Kwa Heri Africa

I can't believe my time here is over. I spent the last week in kind of a haze. It flew by because there was, all of a sudden, so much to do. I had to try and book train tickets and places to stay in India on unreliable Internet connections. I was in full goodbye mode all week which for me, who isn't great with good byes (thanks Ma), is emotionally taxing. Quinn and I busted our ass to get an agreement signed with the men who run the hotel and premises therein that Mama Rose resides on. We actually drafted a contract ourselves. Contracts are not easy and there is sort of an art to it i e: where to place certain words, demands, intros, etc. I had to get a bunch of pictures that I hadn't taken yet of people and places. I had to do laundry one more time before I left. I'll miss doing laundry by hand when this is all over, it's meditative. Martje, Quinn, and I put the finishing touches on the classroom. We put our hand prints all over the wall underneath "UNITY IS POWER", in the colors of the Tanzanian flag. It came out pretty well I think.

My last day started with the same ol' breakfast and Quinn and I went to Mama Roses for the parent, teacher, kids day event. Mama Roses boys made an airplane that said USA on one side and AIR CANADA on the other. The kids sang a couple songs including one that every kid got to do a solo. "My naaaaame is Dunkan, I am haaaapy, to be with you". Watching all the kids go I up I started to get a little emotional and anticipatory. I'm going to miss these kids in a very different way than I've missed anything or anyone before. They have done so much for me and not just opening my eyes and all that other type of stuff. They got to me. Really got to me. It's going to take a long time to feel how much I really love them and then when I do finally feel it, how will I react to the fact that all of these kids are starving when they come to school. Over half of them are HIV positive. Their future is so bleak and yet they are so content. They have no TV, no X-Box, no Hot Wheels, no toys really and yet, these were the happiest kids I've seen in a long time. When they were singing that song I also started to think about my child and how he/she/it will be singing in a class someday. I am going to be a father. Ok, moving on.

A little later in the day I brought Sabrina up to the new classroom and we sat down by the wall of hand prints. I deliberately put my hand print next to Sabrinas and I showed her that. I put my hand on mine and her hand on hers and she looked at me. I said we would be together no matter where I was and I had learned the word for 'heart' in Swahili so I said that I was in her "moyo" and she was in my "moyo". She kept looking at me with this sad confusion and I began to form tears in my eyes. She hugged me and as we were leaving she smiled at me which totally disarmed me from my somber mood. I'm going to miss her so much.

After the even was over I said good bye to all the kids and watched them pull away from the school in a dalla dalla for the last time. Mama Rose and her family of friends and I sat around talked and when it came time to leave (I still had not packed for heavens sakes), before the goodbye started coming I reminded them that I'd see them all later that night at my little gathering by the beach. I went home and packed all of my life into one bag, which is still a shocker, (and I don't mean that kind of shocker, I mean I was shocked, sickos).

I met up with everyone at the beach that night. We all sat around at the Italians bar, talked and shared stories. At one point I remember Martje saying that the crowd of people were mostly local. That made me feel really good actually because it meant that I had really put an effort in to know Africans. These people were so good to me and it felt right to spend my last dinner with them. Mama Roses family were all there which consist of:

Mama Rose
1.James
2.Lawrence
3.Robert
4.Stephen
5.Edward
5.Jennifer (Roberts Wife)
6.Masi (Robert and Jennifers beautiful girl) (MASI ATTACK!)

That's a big group and what an amazing family. They are some of the kindest people I've ever met in my life and I was blessed to be a part of their lives. Mama Rose took a short walk with me and I thanked her and we talked about my travels and what she was hoping to do with the school in the future. I told her I was going to try and help send volunteers to her in the future. I will be in contact with that family for as long as I live. I said good bye to Mama Rose and thanked her for being my Mom in Africa. She started to cry, which, of course means I started to cry. I said good bye to all the boys and Jennifer and Masi and pretty soon after that my night was finished.

