(Sunday, June 5th)
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.
They have a TV and a DVD player. I've noted that the DVD player is for Chuck Norris, but the TV is reserved for watching Shemaroo – an Indian movie channel which I’m sure every brown aunty/nani/dadi in the world has ordered in a package with Zee and Sony Asia. They watched Dabangg yesterday (Munni Baadnam Hui) and understood nothing of it, but it killed a few hours for them. Actually, hearing Munni put me at ease for a bit. (Since I've written this, I've also heard the kids singing Chuma, Chuma Dede, and when I explained the meaning, they instantly stopped.)
I forgot to mention earlier that “haya, basi” was the best name I could have chosen. It just means "alright then” or “enough," but I use this at least 100 times a day.
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.
They have a TV and a DVD player. I've noted that the DVD player is for Chuck Norris, but the TV is reserved for watching Shemaroo – an Indian movie channel which I’m sure every brown aunty/nani/dadi in the world has ordered in a package with Zee and Sony Asia. They watched Dabangg yesterday (Munni Baadnam Hui) and understood nothing of it, but it killed a few hours for them. Actually, hearing Munni put me at ease for a bit. (Since I've written this, I've also heard the kids singing Chuma, Chuma Dede, and when I explained the meaning, they instantly stopped.)
I forgot to mention earlier that “haya, basi” was the best name I could have chosen. It just means "alright then” or “enough," but I use this at least 100 times a day.
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