It all started when I missed my first flight to Tanzania. I had it all mixed up in my head and I knew about 6 hours before my flight took off that I had missed it. I guess when you live so far in the bush, I should start thinking about these things with at least 8 hours.
Bless her heart, I WhatsApped my mom and she took care of everything for me from the hut. I had to wake up super early at start hitching by 6. I rode my bike in the dark at 5 to the road and was off in no time. I found an awesome hitch who was returning from Tanzania and gave me all of his left over shillings. What a blessing.
I land in Tanzania. I barter with the taxis. I pick the youngest taxi guy that I got a good vibe from and we were off on my way to meet up with Cassidy at the YWCA. I talked to my taxi guy all the way to the YWCA. His name is Muumin. He was super cool. I ask him where to get a sim card for my phone and which company to use. He offers to get one for me in the morning because it is 24:00 and everything is closed. He'll drop it by around 14:00.
Cassidy and I have a lovely reunion and talk forever. I think we went to bed around 3:00. It was so late. I have never ever stayed up that late in Zambia... 24:00 is my max. We wake up in the morning and want to go to church. (My 5th time going to church since joining PC.) We tried to figure out the bus route but there was no hope. The language barrier is so thick and all I want to do is speak Bemba to everyone. The languages are so similar yet so different.
Luckily, we run into Cassidy's friend she met the night before when she was waiting for me. His name is Tiger and is from China. He speaks great Swahili and sends us on our way on a boda-boda. It was so fun to go that far on a motorcycle. With the help of a few locals, getting to the wrong church first, body language and a tuk-tuk: we made it to The Church of Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints. The internet said church doesn't start until 10:00 and we are early. It is 9:30. There is a different ward in but someone came out to get us and the internet lied.
We met a lot of great people at church. Everyone was so friendly. It was 100% different than all of my experiences I have had going to church here in Zambia. I silently wished Zambian wards were like Kenyan and Tanzanian wards. Church is all in Swahili. This guy tries to translate it all for us but it is mostly distracting. Our favorite person we met from the beginning is a boy also named, Kass. Name twins with homegirl. This is perfect.
After church we need 2 things: 1. How to get home? 2. Ferry tickets for the next day. Both of us sync brains and we wait for Kass to come out the building. He gladly accepts the offer to be our Dar tour guide if we sponsor his bus fares. No problem. We quickly figure out that this boy is a sweet angel from heaven above who just got baptized less than a month ago and has the i-love-the-gospel glow radiating. He took us everywhere we needed to be. It was perfect and he is perfect.
Cassidy has 2 huge bags of things my mom gave to her to bring for me. We both agreed that maybe lugging them all over Zanzibar wasn't the best idea and if there was a way to keep them on the mainland that would be best. Kass, our newest boyfriend, offers to keep them at his place. We met him less than 12 hours ago, loaded him up on a tuk-tuk, threw on the bags, gave him transport money for both directions and sent him on his way with a prayer in our heart that he is the sweet baby angel we think he is.
In the morning we get on the ferry after trying to track down the coast line and failing the first time. I was told I had to check in my bag because it was too big but Cassidy was let on with her's. We met some anal travelers on the way who sang a song in German about Zanzibar but we were happy to sit on the deck and catch some rays. Cassidy thought the trip was only going to be 15 minutes. 2 hours later we had arrived in Zanzibar but not my bag. It is gone.
Just like that. Gone. The Ferry manager, Akim, is not happy about it at all. I guess this doesn't happen often. All I have are the clothes on my back, shoes on my feet, wallet with bank cards and PC ID, passport and phone. Everything else is gone. Oh well. No time for tears. It is just stuff. We are told to come back.
We get settled into Kiponda B & B and explore a little. We find our way back to the ferry building and the bag is still MIA. I know it is long gone in my heart. They tell us to come back the next day except I have no clothes. I need help with that. After talking to Fiki, the tourism manager at the ferry, he has us all jump into a taxi and takes us shopping at the local market. It is so funny. We are running around buying things. I end up getting an African tribal looking shirt made in Thailand (said the tag), a Zanzibar jersey and a pair of breezy pants. Cassidy tried to convince me to get some undies but I couldn't in front of what seemed like all of Zanzibar's population watching me. Fiki makes sure we are satisfied and loads us back into the car. We went home.