Today I woke up and spent some time with Quinn. Quinn is partly what kept my sanity in tact on this trip. She was a constant feeling of home and a person here that I could trust and count on. We had so many long, wonderful talks about this and that. Thank God she was here. When the volunteers factioned off into Orphans vs. Mama Rose, (everything had to be a competition with the couple here, I'll be happy to be moving on from them. They were just the kind of people that have to win at everything and make you feel like a fool. Not jerks so much as just young and unwise. Pretty much like me at 25. Plus, the sour tone in the house had more to do with the Ball Foundation doing a terrible job of taking care of us and people complaining all the time. It's one of the reasons I'm excited to meet this friend of Bethanys. She has this debilitating disease and is in constant pain but never complains. Ever since Bethany told me about her, I think about that before I complain. I'm really abusing the parenthesis in these blogs. Sorry)) I felt so fortunate that she and I were on the same team. On the same level. On the same wavelength. She filled the role of best friend very nicely and I'm thankful for her.

I'm leaving now. I wish I could sum up what this time has meant to me but right now, I don't even know. What do I feel? I feel wonderful. I feel thankful. I feel sadness. I feel excited. I feel alive. I feel colorful. I feel like part of a family. I feel like having one more Bamboocha. I feel like staying. I feel like going home. I feel like going to India. I feel filthy. I feel incomplete. I feel filled with joy. I feel compassionate. I feel love. I feel Africa.

Salaama

Safari

Oh Wow,

I left for Arusha on a cramped bus at 8:30am on Friday. The bus ride was so long and with my knees starting to hurt and the sun going down, I was beginning to wonder if it was worth the hassle. I showed up in Arusha and the touts were in full force. Like Zanzibar but worse and knowing that all of them are full of shit is unsettling. I learned "Toka" in Swahili which means piss off. It worked. I got hooked up with a tour operator through my friend at U Dar, Jessica, and we set everything up. I slept in a sketchy place and ate some beef and chips. I locked everything up and went to sleep with more holes in the mosquito net than George W. had in his reasoning for going to war.

The next morning I awoke and met my Safari partners. Mr. Giraffe, from Arusha, was the uncle of the tour operator and a fine gentlemen. Stephen, from France, who was so incredibly French that it was hilarious. Everything about a stereotypical French guy with his speech "Ahhhhhh, what is word, oh-la-la, mmmmmmmmm yes" and his appearance was what you would imagine. The only thing that didn't fit was that he was so incredibly cool. He is a Buddhist and lives in Madagascar. The driver, Mike, knew great English and was a thoughtful and awesome driver. He has a girlfriend in Colorado so we kept joking that we must be family. The first place we went was Lake Manyara.

Beautiful backdrop on a beautiful day in the lush African forest and savannah. That's Lake Manyara. We went to the visitors center first to read some info and blah, blah, blah. The welcoming committee while we were there was a troop of about 40 baboons that were just traveling through. We left the visitors center and started our safari. It wasn't long before we saw our first animal. An elephant the size of a small apartment was standing right next to the road eating a tree. Eating a frigging tree. Are you kidding me? We went along and saw another troop of baboons who were walking along the road. We then turned a corner and I got to see my giraffe, eating the high leafs on a tree by a small river. He saw us come up and stood for a moment and then decided it would be best to bounce. Watching that creature move is amazing and the way they stare at you gave me a sense of their wisdom. We continued on and saw monkeys, impalas, and all sorts of stuff and then we were in the savannah. Wide open plains filled with zebra, wildebeast, 100's of different kinds of birds including flamingos. There was a hippo pool and in the far, far distance we could see a couple of lions. Wow.

We went and had lunch under a acacia tree, my favorite tree in the world I think and what Mike told me they called, "the shade of Africa". After lunch we ended up observing these three elephants who Mike said were brothers. One of the little guys was acting skittish about getting in the pool to cool off. He kept sort of inching towards it but wouldn't go in. Finally, the BIG brother pushed him into the pool by running his head into his but. If I had a big brother, I would have felt even more sentimental than I already did. We left soon after and it was off to Mosqutio village to spend the night (that's not a cute name it actually is called Mosquito village).

We woke up early the next morning and headed off to N'gorongoro Crater west of where we were staying. We entered into the conservation area and the fog was everywhere. It was one of those, "felt like I was in a dream moments", but even more surreal because it looked like the middle of the jungle. We came around a corner and all of a suddenly there was a clearing and we were looking down on a plain that went as far as my eyes could see. Mike told us that it was the Serengheti. They are part of the same ecosystem and even though we were officially a hundred km from the park, there it was.

