Kutembea

Leo, watoto walienda madrasani. Baada ye, baba nami tulienda kupeleka watoto nyumbani. The kids were running late and so we - Omg as I write this Sahil is replaying Delta Force Part B. His mom recites the lines before they even appear in the subtitles. I forgot to mention we got a break yesterday with Mayday instead.  And now Apu (Abu?) just walked in. Apu is one of their friends from the neighbourhood. He's a little scared of me, but the Toblerone I brought is helping. (Life view: food is the best gift.) As I was saying, we went to get the kids. They were a little late so we walked around Stone Town. And I have to admit, although I made mental notes of all the expensive hotels with acceptable bathrooms - Idea! I can steal toilet paper if I can't find a place to buy some - it was then that I remembered why I was here: the bright blue ocean, the cobblestone streets, the intricate carvings on Arab and Indian-style doors, the colourful shops and the friendly people (walking always takes twice as long as if you google mapped it - they really need a Salaam/Walekum function for Muslim countries). I could feel something I had missed since arriving in Zanzibar. A cool breeze. And then finally, I started to hear it: Quiet.
I think I'm beginning to like Chuck Norris too.

p.s. It's Abu, as in Abu Bakr. Also, I now have a recreation of Delta Force on my camera, starring Abu as Chuck Norris, with cinematography and production by Sahil.

Noise

(Sunday, June 5^th)
Oh god. I miss music. I never thought that in “Africa: Land of Culture,” would I miss music of all things. Anyone who knows me well knows that I associate everything with a song, and that there is always something playing in my head; At school or home, at weddings or funerals, throughout any conversation or contemplation – without exception. But here, I’ve mentioned there is noise; night and day, Zanzibar is not a quiet place. I've wondered who throws parties outside my window until 3AM every day, despite the fact that the rest of the island sleeps at 9. And especially since it is such a muslim & fairly conservative society – although I have heard of certain places one can go at night… The noise though, yells, orders, street vendors, cars, trucks and city noise really, with the occasional azaana (call to prayer broadcast from every mosque 5 times a day) – drowns out any chance of hearing myself. I've resorted to my iPod playing familiar songs to calm me down. (8:40AM – Stars, Soft Revolution) Between the heat and suffocating noise, I've become claustrophobic. Actually, this must be what a typical dorm feels like. (8:42AM – Stars, Sleep Tonight) I didn’t want to resort to my iPod, but until school & work start, it’s the only thing keeping me sane.
Aside from that, I've adjusted to the pace of life quite well. And by pace, I mean the only rate at which one can move in 30+ weather.

Chuck Norris

(Saturday, June 4)

Starting Monday, I'll be studying Swahili in the morning and then at work in the afternoon, learning about the restoration projects going on here in Stone Town. For now, I'm busy getting to know my new family. Bwana Sallum and his wife (I just call her Mama) are extremely relaxed - a pre-req it seems for living in Zanzibar. Mama stays at home while Bwana Sallum has two jobs. His part-time job is working with a tour operator - tourism is big business here - and his full time job is with the Norwegian Embassy, reporting on politics in Zanzibar. I had actually hoped I could talk smack about politics with someone here - Zanzibaris don't generally appreciate their lack of influence in Tanzania - a union of Tanganyika (the mainland) and Zanzibar (an archipelago off its coast).

My new Mama and Baba have two boys - Sahil, 7 and Salahi, 4. Sahil is in standard 1 and is learning English at school (with books from the US gov't). When he does his homework, I 'help' - aka learn as many words in Swahili as he does in English. But this kid is, for lack of a better word from the 90's, Badass. Whenever he's not running around or eating mkate and chai, he's watching Chuck Norris in Delta Force. He has every single Chuck Norris-esque movie ever made but I've yet to witness any other. Salahi, younger and prone to crying, does whatever his brother tells him to. Their niece Farida also lives with them, though I don't really know the story. She is the complete opposite of her cousins - quiet and reserved. She does the housework with mama, while the boys play. I get the sense that it's a "woman's role." (Ironically, my grandfather told me that I would learn how to treat women here. So far I've learned how not to treat your niece.) Although she was shy at first,  that disappeared after I bought the three of them ice cream. (Ice cream transcends language barriers.)

Aside from that ice cream thing, the culture is entirely different here. I'll need a separate post for that.

Baadaye,

Adam

Edit: Their Bibi (grandma) got really worried when she saw me walking around the market with the two boys. She also calls Sahil her husband and Salahi her brother-in-law (in English) - apparently this is a common grandma joke in Africa?

Standin' at the Toilet!

(Friday June 3rd)
I've just arrived at my home in Zanzibar!
Before I start, I should make it clear that I've been to East Africa before. So I won't be complaining about the bugs, the lack of power, using bottled water, garbage on the streets, or the heat - scratch that, it's always 35 degrees here and it makes me so sleepy. Even with chai 3 times a day, I'm still always yawning.
But when I was last here, I stayed with my relatives. Now that I'm with a local host family, it's very different- life is slow, simple. There's no running water, which leads to interesting bucket showers (mainly splashing water with cupped hands). Interestingly, the water isn't cold - I guess the climate keeps it toasty. And in any case, a bit of coolness is welcomed by all here. 
Before you read any further, watch this clip:

Now picture the exact opposite. No sittin', no toilet, no an' Flush! Just a hole in the earth and my friend the bucket. I wonder how long it'll take before I suck it up and just do it. I suspect I'll frequent the university/hotel toilets for a bit. Advice to future adventurers: bring tissues. Or better yet, a whole roll of the good stuff. I could really elaborate on this bathroom, but I'll spare you the details.
From my last visit, I also don't remember there being constant noise. I'm on the ground floor and there is construction going on outside my window - and by construction I mean five guys beating sheet metal into useful shapes. And it seems they're all named Mussa.

Finally! (Again)

Internet! On this tiny island they call Zanzibar! I've been writing for a few days now and am dying to get everything typed and uploaded. I'll stagger all my posts to give you and me both some time to deal with this awesomeness. Did I mention that I now have internet? Well on my phone at least. It's slow and clunky but it works - sometimes. (I can't see the page links up there so I hope they work and posting in them isn't a colossal waste of time.) It's now late afternoon here and that means naptime. G'nite!