I forgot to mention that Muumin, my taxi driver, did bring the sim card for me but he was just 2 hours late and so we were not around. As soon as I got the sim card in my phone we started chatting. So, he knew when my bag went missing. He contacted his mom who lived in Zanzibar and she is the sweet woman who brought me the clothes to my hotel at 24:00. I will never be able to forget this kindness shown to me.
The next day we head back to the Ferry station. PC Safety and Security at this point has contacted me and wants to talk to Akim. They talk and now it is really out of my hands. I turned it over to PC Tanzania.
Cassidy and I want to see the tortoises on Prison Island. That is what we do. It was awesome. We got our own little boat out there and the Island was empty. It was perfect. It was gorgeous. There is one tortoise on the island that is 198 years old, or something like that, who produced all the other tortoises on the island. Now there are over 200 tortoises. They are huge and you walk right up to them.
The rest of Zanzibar is a blur of which day is what. We went on a spice tour where we learned all about the different spices and where they came from. Spices are huge in Zanzibar and they have these large farms. We ate a lot of ice cream. We went to the other side of the island to get more of the beachy feel over the old town feel. We stayed at Teddy's Place and met so many wonderful people.
Everyday is beach. One day we switched it up and tried swimming with dolphins too. Lucus, one of our boyfriends we met, described it best: "I was told that you have to be an Olympic swimmer to swim with the dolphins here. They drive a boat as close to the dolphins as they can and once they see the dolphins they tell the people to jump out of the boat and swim. You have to swim pretty hard to keep up with them." That is exactly how it was. As soon as our driver said, "GO!" if you were not out of the boat before the "g" left his mouth then the dolphins were gone. It was so fun!
Musa is a worker at Teddy's Place. One day he took us to his village and showed us around. It was awesome. In that moment I kept on thinking how I told totally be a PCV in a village like that.
We went to a party. The Maasai were going crazy. Cassidy and I had to keep our dance movements very big to keep the men off of us. (This sounds so prideful.) There were not many non-locals on the dance floor. It was just Cassidy and I. Everyone else was at the bar. Cassidy quickly got attached to a new boyfriend and I got passed like a rag doll from boy to boy. I couldn't take it anymore after I felt one trying to get friendly with my neck. No sir. Not me.
Kaleigh flies in one of these days. We go back to the other side of the island and say goodbye to the people we have made friends with. Kaleigh wants to go snorkling. We get on a boat again and head to Prison Island. It was fun. We were back in deep water and jumped out right there. I am getting used to jumping out into the ocean in deep water. After a little bit of snorkling and realizing it is high tide we head to the beach. Kaleigh freaking loves jumping off the dock but won't jump off the very top until I do it first. As soon as we left the dock all the other tourists join in.
We get back to Dar and I am given a free ferry ride back thanks to Akim. He apologizes multiple times. I know it was out of this hands. I have let it go. I don't need my bag anymore. I have spoken my peace and I have a new bag thanks to the nice Brazilian couple we met at Teddy's.
In Dar we go shopping for clothes and go to the movies with my friend from BYU-I who is a local in the area. We also hang out with Kass again. He is the sweet angel boyfriend we thought he was. He brought our bags with nothing missing. Kaleigh hadn't really gotten her beach fix yet and Kass promised he would take us to a good one.
As life always comes full circle we have to board another ferry to get to the beach we want to go to. I lost nothing on that ferry. We go to the beach and walk until we find the perfect beach for Kaleigh. Kass claims that he doesn't know how to swim and waits on the shore watching the bags. It isn't as fun without him. He met a friend on the beach. Between his new friend and us wanting him to come swim he was convinced. There was almost no one on the beach and so we risked our stuff being stolen.
And that is what happened. Only my bag.
Life goes on. There went my phone, money and the clothes I was wearing. Kaleigh lost her wallet and phone. Kass lost his phone. We make it back to Dar because Kass had some extra money in his trouser pockets. I am rocking a bathing suit with a citenge only but we made it back and no one got hurt. That is what is important.
I made it back to Zambia. I love this country. I love how familiar everything is. The bus broke down for 4 hours and it was still okay because at least I was in Zambia and I could communicate with anyone.
There were great things that happened in Tanzania and I met many wonderful people. I think this trip really let me learn that things can be replaced. I was totally protected the whole time.