We started our descent into the crater and I have to tell you, I've never seen anything like this. A volcano exploded in this area a million years ago and now this flat surface remains with a couple lakes, a forest, and grass when everywhere else is dry. It's surrounded by an escarpment 500 ft. straight up on all sides. Wow. We got to the bottom and met some Massai people who were tending their cattle and wanted money from us, I said "hapana pesa bwana, pole sana", and we drove on. I can't tell you how teaming with wildlife this place is. Everything we saw yesterday, sans giraffe, plus warthogs, rhino, gazelle, jackal, ostrich, more birds, buffalo, hyena, and more.

When you ride on safari you stand out the top of the roof and take pictures in awe. My head was on a swivel trying to take everything in. The wildebeest would number in the hundreds with the zebra and gazelle. It was dusty as hell but that's all part of the gig and Mike had something cool to say about every animal. The coolest thing I saw on safari was a pride of lions that had just killed two zebras. Four lions were sitting by a pool and two were patrolling the kills, protecting the food from scavengers. The jackals had the biggest balls as far as I'm concerned, walking right up to the kill and taking bites before Ms. lioness was like, "uh-uh, no you dit-int", and ran over to scare him off.

We had lunch by a hippo pool and there were these birds, like hawks, that would bomb people who were eating out in the open. Serves em' right, this is their turf. Which leads well into my next story. After we started again I had to go to the bathroom and I asked Mike if we could stop and to my surprise, he said yes. I stepped out onto the floor of the crater with nothing around but 1000's of animals and as I looked out I had the strangest feeling. I am quite simply, just an animal. That's all we all are, and being surrounded by all these animals was humbling and wonderful. As we moved on I had to keep reminding myself that this wasn't a zoo, this is how they live, this is WHERE they live.

At the end of the day I got inexcusably cheesy and I got my disc man and played, "The Circle Of Life", from The Lion King, while we were going past a herd of wildabeast, and yes, I got goose bumps. Hey, at least my kid is going to dig when I do shit like that. We left too soon for my liking anyway (I could have stayed there for 4 more days) and headed back to Arusha.

The trip home was as long as the trip up. As we left the roof of Africa which was cloud covered when I came up was out in full force as we went past Moshi. I got to look at Mt. Kilamajaro and it isn't quite as high as I expected but it is enormously wide and regardless of any size, it's beautiful. When I got to Dar I made my way home via a dalla-dalla and realized quickly that I was leaving Africa soon. This time has, at the risk of sounding like everyone else who comes to places like this, flown by. I feel so fortunate to have had this time, wait, you know what, not yet. I still have another week.

peace & balance,

Nathan

Classroom and H.O.V.A.

Hey Yall'

This will be just a quick update. Tomorrow I leave for Arusha to organise a safari. Arusha is about a 10 hours on a bus so I'll be sure and listen to a bunch of music on the way. Thank God for the disc man. I was supposed to go on safari with a few friends and the driver here but Kari, the same dolt who runs the organization, screwed everything up. He's sort of a master at that. He wouldn't let Thomas, the driver, take us up because of timing constraints. coughcoughBULLSHITcoughcough. It actually has worked out though because I'm going to be in India alone soon and I feel I've had very little practice at that. Not that I'm ever really alone. I travel with God. Happy Ramadan by the way.

I have pretty much finished the classroom at Mama Roses. It looks pretty good. I still want to hang some decorations but it's all cleaned up with desks and everything. The answer to your question is yes, I did finish the chalkboard and it was the hardest thing I've ever put together. It's what they call a "labor of love". I used to think that was some cheesy comment until I actually did a labor of love and now I understand. It feels so good to know that this will be here after I'm gone. Quinn came in a painted the words "Unity Is Power". Everyday Mama Rose starts off with singing songs with the kids and one of them is a song about going to market. At the end of the song she and all the kids are singing "Unity digadumdigadum Is Powah digadumdigadum Unity...". It's wonderful time of the day and I think she is right. On the 14th, The kids, their parents, Mama Rose and her boys, Quinn and I are all having a get to know you and thank you session. At that time we will all, underneath the "Unity Is Power" put our hands in paint and leave our hand prints on the wall. YEAH!!!

