Christmas Decorations in Zanzibar

While the population of Zanzibar is mostly Muslim, (we have read up to 99%, but statistics vary) there are still Christians living on the island and many tourists come to celebrate Christmas here for a nice vacation. Many of the hotels put up Christmas trees and decorations. Here is a sampling of some of the decorations that we saw over the last few weeks.

 

Fun things to do in Zanzibar

I have been negligent in posting recently and haven’t even put up the pictures and information from when our friends, the Powers, came to visit for Thanksgiving and Christmas and the New Year have already past.

This was the first day when we drove around the island to see the beaches and then went to see monkeys in Jozani Forest. On Tuesday, when we both went to work, they went on a spice tour and relaxed in the afternoon. On Wednesday, we went to Prison Island, snorkeled and had lunch on the sand bar. On Thursday, we did a city tour. Friday, they saw a little more of the island and I went to the university. Here are a few pictures of the things we did with them.

A beach view for lunch on the east coast of the island.

A beach view for lunch on the east coast of the island.

 

Jozani Forest

Mangrove trees in Jozani Forest

 

My juice and coconut drink.

My juice and coconut drink.

 

On Tuesday evening, we showed them the beautiful sunsets we get in Stone Town.

On Tuesday evening, we showed them the beautiful sunsets we get in Stone Town.

 

Feeding the aldabra tortoises on Prison Island

Feeding the aldabra tortoises on Prison Island

 

A view of Stone Town from the Sand bar where we relaxed and had lunch after snorkeling.

A view of Stone Town from the Sand bar where we relaxed and had lunch after snorkeling.

 

Freshly cooked seafood and fresh fruits for lunch made for us and caught and brought to the island.

Freshly cooked seafood and fresh fruits for lunch made for us and caught and brought to the island.

 

The Anglican Church where the slave market used to be in Stone Town.

The Anglican Church where the slave market used to be in Stone Town.

A sculpture created to memorialize the events at the slave market in the 1800s.

A sculpture created to memorialize the events at the slave market in the 1800s.

We finished the trip with drinks before a casual Thanksgiving dinner and a lovely sunset.

The sunset behind me from the rooftop restaurant at their hotel.

The sunset behind me from the rooftop restaurant at their hotel.

A new appreciation for Part-time faculty and the end of tourist time

It has been awhile since I posted on the blog, but that is because we have been busy doing lots of things and getting ready for the semester to start. Some are more touristy-type things and some were just routine things to move the work forward. We have also enjoyed meeting new people from different organizations over the last few weeks.

An appetizer I enjoyed last weekend during the Stone Town Food Festival (aka restaurant weekend)

An appetizer I enjoyed last weekend during the Stone Town Food Festival (aka restaurant weekend)

On the touristy side (I don’t want to say more fun side because the research pieces have also been fun), we spent last weekend with our friend Caroline who was visiting from Dar es Salaam. She and her husband were our closest friends when we lived in Lushoto in 2008-2009 and we spent a lot of time with them and their family then. She came to Zanzibar for work and we got to learn more about what she is doing now and some organizations that she is involved with. In Lushoto, she also worked at the Rainbow School where I did my dissertation, but she worked with the Outreach Program. Now, she is in Dar again working with the Lutheran Diocese and starting a new vocational training center for youth with disabilities to provide job skills and employment opportunities. She came to Zanzibar with a group of Germans who were filming projects in this area for a documentary. I will share more on the projects and activities in my next entry. We did have a lot of fun meeting new people and learning more about the work of the German film crew. One of the men was a freelance journalist and another was a photographer and videographer, so Keith very much enjoyed talking about photography and media with them.

 

Vegetable platter with hummus, pesto, and baba ghanoush and calamari

Vegetable platter with hummus, pesto, and babaghanoush and calamari

We also tried a another restaurant here for the first time this week, La Taperia, with tapas and sandwiches and the food was outstanding. The calamari was so fresh and delicious. And we bought mangos and watermelon and I carved them for snacks. Since I normally buy the pre-cut fruit in the supermarket, I found this to be quite an accomplishment, especially because I didn’t waste much due to my poor cutting skills.

