A Week of Sunsets

Stone Town was named after the white stone used to make all of the buildings; they serve as a blank canvas for all of the colors bouncing off the scarves and stained glass and brilliant sunsets. Life in Stone Town has been defined by this balance of color and its absence. Colorful are the evenings spent on the beach or on my balcony, watching the sun retire as the Call to Prayer encircles the city. Blank are the days spent visiting historic slave chambers and markets, the air so heavy that there is no room for words to float from any of our mouths.

My first week in Zanzibar has been a cycle of going-going-going and then resting-resting-resting. In the mornings, I have Swahili class. This is sometimes spent on campus at the State University of Zanzibar, and sometimes on spice farms or seaweed plantations. I come home for lunch, (I eat and my host mom watches me as I mumble bits of Swahili between bites) and then I relax for a few hours before making my way to the beach for sunset. I head home after sunset and watch Bollywood with my host mama until it’s time for dinner. I eat around 8 and then am instructed to go to bed since I have school in the morning. I sit in my room and read and write until I finally get tired. This has become the routine; I am not upset about it.

Thanks for reading ❤️That’s it for now.

Love,

Sami