So, last night I went to see the 8th wonder of the world. Jigga man himself. H to the iz O, V to the iz A, H.O.V.A. Jay Z (for those of you, like, I don't know, my Grandparents, {who, I recently found out are reading this via printed pages by my wonderful Aunt Betty, Nana and Gramps I love you so much}, who don't know who Jay Z is, he is one of the most popular hip hop stars alive.) The show was at Diamond Jubilie, which is basically like an expo center back home. Oh my God, it was amazing. He just went ahead and rocked the mic in Africa. Of all people in all places, I saw Jay-Z in Africa. Seeing a show like that here was different than in America. We just danced and had a good time and everyone, EVERYONE was feelin' it. Little bit a Brooklyn in Dar.

After the show was over Myself and 5 others from the University of Dar including fellow Traelpodder Jessica (what up girl) took a taxi home. We piled in and the trip there was sketchy at best. When we reached the campus, 4 of the kids got out and it was the lone Tanzanian in from with his Tanzanian driving brethren and me in the back. The guy not driving lived a few km of campus and I started to notice that he was talking to the driver a lot. I didn't think much of it until the guy tuned around and asked me if I could drive. I sort of giggled like "are you kidding"? I could see by the look on his face he wasn't. It turns out the driver didn't know how to drive. I suck it up and say, "Yeah, I know how to drive". The more accurate answer would have been, "Yeah, I know how to drive a Chevy in America on the right side of the road".

The guy gets out of the car and gives me directions for where I live, a mere 15 miles away. The driver hops in shotgun and I quickly realize what Tanzanian cars are like. Even the nicest cars have the shifter on the left. Wierd. I get on the road and immediately head to the right side of the road, bad move. There's no 2nd or 4th gear. The brakes are all but shot. The stearing would be better described as aiming, like I was in a boat. And of course, there was a headlight out. We're off. I hit speedbumps and caught air I think, and I won't even go into what the potholes are like here. For some reason, in Tanzania, people don't dim their high beams so whenever a car came I lost sight of the road (serious lack of street lamps as well). 45 minutes and a few early gray hairs later I pulled into my driveway. Wow. I left the driver and as I walked away I said a little prayer for him.

Other than that, it's been business as usual. My time is winding down here and soon it will be off to India. I can't believe how fast the time has gone. I guess everyone says that when they are in such a strange and wonderful place. I won't do the goodbye Africa email just yet though. I'm leaving for safari in a few hours. I've been saying the whole time that all I wanted to see was a giraffe. Looks like it's on. As the rastas say here...

Peace and Love,

Nathan

"Don't Think Twice"

Hello.

It's been a rare couple of weeks since I last updated for real. I'm doing OK. I wouldn't go so far as to say I'm amazing, but I'm not in the gutter either. The last update I gave was from frigging Zanzibar. A world of things happen in this place when you're not looking. I'll just jump around a bit and we'll see if we can't get yall' updated.

Some of you knew, some didn't, I was smoking again. I oficially quit again...kind of. I'm trying to just cut way down. There is another volunteer here named Gaylan from Canada who smokes. We're doing the 4 in 4 days, 3 in 3 days, 2...you get the idea. I'm hoping it works this time and no matter what, I can't smoke in the monestary in Nepal. I'll light up a smoke and they'll be like "uh-uh, no you di-it int"!

The three other Americans left the house. Ken is now in SE Asia (miss you brother), Sarah is probably in UCSB by now (how is Adriana), and Jamie is in Bagamoyo (did Jeff give you maleria?). How is a cowboy supposed to piss off the world and bomb people alone? Oh well, guess I'll just be peaceful and all that. The dynamic in the house has switched from loud to calm. Ruth is from England, Gaylan and Alicia are from Canada (and engaged). And there is still of course,Quinn, with whom this time in Africa has been made wonderful. We're all a bunch of readers now, yes even me. I've been reading books in 2-3 days. WOAH!!! Those of you who know me well know that I don't really read that much and this is amazing. The others of you who thought I read a bunch of books...SUCKERS!!!

