Monday brought the arrival of our last week of intensive Kiswahili studies (not the end of our studies, but the end of having four hours a day of class) and our first ‘lion’ test. Aldin said that we would start with tests at the gazelle level and work our way up to the lion. He wasn’t lying as the test was near impossible. Thank goodness in Africa 70 % and above is considered an ‘A’. After the test, all of us grabbed lunch at the caf and went to our first Human Evolution class with Dr. Audax Mabulla. The class was interesting as Dr. Mabulla is a very sharp man and an expert in his field of archeology and paleoanthropology. After class, we all explored the archeology building before some of us went to Mwenge to visit the tailor’s place. From Mwenge, I hurried back to grab dinner with Caleb and Guddhat. The place that Guddhat took us too is one of his favorites and it serves only pork, either roasted or fried. The meal was absolutely delicious and was served with ugali. Tuesday was hailed by breakfast at the degree tree cafe before class. We learned that Aldin was not going to be there for the next few classes because he was traveling in Nairobi. So the T.A.s were left to lead us in practice conversations and Kiswahili oral skills. I hadn’t felt well for the past few days and have had a fever off and on, nothing too bad I thought. I left class early and after attempting to get in at the university clinic, called Dr. Roberts and he and Paulina picked me up after a bit so that we could go to the Catholic clinic between Mlimani and Mwenge. After talking to a nurse and a finger prick, the blood work came back that I have malaria. I think that Westerners blow the concept of malaria out of proportion a little bit, as the treatment itself is not that bad (a regiment of pills for three days). They classify the severity of malaria in rings, 1 being the least severe and 8 causing brain damage. They said that I had 3 rings. Paulina said that she has had malaria at least five times in her lifetime. I was shocked to learn that I had malaria as I have been taking my malaria medication every day at the same time every day. I have also been hyper-diligent about tucking in my mosquito net at night. Whatever the case, I will be better within the next week. There is a definite scare associated with malaria back in the United States, probably due to the fact that many of the people who contract the malaria parasite do not have access to the necessary medical care. For me, it’s no worse than having a bout of the common cold, so hakuna matata (no worries, a common expression in Zanzibar). I spent the rest of the day resting and ventured out for dinner at the caf in the evening. The next morning, I felt well enough to go to the Degree Tree cafe for breakfast and made the mistake of checking internet afterwards, as the walk back sapped my energy. Lots of rest and relaxation followed in the day and a pirated flick from the States that was borrowed from Caleb’s Tanzanian friend named Guddhat. Thursday followed much the same as Wednesday with major R and R time, reading, and several “Flight of the Conchords” episodes. On Friday I was feeling good and decided to go to Kiswahili, still sans Aldin. The T.A.’s were not expecting to teach us, as we were supposed to leave for Zanzibar this morning, so class was pretty chaotic as three of them attempted to teach us while the fourth snoozed in the back. After class, I went to access internet at the maktaba (library) before hitting lunch at the cafeteria. Since our other teachers were not expecting us for class with Zanzibar, we had the afternoon free for resting and napping. So Caleb, Allison, Katie and I decided to head into Posta to check out the secondhand book sellers and get some Indian food. Unfortunately, all the book sellers were closed, but we hit up a fabulous, 100 % vegetarian restaurant called Bhog 51, conveniently situated right next to a pastry shop! We all got dessert before ordering our food. The restaurant is situated right in the middle of the Indian section of Dar, and it was hopping. I think that there were several weddings that night as the streets were filled with people and music. We ate outside and listened to the music as we watched the cooks prepare our meal on stoves outside – really neat and delicious and served with cheese! People from Wisconsin and Minnesota don’t know what a luxury cheese is! We also saw berries for the first time here in Tanzania,; strawberries, blackberries, blueberries – so tempted but completely off limits. The next morning, we woke up early to catch the ferry to Zanzibar. The rush to the ferry was a little overwhelming and it turned out that half of our group didn’t make it onto the boat, including Dr. Roberts, Paulina, Kessy, and Emanuel. The two Kiswahili teachers did make it onto the first boat with about half our group and when we got to Zanzibar, we met up our guide and went to the hotel to drop off our stuff and get breakfast at the cafe on the rooftop. While eating, the other half of the group joined us and then a small group of us went to explore the island. We walked along the windy back streets and along the beach area of Stone Town (the older part