A potato and cheese tapa with ham

A potato and cheese tapa with ham

And this week, I finally got started on my research. I went to visit six prospective schools that are all within walking distance of our house. Right now, I don’t have any new pictures of the schools, because I was just doing the meet and greet with principals and school leaders to get permission for my research. Everyone was very welcoming and my colleague who escorted me and introduced me to teachers and principals was very helpful. As we find in Boston, he also knew teachers at several of the schools, either through a personal connection or mostly because teachers were also students in the SUZA education programs. Each of these schools are different, but all have preschool classes (ages 4-6 here), but some are also primary schools. They represent the three different types of preschool programs: government, community-based Madrasa, and private schools. I was very grateful to my colleagues at SUZA for their work in getting me my government research permit. It was interesting to see how important that document was for entry, but also how that document allowed access and cooperation with my approved research topic and methodologies. When I am done with my research, I also have to provide reports to the government and follow all the guidelines, but that is also part of the exchange of ideas and I welcome the feedback from the government on my findings.

Tunguu campus

Tunguu campus

Yesterday, I went to the university campus in Tunguu where I will be teaching for this school year and participated in the orientation for new students in the early childhood, inclusive education, and physical education diploma programs. The pictures below of the orientation were taken by my colleague Umayra Said.  

Faculty waiting for the presentations to start

Faculty waiting for the presentations to start

 

A faculty member explaining the programs

A faculty member explaining the programs

 

Students listening to the orientation presentation and asking questions

Students listening to the orientation presentation and asking questions

I also received an office and found the classroom where I will be teaching one of my classes.

My office

My office

The view outside from my office window

The view outside from my office window

In the last few weeks, I have gained a new appreciation for what it is like to be an adjunct or part-time faculty member. For the last five and a half years in my position at UMass Boston, I have been a program director and in charge of schedules, information, syllabi, and other details. Although I also had to learn the system there, I have spent most of my time being the person who gave information and answered the questions from part-time faculty and addressed issues. Everyone here has been very welcoming and helpful, but sometimes I didn’t realize that I had a question or needed something until I was trying to address a problem and I needed assistance here to solve it. I am not in charge. I don’t mind that, but then I am dependent on others as our adjunct faculty are on myself and the other program directors to help them on all kinds of issues like how can I get a site for putting up links and documents, where do I print and copy things, and how do I get a projector for my classroom? We have some of the same scheduling issues to deal with here with times and rooms, but on Monday classes will start and learning will commence. This year on Facebook, my colleague Kristin Murphy, talked about the new semester excitement and jitters that she feels every time even though she has been doing it awhile. I am feeling that excitement and the jitters for my next week, but I can’t wait for this new adventure.

One of my classrooms

One of my classrooms

The student view in my classroom

The student view in my classroom

 

Settling in to our new home

 

Yesterday, I was walking to the back of my apartment to get a bottle of water and it suddenly dawned on me that I live here. Not just that I live in this apartment, but that for the next 10 months of my life, we will be living in Zanzibar, Tanzania. Of course I planned to live here and I actively sought a grant and housing and other things to make it possible, but it was a strange moment to realize that we actually live here and that we will not be in the United States for the next 10 months. I had slowly been processing thoughts about the length of time, such as when I might see a friend again and or being happy that I don’t have to attend certain meetings for this school year. But, the reality has set in and in turn a bit of a schedule and routine.

 

My home office

My home office

This past week, we went to the economic capital of Dar es Salaam to the US Embassy to do our orientation and security briefing. This was the first time that Keith had been to Dar in seven years since we got on the airplane there at the end of my student Fulbright. He was able to see how much it had changed and all the growth and big buildings. We also saw a fellow Fulbrighter and enjoyed the view from their balcony.

View from a rotating restaurant called Akemi in Dar es Salaam with great food and views on the 21st floor.

View from a rotating restaurant called Akemi in Dar es Salaam with great food and views on the 21st floor.

A balcony view of the ocean in Dar

A balcony view of the ocean in Dar

On my social media, I have been posting pictures on my lunch views and enjoying the beautiful Indian Ocean and the delicious fresh juice. My aunt and my mother asked me if all I did was eat and look at pretty views.

