Today we went to Ben Bella Secondary School to interview our first round of applicants! However, no one arrived. A teacher finally came in and said the students were informed that the interviews would take place when the school reopened, which was next week. No one informed us or asked us if this was okay, so it was very frustrating. It's all part of the infamous "Africa time."
How I dress everyday: Every day I wear long sleeved or ¾ length shirts, a long skirt, and sandals. When we aren’t meeting with scholars, we change into jeans or t-shirts, but I kind of like wearing the skirts and shirts because I feel more immersed in the culture when I am wearing what the locals are wearing. I realize, much like China, I can never be fully immersed, especially here because I have very limited Swahili, but the clothing keeps me focused on immersing myself in the culture around me rather than looking at the culture from a tourist perspective. People are starting to recognize us and treat us less like tourists.
It certainly has been an interesting experience for me and my two S4Si friends, Camryn and Iris. First, we are in a predominantly Muslim area, so even if we wanted to blend in we couldn’t because all of the women here cover their heads. Also, we, and especially Iris, get much more attention because we are two white girls (Camryn and I) and one black girl (Iris) walking together. Everyone can tell that Iris is not from Zanzibar, but they will many times talk to her in Swahili, not realizing she is from America. The Zanzibaris are intrigued by her because she is African-American, can’t speak Swahili, and doesn’t know where in Africa her family is from. We frequently talk about this dynamic because we attract a lot of attention walking down the street and always get lots of questions.
Even here, there is a dynamic between the black Zanzibaris and the mixed (arab/black) Zanzibaris. Overall, those who are mixed are better off and make more money.
Word of the day:
Sasahivi - now
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