Juma is 8 years old!

Juma turned eight! It was the last day of school, too; what better birthday present is that? Well, even better than that is that Justin came down from Pemba, suffering two awful ferry rides on a choppy sea, just to be here for two nights to celebrate with us.

On the first night, Juma's actual birthday, we ate out at an Italian restaurant (pizza! gnocchi! three types of bread!) then had a birthday cake (unfrosted, at Juma's request).





The next day we took a boat ride with some of our friends out to Changuu Island, about 30 minutes away, for a relaxing picnic and swim at a little beach.

Abdul, who lives downstairs, and Najesh, who lives across the street, came along. Juma's known these kids since we lived in this same house in 2004, when they were all just toddlers. They had a blast playing in the ocean and then in the sand.






And of course Juma's namesake Juma came along, and helped him stay warm in the wind after his swim.



Our newest friend, Chase, also came, for her very first trip to one of the outlying islands in the archipelago. (That's me, Sarah, in the picture, by the way, the one with the shaved head and sunglasses.)

sailing the seas

One of Juma's classmates had a birthday party yesterday. We met at a beach called Mbweni, where the tide was so low, we had to walk to the end of the pier and then be ferried to the boat on kayaks.



We sailed to a sandbank--actually using the triangular-shaped sail Zanzibari boats are known for; ate, swam, and snorkeled;







and motored back with the sunset in the background. Gorgeous.

friends weekend

Two of my classmates who are working in Dar es Salaam came out to Zanzibar for the weekend, and we had some fun showing them around town and going to a northern beach.

This thing-a-ma-job Juma is holding is to help you take bucket-showers, but Juma used it on the beach.




These pictures are in Forodhani, a area right on the seashore that was fixed up last year to look nice like this. It's very popular with both tourists and Zanzibaris in the evenings.





These are from around Stone Town.







These are the crazy, scary steps up to our apartment.




And these are from Nungwi, a village on the northern tip of the island.

my fellow students

I popped over to Dar es Salaam to meet my professor/advisor, in from the states, as well as the other students from my cohort who are here in the country on internships. It was so fun to see them, since I had said goodbye to them all in December, not knowing if I'd ever see some of them again. (Though the international public health world is pretty small, so I'll likely run into them in one capacity or another in the future.)



They are, from left to right, Sarah, Ashley, Chase (also living in Zanzibar), Peter (my professor), and Aliya.

anniversary

Happy anniversary to Justin and me!

Eleven years!

back in Zanzibar

We've been back in Zanzibar since June 25.

Last weekend, a couple of my friends from school who are working in Dar es Salaam came to visit. I had a lot of fun showing them around the island, and Juma had a lot of fun playing with them.



We took them up north to a beach, where we lounged in hammocks, played Marco Polo in the ocean, and watched a gorgeous sunset on the water. The next day, I became a tour guide and took them around town, being sure to hit all the "best" places. As in, the best gelato place, the best pizza place, the best Zanzibar food place...

Vicki Lyne Beal Beckham, March 31, 1954-June 23, 2010

Vicki Lyne Beal Beckham was born on March 31st, 1954, in Logan, Utah and passed away peacefully in Merced, California on June 23, 2010, after a two-year illness. She moved to California as a young girl and graduated from Merced High School in 1972 where she performed as one of the legendary “Seven Darlings” majorettes. She met and married her husband, Rick, while attending Brigham Young University. After graduating from college with a degree in Physical Education and a minor in Dance, she moved with her family back to Merced.

Vicki followed the tradition of her parents in becoming a devoted teacher. She taught P.E. and Language Arts for 25 years in the Atwater School District. As a dedicated member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, she also loved serving in many volunteer positions. Spending time with family was very important to Vicki. She gathered her large family around her often in family reunions, trips and an annual “Cousin Camp.” She found meaning in serving others and enjoyed many life-long friendships. Vicki had a gift for finding and nurturing dreams and aspirations in others. She always had an infectious laugh and a loving hug ready for everyone she met.

