Asante Sana (Zanzibar Day 4)

From Jassiem!

Many of our readings are about authenticity and the many ways Africans forge relationships with global capitalism--sometimes bending to it and sometimes away. We talk a lot about how being a tourist adds to this cycle in Zanzibar. Most of what we have done has been in a spirit of learning and diving deep. Today, we traveled by boat to paradise and just enjoyed ourselves. Our group has really bonded so it was nice to relax together. We still had class and Philson led a discussion about the way youth in post-revolution (1964) Zanzibar resisted attempts by the Socialist Party (Afro-Shirazi Party/ASP) to unify Zanzibar without their input. We have talked a lot about the history and class really adds to our understanding and sense of place.

Today, I went snorkeling for the first time. The experience was one of the scariest moments of my life. While this scary moment was probably attributed to my stubbornness to not breath through my mouth, I eventually got the hang of snorkeling by my fourth try. It was amazing to see under the water. After finally getting out of the reef, I was able to analyze the event. I realized that I had trouble breathing at first because all I was seeing was an underwater view and I had always associated looking underwater with not breathing. When I got past my initial fear of not breathing and claustrophobia, I was able to truly enjoy myself and take advantage of the experience. This is applicable to my experience in Zanzibar as well. The Zanibari community are people who have endured much more hardship then I have in my life, people who don’t have the same privileges that I have. However, Zanzibar is the most peaceful place I have ever been. The sense of serenity that I feel here is calming and truly unreal. The people are amazing and genuinely kind. Like my snorkeling experience, the subject was daunting at first, but then turned out to be amazing. The key is having continued experiences so that you can get past initial opinions or frights. If you are able to do this, you will be able to sit back and look at 3 sail boats as you proudly grasp your new Zanzibar shorts, or play taps on the top of the beautiful Tembo Hotel before class.