Kima

-Monkeys

There are several cool areas here on the island of Pemba that I can ride a bike to. The closest beach is about a 15 minute ride, but it is at a small fishing village so there are always people pestering you and staring at you. After some exploring I have discovered another beach that is a 35 minute ride from my house. This beach is much more isolated and has some nice areas where the rocks come right up to the water allowing you to sit in the shade looking out on the Indian Ocean. The water here is also really shallow and you can walk out for about quarter mile in about knee deep water. To get to this beach you also have to go through the Ndezi forest. If you leave the road there are some hiking trails through the forest.

In my first couple of days here I went hiking here with another Peace Corps Volunteer on the island and his fiancée who was visiting. We started on the trail and before long came across a pond. As we came up to the waters edge we noticed about 5 monkeys on the far bank about 40 meters from us. We watched then jumping around and playing for a couple of minutes. They very slowly started making their way to our right through a thick grove before appearing out in a clearing diagonally across the pond from us. Here they started playing and rummaging around the grasses. Gradually more and more monkeys started appearing and before long there were about 20 of them. By this point we were sitting down quietly watching them. They slowly made their way around the pond, and every now and then one would look directly at us before resuming what they were doing. Eventually however they seemed to notice us and a couple of them became curious. At this point I put my camera down, afraid that it would scare them away. One little guy in particular climbed into the tree right beside us and just stared at us for minutes from about 10 feet away before finding a new location and resuming staring at us. Meanwhile another one circled around and walked right beside us, but then kept going and were not sure where he went. The one in the tree however seemed very interested in us, but too afraid to actually come into contact with us. After playing this game with us for about 20 minutes he decided to leave and head on back to his friends.

It was really neat getting to experience the monkeys at such a close distance. This is not something I was expecting coming to an island. Im sure this area has a lot more too it, and I am looking forward to exploring it all.

-------

So Im not even sure where I left off in my last entry but I think it was around the time that we were about to travel to Dar es Salaam, so Im just going to start there. After arriving back at the Msimbazi Center we were actually free to go out and visit the city. I must say its amazing how much less intimidating it is after being somewhat familiar with the language and having been living in the country for a couple of months. The day of swearing in was really hectic for me as I was to be leaving that day a day earlier than everyone else (because of the ferry schedule). The swearing in ceremony was held that morning at the US Embassy. Several speeches were given including one written by our class that was delivered in both English and Swahili. We also sang a song to the tune of, “Dont Worry, Be Happy,” that was changed into Swahili by some of our classmates called, “Usijali, Ufurahi.” After the ceremony we went to the Peace Corps Office. I had to leave directly from there that afternoon. It was weird to be the center of attention as my Pemba buddy Zack and myself were the only ones leaving that day. It was sad saying bye to all the wonderful friends that I had made, but I was finally off to do what I came here to do!

We took the ferry to Stone Town on the main island of Zanzibar that afternoon. It was a lot of fun being on a boat and getting to watch the sunset over the ocean. Zack and I spent that night together in Stone Town and then boarded another ferry to Pemba in the morning. This ferry ride was particularly exciting as we entered more open ocean. There were some huge waves that sent one lady into a frenzy, but we arrived at Pemba without much problem. Once here one of the first differences I noticed were the Daladalas. Instead of being vans as they are on the mainland, here they are built out of pick-up trucks. They built benches into the back and then a very low roof on top of it (my head almost touches when seated). I must say that it is nice actually getting a seat all the time, and not having to tackle my way on, but it doesn’t make for as good of stories.

Last week all of the volunteers on the island rented a boat and went out to Mesali Island just off of Pemba. Mesali is a small sland which no one lives on but has a coral reef around it. We were all excited about the chance to relax and have a day at the beach. Several of us decided to go snorkeling. I must say that it is probably more enjoyable if you have good vision and dont have to swim within feet of the coral to actually see it, but I am not going to complain. While I’ve known that I am not a great swimmer, I also discovered how bad I am at snorkeling. I had so much trouble breathing through the snorkel, that I spent so much more time messing with it than actually looking at the coral. Just as I was starting to feel comfortable with it I swallowed a mouthful of salt water sending me into a coughing fit for several minutes. After this I just decided to ditch the snorkel and hold my breath, which made for a much more enjoyable experience. On the ride back we ended up stopping at another island unexpectedly. A random guy came up to the boat and plopped down 8 dead octopi, octopuses, octopodes (yes those are all legitimate ways of saying it) in the front of the boat right in front of me. I was so afraid that once we got out onto the rough water one of them would come flying up into my face. Also as we started leaving this island we had engine problems, luckily they got sorted out quickly, because I was completely ready to tell the story of how I got stranded on the Pemban channel in a boat with 8 dead octopodes and ink all over my face. (see my Facebook page for more pictures, of Mesali not the dead octopi:)

Walking around the coral reef at Mesali

Things are going well here on Pemba. My house is quite nice because of all the hard work that Doug has put into it. The current school looks like a warzone. Literally there is a 10 ft. hole in one wall! Many of the classrooms are falling apart and do not have chairs or desks. However we are supposed to be moving schools soon, to a campus that is a couple of hundred meters down the road. The new school is so nice! It is the polar opposite of the current one. I don’t know when we are going to move, but I am certainly excited about whenever it will happen. I still have a couple of weeks getting settled in here and should begin teaching in about 3 weeks. Also I just posted up my mailing address in a page on the right hand side titled, "Contact Jack." Feel free to send as many letters and pictures as you want!

The view over the Indian Ocean half an hour bike ride from my house