Home again, home again.

What a trip. We left Bwejuu, on the east coast of Zanzibar, at about 12:30 pm on Wednesday and arrived in Victoria at about 6pm Thursday. With the loss of 11 hours, travel time was about 40 hours. The sun is just rising as we write this and it feels like we are too quickly coming back to the Western world.

What a shock to arrive in Amsterdam and see Christmas decorations. And to come home to Mabel who wasn't immediately sure she knew us but has since decided that she does.

A hot bath before bed, a reasonably good night of sleep and coffee with fluffy milk in the morning and we are starting to feel a bit less like zombies.

I (Sal) am sitting at the computer looking out over the mossy green rocks, through the jungle of blooming nasturtiums that still hang down from the roof top garden. There is no grit on the keyboard, no sweat dripping down my back or mosquitoes bitting my ankles. Mabel is doing her annoying barking and whinning "get off the computer, play with me" routine (some things have not changed). I feel such sadness about letting go of so many of our experiences: the warmth from all the people in our lives in Muheza, the heat, the constant noises (call to prayer, the fans, the crickets, the throng of people going up and down the road in front of our house, the birds and the bats........even the moaning cow). But I am also enjoying letting in the love and friendship we have in our lives here, the forest, the cosy fire in the wood stove, and the quiet.

Although it was hard leaving Muheza and ALGS early, our five days in Zanzibar were enjoyable and the days on the beach gave us the chance to talk about the trip and what touched us, what brought us joy, what made us laugh, what we learned about ourselves, how our expectations of Tanzania differed from the reality, and just generally begin processing the experience.

And on a more trite note, we also shopped more! (I say this with full awareness of the irony of my statement. If I can describe with broad strokes the issues that this trip leaves me pondering, I would say that it is waste, excess, and stuff in general, with all its capitalistic baggage, that I will reflect on the most. Being raised Catholic - that may mean I will just feel more guilty when I buy stuff but I'd like to try a new approach. Rose)

We payed Wazungu prices wherever we went. Zanzibar is a lot more expensive than other places we've visited so far (and more touristy), but still a wonderful place to visit. It is fushion of Arab, Indian and African culture (including its own unique style of music called Taarab played in Zanzibar as early as the 1820's).

Looking forward to sharing our stories and news with all of you at home in the near future - expect a lot of vegetable curry, chapatis and powerpoints!

We plan on continuing the blog for ALGS and Rachel and other friends far away. We have both enjoyed the process of blogging and appreciated your comments and emails.