for a lot of people. What he did to us today was incredibly rude but it’s a good lesson in learning to chill out in developing nations. America's seems so uptight compared to here and it'll probably rub off on me.

Ok, so I don't have anything else really important to say so I might just list some cool things that have happened to me. The bathroom in my house isn't too different but it still present many opportunities for awkward cultural encounters. For instance, I've been showering with a bucket and cold water for the last week and a half. The first time I did it I couldn't stop laughing to myself but now it feels more normal. So does not using toilet paper but again, using a hose now to wash it down feels super sweet.

Last night at Sauti za Busara, I wore shorts for the first time I've been here. (my swimsuit doesn't count) I felt pretty scandalous, showing some skin, revealing my knees. Meow. Usually I just wear a tshirt and khakis that I roll up. But some people are strict here about that kind of stuff and girls in our program have been told their dressed inappropriately when they wear shirts that don't cover their entire chest up to their neck or medium length skirts that we would consider modest and wouldn't think twice about

The other people on my program are surprisingly normal. I expected some crazies in our program (I mean who goes to Africa, right?) but no. I get along pretty well with everyone. There's one guy in our group whose an asshole, another who acts to macho for me to handle. But the other two guys I really like hanging out with. I enjoy the company of most of the girls, although there are a couple with too much attitude to be healthy. I would say at this point, I've bonded the best with the loudest girl and the quietest girl in our group and that's just how it goes. It’s a good group and I still have 3 months to get to know them, no rush.

I also feel that you should know that my host mother serves me mango and papaya everyday and its wonderful. Talk to yall later. Salama!!!!

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Comments

[Rachel]

Oh my!
The music festival sounds amazing!! But... hahaha if you end up having too much chillness (which could be good in some instances) rub off on you in regards to being on time to things... I worry that you may never show up to things HAhahahaha =) Just teasing. People should not stress as much as they do about the little things. You gotta live!! I'm glad your having so many adventures!! Miss you! ~Rachel

[Bibi]

Whadya Mean, the Crazies Go to Africa?
And how could it be the chillest of weeks when we've had minus 8ºF here in Maine recently and expect 6 inches of snow tomorrow? Oh, you mean THAT kind of chill. Sounds like you're learning about African time... Your daladala transport reminds me of our journey Arusha to Nairobi. We were the only Europeans; others of our ilk took the equivalent of Greyhound bus and missed the fun. That pusher-in man had refined his profession to a fine art. Close quarters helped getting to know our neighbors, tho limited to Jambo... you would do much better. But we mimed and the Masai folks delighted in pointing out the sights, like Mt. Kilimanjaro. One woman slipped her necklace around my neck... Sauti sounded like fun. Did you join in the dancing? Will you bring some music home? We'll be interested to hear about Pemba when you can communicate again. Just don't expose your knees too much! ---Love and Salama from Bibi and Babu