The world is a village. After leaving Stone Town, my friends and I met up with a guy named Mohammad (aka "Striker") who offered us a ride to Jambiani, which is on the east coast of Zanzibar. On our way to Jambiani we were stopped nearly four times by men in uniform. I asked Striker why we kept stopping and he said he had to pay the police--that was the first time I saw corruption up close and personal.

The beach in Jambiani was breathtaking. The sand was white and as soft as powder and the water was a turquoise/sea foam green. Also, the tide broke a few hundred meters from the water so there were no waves breaking on the shore. The water was just still and quiet, unlike any ocean shore I've ever been to. All of the homes of Jambiani were made from the ground, some had clay walls but most of the homes were made from wood and tree leaves that were sewn together. One thing that I found odd was the telephone polls that were throughout the village. Everyone here has cell phones, I can't quite figure out why they're such a necessity.

Many of the locals are entrepreneurs, selling either Kangas, jewelry, food, and/or inviting us on their boat to go snorkeling/swimming. The locals are so persistent too, they won't take no for an answer so usually we end up by haggling and trying to support the locals. We ended up by going snorkeling with a local for only 15,000 shillings, or approximately $11.00. The boat was amazing--the man had hand crafted the boat from wood and sewn together old rice bags to make a sail. His name was Captain Frido, he showed us how to dive down and pick shrimp from the sea floor and feed it to the fish.

A lot of the locals also had restaurants and wanted us to try their food so we decided to explore a bit into the village and get a taste of authentic Jambiani food. One night we made dinner reservations around 7:30 but the man took our order around noon, he said he had to know what we wanted so that him and his brother could go fishing before we arrived. Talk about FRESH food. Later when we arrived I found out his "restaurant" was basically his home that he had added a hut to his backyard to showcase as a restaurant. Our motto for the trip so far has been "we have no plans" but one man told me that the "Swahili word is different than the American word," which I quickly learned. Everyday we made reservations to eat at local restaurants and all of them relied on our "word" because they spent all day gathering and making the food with the trust that we would show up for our reservation. Strange to think that back in the states we blow people off all the time and hardly think twice about it.

I also met a group of local kids on the beach who were willing to entertain us. I told them my name was Amy and one of the girls responded "si gina nzuri" which means "your name is not beautiful" . I asked my friend Ali (who was a local Jambiani that we met our first day there) what name I should have instead and he said Hadiya which means "gift" so from now on, I introduce myself as Hadiya. The children were so full of life and find ways to entertain themselves, without any toys or television and all of the other luxuries that we have back in the states. They performed and played us a song that they learned in school, they even walked to the water and picked a snail out of a shell and cooked it for us to eat.

I noticed that there are hardly any pets in Zanzibar. There was a stray dog in Jambiani that my friends and I were petting but the children were so scared of it. They pick crabs up by their legs, squish spiders with their hands, and walk around the village barefoot but they scream when a dog comes around. I learned that dogs are thought to be dirty and if a person touches it or if it sniffs a person's clothes, that person will be prohibited from going in a mosque.

So far, my impressions and expectations have not quite matched up. First off, a lot of people speak English. I wish I knew more Swahili but I've managed with the greetings that I know and the English that the locals have picked up. Secondly, Tanzania is so beautiful--I never imagined it to be so lush and green. On our way back from Jambiani I decided to stop by the Jambiani forest where I got to see the Red Colobus Monkeys, when we were walking through the forest our tour guide told us to keep a look out because sometimes the monkeys will jump on our heads...at first I thought he was joking. Luckily, one didn't jump on my head but I got hit in the head by a tree branch from one that was jumping from tree to tree looking for food. I was also able to get a picture standing about a foot away from one. Lastly, I feel safe here. I brought pepper spray with me, thinking that I would have to be on my guard at all times and I feel more safe here than in my hometown.

In Zanzibar I bought a Kanga that had an African proverb on it but I didn't know what it translated as. I asked someone who spoke Swahili and I found out it translated as "find your path" which is exactly why I am here. Hopefully in the next two months I'll have some sort of direction. I have arrived in Arusha and tomorrow I will leave with the other volunteers to Mateves to meet my home-stay family and begin teaching.

