Butts. A series

updates

Due to the nature of the past 2 weeks of my life, I can no longer write in paragraphs. Here are some glimpses into places I've been, people I have met, and crazy moments in life.

Floating in with the tide as the sun sets in the west. Then turning out to the ocean to see a rainbow far in the distance.

A 2 hour ride in the bed of a mini truck/wagon thing full of rasta guys. Singing and yelling in a crazy blend of English and Kiswahili as the evening blackened into night. On either side of us were fields of palm trees, wide open cassava farms, and forests full of monkeys.

A group of little boys on the beach. I brought them a soccer game and we organized a game, Argentina vs. Arsenal (not sure what league this was in). Now they yell "Argentina!" any time they see me on the paths.

Running barefoot down the street of Stone Town in a rainstorm. We ran past people hiding under tarps, huddled together to escape from the downpour. We ran until we reached the beach, rivulets of rain streamed into the ocean, we followed them, shedding our soaked clothes to dive into the warm water.

Two snakes wrapped around my wrists like bracelets. Knotting themselves into pretzels on my arms.

Singing traditional Maasai songs while walking through shallow waters with a Maasai man from Ongoroongoro Crater.

A cat named Obama.

Storytelling; Rasta Style

For the month of November, I am traveling around Zanzibar collecting traditional folklore, environmental histories, and children's stories. At least that was my plan. After only four days in Paje, which is an idyllic beach village on Zanzibar's southeast coast, I'm hooked.

I started out collecting stories from kids and village elders, but since arriving at the beach, I have found so much more. Within the first hour of being here, I made friends with a cool Maasai guy from Ngorongoro crater in mainland Tanzania.  He proceeded to tell me five stories, sing traditional Maasai music with me, and teach me all about where he comes from.

Since I'm alone here, I pretty much have to fend for myself in terms of friend-making, food, partying, etc. I became friends with a cool group of guys who have started their own bar on the beach. We hang out, swap music, and talk, and tomorrow we're all going running together. Anyway, they think it's hilarious that I'm collecting stories and I keep asking them to tell me one. Below is a story that I got one night at the bar. Try to imagine reggae blaring in the background.

Kima (monkey) na Ganja

The monkey was sitting in a palm tree. He was smoking the weed. Then lizard, he said, "Monkey, what are you doing?"
"I"m rolling some weed, you want some?" said Monkey.
"Yes, I would like some." said Lizard. So they smoked. But Lizard, he was coughing and his throat was so dry. So he said, "I need to go get water."
Then Monkey said, "Watch out for the crocodile in the river. He will eat you." So Lizard, he went to the river, he was so high. Then Crocodile, he saw Lizard and he said, "Lizard, why do you go in my river? You are crazy man." And Lizard he said, "I am so high man. I am thirsty." And Crocodile, he replied, "Where did you get the weed?" And Lizard responded, "The monkey has weed, he is up in the palm tree." So Crocodile climbed the tree, and when Monkey saw him he said, "How much water did you drink man?"
"Crazy man," said Crocodile. "I am Crocodile, not Lizard."

Not sure if this one will make it into my project. Could add a cool twist, and definitely something to write about.

Election Time

Sunday was the election in Zanzibar. The two parties, the Citizens United Front (CUF) and CCM have been in conflict for years. CCM is the ruling party, though apparently CUF is the party of the majority of people. There has been much violence during elections in the past. Shooting in the streets, violence by police, and general disorder. With plans for a coalition government, we hope that this election will be more peaceful. Yet no one can be sure.

We returned to Stone Town from Tanzania on a ferry yesterday afternoon. The streets were quiet, and armed military soldiers stood on every corner. From our bus we saw big trucks full of soldiers speeding by, and we were warned to stay inside. Our teachers literally brought us our food and told us to be careful on the street. Flags hung over every street, the CCM green and gold, and the CUF red, white, and blue indicated which areas supported which political party. Busses and trucks drove by with blasting music, and men waving and shouting.

