Part 2
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| Alhani |
After Sauti Za Busara, things died
down, and everyone left with memories to remember forever. However, life
went on. For instance, I went with Alex and Michael to the house where our
favorite little girl was just turning 2. Her name is Alhani, and she is, of
course, your cute, chubby cheeked, button nosed, big brown eyed girl. For
short, she is my shoga. Shoga, in Swahili, represents the relationship between
girls who are good friends.
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| Have you ever been this tired? |
As we sat watching the many children crowded into
one small living room watching TV, we witnessed a little boy who was so tired
he was falling asleep sitting up. We watched as the little kids watched music
videos that weren’t exactly family friendly, nor were they videos that you
would want your kids to be watching. They were music videos about drugs, or
sex, and usually had half-naked girls shaking their butts at the camera. But
the parents didn’t think anything of it. In fact, I saw the
parents singing along with this Afro-beat type music (i.e. Diamond Platnumz is
the big one). It made me think about how the older generation really accepts
the modern music, which made me think about how I am used to hearing the older
generation in America talk about how “the music isn’t how they made it back in
the good ole days.” While this partially may be true coming from a big Oldies
fan because of my Dad, rather than complaining or hating it, the people here just
embrace the new music.
So the celebration happened something like this…Alhani came in dressed as if she was
a bride; all decked out in a white dress with makeup and a white flower pin in her hair. There
were many kids watching her, so, of course, she was very shy at first (I am not
sure she loved her outfit because it gets better). Her parents, her aunt and
uncles, and her Dadas were there. Everyone, even each little kid, came up and
greeted me, Michael, and Alex by touching our hand (not exactly shaking it). So
for all you germaphobes, you might need hand sanitizer. The special guests
generally get there later, but we were the exception. They greeted us with
sweet juice, and fed us soup with potato and pepper tasting things. 
Alhani
disappeared for a little while, but soon she came out wearing an extravagant
green and pink fairy outfit. It was obvious she loved this outfit more, because
she began to clap her hands and dance to the music playing. They brought a
green and pink cake where a Barbie was built into the cake with her arms to say
CONGRATS!! They played a whole CD of different versions of the Happy Birthday
Song, which was fairly interesting.
The tradition they have here in Africa
on someone’s birthday is that every guest must feed and be fed by the birthday
person. I was the third person to be fed cake, which is a big honor to think
about because the special guests go close to the beginning after parents and
grandparents. The atmosphere was ‘bumpin’ as they would say in America, with
everyone being crowded in this small living room, dancing, laughing, and
singing. Alhani shared her bright smile with the whole world, and I hope her
bright smile is shared with you in her pictures.
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| My Swahili professor and classmates, Amaya, Rachael & Ruthie. |
The whole week after that was spent going to class, learning
and practicing more Swahili. We explored a cave where 100 slaves were kept to
work on crops, because in 1873 the Sultan was forced to sign the document to
abolish slavery (if he didn’t sign, there would be no protection by England…)
This cave also had fresh water that was used for drinking, bathing, and
irrigating. Keep in mind, this cave is NOT handicap accessible. It isn't like the famous monuments in America where they build fancy ramps and lights to light
the pathway. So we climbed back into the cavern (pango) with our headlights and
the best sturdy shoes we had, along with these crickets with 2-inch long
antennae, bats, millipedes bigger than my hands, spiders the size of my hand,
and rocks that are very slippery and treacherous…and muddy. Its okay, only one of
us fell, but the outcome was a camera being broken (Kristin). I did my very
best to catch her. It wasn’t very long,
but just imagine slaves who are barefoot and weak climbing over
sharp rocks with animals that are creepy crawlers.
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| Cave entrance |
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| Cave exit |
Then, we
traveled to slave chambers where over 200 slaves were kept chained to walls
standing up, with no toilets, with only bread and a glass of water a day. The slave traders would take the slaves and send them out on a secret port to India and the Middle East. It makes you wonder what kind of tension there is between Africans
and India. It makes you wonder what sort of tension is between Africans who
imprisoned other Africans and used them as slaves.
The next
day… something amazing happened. Rachael and I decided to go explore the beach of Ngazi Mia. Of course asking for
directions to the beach ended up being told “It's over there. You know,
over there.” Then, they show us where we need to go, and then ask for money.
Our guide was very nice and did not ask for money, but he told us to walk and
explore everywhere and we gave our thanks. This beach was secluded and SO
peaceful. I can’t say it was the prettiest beach I have seen, but because it
wasn't swarming with tourists, or people, other than African runners on the beach, it was wonderful. We watched the many fishing boats being cared
for, explored the seashells, climbed onto this old cement hangout place to do
homework and relax on the beach.
We always have people who come up and talk to
us, but they are usually teenagers who want to practice their English, or teach us
Swahili. I read in Eat, Pray, Love that Muslims have an order to their world.
Life makes sense when you have a plan. It is against the natural order to not
have a plan. It is kind of like you are floating aimlessly into the dark abyss
of the universe with no direction. It is the exact same here. Every guy asks me
the same three questions in order. Do you have kids? (No) How old are you? (19)
Are you married? (No). Then follow all the average Whys? You quickly learn to say
politely “I don’t have kids, YET,” avoid the age question, and lie and say,
“Yes, I am married.”
After that,
we swam in not the cleanest ocean water (we witnessed a cow being washed in the
ocean near us… No Judgment), and indulged in the little pleasure of letting
ourselves be tourists for a few hours. We even wore our bikinis, which is very
scandalous. Teehee. We got some courage
to do 50 jump squats on the beach, which was a great workout while it lasted.
It gets better…
The beach
filled with more locals by the minute. Even some women were swimming by this
point, which is practically unheard of. As we approached our cement hangout
place, we saw a ginormous group of people circled and facing toward each other
chanting in these rhythmic drill with a slight hint of African songs. It took a
minute, but all of a sudden I realized all these people were counting because
they were working out. Men, soccer players, boys, and even women in their long
gowns and covered heads were here working out. I began to videotape and
traveled to the top where I could get a better view. I was so entranced by the
fact that the whole Zanzibar community was here doing these aerobics without
stopping in the hot Zanzibar sun for a whole hour.
Click on these links to see videos
The man leading the workout
was this man who had a spring in his step and a large smile on his face that
was warm and welcoming. He spotted me up in the crowd and yelled up to me to
come join… I couldn’t pass that up even if I was in a beach dress and bathing
suit. So I worked out with the Zanzibar community, doing aerobics for 45
minutes without stopping, with a huge smile on my face. I could not believe
what I was a part of. I was surrounded by the wonderful sound of African voices
chanting and yelling Swahili around me, and it gave me the best motivation to
enjoy the workout while I could, even if it meant I was sweating an oceanful. I didn’t understand everything they said, but it didn’t matter. The
sound of their harmonious voices lifted up everyone’s spirits. Everyone around
me shared a smile, a pat on the back, and even a short clip of the workout for
proof. A man even gave 100 shillings for all my hard work. All around that day
was a day I will remember for the rest of my life because it was something that
a person may not dream of doing, but it was an unknown dream come true.
As of now,
food is calling me home, so I will leave you with this: peace can be found in
the most unlikely things, so let yourself be caught in the moment.
Love from Africa
Jax
Photo credits to Michael Celone and my traveling companions. Thanks!
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