View of boats while eating lunch

View of boats while eating lunch

Avocado and passionfruit juice

Avocado and passionfruit juice

While part of me wanted to say yes and part of me wanted to say no, the truth is that we are developing our routine and the semester here does not start until the middle of October. In addition, we are waiting for our work and my research permits to be processed, so at this time we are tourists who can spend some time getting to know Zanzibar and enjoying its beauty and food. I also can spend time as a tourist working on various pieces of writing and research that I have not had the time to do in the last couple months/year and get some of that work out for review. So here is my home office that I have set up and try to get a couple of hours of writing in each morning. We also can do some preparation for our upcoming work.

Sweaty and happy after my workout

Sweaty and happy after my workout

I have also gotten back to working out and doing my yoga. I found a yoga class here that meets twice a week that I hope to try soon.

On the list of other accomplishments, we are finally learning our way and I am particularly proud that I was able to find my way home the most direct route yesterday from shopping and lunch. When I ask directions, they commonly tell me just turn left or right here and then go straight till you get to whatever it is I am looking for.

The winding streets and alleys of Stone Town

The winding streets and alleys of Stone Town

 

 

I am learning that straight and follow the road have a similar meaning, but still lead to me getting lost sometimes in these curvy alleys.  

Sights and Sounds

 

An Anglican church steeple and a Mosque Minaret

An Anglican church steeple and a Mosque Minaret

We have been in Zanzibar for four days and I love our apartment. It is very comfortable and spacious. When we were in Washington DC, this summer we visited the National Museum of African Art and they had an exhibit on the sounds of the market in Lagos, Nigeria. It was an interesting exhibit, but also very familiar having visited many open markets in African countries. Two of the things I am enjoying are the sounds we hear and the winding streets. I will stand outside on the balcony at different times of day and look outside and watch the different people from many different places and with a wide variety of dress styles walking down the narrow passage.

One of the streets near us

One of the streets near us

Our apartment is well ventilated so we are cool with the ceiling fans and windows open, but this also means we hear lots of different sounds throughout the day. In the morning, the roosters and sounds of people washing and working remind me it is time to get up and in the afternoon we hear lots of children outside playing. At sunset we have calls to prayer from different mosques that compete for the airwaves. In the evening, we have different types of music and cats. Because this week is the Eid celebration, I am not sure if the music is just for Eid or if it will continue after the celebration is over.

Another street

Another street

To get to our apartment, we walk up 4 sets of winding stairs, but it is worth it. We just have to remember to hold on and turn the light on. This will help us get our exercise.

Our stairs remind me of stairs in a church steeple in Europe, but only 4 flights.

Our stairs remind me of stairs in a church steeple in Europe, but only 4 flights.

Arrived in Zanzibar

We have arrived in Zanzibar. It was a very long trip: 26+ hours, 5 airports, and 4 planes. But, we have a lovely apartment with a great view and yesterday were toured around the city by a friend (who is a lecturer at the university). We got to see new things and I saw some places that I had been before. Her advice was to get lost and learn our way. Today we went looking for places and found several things we were looking for, but not the most direct way and we did get turned around and “lost,” although we knew where we were, just not where we wanted to go. But, we found our way home.

Today is Eid al-Adha and a public holiday, so we are getting a leisurely start to our time here and some time to decompress and adjust to the time change and new surroundings. We met our landlord who seems very nice and we got one phone on internet so that we can use a hotspot to get online with our other devices. Tomorrow when things open again, we will get our other phone online and shop for some things that we still need.

Please check out Keith’s (my husband) blog at www.kamacdonaldphoto.com for more about our trip and follow his adventures too. He will be posting lots of great photos that show more about the island and experiences. His photos will be awesome and he is a very engaging writer too.

Here are a few pictures from our place.

Panoramic view from the balcony

Panoramic view from the balcony

Panoramic view from the balcony

Panoramic view from the balcony

The dining table in the kitchen

The dining table in the kitchen

The kitchen

The kitchen

One bathroom

One bathroom

Our table on the balcony

Our table on the balcony

Our bedroom

Our bedroom

The living room and there is a door there to the balcony

The living room and there is a door there to the balcony