Late last night, we were still awaiting results, and heard fighting and yelling outside. We were told that many people were upset, hoping to change the results. I visited my homestay family to find out more. Rumor has it that the CUF actually got more votes, but the powerful CCM ignored the votes and declared themselves winners.

CCM rally in Dar Es Salaam

We were worried about violence in the aftermath of the results, but today a parade of people walked by wearing both political colors. People were celebrating the peaceful election that took place, so relieved that there was nothing to fear, and that the people of Zanzibar were beginning to have a voice in the government.

Life is good and the peaceful city is back to normal.

Hakuna Matata

Tomorrow we leave for the land of the Lion King!

Baboons and blue balled monkeys

Just another walk to class at the University of Dar Es Salaam.
(Pictures TK, need to find a way to sneak up on that baboon without him seeing me.)
Also, Dar Es Salaam means "Place of Peace" in arabic.

It poured right before we got on the boat, and the streets ran with sewage. But we were happy.

Rachel and Jordan in the random warehouse while we waited for the skies to clear.

We are studying here for two weeks. Staying in dorms, eating in dining halls, and going to lecture. It's sort of crazy to be doing such similar things to home in such a different place. Every morning a group of us run down to the track for a workout, there are always other people running (mostly guys), playing soccer, basketball, and doing pull ups. I don't join in the latter. We usually eat a breakfast of pigs in a blanket, hard boiled eggs, and juice for 3,000tsh ($2) at an outdoor cafe. Then we go to two hours of lecture.
Some of the lectures have been really awesome. We study things like Coastal People in Africa, Land Based Pollution, Environmental Law and Policy through a third world lens, and Genetic Diversity. We are finished with exams, and it has been really great to be able to just listen and learn out of interest, not necessity.
There is an outdoor pool, and we went as a group, wearing speedo bathing suits, and playing sharks and minnows with snorkels. Cool kids for sure.
The dining halls are cheap and delicious. Dinner is usually pasta with veggies and fried chicken and a beer at the outdoor restaurant bar. It almost feels like eating at a resort.

Katie on the ferry to Dar.

Today we are going to see alternative energy production sites in the city, then coming back for dinner and finally a real weekend night at college! And next week we are headed to Makumi National Park for a safari! I can't wait!

This one time in Africa...

I lost a rosham and had to eat a cricket.

The worst part was that I made it into a chapati and cricket sandwich. Instead of masking the taste it drew out the whole experience.  I had to get my protein from somewhere.

I'm going to take a break from roshams for a while.

Our view from the hill

After the crazy boat ride, the six of us finally stepped onto solid ground in the town of Wete, Pemba. We were staying in the Hill View Inn, a small guesthouse tucked in among a small village, and a towering Wete apartment complex. From our upstairs balcony, we could see the Indian Ocean, yet in between us and it was a spotted pattern of mangrove trees, tin roofs, and farm land.
There was no electricity when we arrived. So we had to nap covered in 15 hours of salty, boaty, sweatiness. Luckily there were no sheets so nothing really got dirty. After napping we emerged into the bright sun (still no shower) to look for food in town. We found shops selling chapati, fried eggs, french fries, and donuts, some of my favorite foods now.
We also found a stand that sold fresh, cold bungo juice (from the native bungo fruit) for 100tsh, or about 7 cents, per glass.

15 hours later...

