And Zanzibar...I'm going crazy tonight with 3 blogs, but hey, do it while I'm in the mood I guess.



Yeah, we left Friday for Zanzibar! Zanzibar is a small island off of mainland Tanzania and it is beautiful. Way back when it was the center for the Arabic slave trade and to this day is roughly 95% Muslim. It is a different world from Tanzania as we soon found out!



Well, Anna and I heard from our friends from Luther who lived in Tanzania last fall about the legendary "Flying Horse" boat to Zanzibar. There are three boats that leave almost every other hour to Zanzibar, two of them costing about 15 thousand Tsh. for a resident and taking 2 hours and the legendary Flying Horse, (bequithed the Dying Horse by Zack and Mike last year) costing half as much and taking twice as long. Of course Anna and I took the dying horse and it seemed nice at first. But then we started moving. It was so choppy and soon people all around us were throwing up in plastic grocery bags! I was getting there, so I took a dramimine and Anna and I abandoned our "first class" seats for the main deck for some fresh air. I fell asleep eventually and that made the trip pass rather quickly. We tried to play chess but our pieces started sliding from side to side as the boat rocked. Well, three and a half hours later we arrived and we were not swamped by cabs, mostly because we were on the crappy, cheap boat I think. But, we found the great little hotel that Erin and Lindsey had book earlier in the day when they arrived and settled in.



That night, we ate at someone's house! It was a "restaurant" but really was a families porch. They cooked us a traditional Zanzibarian meal which was awesome! We headed to bed early and got up to go on a spice tour! We were in a van that soon filled up with a Spainard couple, two belgian friends and us. It was fun! We headed out of Stone Town, the main city where we were staying into the countryside where spices are harvested. Zanzibar is famous for its spice production and we were able to see cinnamon, cloves, lemongrass, all spice, and so many other spices i can't remember! Mostly though, I don't remember because we spent most of the spice tour talking to these American kids our age on the Semester at Sea! They were in Tanzania for 5 days or something like that and were so great. Zack, Amy, and Rae were their names and they came from California, Wheaton College in Illinois, and near St. Louis. We had so much fun talking and despite rain on our tour we had fun and decided to meet later that day.



Well, we shopped a bit in Stone Town with them and went to the fish market where there are sellers everywhere and fresh fish and fried food. I had the greatest drink ever: sugar cane juice with a hint of lemon. wow! It was great. I had three of them along with my nan, meat, and chips! After much chat and hanging out back at the Semester at Sea kids' hotel, a few of us went out to go dancing...unfortunately it was the first night of Ramadan and there was no dancing to be had in Stone Town so we settled for a bar and and more sugar cane drinks! We parted later that evening and exchanged numbers because they were coming to Dar on Monday. Anna and I headed back Sunday morning on the fast boat and made it back in time to play guitar for church that afternoon.



Monday we met up with our S.A.S. friends again and were able to show off our home. We took them to all the markets, made them ride the dalas, and give them the real Tanzania. It was so exciting to feel like I could show off my home! We had a great weekend seeing a new part of Tanzania and even more fun returning "home."

I just realized looking at the history, that I haven't talked about my crazy marine experience...or zanzibar but first the marine story! Beers and brats is how it starts...that's right, Oktoberfest! The German Embassy sponsered an Oktoberfest in Dar that a bunch of us went to and it was great fun. Great meat, beer, and a great German band! I don't think my ancestors are from Bavaria, but for the night I pretended. The real craziness started after the evening though. Our cab didn't return to pick us up as planned and so we started hitching for rides and who would pick us up, but the US Marines. There are about 6 marines in dar who guard the embassy and they had also been at Oktoberfest. They picked us up in their brand new landroover and said they'd give us a ride, but first we had to go to the Marine House. We reluctantly agreed and as soon as the car door shut, the tires started squealing. We were flying around Dar...130 km/hr which is almost 80mph I think! It was bad. The worst part was the marines in the car were being absolute jerks to the Tanzania driver, talking down to him and saying things like "that's an order not a suggestion" and "you can go faster than that!" I realized then why so many people hate Americans! I would too if this is what I saw of America. Well, we arrived at the Marine house and it really should have been called the marine mansion. There was a pool, and pool table, two bars, a library, two computer, and beautiful wood furniture...all for 6 guys who seemed to care more about having enough shot glasses than experiencing any part of tanzania. Well, they said everyone who visited had to take an "independance shot" and they continued drinking the whole time we were there, before they left for the bar. It was kind of sad actually to talk to them and hear how much they hated living here and realizing they just hang out with each other and drink almost every night. Well, we left the peninsula where they lived and made it back to the university in 9 minutes...usually it's a 45 min trip! I was very excited to get out of the car in one piece!!

