Polepole

Habari from Kendwa, Zanzibar!

Story 1.
One night at the Shooting Star, we sat down to dinner next to a couple from San Diego who were also on their honeymoon. A waiter appeared carrying a bottle of champagne and four glasses. As he filled my glass I asked, "Where is this from?" He replied, "My behind". It took me a moment to figure out that seated behind him were Katie and Mark, a San Francisco couple, who raised there glasses in our direction and wished us happy marriages.

Story 2.
Yesterday we went diving. We took a zodiac ride out to an island called Mnemba, about 35 minutes of smooth sailing across postcard perfect green waters. The dives were nice - I saw a really big puffer fish in a cave (hard to say, but probably about 50cm long), a lion fish, schools of unicorn fish, a turtle with tag-along remora and what I think was a really big nudibranch. In the warm patches of water on the bottom, it was 80F. I decided that the next research project I work on will be in warm water.

Story 3.
Last night, Zack took a nap and I wandered down to the beach to watch the sunset. Dhows slowly sailed by on their way home and the boats moored in the shallows turned to sillhouettes and then faded altogether. The stars came out and the lighthouse on the island across the way started blinking. The waves curled lazily onto the beach. I realized that this was the first time I had just sat. I wasn't reading, writing, playing backgammon or scrabble. I was just sitting. Finally, the thesis, wedding and moving is fading from my body. I feel calm and quiet and incredibly lazy. It's a good thing. As they say, "Polepole" - which means slowly. I'm doing my best to heed their advice.