I've started worshiping Bamboocha. I chant and bow. It's unhealthy.

Quinn and I went to the Bagamoyo Arts Festival which is put on by the Bagamoyo Arts College. The Lonely Planet says that the annual festival is the "pulse of the arts community in East Africa". The acts came from 12 different countries in Africa from South Africa and Sudan to Kenya and Tanzania, of course. It was amazing. There was traditional dance music with booty dancers (it's all about the booty here in Africa). We saw drumming, drumming, and more drumming. Why not, they invented it. There were a lot of kids acts. They flipped, contorted, balanced, and they DAAAAAAAAAANCED. One of the wierdest parts of the weekend was that Africans don't really applaude. An act would finish and a few people would kind of clap but mostly just sit there. I would yell and clap and make a fuss, but you know me. We got to spend some time with Jamie (who I get along famously with now) and her new roomate Jeff. Jeff got wasted every night he was there and I couldn't imagine why he was there? Its one thing to get wasted at home but in Africa? Whatever, maybe I'm the one missing out. We ended up hitching a ride home with a woman from Michigan who has lived in Tanzania for 10 years now. She is a teacher in Mwenge and had some wicked good stories for us. A great trip to the place that I supposed to be volunteering in the first place.

I whittled chess pieces with Gaylan out of candles. After we were done we played and I won. I knee hurts all the time, but has not gotten worse in the whole time I've been here. The water runs out constantly which makes for a stinky Nathan. There are so many problems with the organization that I'm here with I wouldn't know where to start if I had time to tell you. We're going to write what Bethany would call a "strongly worded letter" (Oh God I miss Bethany) to GVN. I rode on the dalla-dalla the other and it was as full as any vehicle I've ever seen in my life. I grabbed the bar on the inside and rode hanging outside of the van. Very African of me. My flight to Kathmandu from Bombay has been canceled. Everyone told me I would change when I came here but I have yet to see it, even though it's happening, and it will happen more later. I'm still Nathan.

Mama Rose is amazing as usual. She is a constant source of inspiration to me. Her, her boys, the kids. Mama teaches a class of about 50 while about 25 split off to get taught by Teacher Jennifer. Mamas class is comprised of 3-5 year olds. The 3 year olds don't know thier ABC's and count to about 3 and stall out. The 5 year olds can run circles around these kids. I decided that since I'm not the best teacher (what can I say, as much as I love them, I'm not a Day), maybe there could be something I could offer. I decided that with all the unused space Mama Rose has, she needed another space for the 5 year olds. I'm renovating one of the rooms in her school. These room basically havn't been touched in about 4 years and terrible things are going on inside. I'm halfway thorugh the process and it's the best decision I've made since I got here. This is a way my help can last way past October 15th. This is a way I can feel worthy of being around this group without feeling like I've taken more than I've given.

-Spray for bugs
-Get the big pieces of debris out
-Dust everything
-Clean walls
-Clean floors
-Paint walls
-Wrap wires and cover sockets
-Make chalkboard (this is where I am now, and you couldn't possibly imagine the project that this has been)

It's good work and I'm feeling good about it. There have been downers that I'm not going to go into here but like The Dude says "strikes and gutters". I guess the gutter balls and gong shows seem worse when you're quitting smoking. I've decided to give Mama Rose money every day I don't smoke to replace the packs. Not a bad idea but I'm wigging out and I need a smoke. This is a trip for the ages. It's all happening. I wish you could all see this with me. In a way you are all here with me. All of you make me who I am. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I guess I'll just keep on-keepin' on.

Salaama,

Nathan

ps-If the spelling sucks it's because I've run out of time at the internet cafe and honestly I don't care. I love you.

"Somebody Spoke and I Went Into a Dream"

7:00am -7:30am - I wake up to the sounds of volunteers trudging through my room to use the bathroom. Having the water closet in your room has its ups and downs, this is one of the downs.

7:31am - POWER CUT (everyday)

7:45am - Eat breakfast which usually consists of; Hard Boiled Eggs (sometimes), Bread (toasted when Quinn remembers or if the power is on), Penut Butter (When we but it), Jam (I buy the strawberry but they supply some mixed fruit concoction that is unsavory at best), Water, Passion Fruit Juice, Coffee, and Tea.