Hakuna matata. -Swahili
Takuli abwfya. -Bemba
Bless her heart, I WhatsApped my mom and she took care of everything for me from the hut. I had to wake up super early at start hitching by 6. I rode my bike in the dark at 5 to the road and was off in no time. I found an awesome hitch who was returning from Tanzania and gave me all of his left over shillings. What a blessing.
I land in Tanzania. I barter with the taxis. I pick the youngest taxi guy that I got a good vibe from and we were off on my way to meet up with Cassidy at the YWCA. I talked to my taxi guy all the way to the YWCA. His name is Muumin. He was super cool. I ask him where to get a sim card for my phone and which company to use. He offers to get one for me in the morning because it is 24:00 and everything is closed. He'll drop it by around 14:00.
Cassidy and I have a lovely reunion and talk forever. I think we went to bed around 3:00. It was so late. I have never ever stayed up that late in Zambia... 24:00 is my max. We wake up in the morning and want to go to church. (My 5th time going to church since joining PC.) We tried to figure out the bus route but there was no hope. The language barrier is so thick and all I want to do is speak Bemba to everyone. The languages are so similar yet so different.
Luckily, we run into Cassidy's friend she met the night before when she was waiting for me. His name is Tiger and is from China. He speaks great Swahili and sends us on our way on a boda-boda. It was so fun to go that far on a motorcycle. With the help of a few locals, getting to the wrong church first, body language and a tuk-tuk: we made it to The Church of Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints. The internet said church doesn't start until 10:00 and we are early. It is 9:30. There is a different ward in but someone came out to get us and the internet lied.
We met a lot of great people at church. Everyone was so friendly. It was 100% different than all of my experiences I have had going to church here in Zambia. I silently wished Zambian wards were like Kenyan and Tanzanian wards. Church is all in Swahili. This guy tries to translate it all for us but it is mostly distracting. Our favorite person we met from the beginning is a boy also named, Kass. Name twins with homegirl. This is perfect.
After church we need 2 things: 1. How to get home? 2. Ferry tickets for the next day. Both of us sync brains and we wait for Kass to come out the building. He gladly accepts the offer to be our Dar tour guide if we sponsor his bus fares. No problem. We quickly figure out that this boy is a sweet angel from heaven above who just got baptized less than a month ago and has the i-love-the-gospel glow radiating. He took us everywhere we needed to be. It was perfect and he is perfect.
Cassidy has 2 huge bags of things my mom gave to her to bring for me. We both agreed that maybe lugging them all over Zanzibar wasn't the best idea and if there was a way to keep them on the mainland that would be best. Kass, our newest boyfriend, offers to keep them at his place. We met him less than 12 hours ago, loaded him up on a tuk-tuk, threw on the bags, gave him transport money for both directions and sent him on his way with a prayer in our heart that he is the sweet baby angel we think he is.
In the morning we get on the ferry after trying to track down the coast line and failing the first time. I was told I had to check in my bag because it was too big but Cassidy was let on with her's. We met some anal travelers on the way who sang a song in German about Zanzibar but we were happy to sit on the deck and catch some rays. Cassidy thought the trip was only going to be 15 minutes. 2 hours later we had arrived in Zanzibar but not my bag. It is gone.
Just like that. Gone. The Ferry manager, Akim, is not happy about it at all. I guess this doesn't happen often. All I have are the clothes on my back, shoes on my feet, wallet with bank cards and PC ID, passport and phone. Everything else is gone. Oh well. No time for tears. It is just stuff. We are told to come back.
We get settled into Kiponda B & B and explore a little. We find our way back to the ferry building and the bag is still MIA. I know it is long gone in my heart. They tell us to come back the next day except I have no clothes. I need help with that. After talking to Fiki, the tourism manager at the ferry, he has us all jump into a taxi and takes us shopping at the local market. It is so funny. We are running around buying things. I end up getting an African tribal looking shirt made in Thailand (said the tag), a Zanzibar jersey and a pair of breezy pants. Cassidy tried to convince me to get some undies but I couldn't in front of what seemed like all of Zanzibar's population watching me. Fiki makes sure we are satisfied and loads us back into the car. We went home.