Long drops and music, the fun of today. That's right, I had my first long drop choo experience. A choo is the swahili word for toliet, and thus far I have avoided the dreaded "long drop" toliets. Now, it's important to note there are many types of long drops, the extremes being the hole in the ground with small cement blocks for your feet such as the bathrooms found at the shamba and the higher class long drop flushers that have the whole and a little porcelin area increasing the target. Well, the one near daruso is higher class, but that didn't stop me from feeling a bit awkward as i squatted down and did my best to keep my pants clean. I was walking by DARUSO after my 7am Swahili class and just had to go to the bathroom! Fortunately, I had my trusty toliet paper in my backpack and was able to relieve myself and keep the floor and my pants clean. I felt like an accomplished long dropper.



Tonight I had a great time at my music class. I'm in a fine and performing arts class that's basically like choir. They laughed so hard because we were singing the national anthem and one of the words started with an imploded "mu" sound. I couldn't do it for the life of me. It was such a foreign sound and not a verb sound I've ever made. I faked my way through it and had a great time singing the national anthem and "Tanzania Nakupenda," the Tanzanian version of "America the beautiful." I even taped it on a voice dictator so when I get home I'll be able to play for everyone the shrilling, bright sound of passionately untrained Tanzanian singers. It's quite an experience.

Life in Tanzania is great of late. We've been having a lot of fun and some surprises! On Thursday I was floored when Anna, Erin, Bre, Gerard, and company surprised Lindsey and I with a birthday party! My half birthday was in September and hers was October and so they figured that her being 20 and 1/2 and me being 21 and 1/2 they could have a 21st birthday celebration! I was so unexpected and fun! They had cake, which is about the hardest thing to find in Tanzania and wine, and Lindsey and I both received tapes of our favorite Tanzanian music, mine being "Hakuna Muguu kama wewe" (There is no God like you). On top of that, Anna saw a Chelsea football jersey that had the logo "Fly Emirates" on the front and in honor of my flight to England on Emirates Airlines she bought it for me! We had a great time chatting and spending time with our great LCCT group!



The fun continued Friday when I went out to eat planning to meet our South African friend Des. Unfortunately one of the kids in her youth group injured himself so she had to nurse him back to health, so I was sitting at Addis in Dar, a great Ethiopian restaurant by myself just listening to English-Swahili-and...Norwegian?! I couldn't believe it! I thought I heard Norwegian. I finished my great meal and honey wine and walked over to these two girls and asked if they were from Norway. They were actually from Sweden (close enough that I could understand some of their words) and so I sat with them and had a great chat, not to mention a ride halfway home...it's all about hitchhiking here in Tanzania.



Saturday was crazy! At first I went to DARUSO, the local bar type place on campus to watch the Arsenal-Chelsea football match (football being soccer of course.) I was blown away! There were about 300 Tanzanians squeezed around one TV, all sitting in the cheap plastic coca-cola chairs and yelling at every move or "tsking" at bad plays. When one team would score the place erupted with plastic chairs and tables being flung airborn. It was great fun...but one odd part was not a single woman! It was a testostorne filled room and the only reason I could walk to find a chair was because a ray of sunlight keep a small space open. Monkeys were jumping off the roof on to nearby trees and the whole scene was quite a memory. After the game, I worked on a project with a Tanzania friend named Ally and went to the opening party to celebrate the formation of an Anti-AIDS club on campus. There were the hottest Tanzania groups, like the Unique Sisters, and guess who I would run into at the concert, but the Swedish girl I met the night before! It is a small world even in Dar. A group of us went out dancing after the Anti-AIDS club concert and one of the Swedish girl's friends knew some great salsa moves so I tried to pick those up. We stretched our limited amount of money just far enough to get us home.