From her earliest years, Vicki’s greatest passion was dance. She found joy and fulfillment in it and in sharing this love with others. Vicki had many other interests, including reading and writing, traveling the world, scrapbooking, sewing, enjoying fine arts, and water skiing. Near the end of her life she added surfing, rock climbing, white-water rafting and skydiving to the list.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Steven Olen Beal and Clara Val Larie (Preece) Beal. Vicki is survived by her husband of 36 years, Eric "Rick" Marvin Beckham, and her four children, Justin (Sarah) Beckham, Lance (Alisha) Beckham, Cameron (Stephanie) Beckham, and Andria (Matthew) Lewis; siblings, Vaun (Ann) Beal, Robin (Ronald) McCombs, and Evan (Kris) Beal. Vicki will also be greatly missed by her grandchildren, Aidan, Rylee, Juma, Tristan, Irelyn, Amelia, and Abigail and her many loving aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Steven and Val Larie Beal and Vicki Beal Beckham Scholarship Fund through Merced School Employees Federal Credit Union, account number 56048013.

The funeral services will be held at 1:00 pm on Saturday, June 26, 2010, with a visitation preceding it from 11:00 am-12:30 pm at the LDS Church on 1080 E. Yosemite Avenue, Merced, California. A graveside memorial service will be held at 11:00 am on Thursday, July 1, 2010, 26 West 600 North, American Fork, Utah.

Arrangements are under the direction of Stratford Evans Merced Funeral Home. Arrangements in Utah are under the direction of Sundberg-Olpin Mortuary, Orem, UT.

our stay in California

We've been in California for 3 weeks now, staying with Vicki. Justin's siblings have been in and out, too. Vicki was doing pretty poorly when we arrived, then had a week of good days. Since she was doing well (coming to the pool and grandsons' baseball games in a wheelchair, sitting in the backyard around a bonfire and exchanging stories with her surprise-visit siblings), we made a quick trip to Utah to visit my family and some of Justin's relatives. We had a great time there, and I even had all my six siblings and my parents in the same room at the same time for a picture. It'd been a long time since that happened. (We never did get all the grandkids rounded up for a picture, though they were all there.)




In those four days we were gone, Vicki went downhill again and surprised us unpleasantly when we got back from Utah. She has made imminent progress toward death since then, and has been mostly unresponsive for a couple days now. We expect she'll last a couple more days.

Unfortunately, our plane tickets back to Africa are for Wednesday, and though we tried, we cannot change them (all flights are overbooked through August).

This time here with her has been really nice, though, and we are glad we came when we did so we had a good solid week with the Vicki we know and love. We will always remember and love you, Vicki. Here are some pictures of just some of the great moments we had with her. (And proof that I failed to follow her advice and always take tons of pictures!)

June 2009, on the Hogle zoo train in Salt Lake City, with granddaughter, Irelyn.




July 2008, a snapshot Juma took on a car trip to the airport for a family reunion outside Seattle.



March 2008, stubbornly not giving up and hiking to the top of very high sand dunes in Death Valley just weeks before she found out she had cancer.




May 2008, Juma welcoming Grandma home after her surgery when the cancer was discovered.



August 2007, on a ride at Santa Cruz boardwalk with grandson, Rylee



Summer 2003 (?), the picture Vicki has chosen to be remembered by.

Juma's school in Zanzibar

These are the scenes I see on my way to get Juma from school in Zanzibar.

Stone Town streets




the lane I walk after I get off the bus




a lovely shady lane just before I arrive at his school




just inside the gates at the school (the ice cream guy makes a killing after school everyday)




the football pitch (soccer field)




Juma's classroom




Juma and his partner, Mohammed, presenting their science fair project on seashells of Zanzibar and Pemba

travels

We are in California, at Justin's mom's house (his dad is now in an assisted living home in Utah). She has cancer and is not doing well, so we are spending some time here with her. We hopped on the first flight out of Zanzibar we could get, and 40 hours later, made it to Merced. We hadn't been here in two years, and Justin hadn't seen his mom during that whole two years. Glad to be here.

These pictures are in chronological order, I think. So you can see as we get more tired and more worn out.

We flew through Dar es Salaam (Tanzania), Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), Rome, Washington, DC, and finally to San Francisco.