I forgot to mention that Muumin, my taxi driver, did bring the sim card for me but he was just 2 hours late and so we were not around. As soon as I got the sim card in my phone we started chatting. So, he knew when my bag went missing. He contacted his mom who lived in Zanzibar and she is the sweet woman who brought me the clothes to my hotel at 24:00. I will never be able to forget this kindness shown to me.
The next day we head back to the Ferry station. PC Safety and Security at this point has contacted me and wants to talk to Akim. They talk and now it is really out of my hands. I turned it over to PC Tanzania.
Cassidy and I want to see the tortoises on Prison Island. That is what we do. It was awesome. We got our own little boat out there and the Island was empty. It was perfect. It was gorgeous. There is one tortoise on the island that is 198 years old, or something like that, who produced all the other tortoises on the island. Now there are over 200 tortoises. They are huge and you walk right up to them.
The rest of Zanzibar is a blur of which day is what. We went on a spice tour where we learned all about the different spices and where they came from. Spices are huge in Zanzibar and they have these large farms. We ate a lot of ice cream. We went to the other side of the island to get more of the beachy feel over the old town feel. We stayed at Teddy's Place and met so many wonderful people.
Everyday is beach. One day we switched it up and tried swimming with dolphins too. Lucus, one of our boyfriends we met, described it best: "I was told that you have to be an Olympic swimmer to swim with the dolphins here. They drive a boat as close to the dolphins as they can and once they see the dolphins they tell the people to jump out of the boat and swim. You have to swim pretty hard to keep up with them." That is exactly how it was. As soon as our driver said, "GO!" if you were not out of the boat before the "g" left his mouth then the dolphins were gone. It was so fun!
Musa is a worker at Teddy's Place. One day he took us to his village and showed us around. It was awesome. In that moment I kept on thinking how I told totally be a PCV in a village like that.
We went to a party. The Maasai were going crazy. Cassidy and I had to keep our dance movements very big to keep the men off of us. (This sounds so prideful.) There were not many non-locals on the dance floor. It was just Cassidy and I. Everyone else was at the bar. Cassidy quickly got attached to a new boyfriend and I got passed like a rag doll from boy to boy. I couldn't take it anymore after I felt one trying to get friendly with my neck. No sir. Not me.
Kaleigh flies in one of these days. We go back to the other side of the island and say goodbye to the people we have made friends with. Kaleigh wants to go snorkling. We get on a boat again and head to Prison Island. It was fun. We were back in deep water and jumped out right there. I am getting used to jumping out into the ocean in deep water. After a little bit of snorkling and realizing it is high tide we head to the beach. Kaleigh freaking loves jumping off the dock but won't jump off the very top until I do it first. As soon as we left the dock all the other tourists join in.
We get back to Dar and I am given a free ferry ride back thanks to Akim. He apologizes multiple times. I know it was out of this hands. I have let it go. I don't need my bag anymore. I have spoken my peace and I have a new bag thanks to the nice Brazilian couple we met at Teddy's.
In Dar we go shopping for clothes and go to the movies with my friend from BYU-I who is a local in the area. We also hang out with Kass again. He is the sweet angel boyfriend we thought he was. He brought our bags with nothing missing. Kaleigh hadn't really gotten her beach fix yet and Kass promised he would take us to a good one.
As life always comes full circle we have to board another ferry to get to the beach we want to go to. I lost nothing on that ferry. We go to the beach and walk until we find the perfect beach for Kaleigh. Kass claims that he doesn't know how to swim and waits on the shore watching the bags. It isn't as fun without him. He met a friend on the beach. Between his new friend and us wanting him to come swim he was convinced. There was almost no one on the beach and so we risked our stuff being stolen.
And that is what happened. Only my bag.
Life goes on. There went my phone, money and the clothes I was wearing. Kaleigh lost her wallet and phone. Kass lost his phone. We make it back to Dar because Kass had some extra money in his trouser pockets. I am rocking a bathing suit with a citenge only but we made it back and no one got hurt. That is what is important.
I made it back to Zambia. I love this country. I love how familiar everything is. The bus broke down for 4 hours and it was still okay because at least I was in Zambia and I could communicate with anyone.
There were great things that happened in Tanzania and I met many wonderful people. I think this trip really let me learn that things can be replaced. I was totally protected the whole time.
Hakuna matata. -Swahili
Takuli abwfya. -Bemba
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