Sunday was of course church and IDOLS! Yes, South Africa has a version of American Idol and we had to watch the last one...I was thinking how much Adam St. John would have loved it! There were two girls left and both were incredible, but the worse singer, (but white one) of the two one...personally I think it reflects racial tensions in S. Africa but the others tried to assure me it was because her voice was more pop where as the other girls was more gospel.



This week has been quiet with classes running and actually a day of clouds and rain! It was heavenly. We all put on our pants and felt like we were at home. now though it is back to its hot self. I'm having a great time though because i've really rediscovered the enjoyment of reading...analyzing the bible, reading novels and playing guitar. It will be quite a change to go back to Luther and have to work again! Also, Anna and I have started up quite a chess rivalry. We bring the pieces that anna bought and the paper board we made (because we were too cheap at the time to buy a real board) with us everywhere we go. Hopefully I'll be able to match up with the Bergans when I come home!



Today I'm going to try to throw the disc a little bit and go to a choir rehearsal...otherwise, another chill day in Africa!

We just got a few e-mails from Bill with old pictures. It seems so long ago that we were in the Arusha area, as my white skin, clean looking clothes, and fresh hair cut hair can attest to. Check out the pictures taken at the start of our journey almost 3 months ago! We're half way done now.A look back...

While many of you celebrated Native American Day this week, we also had a holiday here! Nyerere's Death Day. that sounds morbid, but it was a holiday yesterday on Tuesday to commenerate the day that Tanzania's first president Julius Nyerere died. We celebrated by going to our South African friends' house Monday night and cooking up a feast. It was a big deal because we haven't had access to a kitchen since we arrived! We all cooked something and I did milk shakes which were horrible b/c the milk in Tanzania so sour and lumpy. Not so good. But Anna made a great chicken cassarole and jello so I felt like I was at home at a church potluck. Gerard being

from right outside New York made a posh, fancy pasta called pasta a la vodka or something like that. It was penne pasta with

fresh tomato sauce cooked in vodka. It was very tasty! We also had a

huge salad and garlic bread. yum! Anna and I spent the night and we

watched three movies and played chess until 3:30am. Then we slept in and

spent the rest of tuesday at the beach catching up on sleep and sun.

Also, I cut my hair! It's so short. I think the shortest it's ever been.

I had to cut it real short because of all the wax in my hair from the

dreads. Anna affectionately called in the Holocaust survivor look. I

prefer the swimmer's look. Anyways, it is so blonde when I cut it short.

I hope it grows back! Today only two classes.



The big news in town is that a movie theatre is opening today! The first in Dar. Supposedly it

is going to get all the latest movies so we are hoping that we will be

able to see the long await Lord of the Rings and Matrix movies. The best

part is it is only a 15 minute dala ride away. I'm so excited, I've been missing movies so much here!



The other news is that the daladala bus service, (ie- cramming as many people as you can in a fast movie minibus that ignores traffic laws), is going to be replaced

starting in december with an actual city bus service. The minister of

transportation said they hope to only have daladalas on minor roads by

2005. Kind of sad, but probably good for the city considering the big

growth and crowdedness.



That's the latest from Dar. It's getting hotter as the days pass and I think I have a permanent farmer's tan...or should I say shamba tan. Now, I'm off to research on democracy in Zambia. Fun stuff!

Music in Tanzania is crazy. There are four types that are heard constantly. First and most popular is of course the rap/RB, mostly American, but a few Tanzanians trying to be American. This music blasts from the open air dorms from 6am until midnight and I think that I have "In Da Club" by 50 cent permanently engrained in my brain. The second type of music is celion dion. Seriously. Tanzanians have some obsession with love songs and I hear Celion Dion, Michael Bolton (a throw back to my Central days), Mariah Carrey, and people like Rod Stewart constantly. It is quite disturbing actually. It's light radio in Dar. The third type is my favorite: the church choir type music. There is one song we love called "Hakuna Munguu Bwana Wewe" meaning "there is no god like you." this music is what you would think of stereotypically of an African Choir...like the backround of Paul Simon's "Graceland" album. The last type is also very fun: Bongoflava. This is heavy drums and big rhythm and is very popular in clubs and late at night when rap is not playing. It is very Zanzibarian and East Coast tanzania and is great to dance to. So now, as I close, Michael is singing full blast in the computer lab and I just have to smile. That's what love is all about, when a man loves a woman, I said I loved you but I lied. Oh the memories...

