positively buoyant!

Yesterday was epic. I'm just gonna write a little to help me remember it. It was so beautiful. I woke up and had breakfast on top of the hotel's roof that I stayed at. I love chapati, and the view was awesome. I met up with Nanette and Dula. Nanette is a friend of my friend and soon to be teacher at UCSF School of Nursing. Nanette is American but has been living abroad for some time and is now running a program called TZVIA to help educate students in the area. The house is in Bububu which is a little north of Stone Town on Zanzibar. Dula is Tanzanian and is awesome, more about him in a bit.
So Nanette took me to visit one of her friends/kids she helps out, Abduli. He was paralyzed in a swimming accident two years ago and is now living as a quadriplegic. We spent some time with him in his home with his mom and family. They spoke really good English and I was inspired by his spirit to survive. He is desperately thin, but it was nice to be able to do a little teaching about bed sores and encourage him to eat protein. It was quite an introduction and a positive experience, but so real. Its hard to think that anyone really has it tough till you see the perspective of someone who is truly a warrior. Abduli is 17 years old and his mom helps care for him. His mother is also pregnant and has a full plate with the other children and family. Check out this website to learn more.
After that we went to a local medicine shop and met a traditional healer. He mixes all these spices for ailments. I learned that many people still believe in Satan and evil spirits causing actual physical difficulties. I have always wanted to visit one of those places, but was concerned with the language and cultural barrier. This guy was great though because he was really into teaching and spoke English.
Nanette took me to have some amazing soup, called Rambrosia (sp?) that is typically only consumed by females because it makes you girly. Ha, the coconut was delicious.
We headed back to Bububu and met up with Dula and Danielle. Danielle is an American who is helping out by volunteering. She has been here for a month and is teaching English. I sat in on one of the English classes. I was impressed with the student's English and we played hangman. I spoke to a few kids about health and HIV.
Dula took me around the property which is right on the beach. He showed me how the Mangroves grow and where the old railroad tracks were. I put my feet in the Indian Ocean and he laughed at me saying that all the wzungos (white people) have to put their feet in the ocean when we arrive. Its true.
I had some fresh coconut and we had a traditional dinner and then went back into Stone Town to have some drinks at this bar which was all banana trees and coconut trees and sand. It was fantastic because its all hidden and mostly no tourists. But, the best part of the day was when one of Dula's friends - Aboo's (sp?) pet Black monkey named Cobra fell asleep on my lap. She was really sweet (probably because she was really tired). I was petting her and she was holding my hand with her little paw. Incredible. I don't know why but Aboo put a watch on her butt. They do love each other, and I have strong feelings about animal poaching and abuse, but there was some serious love connection between these two.
We finished the night with an amazing walk on the beach with Danielle, Dula and Sheedy. What a wonderful place!
I just got out of the pool at Tembo (Elephant) Hotel. I'm getting my PADI Scuba certification. I'm going diving tomorrow in the Indian Ocean. I'm very excited, but I feel a little bad that the money I'm spending on this could send a few children to good schools. I will be donating more money and volunteering more in the future. There is no way not to want to teach or support flourishing programs when you can see the smiles on faces when they are learning.
I'm doing really well and I miss you all!