After staying in Tanzania for a few days we took the smallest plane EVER to Zanzibar, an island right off the coast of Tanzania. I wish I had taken a picture on my phone of the size of the plane so I could show you how tiny it was. The plane ride was only about 20 minutes and it was awesome getting to see parts of Tanzania and Zanzibar from above. Once we landed in Zanzibar we went to lunch at a local restaurant called Passing Show that is supposed to have the best biriyani in Zanzibar. Biriyani is a delicious Indian dish that has some kind of meat or vegetables in a spiced sauce along with rice that has also been mixed with spices. It reminded me of Indian curry, but it wasn't quite like that. I also tried tamarind juice, which I had never had before. I had only ever heard of tamarind but never knew what it was. It looked and even kind of tested like cranberry juice, but it wasn't as tart. It was actually pretty good!
A picture of the menu from Passing Show:
Once we were finished with lunch we checked into our hotel and headed off to listen to a guest lecture from Narriman, one of Dr. Beymer-Farris and Dr. Bryceson's good friends. They both said she is quite famous on the island and after hearing her speak, I can understand why. She talked to us about Zanzibar a bit and then told us about a project she has started that is focused on empowering women. Since Zanzibar is a predominantly Muslim society, the women don't have nearly as much freedom and independence as we do in America. Narriman realized this and wanted to help change that so she is working on a very successful project right now that encourages women to collect pearl oysters and use the shells and the pearls to make jewelry to sell. She said that before the project many of the women would barely speak, but after working in the community and becoming a little more independent, they love to talk. Some of the women were even selected a few years ago to go to America to help present the project and their work. The project is much more complicated than how I'm explaining it right now, but it really is an amazing opportunity for the women. Narriman might actually now be one of my favorite people! She was very inspirational and well-respected by the community and someone I really enjoyed listening to.
Later that night I got to try Zanzibar pizza in an outdoor park where a lot of local vendors were set up and it was so good! It's not at all what pizza is like in America; there's no pizza crust, marinara sauce, or even cheese and they are tiny. It was more like a cross between a crêpe and frittata, if you can imagine that. I got a vegetable pizza that had chopped vegetables, one egg, and mayonnaise in it. It sounds a little weird, but I promise it was delicious! I also ordered a banana, Nutella, and chocolate pizza and it was even better than the vegetable one. You honestly cannot go wrong with Nutella.
Like the last post there's still so much I want to say but I feel like this post is already quite long. I'm definitely loving my time in Africa so far and cannot wait for what the rest of the trip has in store. It should be very interesting and a great learning experience.
Karibu tena!
Heather, I so enjoy following your journey. You are blessed to have these learning experiences. I saw Narriman on the Learning Channel and was so impressed with her work. I can only imagine a first-hand encounter. Take care and soak up each and every experience.
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