I just got back from six days on Pemba Island. I spent most of my time wandering around villages, talking to people in Swahili, trying to find out more about electricity on the island, and the presence of folklore and stories. My adventures led me to the remote village of Mtambwe Mkuu (The great arm of the sea), a village only accessible by boat. I'll get to that later.
6pm-Our crew of six started Friday evening at the cargo port in Stone Town, Zanzibar. We paid 10,500tsh ($7) for a spot on the cargo ship Barak II. We boarded at 6pm, and found seats on the top floor, which was mostly open air, with railings and a partial roof. We were feeling pretty good about our spot, for the first hour as we sat in the harbor. Slowly the boat started to fill with people, sacks of flour, sugar, coffee, corn chips, mattresses, motorcycles, candy,  and any other commercial item you can think of.
We found ourselves surrounded by people, the smells of BO, and spicy food, and the sound of Kiswahili, babies crying, and the blaring TV above our heads.
10pm-Four hours later we still had not left the harbor and were beginning to wonder what time we were going to arrive in Pemba at this rate. We climbed into sleep sacks, got comfy on small patches of floor, among tightly packed hiking backpacks and sleeping chidren, and drifted off.
10:30pm-I woke to the sound of unloading, thinking maybe I had slept the entire trip, I looked around. We had moved! From the dock down the shore to another port. Here we loaded more cargo onto the ship. And continued on our way.
5am-We woke to a beautiful sunrise over the Indian Ocean. A bit cold and salty from sleeping on a hard, cold floor, with the sea breeze on our faces. Dolphins swam by on our port side, and we could see nothing but sparkling ocean for miles.
8am-Land ho! After the initial magic of our sunrise morning, the sun began to rise higher in the sky, and we were dirty, itchy, hot and cranky. We had expected to arrive by 6, thinking maybe a 12 hour boat ride on a cargo ship would not be so bad. But we were approaching 13 hours, and ready to reach land. We saw small wooden dhows sail by, and wished that we could dive into the refreshing water below.
9am-We finally arrived in Pemba. The guesthouse manager, Manga, was there to meet us at the dock. We spent half an hour fighting crowds to unload, and finally reached land. Exhausted, but excited for the week of adventure ahead.

Note: There was one bathroom on the boat. I didn't venture in, but those who did reported that instead of one place to take care of business, it was a general room of filth. Unidentifiable substances coated the floor, walls, sink, and door.

Things you won't find on Ipswich beaches..

Ok, there are infinite differences between Crane Beach and Zanzibar, but here are some I have seen recently...

-A man beating an octopus with a stick. It softens the skin for eating.

-women with headscarves gathering seaweed in the intertidal zone

-kids doing backflips down the sand at sunset

-to be continued..

About to get on a 12 hour boat ride to Pemba Island, where I will wander around villages asking people for stories (in swahili!). Be back in a week!

Spaghetti for Breakfast, Donuts for Dinner

We're back in town. After four nights in the middle of Jozani National Forest, surrounded by palm trees, red colobus monkeys, mangroves and tropical birds. And yes, we mostly ate strange meals, never knowing if our next one would consist of octopus stew, boiled spinach, donuts, papaya, or some combination of that list.

We spent an afternoon studying monkey behavior which essentially meant playing with monkeys in the middle of the woods. They are fairly used to humans, so most barely looked up when we walked up. We did see a fight between alpha males while we were standing two feet away! (pictures coming soon..)

I went on a few runs incredible runs through the forest. As I ran, all I could hear was the hum of insects, birds chirping and monkeys leaping tree to tree. Yellow and blue butterflies fluttered around me, bright sun filtered through the dense forest canopy, and ferns sprung up on both sides of my path. I wish that I could run there every day. 

Chumbe Island.

Words cannot describe this incredible private island. Now a marine protected area (MPA), the island is an eco-resort who caps its guest list at twelve people. For $270 per head, you can stay in an open air, thatched roof hut with a view of the beach, and a soundtrack of waves.

So naturally we decided to take a nap. 

After napping we headed out for an hour of incredible snorkeling, huge emperor angelfish, giant clams, glittering minnows, and colorful coral. We saw some spots where fish had nibbled away at coral, and swam to the edge of the shallow reef area to look over the deep dropoff. 

After another nap on the beach, we climbed up a giant lighthouse. From the top we could see the whole island. Incredible.

