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!