correspondence

I vividly remember that reading and how hard I thought it was at the time. Hopefully I would be able to handle it now but who knows, I think my academic skills are getting a bit rusty here in kenya. I'm sure the classes thing will work out, it was just mildly frustrating to have my house of cards come tumbling down. In Kaloleni the deputy head-master of St. Georges told me a Giriama proverb which I've seriously taken to heart: You can only itch as far as you can scratch. Did I mention that in my last email? It's been my mantra recently whenever I get frustrated with life.

It's a bit odd being in Zanzibar because it's such a tourist town. I can walk out in my trousers!!!! There are foreigners everywhere and people don't stare at me as much. Last night we went out to a bar which was bizarre to say the least. I hadn't had a drink (let alone multiple drinks) since I'd been in Seattle. I even danced, which felt amazing. It was odd doing very "american" things like drinking and dancing. We went out with two Canadians who are travelling the world together. I didn't quite realize how much I missed interacting with men. It was so relieving to flirt with someone who was on the same cultural page as me. I knew my actions wouldn't be interpretated incorrectly. Actions, words, body language have an entirely different meaning here but unfortunately lust is universal. This can create complications. Women also have a tendency to crave protection when in a new environment, which translates into a need for physical attention (we had an entire lecture about this from our professsor of anthropology). What's even worse is I'm finally in a society that considers my body type extremely attractive. It's WEIRD!!! I see girls in magazines, on TV, on posters, in ads that I would never see in the US.