trip to Unguja island

Juma and I recently got back from Unguja island (aka Zanzibar island). I had to go for work, but Justin also had to work, so he stayed here in Pemba. I took Juma with me, and he went to the international school for 2 days. He borrowed a uniform from his friend Franklin (his parents are also from Yale), and he was so cute! I forgot to get a picture, though. Bummer. Next time. He didn't want to go to the school, but he did great and liked it fine. He was placed in class 2 by his age, but he'll have to be in class 3, I think. Class 2 is just too easy for him. He did have a good time playing with Franklin and his siblings Maggie and Solomon. They get along very well, and live in a great house with a back yard, play room, zip line, and they live within minutes of a beach that also has a swimming pool.

Unguja is way different these days compared to Pemba and compared to what it was back in 1999. Both nights we were there we ate real Italian pizza and gelato! Mmm, mmm, mmm! There are so many tourists and tourist shops and restaurants and fancy hotels, it's crazy. It's nice to take a break from Pemba, though. But then we were certainly ready to come back to the quiet of Pemba where if we see two other white people in a day, we think the place is being overrun with tourists! It's nice that everyone here in Chake Chake knows us and isn't trying to sell us tourist packages to go to this or that beach.

Also, Pemba currently has a steady supply of electricity, but Unguja has none at all. Only people with generators (aka rich people and tourist hotels) can have electricity. Because there's no electricity, getting water has been a huge problem, too. Only people who happen to have wells can get access to any fresh water; they share liberally with others. Some sell water. Others have dug shallow wells of their own, and are only getting dirty water. It's pretty bad in the villages these days. The government promises the electricity will be back this month, but no one believes them. We'll see.

The plus side of Unguja, though, is that it has some commodities that we can't get in Pemba. So I managed to find a counter-top water purifier which I bought and hauled back to Pemba. It was only about 30 dollars, which is about how much we spend on bottled water in 2-3 weeks. So it'll pay for itself very quickly. Luckily we have a fridge, so we can just fill up containers and have cold water any time (the electricity is on).

Our work continues well. Justin is getting lots done in the Archives, and I'm making some great contacts that'll help me with my projects. I've hired a research assistant who is great and has tons of experience doing health research, so I am pleased.

Juma is doing great with homeschooling. Yesterday, we started to make a tambourine from bottle caps, learned about the founding of Rome, learned what a peninsula is, and wrote about our trip to Unguja. (I'll ask his permission to type it up here.)

tooth!

Juma lost his first loose tooth! This is his third tooth to go, but the first two never became loose and had to be pulled by the dentist to let in the two adult teeth. So this is the first to come out on its own. It's been loose for a very long time, but Juma was nervous about pulling it, so it was quite loose by now. He pulled it himself, while wiggling it, and rushed up to me with a large gap and a mouth full of blood. He didn't even notice the blood, he was so excited.

Here he is sporting the very loose tooth:



The tooth, soon to be sacrificed to the tooth fairy:



And his new smile:

sea horse

One of our friends gave Juma a dried sea horse. We thought this one was a pretty big one, but he said they are often much bigger, a good foot tall!

adventures in Zanzibar

We went from this in Connecticut



to the heat of Zanzibar in 2 days. It took Juma a week to remember he didn't have to put on a coat before going outside.

After being in Pemba a week or so, we took the ferry down to Zanzibar island (aka Unguja) to visit friends and get some work done on my project. (And to melt in the heat. No electricity, and this is the hot season.)

These images are from the port, as we waited for the ferry to arrive. It was two hours late. When it was finally time to board, we nearly got knocked over by the crowd eager to be first. Then Juma got terribly sea sick. Ugh. But we made it safe and sound, Juma vowing to never take a ferry ride again! (We took one five days later. He got sea sick again.)

Pemba pictures

Just a random collection of pictures from Dec 31, 2009 and Jan 1, 2010.


Justin joined his friends for a game of basketball.



Juma watches Justin play basketball




Juma in front of banana and papaya trees to show his old classmates back in CT




Juma found his favorite hangout in our apartment




Juma hangs out in his room, complete with king size bed and blue mosquito net




Juma deals with culture shock by watching a DVD




And the obligatory giant bug: an East African giant millipede. This one is about 8 inches long. We see at least a few every day on our evening stroll to the old colonial-era dock.

London to Dar to Zanzibar

Next stages of the long journey

waiting (for 12 hours) in an airport in London




London to Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania



in Dar-es-Salaam, tired, booking a flight to Zanzibar




Dar to Zanzibar on wee-tiny airplane (4 seats total, including the pilot and co-pilot's seats)






the tiny plane




Dar-es-Salaam suburbs from the sky



Justin in the co-pilot seat

Pemba

We arrived in Pemba, Zanzibar on Sunday morning, after 44 hours of travel, 5 days of packing and moving, and very little sleep.

Pictures later!

Easiest way to reach us is by our gmail acounts sarah dot beckham at gmail dot com and justin dot beckham at gmail dot com

You can also reach us by snail mail:

PO Box 210
Chake Chake, Pemba
Zanzibar, Tanzania

and by phone (use a calling card or you'll pay through the teeth!)

011 255 715 789 450 (Justin)

011 255 714 227 636 (Sarah)

en route

all our baggage



just the carry-on luggage



"I love moving walkways!"




Christmas phone call home



on the plane





chilling in London airport

moving and packing and traveling

Things are downright crazy here. I have traveled back and forth between New Haven and Baltimore three times in the past 5 days. Even Justin traveled down to Harpers Ferry, West Virginia (an hour away from Baltimore) at the exact time I was traveling north. We passed each other in New York. Both of Juma's parents were out of town at the same time. We had a friend pick him up from school and put him to bed--sleepover on a school night!

I was in Baltimore on Monday to take two finals, then hurried back on an overnight train so I can help Justin finish packing up the house. Tomorrow we load up the moving van and drive down to Baltimore. So our time in New Haven is down to hours now.

On Thursday and Friday we pack up my apartment in Baltimore, move everything into storage, and run our final errands. Friday night, we fly to Tanzania via London. We will arrive in Tanzania early Sunday morning, then take a little flight over to Zanzibar.

We are going to miss New Haven. Juma is very sad about leaving his friends "forever," and we are going to miss our friends, too. I even made friends in Baltimore, the other first years in my division. Yesterday, they held a goodbye lunch for me.

t-minus

This semester of commuting has been crazy and hard, but we've managed it. Justin has proven his amazing juggling skills, keeping up with a full-time job, TAing, and single-parenting. Juma has been resilient and supportive and a great all-round kid.

I have to say goodbye to Justin and Juma only two more times! Then in a whirlwind week, we celebrate the holidays, I take my finals, Juma has his last day at his school, then we all move our stuff down to Baltimore, stuff it in storage, and fly off to Tanzania.

What can I say? My family is the greatest.