So I am up early and since it's quiet in the house I got dibbs on the internet! This weekend was a blur, I can't believe it's over and I can't believe I leave Tanzania in a week minus 9 hours!

On Friday, me and two other volunteers flew to Zanzibar for a weekend getaway! It was crazy expensive to fly but I knew I'd be disappointed if I came all this way and didn't see it. And I was right! We arrived at the airport late friday afternoon and went to our hotel in stone town, a reallly old part of Zanzibar. For those of you wondering, Zanzibar is an island off the coast of Tanzania, it was involved in traded spices and slaves with the east, providing African slaves to the rest of the world. So it has a long history. It was unlike anything I've ever seen before or could have imagined. The island is 95 percent muslim, and I've never been to a dominantly muslim country so that was incredible. The streets are so narrow and windy it's like small european towns, but closer together, the ornateness of indian culture, with arab influences, and african and arab and mzungu people everywhere. It was so incredible. I can't even begin to describe you have to see the pictures. But the smells!! Spices everywhere, salt water, cooking in the street, dead fish and chickens being taken to market, plus the smell of sweaty people since it was 40 degrees out and muggy! But really, I loved it, so much!! BOught some good stuff too. We took a walking tour with our hotel guidfe and he showed us everything, builldings made of coral, old sultan's palaces, freddy mercury's house, the hotel where livingston stayed. When we spoke swahili to people on the streets to get directions or say hello, they were so shocked, I guess most mzungus on Zanzibar don't speak it. All I could have wanted and more!! We had lunch overlooking the water, it is sooo blue, bluer than anywhere I've been! We watched the dhows comig in and ate crab!!! Then in the aftyernoon we headed up the coast to Kendwa!

We arrived there in time for the most amazing sunset, we sat on the whitest beach and swam in the indian ocean! It was incredibly warm (i know im using that word a lot!) and so boyant that my feet couldn't stay underwater. There was snorkling, but we just wanted to swim and chill so we did. The bungalows we stayed in were great too. I still can't believe I've swam in the Indian ocean, it seems so far from home!

We stayed there all day! I loved it, sunny and warm!! We took a shuttle to the airport, we got a flat, and he was speeding around curves and over one lane bridges, I was sure we were going to die! Really I was, no seatbelts and taking 40km curves at 100km is too much! Etiehr that or worse, we would kill someone else, kids, cows, bikers, anything. But thank goodness we made it to the airport with everyone still in one piece! Only to find out our flight had been cancelled. What an adventure of travelling, the three of us were frustrated and exhausted but we held it together, and managed to get them to pay for our accomodation for the night. THe did, and dinner and breakfast and taxi too. So that was good, but the only flight we could get that got us back in time for Janice to catch her 940pm flight to Amsterdam, arrived in arusha, 1.5 hours away. So we took the flight, in this tiny 19 seater plan and then took a 90 dollar cab ride from Arusha back to homebase. We got in at 330pm on Monday, instead of 1030pm on Sunday!!! We were defeintly glad to be home, and glad to be off that island, although it was beautiful and I don't regret going. It's the kind of beach used in motivational posters and the place you imagine being when stressed!!!

Anyways, I did find it hard to justify spending all that money to go when I know my teacher and her husband combined could'nt pay for the weekend with one month's worth of working. It's hard. And I met so many tourists, mostly euro and south african, who had come for the resort and hadn't seen the rest of africa. I couldn't believe it! But I guess now I know that most of Africa is not like the beach in Zanzibar, and that thte wealth we have in the west is beyond extyrvagant compared to most people's lives. I'm glafd to be back in Karanga, -where everybody knows your name!! hahaha. Alrightie, I need to get ready for school. I haven't seen my kids in 5 days, I was sick, heavy rain cancellled my homevisit, and the weekend, and missing my flight sunday night meant no school monday. So I am so excited to see my kids again -All I want is to give them a hugee hug!! I am gonna bawl when I leave them, and I'll miss them soooo much, I might even cry while I'm typing this, so I'll leave it here and get ready for school.

I have to say this trip has been a, as cheesy as it sounds, life changing expereicnce and I don't want it to end. I'm gonna go soak up my last week here. Lots of love!! Salama. Laura xoxox

written by  Laura Collins on November 10, 2008 from Zanzibar, Tanzania
from the travel blog: My Adventure in Tanzania
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i can't wait to see ur pics from Zanzibar!!! it sounds so amazing....i guess i'll have to wait until ur back eh??

november is almost over...i'm so glad that december is coming soon so that i get my break....

written by  shannon on November 10, 2008

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Welcome home, to your base, then. Glad Zanzibar was such a cool experience. I read online about it being a very conservative place, certain clothing must be worn and certain Muslim rules observed. I was wondering if it was like that, or if it applied everywhere. I bet some of the tourist areas must be exempt. You'll have to fill me in.

It sounds like a real adventure too, maybe exhausting and a little stressful, but a good story to tell! "Remember the time we were stranded on Zanzibar...". Hehe.

I'm really looking forward to hearing all about it and seeing pictures. Enjoy you're last week.

Geoff

written by  Geoff Martin on November 11, 2008

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Enjoy your last few days, and have a safe trip home!! I'll be off the grid when you get here, and if things work out, I'll be in G. from November 18th - December 10th...but after my exam on December 12th I'll have a lot of time to catch up with you. I'm so excited!! Looking forward to seeing you again,

Love,

Sandra

written by  Sandra B on November 15, 2008

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WOW!!! Time sure flies! I'm so glad it's been a great experience!! Trevor and I are looking forward to seeing you soon!

Lots of hugs from us!

Jane and Trevor

written by  Jane and Trevor on November 15, 2008

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