of Zanzibar). Zanzibar is absolutely beautiful with its narrow streets, blue skies, charming homes, and cerulean blue water. We grabbed some street food of mishikaki (grilled meat on a stick) before meeting up with our guide for a walking tour of Stone Town and some of the newer part of the island. We first at lunch at a local hotspot and then proceeded to see the sites, including: old Arab and Indian mosques with elaborately carved doors that boasted brass spikes on them (originally the spikes were used as a defense against the elephants who were used to knock down the doors during war times), the first Anglican and Catholic churches on the island (Zanzibar is about 90% Islamic and 10% Christian and other denominations), the Anglican church was decorated with a cross made out of the wood of Dr. David Livingstone’s temporary coffin (British explorer, influential in abolishing African slave trade), former slave market (Zanzibar was the major hub for slave trade to Africa and the Middle East), the darajani market with delicious sugar bananas and booming fish, meat, fruit, and spice markets, and the House of Wonders. We ended up there last and hiked up to the balcony to overlook Zanzibar at sunset – beautiful. After going back to the hotel to take a hot shower (yay!), we went out to the beach area to grab street food at an awesome street market where vendors come out in droves every night (except during Ramadhan) to sell freshly cooked seafood and other food. Some vendors also sell ‘Zanzibar pizza’- a pancake-like piece of sweet dough with either savory or sweet food inside. Several members of the group opted for the sweet one of Nutella with banana or mango with Nutella, both delicious. After eating, I sat on the pier overlooking the water as a lady applied a henna design with ink on my hand and arm to round out the day. The next morning, we had breakfast again at the rooftop area before going to a lecture about Zanzibar marine life at UDSM’s Zanzibar branch by Dr. Jiddawi, an accomplished lady with a talent for lecturing. After the talk, we went down to the aquarium on site to see one of the two loggerhead turtles in captivity on the island – pretty cool. From there we met up with our guide and drove out in the countryside to see the ruins of the palace that second sultan of Zanzibar’s palace kept for his second wives. Next we drove to a spice farm where we went for a tour of the place, both with tasting and smelling of the spices, including: ginger, nutmeg, cardamom, cinnamon, vanilla, tumerick, cloves, curry, tofa (Zanzibar apples), and many more. After the tour, we watched as a man climbed a coconut tree, singing as he went to retrieve several unripe coconuts. Coconut milk is called Zanzibar’s Coca Cola. When he came down, he cut them open and we all had coconut meat and milk before eating pilau and other food from the spice farm on site. After eating the savory food, we sampled jack fruit (which tastes like a cross between a banana and pineapple), tangerines, oranges, grapefruit, bananas, and others. From the spice tour, we drove around in the countryside until we reached a protected forest area with red collobus monkeys. We hadn’t even walked a hundred yards into the forest and there they were. We walked a bit further and one jumped to a branch within a foot from me – so exciting! There were lots of pictures taken before we wrapped up our tour and went again via bus to meet Dr. Jiddawi at the local cafe. Once there, we munched on mishikaki, biryani (pilau-esque rice with spices) and coconut bread. After the meal, we headed out to the street market again for some late-night snacks. I got henna done on my other hand before heading back. The next morning, Caleb and I woke up early to grab breakfast at the soko ya darajani, which consisted of ndizi sukari (sugar bananas), freshly baked bread, coffee, and some nutty, delicious bisquits, all for under $1. From the market we headed back to the hotel to meet our guide and walk to the pier area of town to pick out snorkle gear! Once we found flippers that fit and grabbed a mask, we went to the dhao boats and drove out into the deep blue sea. Fun fact: there are only 350 motorized boats on the whole island of Zanzibar. We weighed anchor about a half mile away from an island (they have peacocks on the island, which is only accessible via water, unlike Zanzibar with its ferry dock and airport) and put on our gear. After learning how to breathe underwater, I was set and I had an amazing time looking at multiple different types of coral, swimming through schools of fish – and jellyfish – seeing pufferfish, sea cucumbers, many clownfish and sea anemones and much more. It was such a blast to be exposed to a different world and the two hours felt like 15 minutes! Once we got back on land, we headed to the ferry dock and rode back to Dar. Apparently on the way back, an inattentive captain of another boat hit our ferry. But fortunately it didn’t affect our passage in the slightest. When we got back to the city, we went back to our home base of the dorms. After a short jaunt to Ubungo (like Mwenge except on the other side of the university), we had dinner at the caf before calling it a night.