8:00am-8:30am - Witty banter with the other volunteers who are obviously locuacious in the morning something that those of you who know me well, know I am not.

8:45am - Walk down the street to Mama Roses and say "Mambo", "Salaama", and "Shikamoo" to everone I see (Africans seem to wake me up).

9:00am - Arrive at Mama Roses. Every moring when I walk through the door all of the kids in broken unison say "Goooooooo Mooooorniiiiiing Teeeeeeachahhhhhhhh". When 60 beautiful children greet you in the morning like that it's easy to check every negative thing atthe door.

9:15am - 11:30am - Class time. I usually struggle to help for the first hour but then when the kids are doing thier work I have a chance to work with them one on one. I'm not a trained teacher but there is a difference between taching a full class and helping someone to pronounce "ship" (Rukia totally got it yeasterday. I was so proud). I find myself relying on what I learned growing up. Of particular help is that wierd looking guy on Sesame Street that would sound things out and pull them together. "Shhhhhhhhhh...iiiiiiiii......pp, Shhhhh...iii....p, Shhhh...i...p, Sh...i...p, ship, ship, SHIP"!

11:30am - 12:30pm is the recess/porridge time. Porridge tastes like milk and tapioca pudding except bland. Mama Rose always insists that I have some. I insist that I'll eat after every child has some. There is always some left. I run around in the 90+ degree heat with kids who act like it's a cool spring day. After I look like I've taken a dip in the sweat pool I help organize the kids and tie shoes and watch all of these kids, 60 mind you, pile into a dalla-dalla that can fit maybe 14 adults comfortly. I sit around afterwards and talk to Mama Rose, Jennifer, and Mamas 4 sons who help out. I walk back to my house.

12:45pm - 1:45pm - I sit around and wait for lunch to get in. When it does it's usually rice or ugali (a local dish like polenta). There's also beans or lentils and that pretty much sums up the lunch fare. MMMMMMMMMM.

1:45pm - 2:45 or 3:00pm - Nap time. The heat takes over me and I've never been up at 7am consistantly, ever. Maybe in school, but even then, I feel like I worked around it.

3:00pm - Read, play chess, or head to the beach for a dip. This is also the time where I might go to the internet or supermarket if I have to. This is also local travl time to just explore something new. Basically, whatever I want.

6:00pm - 7:30pm - Dinner is served. The best thing about this time is all the volunteers are there and we talk about our day and what we did. One big happy family. Usually a little more appealing than lunch with the apperence of meat sometimes. Beans are popular along with potatos in a gravy. The best thing we get are chipates. They are kind of like torilla wraps but better. They are served warm and when they are with flavored cabbage, it's a little slice of heaven right here in Dar. I also am sure to wash everything down with a Bamboocha (orange Fanta). I never thought a cola could steal my heart like Diet Coke, but low and behold, The Bamboocha.

7:31pm - POWER REGAIN

7:30pm - 9:30pm - More free time. I usually journal for a little while and then maybe read or play some wired game with the Canadian Couple who seem to be ready and competitive to play any and every thing. I have to put on the bug stuff because htis is when those muderous little mosquitos come out. If we have water sometimes I take a bucket shower. FUN!

9:30pm - 10:00pm - Day is done. I climb into bed and tuck in the mosquito netting. I read for a little bit and when I get sleepy I turn in. I've been praying a lot lately. Being on this trip has brought me even closer to God. I pray for Bethany and our baby. I pray for all of you who read this and the ones who don't. I pray for every one I have met on my trip and for those I have not yet met. I pray for Africa. I always pray that God's grace and love be shown to everyone and that I'll have a relitivaly safe journey. Speaking of Journey...

"DON'T STOP BELIEVEIN. HOLD ON TO THAT FEEEEELAIAN'"

Rafiki, Rafiki! Ohhhhhh Zanzibar.

