Ruminations upon Saturday November 9, 2024 through Sunday November 10, 2024 in Zanzibar, Tanzania
In Zanzibar we stayed in a two-story villa with two bedrooms and full bathrooms, a tiny living room and kitchenette downstairs, and two bedrooms and full bathrooms upstairs. For safety reasons Chaim and I split up. He stayed downstairs near Matanel and Shai because his back was still hurting and we figured stairs would be less than ideal for him. I stayed upstairs near Amichai and Eitan.
Shabbat morning Eitan came bounding into my room at 7:45AM so excited that it was Amichai’s birthday. He single-handedly organized a surprise party for Amichai downstairs. After waking up his brothers and father, we hid in the tiny living room space until Amichai came downstairs. Per Eitan’s instructions we jumped out and yelled “Surprise!” as loudly as we could. It was very cute and Amichai, who had just woken up, was pleased as could be. After a small birthday treat from our snack collection, we spent a couple of hours playing cards before heading (the correct way) to Chabad for shabbat davening/praying. The beauty of davening at a Chabad House is how late they start. I worried we had arrived late at 11:45AM, but it turned out they were just getting started. Unsurprisingly, I was the only woman present for davening. The men put up the mehitza/partition when I arrived. After davening, the men stayed for minha/afternoon prayer service while I went downstairs with the boys so they could play. All of the other women had gathered in a circle to talk.
Lunch was delicious, just like the night before. During lunch someone found out that it was Amichai’s birthday and led the other forty guests in singing “Happy Birthday” to him in Hebrew. Another great surprise that had Amichai grinning from ear to ear. The boys had a ball playing in the courtyard and were happy to stay for as long as possible. The only other American (who had since made aliyah/immigration to Israel struck up a conversation with us. He was curious about us because few Americans come to Zanzibar. We didn’t leave until late afternoon.
Around 4:00PM I took the boys to Nungwi beach so that Chaim could rest his back. The walk to the beach was straightforward, down a dirt road littered with trash and flanked by small houses, a Masaai restaurant, and the My Blue Hotel. Passing one of the houses we noticed a monkey on a long chain. We agreed that we didn’t like that. Closer to the beach the road was lined with small shops showcasing different kinds of art, most made by Masaai people. Some of it was very good. If the shopkeepers hadn’t been hovering over us trying to push us to buy something, I would have spent more time looking and potentially considered purchasing something small.
Nungwi beach was more narrow than I expected, and full of a mix of tourists sunbathing and locals hocking fruits, sandals, handmade jewelry, and performance art. The Indian Ocean felt like bath water. The beautiful, white sand burned our feet. The boys enjoyed every moment in the water. Eitan was over the moon. He couldn’t stop dancing and singing at the top of his lungs in the water. As I watched the boys from the beach, the aches and pains I had been feeling the day before began to return. The pain in my throat was getting worse and my muscles were starting to hurt even more. Even in the heat of the sun, I felt a chill.
A stranger dropped a paper in my lap. Startled, I opened it to find a sketch of a woman in a hat, blue long sleeve shirt, and a black knee length skirt sitting just like I had been. I looked at the stranger and he told me that sketch was me, and then promptly invited me to follow him on Instagram. Perhaps I will, one day.
As we made our way back across the beach toward home, vendors did double takes at how many children I had. They shouted my way, “Jambo Mama! Big Familia! Congratulations!” Then they would say, “Come to my stall in the market. Not today? Tomorrow.” Just before we left the beach, we noticed a monkey with an owner who was letting people pet the monkey, likely for some kind of pay. We recalled the monkey we had seen chained and as cute as this monkey was, thought it unfair to the monkey.
I passed out by 10:00PM. I was officially sick.
Sunday morning, I woke up feeling like I had been hit by a truck, kind of like when I had COVID a couple of years before. My head felt like it weighed a thousand pounds and every movement took all my strength. I made my way downstairs slowly to let Chaim know and thanked God we had nothing planned for the day. I did my best to catch up on journaling and work with Captain Muddy to coordinate a Safari Blue experience for the boys the following day. The boys appreciated having a very lazy morning of cards and reading before doing math and journaling.
About 12:00PM I ordered hamburgers from Chabad. The boys were eager for meat after a week of mostly vegetarian food or fish. At 2:00PM Chaim took the boys with him to get the food and somehow Eitan came home with massive scrapes on his leg. He had been looking forward to returning to the beach in the afternoon but refused because the saltwater was going to hurt. Eitan stayed home with me while Chaim took the other three boys to the beach. We played cards until I couldn’t hold up my head any longer and then he had the opportunity to catch up with a friend of his on videochat, which turned his day right around.
That night, while Chaim and Amichai were in the middle of showering there was a power outage. The poor guys were stuck in the dark without water until the power returned. Amichai thought it was hilarious. I was glad it wasn’t me.