I'm the class representative! Funny story. So I was in my Democracy and Elections class yesterday for the first real lecture and the teacher started the class by asking, "What is Democracy?" Of course no one answer and she asked the students if they had a class representative, which is the person in charge of answering when no one else does and the person in charge of talking to the teacher if the class has a problem. The class said, no we don't have one and some one in the back shouted in swahili, "Mzungo pamoja nywele!" Essentially, the white guy with the hair! Everyone yelled in agreement and so I was elected class representative and had to answer the question. Then today, my second day in office, the microphone wouldn't work...actually the teacher and the students didn't know how to use it, so once again I was called to action to fix the problem. It's rough with so much responsibility, but hey, there's only one white guy with the hair.

Leaves and boogers...my latest thoughts in Tanzania. Apparently, leaves also change colors here, although they don't necessarily have a fall. The leaves change during our winter because it gets so hot here! The Tanzanias that were looking at Anna's autumn pictures at Luther couldn't believe that leaves changed colors when it was cold. Very different. Also, another phenomena here that is quite extrodinary is nose picking. People do it, proudly, out in the open. It is not taboo at all and we've decided it's because of all the dust here. You just can't get by without picking your nose. I have noticed since arrival in Dar how my eyes, nose and throat all seem to collect this thin layer of dust and dirt. I not only have dirty nose boogers, but also eye boogers. It is refreshing though to know I can proudly clear myself of this dust at anytime, and anyplace. Now if only I could draw less attention to my hair and my skin color....

We went to the beach this weekend and were severely disappointed! We arrived and settled in to our bungalows only to find a rat! We moved bungalows in hopes of leaving the rat, but after a fun evening sitting out under the stars by a beach fire, the rat returned! No one slept well, but at least we were all up for the sunrise. We were also disappointed because we were supposed to get chipati for breakfast but they were out. Chipati is the Tanzania version of lefsa. It's a fried tortilla type bread that most tanzanians eat plain, but i like to add butter and sugar to make it a bit more norwegian!



We also had a smelly surprised when we returned to campus...no water or electricity! IT has been going on and off for the past week, but it's been off about 24 hours now. And to think of all the problems it caused in the US. It's typical here. Fortunately, I had a 5 gallon "back up jug" of water and I used that to take a much need shower, but I hope we get it back because now I'm out. I put up some pics so everyone can see the water situation. First we collect the water in our big 5 gallon jugs, then I boil with the water boiler, then I filter to get out the chunks, and then I put in my nalgene bladder for storage! The big black tanks are the "simtanks" that are all over Dar. They are supposed to be our back up sourse of water, but people from all over town come and steal our back up supply so there is none for us. electricity just got cut again, fortunately there's a stopper on the computers so they don't crash.... no connection though.



The other pics are of the fisherman out on lake Malawi...this fish with lanterns at night because it attracts the fish. And of course the picture with the computer is me trying to "watch" the twins game. The picture of the dala-dala minibus is at our "favorite" corner in dar where cars go every which way with no rhyme or reason...or light. Finally the pics of the girls are the South African friends we have and I at a jazz concert in Dar. Enjoy! .Where's the Water?



Tonight we're off to a drum/jazz concert at the French Embassy. Should be entertaining! That's all for now. Pray for water

School has begun... sort of. I went to class yesterday for the first time and had one lecture in my Development perspectives course. It was good and big! Probably 200 students. I'm not used to that at Luther. I also found out yesterday that I passed the Swahili test so I am able to take the intermediate class. Lindsey and Anna also passed it and so we'll all be trying to speak a bit more this semester. No roommate yet, but I did receive an early morning call from June Brown which was great to hear. She;s sharing her teaching expertise and giving me some supplies for Halloween so I can teach the kids here about halloween. I start teaching again next week but will be more supportative going once or twice a week instead of everyday. This weekend we're going to the beach to celebrate Meredith's b-day; she's another student from the US, so I'm sure we'll have fun. Today I MAY have my Political Perspective on Development and my population geography class, but no one knows for sure. I'm not sure what my classes actually are yet, but i'll put them up when i know. Pole sana twins, hopefully they'll come back in the dome. Getting one out of two in NY is pretty good. now, off to read and see if i have class!