Mambo,

Quinn, Sarah, and I left in the morning on Friday. It was still dark out when we arrived by taxi at the ferry docks. Should you ever take the ferry to Zanzibar early in the morning, try not to show up while it's still dark out. SCETCHY!!! We did however make it on the boat unscathed. The trip from Dar to Zanzibar went by pretty quickly for me, I just put some Led on and passed out. When I awoke the water was a different shade of greenish blue than I had ever seen. The island looked like it was cut out of a book that I should have, but never read. We stepped off the boat into another world.

The first person we met off the boat was a guy who called himself Mr. Banana. For those of you who are privey, this WAS Adieudu. His voice was deep and he was a huge man. "Don't peel Mr. Banana, Ha, Ha, Ha". We ditched that guy, cleared immagration, and found our driver. On our way out of Stone Towne, we stoped so I could get some new sandels. The only pair that fit were these hidious yellow things on my feet. I asked Quinn and she lied and told me they were hot so I got them. We drove for an hour to the east coast of the island and arrived at Pongwe Resort.

We wanted to splurge for one night and this was the place that I picked. Awesome choice. We got introduced by Heidi from Zimbabwe to the ins and outs of everything at the hotel. I think thats the first time I've been given an intake at a hotel. We went to our room and the coolest thing was proabably that we had hot water for showers. After we soaked in the room we went to the water to soak up tropical goodness. The beach was so secluded seeing as there were about only 20 other people there. This place only has like 10 bungalos and we were sticking out like a sore thumb seeing as we were not on our honeymoon. Quinn and I both lamented the absence of our loves. I miss Bethany, I miss Bethany, I miss Bethany. After we swam and sat in the sun, I met a cool couple from Germany. They were, yup, on their honeymoon. We planned with them to go snorkeling in the morning. We played Scrabble in the evening and I got my ass kicked by Quinn who apparently is a world class Scrabble player. Just so everyone knows, AH is a word. They challenged me on that and I lost at a critical point in the game. Whatever, I'm over it. That night we had dinner on the beach, which is something they don't do very often. We sat with Frank and Dani (the cute German couple), and had some amazing food. After dinner, and still on the beach, we were treated to a Massai dance. 5 Massai guys chanting and jumping, so incredibly cool. We went to sleep on a soft bed, another luxery these days, and dreamed of monkeys and Stone Towne.

Quinn and I woke up at the break of dawn and went outside to see the sun which had just risen. I only mention this because I probably took the coolest picture that I've ever taken. We took a boat to go snorkeling and saw all sorts of stuff. Tropical fishes, coral reefs, and underwater creatures. I had to dive extra low to see them because I could'nt wear my glasses. The day was already good and it wasn't even 9am. We had breakfast and killed time on the beach untill it was time to go to Jozani Forest.

We arrived at Jozani, fed Quinn (she's cute as hell but can be unruley if she dosn't have food in her), and met our guide. We were walking for about 5 minutes and there they were. Red Colbus monkeys. There were only a few at first but then as I got used to my surroundings they came out of the woodwork. There were about 20-25 in the troop and they were everywhere. We got to get right up close to them and oh my god, we did. I took so many pictures and just watched them. This is the closest thing to a safari I'm going to get to do and I just milked it. They were cute but also fascinating in the way they moved and ate. After the monkeys we went for a walk to see the Mangrove trees. There was a boardwalk that led us through a swamp with all sorts of different kinds of fish. The trees were interlocked at the bottom and the boardwalk was wild looking. Hard to describe cool to do!

After Jozani we went to Stone Towne. This is the heart of Zanzibar and about 90% Muslim. The whole place has an island vibe, but before this the only island vibe I knew was Hawaii, Key West, Monhegan. This was vastly different but similar. We walked to a place called Mercury's for dinner. It's named after Freddie Mercury, the lead singer of Queen, who was born a few blocks away. Interesting thing, a restaurant honering a gay man in a place where if you are openly gay you are prosecuted. Decent food and drink but we were tired and we were taking on the city in the morning.

We were awoken that morning with the Islamic call to prayer at 5am. It's so cool to hear that over the loud speaker asking thousands of people for their worship. I've gotten used to being woken up by roosters so this was a pleasent change. We started our walk through Stone Towne and all I can say is that this was so different than anything ever. The narrow streets covered in cobblestone in the labryinth of this city were so exotic to me. The smells emanting from the little shops and the sounds of the people were wild! The only downside were how aggresive the touts were. "Rafiki, where are you from, whats your name, buy this CD". Rafiki=friend.