If you were stranded on a desert island...

Finally a real weekend! Yesterday we all met and headed to the market to get some supplies for our adventure. After a lot of negotiation (in Swahili) we secured a boat for 60tsh ($45).

We crossed the rough Zanzibar Channel to a sandbar, and our boat driver stopped so that we could snorkel above the nearby reef. It was incredible so many fish and beautiful coral. 

We stayed out all day, swimming, building sandcastles, playing tag in the water. Definitely regressed to 10-year olds. It was so nice to have time to chill and truly enjoy being stranded on a tropical island in the middle of the Indian Ocean.

Monkeys at School

That's right, there were monkeys outside of our school today. We were reviewing for our Kiswahili exam, and looked out the window to notice two tiny monkeys playing on the clothes line.

This guy put on quite a show for us. He jumped on to Emily's shoulder at one point, and spent a lot of time tangled in the line.

He really loved snacking on sugar snap peas, leaves, and twigs.

I guess leaving my clothes to dry there wasn't such a good idea...He got really tangled and pulled down the kanga.

Needless to say, we didn't get much studying done, though we did learn the word for monkey! -Tumbili-

Ninapenda Kobe

Translation: I like tortoises (That's for you, Connor).

Took a field trip to Prison Island today. Prison Island was never a prison, and is actually the home of 50 giant tortoises, ranging from babies to 400 pound, 50 year-old grandmas. I brought two of my host brothers and we got to feed them stalks and leaves.

My bro Ali feeding a 40-year old tortoise.

These tortoises are incredible. They look like modern day dinosaurs, and have been around for just as long. They are now protected on Prison Island because people used to steal them to sell on the mainland. The tortoises, beaches, and surrounding reefs became a conservation area that is used to study these animals, as well as their (as of now) unspoiled environment.

Jina langu ni Raya. (My name is Raya)

My Swahili name is Raya, and I'm really starting to love it! We started our homestays this week, I live in a 3-bedroom apartment on Baghani Street with;
Mymuna (2 months), Haula(6), Aisha (8), Leian (9), Somalia (10), Ali (11), Duma (12),  Salom (18), Sheikha (20), Mama, Baba, a cat (Paka), and lots of random guests all the time.

In our kitchen.

The family is incredible. Everyone helps cook, clean, and play with the baby, although no one will let me help! They speak mostly just Swahili at home, so usually I have no idea what is going on, but lately I have started to pick up words, and even contribute to the conversation a little bit. Playing with kids is the best, even though we can't communicate, we still play games, make jokes, and teach each other what we can.

This is my boyfriend Ahmedi. He is 7 years old, and the cutest child ever!

For the past 2 weeks Muslims have been fasting during daylight hours for Ramadan. They must wait until the new moon is sighted before they can break the fast with the celebration of Eid el Fitr, the biggest holiday in the Muslim religion. On the night we found out, everyone ran out to the street, dancing and singing. People played music and everyone hugged excitedly.

It was one of my favorite moments here so far, and I truly began to feel like part of the community.

Notes From a Small Island

It has been about a week since I arrived in Zanzibar, looks like this blog will be a bit sporadic.

Here we go.

So I'll start with the village of Paje. We spent 3 nights at a beach house, which was basically three rooms, a classroom, and a porch perched on the edge of the Indian Ocean. When we arrived we actually couldn't believe that it was real, and were blinded by a combination of white sand, crystal clear water, and cloudless sunny skies.

We had a great time swimming, then had to go inside (shower optional) to get ready for Swahili class. I really like learning the language, the teachers are really understanding and share funny stories with us all the time.

We have one teacher named Usi and he is like 5’2”. Wears the little muslim cap, and dances around like a leprachaun. Anyway, we asked him about his family, just trying to kill time in class one day. He launched into a long story about his new son, who is 8 months old. “I like him very much”, he explained to us in his chirpy, Tanzanian accent. (keep in mind, he is 67). We asked him how old his wife was, and he said one is 37, another is 54. And he has 12 kids aged 8 months to 35 years.

