- the currency here is Tanzanian shilling and $1 is equal to 1300 shillings. It's pretty nice because I always feel like I have a lot of money because a 10,000 dollar bill looks like so much (when in reality its less than $10).
-Square blocks do not exist in Stonetown and all of the streets are very narrow and curvy. Most of the streets are not even big enough for a car to drive through and street signs do not exist. Even if you keep making left turns you would bot make a circle, but end up on the other side of town. Lets just say that with my directional skills I have already gotten lost many times because the town is like a maze! Right now I know how to get to the internet cafe, the SIT office, and my house which is pretty good for me! Oh and here pedestrians have no right at all. Motorbikes, bicycles, cars, trucks and vans all go REALLY REALLY fast and they never slow down even if they see someone crossing the street. They also drive on the left side of the road, so its taken me awhile to decide what side of the road I should stay on when a motorbikes is coming.
-Since the Zanzibar archipelago is also known as the spice islands, we have spice tea with every meal. Its really good and in my house we usually have ginger tea. A typical meal consists of rice, lots and lots of fried bread, fish, and fresh fruit (papaya, mango, bananas, and pineapple). We eat meals sitting on a mat on the floor and use our right hand to eat everything. And let me tell you, eating rice with your hand is an art that I have yet to master. My homestay mama even tried to teach me how to pick the rice up with my fingers, and ended up just laughing at me because it went everywhere :) There are also a lot of hot peppers in some of the foods. Let me just give you a word of advise. DO NOT mistake a hot pepper for a carrot. Some how I have managed to do that twice and both times I thought i was about to eat a Delicious carrot and as a result my mouth felt like it was on fire for 2 hours, haha.
-Zanzibar is not a very big island but there are lots of islands around it. It takes about 45 minutes to drive the width of Zanzibar and about 3 hours to drive the length from the longest points.
-Everyone here LOVES soccer and the kids play everyday. My host family really likes Manchester United and they are always watching it on tv, which I quite enjoy :)
-Sometimes I accidentally speak Spanish instead of Kiswahili and everyone looks at me really strange. I don't know how people can speak multiple languages and keep them separated!
-They tell the time differently here, which was really confusing in the beginning. The day starts at 6 am. So when its 7 am they actually say its 1. So 12:30 pm, would actually be 6:30. The funny thing is that they all set their clocks on english time but they only refer to Kiswahili time.
-There are chickens, and cats, and even a few cows roaming through most of the streets. It doesn't even seem weird to me any more when I see a chicken and her chicks walking by my front door.
-Right now there are a ton of tourists in Zanzibar for the Busara Music Festival. Its held in the old fort and groups from all over Africa come to play. I am planning on going to that tonight and tomorrow night with my friends.
-We took a boat ride to prison island and went snorkeling there. The corals are always so amazing to me and I even saw a blue starfish! We went on the island as well and I got to feed these really big tortoises that can live up to 150 years old!!!! I actually got sea sick because the water was so rough when we were snorkeling, but the tortoises made me feel better :)
-There are strong British, Arabic, and Indian influences in Zanzibar culture. 99 percent of Zanzibar is Muslim so I always hear thier call to prayer 5 times a day. Most of the people here speak Kiswahili, English, and Arabic.
-At the Institute of Marine Science where i have class everyday they have an aquarium with a loggerhead turtle! I helped take care of a loggerhead turtle this past summer at the Virginia Living Museum so i was excited to be able to visit the turtles relative :)
- Right now it is the hottest part of the year. It is very humid and probably around 90 F every day. Today it is raining which is really nice because it is still really sunny and bright, but the perfect temperature outside!
Alright, that's all for now. Hopefully I have given you a glimpse of what life is like here. I hope everyone is doing well and surviving through winter time! Ta ta for now!
Emily
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"carrot pepper" doesn't bring up anything on google or wikipedia, so i don't know what you're talking about.
ReplyDelete1. it's really interesting about the time they use - i know i would be so confused by that. haha by the time you get back to the states i bet you'll think in Kiswahili time. :)
ReplyDelete2. haha the road system sounds a little like the one in siena - all narrow, windy streets, and so easy to get lost! and then with driving on the other side of the road, that must be really confusing!
3. yay turtles! you must be loving that!
4. you must really be enjoying all the soccer presence! that's great that they watch it on tv and everything. have you kicked a ball around since you got there? you should!
i'm so envious of your beautiful pictures - that water looks soo blue! and it sounds like you're really taking in the experience and enjoying it. :) miss you so much and i can't wait to read more about your time there!