Talk about lost in translation. It's difficult to put into words what kind of place Tanzania is.

As soon as I stepped foot outside of the airport, I was swarmed by people (mostly men) who either wanted to greet me or offer me a ride to wherever I needed to go next. Luckily, I spotted a man with a badge who looked somewhat like a legit taxi driver. First impressions of Tanzania...there are absolutely NO traffic laws. I thought Washington DC was bad, this is a whole new level. There are no street signs and from what I saw, no traffic lights. Cars were driving on the sidewalk trying to cut in front of one another, people were walking on or alongside the highway, and bicycles shared the road just as much as the cars. I asked a Zanzibari man how often there are accidents and he told me that two months ago, seven people died in one accident. Bottom line, it is madness in the streets.

Although the city looks rundown and most of the buildings look deserted, it undoubtedly has a charming side. I'm currently in Zanzibar and Zanzibaris are so friendly, almost too friendly--I've been courted at least twice a day since I've arrived. As I walk through the streets, I try and practice my Swahili by greeting people. Most of the children respond with "mzungu!" which means "white" and then will pose for their picture to be taken. There are so many children here! I was talking to a Zanzibari man about my family and he told me that he has 8 brothers and sisters and that was considered an average family size...he said his friend has 18. They go by the saying "a rich man has money, a poor man has his children".

Markets are what make up the city. There are vendors on every corner and markets down every alley. Yesterday was my first time in the Stone Town market, I decided to buy a kanga which is an African fabric so that I could tie my hair up...it's the dry season here so water is scarce and I still have yet to shower since my arrival.

Today when my friends and I were walking around the market again, we ran into the same vendors that we bought our kangas from. They decided to take a break from work and hang out with us, they bought me and my friends our first cup of sugar cane juice and gave us a tour of all the markets. Afterward, they invited us back to their home and told us they wanted to cook a Tanzanian meal for us so we accepted their offer. Although I would never go back to a stranger's home in the states, I was quick to trust my new friends, Ahmad, Ahmud (definitely mixed them up), and Ali. The meal they made us was basically boiled bananas in coconut milk with onions, tomatoes, and peppers. It was one of the best things I've ever tried, no joke.

I've met many Zanzibaris since I've been here, for the most part they're all men. One of the men I met was wearing a UCLA hat and I asked if I could take a picture with him. I told him we were from California and he had no idea where that was. I then told him my school, the hat that he was wearing, is in California. He simply responded by saying he got his hat in Japan. Most of the Zanzibaris do not know where California is, however one man identified California as the home of Tupac. When my friends and I try and speak Swahili the Zanzibaris are amazed that American universities teach Swahili. They think it is "so awesome" as one man put it. I learned today that their slang for "cool" is "fresh" (shawari).

One last thing, aside from the craziness of the markets and the chaos in the streets, I'm awaken every morning at 5:30 or so (around sunrise) by a prayer calling. Zanzibari is almost entirely Muslim and there are about 50 mosques within Stone Town alone.

Tomorrow I will head to Paje which is a smaller beach town where I will be for the next four days before I head to Arusha to begin teaching.

Packing. Unpacking. Repacking. For the last four years, I have been in transit. Upon graduating from college, I decided that I was not quite ready to settle down in one place. As my friends continue onto graduate school and/or the working world, I decided (once again) to pick up my things and head somewhere new.

I began this blog as a way to document my life in transit. Tomorrow I leave for Tanzania where I will be for the next few months. Although I will only be overseas for a short amount of time, I think this trip will be one of the most meaningful experiences I have had. I tend to forget how I feel in certain moments in time or certain conversations, the little things that make up the whole. I hope this blog will serve as an insight to my life in a different place and provide some perspective for those seeking it.

I am going to Tanzania with a student-led non-profit called One Heart Source where I will teach HIV/AIDS awareness to children. When I leave tomorrow from SFO, I will fly into Dar es Salaam on Saturday where I will then take a ferry to Zanzibar. I'll be in Zanzibar for a week before heading back to Dar es Salaam where I will then take a 10 hour bus to Arusha and meet up with the other people of One Heart Source and from there, I will begin my teaching.

Bags are packed, goodbyes have been said. My next update will be from across the Atlantic!