"Rafiki",Rafiki","Rafiki". Ohhhhh Zanzibar. I did buy a lot of Christmas presents and as aggresive as they were, the place was so damn cool, I figured, who cares! We walked around all day and ended up in a little cafe called the Archipeligo (did I spell that right Sarah cause God knows I can't say it). These little bugs pulled their best Bush administration on us and bombarded us from the air. It was a hassle but all part of Africa.

The next morning we got up and went spice shopping. I got all sorts of stuff including Curry, which is now a personal favorite. Chili stuff for my Pop (you're gonna love this tuff big guy). All these spices would've costed so much back home. It was next to nothing here. We walked around and tied up some loose ends and we were on our way to the airport. I got to sit co-pilot on the way back in a small plane and I instantly felt like an 8 year old. We returned back to Dar and I'm now gearing up for the second half of my stay in Africa.

Quinn and Sarah were about as close to perfect traveling partners as you can get. They were willing to do anything and fun to be with. Zanzibar was everything I thought it might be and more. It's a place I want to go back to and bring my family. I even got a Muslim hat and shirt so that when I go back I can wish peace to everyone. In fact why don't I do that right now...

Asalaam Milakum

Nathan

I'm Finally Here

So I'm finally here. My ass caught up with me after being in London the last week. A few things first. Mama Rose is amazing. The only thing cooler than her actually is the other side of the pillow. Her and I were talking the other day and I told her that it felt like I was selfish because I was getting so much more from her and the kids than I could ever give. It's the most honest thing I can say. I went into town with Ken (the new volunteer who brought a guitar YEAH!!!) and Quinn (probably the most awesome Canadien since Ray Bourque). I bought 80 work books, 100 pencils, 10 sharpeners, and a bunch of erasers. I wrote in each one, with the help of Quinn and Sarah, the alphabet and 123... It felt good to bring them in and see the kids when I gave them out. I've been reading the bible and one of the things that Jesus taught us is that giving charity should be done in secret, well I Gong Showed that! Sorry JC.

I'm about as dirty as I've ever been and I don't mean in a porn sort of way I mean there is a filth on me, especially on my feet, that isn't going to come off for a long time. My clothes are never really clean, they just cease to smell which is good enough for me. The whole thing is fine. I don't mind being this dirty. It reminds me of camping and being a kid. Mom, was I always dirty? Bef, Amamam I dirtee Boy, cause, I tink it's...um..nice (oh wow, annoying voice in a journal, moving on).

I've broken one of my sandals so now I have a pink one and my American Eagle leather one. There is a smell in the air that I've never really smelled before. There are no landfills here and dump trucks are just sort of out of the question. What they do instead is collect enough garbage and then torch it. It makes for quite a smell and it's everywhere. It smells like ganja to be honest, and when that stuff is as readily available as it is, I have a hard time distinguishing. The dust, the heat, the bugs. Oh yes, I'm finally here.

Theres something else going on. I've struggled about what it is I want to write because I'm kind of on the defense about it. The dishonesty is everywhere. It's like the burning of garbage, you can't escape it. I feel like I could float on through the next month and a half and not confront it, but would I still be the man I want to be? I've been asking myself why I am here, in this place right now with the people that I'm with. The answer is simple for me, God wants me here. Maybe I can't see it clearly right now, but I know that bigger things are happening than I know what to do with. We're figuring it out and I'll be less cryptic about this in the future. I'm on it. The mix of dishonesty and warmth is amazing. What a gift to be in such a place. I have made so many friends that I will cherish. It's amazing, the people you meet in a place like this. So many things, so many things.

I'm off to Zanzibar in the morning with Quinn and Sarah for a long weekend of what my English friends would call, fuck all. I'm so looking forward to this time to chill out and regain my energy. I've recently been realizing more and more how everyone in my life has helped to shape the person that I am. All of you have made it possible and I feel you here with me at all times. I'm praying for all of you and hope that you are doing so well. I'm finally here and there is no where else I'd rather be.

Love,

Nathan