The multiple wife thing is crazy, we grilled him and here is what we discovered. A Muslim man can marry up to 4 wives, although divorce is legal so if they want, they can divorce one to make room for a new, younger wife who will give them more babies. It’s really all about the kids, and carrying on your name. Also men do not feel that women have any right to tell them that they cannot get married again. Women exist solely to have children, tend to the house, and cook. 

 We went to a snake park where they keep snakes in cement enclosures, and we got to hold most of them (the boa constrictor was sooo huge! Clearly we were a bit freaked out..)

Next up: Swimming with dolphins and homestays!

Waka Waka

[fyi: I have slept about 4 hours in the past 48.]
I am alive! Just had the most incredible experience, and I'm still in Ethiopia. Before I left for Zanzibar, I had been planning to spend 15 hours overnight in the Addis Ababa Airport. I know this sounds terrible, but I had a feeling that I would find a better way. After a long flight to Frankfurt, some tea, a croissant, and a quick nap at a cafe, I headed to my gate. I arrived and sat reading my book quietly for a while, trying desperately to stay awake. A nice looking black guy sat down across from me. For some reason I noticed that he was typing on a mac, and wearing nikes. He smiled right away, and I smiled back, just to be friendly, then went back to my book. 


A few minutes later the crazy Lufthansa Airline people discretely beckoned for us to get on the little shuttle. No announcement, nothing obvious. So Teddy (the name he goes by in the US) and I commiserated about germans, their bad airport and grumpy people. We started talking about school, and he told me that he was returning from Florida where he was finishing his second masters degree in software engineering. He was on his way to Zambia where his wife had just moved (she is american and got a really great government job with a house and utilities in a nice part of the city). 


Anyway he was spending his 13 hour layover going home to Ethiopia, where he had not been in over 2 years. He asked me my travel plans, and immediately invited me to join him, to go eat traditional Ethiopian food, explore the city, and party! Obviously I said yes, with only slight hesitation at the foreign country, and the "don't go home with strangers" mantra. But he was a nice, respectful guy, very smart and well-read.

Fast forward 8 hour sleepless flight to Ethiopia, after getting a visa, and getting through customs, I walked out and was greeted by 12 of his closest family and friends. Everyone was so friendly and welcoming, they sped us home through potholed streets full of people. The air had that misty feeling, like just after it rains, and they explained to me that this was rainy season, the coldest time in Ethiopia.

I was welcomed into their home, and we had a delicious dinner of some spicy chicken mixture that we ate using our hands and homemade breads.  After choking down some straight whiskey, and talking about soccer with some of his friends, we had the traditional coffee ceremony. 


[Fun fact; coffee originated in Ethiopia, and still supplies much of the world.] 


So after spicy food, whiskey, coffee, no sleep, naturally we decided to eat some popcorn (yay!) and then explore the city. They brought me to their favorite spots, the two fanciest hotels, the Sheraton, and Hilton, which more closely resemble palaces, and have beautiful gardens, fountains, pools, nightclubs, and views of the city. They were so genuinely excited to show me their home. They showed me their old elementary schools, the whole time joking and making fun of things like freezing cold Boston snow.

After the hotels, we headed to the highest spot in town, overlooking the city. (Ethiopia has the highest and lowest points in the world, not to mention the fastest runners. also the president has a pet lion, in his house!!)

It was getting late, so we headed to a nightclub called Jambo. I drank some Ethiopian beer, then we danced.  The highlight of the night was definitely when Shakira's "Waka Waka" came on, and we all jumped around and danced like crazy. It was incredible.

I'm running out of time, but in short, we visited a few more nightclubs, then headed home around 3 am. Up at 5.30 for a shower, then breakfast (same spicy food as dinner but with tea).

I love Africa. (To be continued.)