Pemba: Not the Africa You Were Expecting

Ok, admit it. When I told you I was going to live in Africa for two years, what did you picture? A grass roof hut? Dirt floor? Cooking on a coal fire? Miles away from my closest neighbor?

Honestly, so did I.

In fact, I was looking forward to it. I pictured myself carrying buckets of water on my head, building a fire, and growing my own food. I knew it would be lonely, frustrating and (until I built up the muscles in my neck) painful. But I had this desire to say, "I did it...I lived… I survived… I thrived in Africa."

But that Africa is not Pemba.

I live in a gated community with the faculty of the school. My house has electricity, a fridge, a stove, and sometimes (SOMETIMES) running water. If the water isn't running there is a cistern in our backyard. Next door is the school, and next to that are the student dorms. Across the street is a bank, two corner stores, and a bar. Turn right and you're at the beach. Turn left and you're at the airport. At night I hear cars, music, and the intoxicated shouts of night dwellers. As I type this I can clearly hear Beyonce's "Video Phone" from across the street. During the day the night dwellers are replaced by crianças running from porch to porch. Chapas stop right outside the community entrance and is five minutes away from the city center. There I can find whatever I need, if I'm willing to pay the meticias.

If I was looking for a place where I would become a self-sufficient pioneer, well I would be 

disappointed. 

But I'm not! 

Instead of isolation I've found a lively, international, growing community. More importantly, instead of learning to be self-sufficient, I am learning to rely on my community.

I should also mention that my experience is a unique and chique experience. There are some volunteers who live in a grass roof hut, without electricity, and travel hours to the closest town, but the majority are somewhere in between. No matter where we live, all of us are learning to be a part of a brand new and unique community.

I can't wait to get to know my Pemba!

Love love love 

P.S. 

 A goat being slaughtered in my backyard. Note the spider as big as my face in the top left corner.