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In Zanzibar...

Well I've gone from A to Z... the Arctic to Zanzibar and it's almost time to come home...

I'm spending my last week in Stonetown in beautiful Zanzibar... at the Tembo Hotel...



Stonetown is this maze of small streets and alleyways that guarantees that you'll get lost but if keep wandering, you will either end up at Market Street or at the Indian Ocean...


The Zanzibar International Film Festival is going on right now so lots to do...Last night we went to see a film in the outdoor stone amphitheatre...And there's bands playing in an old Fort...



Yesterday we took a boat, called "Mr Bean" over to Prison Island to do some snorkeling. Amazing, pristine beaches...



It was never actually used as a prison because as soon as it was completed, they decided to use it to quarantine sick people arriving by boat from India and the Middle East. Now it houses a hotel, restaurant and conservation area that helps protect the almost extinct Giant Tortoises...

Feeding time...



And the race is on... The Tortoise and the Hair!



See you in a week!

In Dar Es Salaam...

Fr Salutari Bahati and Fr Massenge are keeping me company...

And today we went to Bagamoyo on the Indian Ocean.... And I think it is my favourite place in Tanzania....

There were so many school children there on vacation...

And then tonight we dined at our favourite place "The Rose Garden".... Our usual waitress is Ashura...she is 21 and wants to be a lawyer to help with women's rights...she has been talking to the Priests about going back to secondary school, so between me and my friends, we will hopefully sponsor her....

Pictures from around the schoolyard...

I've been accused by some of my American friends of being on a mission to recruit new Canadians with all the Canada pins and flags I've been giving out...

This way to the school...

Hanging out with the girls in the dorm...

The computer lab...but no internet yet...( it's coming soon)

Do you remember the computer days before internet? Way back, we had a huge, huge computer that my Dad brought home from work...it sat in the corner of our kitchen and I used it to type out my essays...one screenshot page at a time...I think that was around the time of Pong...Boy, do I sound old!

The bus home after a soccer game...

Playing some Netball...

Short hair is mandatory at the school...and everytime I walk by the shop, the students want to give me a buzz...

UWO Western Heads East Project...

It's so strange to come to Africa and hang out with Western students...but I couldn't have found four more welcoming, friendly or fun girls... Corrine, Missy, Kim and Jackie...

The girls are here as interns for the summer and are working on expanding the Yogurt business, doing research to see how it's helping and doing a documentary on it...

We spent a week touring, working, and playing...(and between us, I think we had malaria, typhoid and an unknown parasite....)

Corrine teaching English to the Mamas...

I got to meet the "Yogurt Mamas" and see how the yogurt is made...it sells for 10 cents a cup but here are so many people who still can't afford it...

And Missy, Jackie and I took a road trip back to Ussango to visit my school...

5 hours on a sketchy bus....

But worth it in the end...

We got to see all of my watoetoes.... (Swahili for Children)

I try not to have favourites...but "Captain Merando" is so cute!

Thanks to Mom and Danielle for all of the books, stickers and candies...the kids just loved them!

And finally...our last night out together in Mwanza at the Hotel Talapia!

Thanks for such a wonderful time girls and we'll see you in September!

Safari...

Those of you who have camped with me...Borman, Tara, Kellie, Danielle, Brenda, Esme, and to some extent, the Madagascar Princesses.... know that I'm a bit of a chicken when it comes to leaving the tent at night...so imagine Michelle in a tent by herself in the middle of the Serengeti with wild animals roaming around...I was terrified to say the least! When we were setting up our tents at the Ngorogoro Crater, there were four elephants roaming about 50 yards away... The guy a few tents over from me went to go to the toilet during the night and when he came out of the tent, there was a buffalo five feet away...and the night before, a lion killed a warthog right behind some tents. Needless to say, nothing short of an elephant stepping on me, was getting me out of my tent at night!!

But looking back (now that I'm hanging out poolside at the Talapia) ...I have to say it was an amazing experience....lol

I did a five day safari that included one night at Lake Manyara, two nights in the Serengeti and one night at the rim of the Ngorogoro Crater...I joined a tour with two German students, Sorn and Toby...Toby had a really good camera and is sending me a disc with all his pictures but until then, you'll have to make due with my feeble photographic attempts...

Don't want to tailgate this guy...

More Tembos...

Just hanging out at the local watering hole...

Simba on the Hunt in the Ngorogoro Crater...There were nine lions circling in on two warthogs...(who got away thank goodness...I may have become a carnivore lately but some things I still don't want to watch...)

Twiga...(my blog is not only entertaining, it's educational...teaching you Swahili!)


Although it might not look like it in the picture, but Hippos are huge animals...and very dangerous if you mistakenly get between them and their water source!

Lost in Translation

May 26th…

In the past, I have sometimes been accused of being too casual in making plans with people…To me ”See you later” is not a plan but apparently this attitude is catching up with me here in Tanzania…

Last week, I heard that our cook Matthew’s child was in the hospital so once he was back, I went to see him. (my Swahili vocabulary surrounding food is actually pretty good)… Up until this point, most of my conversations with Matthew have centered around food, so it was strange to struggle so much during this conversation but I was able to find out that it was his "daughter" and that she had a problem with her eye. (my Swahili is also pretty good when it comes to body parts) I then ask him if tomorrow I might be able to give him some balloons to take home to his daughter.
So as I leave, I see a little confusion in his face but overall I am feeling pretty good about our conversation. Later that night, Felician (an English teacher) comes to tell me that Matthew came to him to see if Felician would accompany me to Matthew’s house as Matthew was worried that I might not find it on my own. Apparently I had somehow made an appointment for 5:30 pm the next day? And of course, balloons in hand, Felician and I went at the appointed time the next day…lol

Later that same week, I was sitting outside the store when two women came and sat with me. We chatted over a soda and the one woman told me that she would like me to come and visit here at her place. Quite often I accompany Father Chuwa or Father Henry to different towns so I’m never exactly sure when I’ll be around, so, through Felician, I said I wasn’t sure when I could meet or if I would have time before I left the next week. We had some more conversation … part Swahili and partly translated by Felician and then we said goodbye…Kwaheri.
So two days later, I am at the school taking pictures and Felician comes to tell me that my friend Fairista is here to collect me (and Felician) to go to her place. So I am a little perplexed on what to do as …A) It’s the last day of school and Felician actually has a job to do at the school which does not include being my personal tour guide and B) I have no idea how far away this place is as most people here are used to walking far distances and when you ask them how far it is to somewhere, they say “just over the hill”. Just over the hill can mean anywhere from 100 metres to 25 kilometres…
So thankfully, Felician agrees that we should go and that he will come with me… So we join Fairista and start walking. I want to bring some sodas to here place as a gift but it’s almost impossible to figure out how many to buy (as there were then about at least a dozen children around us) So we send some of the older children off to buy 18 sodas…(Fairista has said that she doesn’t want a soda but would really like some soap…so we buy her some soap…and a soda) We follow Fairista for quite a while, going through other people’s yards…stopping to say hi to them…and then finally we reach her house. About 5 minutes later, the children come carrying the case of sodas… We sat and chatted…and I find out that Fairista is 38 and has four children…(three of which are away at school so only one of our crowd of children is actually hers.) It was such a party atmosphere…I taught the children the “Capt’n Jack” song and dance…and we took lots of pictures. Then just as we were about to go, Fairista presented me with a live chicken as a gift. There is something so surreal when you receive such a kind offering… I then lead the children in songs the whole way back to the school “I said a Boom, Chick a Boom” …I think this may have been one of my most favourite experiences here… so Lost in Translation is not always a bad thing…