Every which way

I have a terrible sense of direction. If you've ever traveled with me, you know to turn left whenever I  say we need to go right. The tiny alleyways of Zanzibar twist and turn every which way....I know because I've walked them all trying to get a very short distance from my hotel to the movie houses.  Many of the items for sale in the stales are familiar from my ten years of travel to Kenya. But I was quite surprised when I spotted a bright yellow bikini standing out in a land of head scarves

Each morning begins with an exotic plate of fruit. I've never eaten zaituni or custard fruit. Barry (the boyfriend) was biting into a thick layer of white and said, "you can't eat this.. I can't get my teeth through it." The jet lag had set in.  He forgot he had eaten the grapefruit and was trying to eat the rind.

Actually, the rind was a step up from the food we experienced during our 48 hour journey here. Unbeknownst to us, the stop in Addis Ababa included a sleep over in a hotel in the slums of the city. It is all an adventure. But scrambled eggs tough enough to cut with a knife and French toast that can be bounced off the floor do leave you a little hungry upon arrival.  

My hotel is a refurbished mansion of the sultan's finance minister from a hundred years ago. Our room has a rooftop patio (with a swing) that overlooks Stone Town, evening sunsets and morning sunrises. The roosters begin at 4:45am  just before the loudspeakers sound their morning calls to prayer. I'm swimming in a sea of senses. 

One of today's films broke my heart. Under the Tide showcased the women of Zanzibar who farm seaweed to make an exotic brand of soap. Things changed for this cooperative of women when an investment banker from Denmark arrived to stream line the business. She cut the workforce from thirty-five to seven to increase the bottom line, gave them each one share of stock and told them they were still owners of the company. I imagine that as the company succeeds on the world market their one share may double in value. Seven total shares of stock for seven women. Twenty-eight women out of work. You gotta love western influence.

A beautiful film from Kenya, Ugali, had a universal message. A loving Mom cooked her teenage son's car key into the family meal. It was a loving way to forestall his rushed journey to his next drug fix. The silence during the scene when he understood her motive spoke volumes. Another tear down my cheek