Do you ever ask yourself why it always takes the last minute to realize something has grown on you? I will say that my time here in Zanzibar has been a well spent time. I have learned more about culture here than I have anywhere else in the world. There so many things I have done over the last few weeks, and while you must forgive me (nisame), I don't remember everything.
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| All my female fellow travelers in our conservative garb |
However, I will let you in on a secret...I have waited to explain this until this day I am leaving the island, because it is up for a high amount of debate and conversation in America. Recently, Zanzibar has experienced bombings at the Anglican church and Mercury's, a tourist bar. Now, before you freak out, no one died and no property was severely damaged. The motive is in question, but it is said that the bombing was in response to Zanzibarian locals not wanting to work with the mainland of Tanzania anymore.
But let me reassure you all...never have I felt persecuted here for being a Christian. Nobody looks twice about my religion. I get hassled more for being a white woman than being a Christian, and even then, I walked around the market, and no one took a second look at me. I was more one of them because I could speak a little Swahili, and I knew how to survive there. For the first time, I felt I was the closest I would ever get to being a part of the culture.
Sure, at first when I heard the news, I was slightly nervous. I wore my head scarf for a day, but life went on here in Zanzibar. The streets did not change. People went on with their lives trying to survive this world with what God put in front of them. It is a lot less then what we have, and no, I don't miss my h&m clothes, or my nice foam mattress, or my car, or all my stuff that somehow managed to work its way into my life, but being here you learn to miss the freedom you don't realize you have in America (especially as a woman), or drinkable water, or healthy food, or the privilege to workout in our nice air conditioned gyms that people might have the money to spare for memberships.
In America, we have fallen back on the idea that all Muslims hate Christians, or Americans. We are told to believe that we are the victims, but let me tell you that even though a Muslim and a Christian are seen differently in the way they live their lives, or how they express their faith, we believe in the same all powerful, merciful, gracious one God. As seen in the 6 articles of Muslim faith, there is only one God, and one God alone.
On that note, a few convicting things about Swahili is that in Swahili they have two different versions of praying; omba and sali. Kuomba means to beg. This is the prayer that is said to lift up all requests to God: "I pray for a new job, a new car, a significant other, more money. I pray for stuff." Or... "I pray for peace, love, patience, stability, etc." However, kusali just means to pray. This is the recited prayers as well as the type of prayer that praises God in all his glory. So just ponder to yourself, why begging and praying are two different types of praying.
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| Mama Salma and me on graduation day. |
Two things that are frustrating as well as interesting, is that "like" and "love" are the same word in Swahili (penda). Your love for coffee, or chocolate is the same kind of love you share for you spouse, your child, or your friend. In English, there is a very distinct difference between all these kinds of loves. Another frustrating thing is that in English we have all these filler words like "really", "too", "so", etc. that feel like you are truly explaining how you feel. For instance, as I wrote my host mom her thank you letter, I tried so hard to explain how awesome and how much I REALLY appreciated her as my host mom, and how she was SUCH a great mom... but there is no way to say that in Swahili as you can in English, so saying she was a good mom will have to do.
As for the other Swahili, I graduated from the State University of Zanzibar on February 28, 2014, with a certificate of achievement in the intermediate high level with an excellent score. It was officially signed by the head of the foreign student department and the Dean of SUZA himself, and I felt like I was back in high school again. Might I add that we had to do skits in Swahili, and while I am a terrible actor, we had one of the funniest ones. We had everyone laughing and rolling on the floor.
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| Beach at Matemwe |
The best thing we did in that time was we drove to the north tip of the island to a small town called Matemwe. I will say right now, everyone needs to go stay in Matemwe if they come to Zanzibar. It is right along the coast line where the Indian ocean is a beautiful shade of blue and is warm. People are always seaweed farming in this water, so wait until later to swim, but there is a peace in watching the people do what they know best. The resorts there are very nice, with very cheap, but very good massages, or spa type things. They have amazing food that you can easily get to right along the beach. The sand is so white it looks like snow, and the sun glares off it like no other. The village around this area is so peaceful that even if you know nothing about Swahili, they will come up and say hello to you, or they will stare as you walk by, but with a smile. It is the most laid back and least stressful place in all of Tanzania. It was truly a great chance to relax, enjoy good food, and good company with Grant, Allie, Ruthie, Andrea, Hannah, another Hannah, Alex, my french flight attendant friend, and Young John.
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| Matemwe Resort |
The daladala ride to get there was even more exciting. We waited for 30 minutes for a dala to show up, while many passed fuller than I can imagine and still calling people in. They should definitely make a roller coaster ride called the daladala because it is the exact equivalent. It was the most eventful daladala ride I have been in. We had up to 37 people in the back at one time, with two women breast feeding, a bicycle, and a flat tire. It was probably one of the greatest adventures out of that whole day, even if my butt fell asleep after a two-hour ride, feeling claustrophobic, and the possibility of getting car sick. Sometimes you just have to toughen it out for the sake of the adventure!
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| We are making the pirate hook sign to send good luck wishes to our Whitworth Pirates basketball teams back in the states. |
Sending love from Africa
Jax
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