Mambo! We're back in Stone Town, but leaving again tomorrow. The mainland was cool, but it felt good coming home to Zanzibar. Dar es Salaam is a crazy place. It's poverty mixed with Western things like fast food restaurants and a mall! The city is a mess due to lack of planning and rapid population growth, but it was cool to see. We spent a week going to lectures at the University of Dar, which was a lot like a university in the States, except with gross bathrooms. They fed us so much food - three course meals every day for lunch! We spent two days getting the "real Dar experience" staying in a hotel that was more in the city but that was kind of a flop since we were totally disoriented and it isn't all that safe to go trekking around the city at night looking for restaurants. We went snorkeling for two days with the fabulous Matt Richmond, author of our textbook and all-around badass. We got to manta-tow, which is the coolest experience ever. A boat drives along and you basically just hold on to a board on a rope attached to the boat and use it to dive underwater. It was like gillyweed in Harry Potter - you just fly along underwater checking out all the cool stuff. So much fun. We also saw some awesome creatures - lots of eels, fish, sea urchins, jellyfish (we all got stung), a sting ray, puffer fish, sea cucumbers (some of which ejaculate when you shake them, producing a weird really sticky white substance which is fun to play with), and even an octopus. Sweet life. Also, during our 17-question "quiz" at the end of our time with Matt Richmond, he bought us all beers. Coolest professor ever/best test ever (on the beach, with a beer, reggae music in the background - jealous?)

Then safari!! So cool. That may be my favorite part of the trip so far. We stayed in a pretty nice tourist lodge in our own little houses right in the park, and the restaurant was right next to a watering hole. During our first meal buffalo and zebras were drinking less than 100 feet from us. We went on four game drives and saw giraffes, baboons, zebras, impala, elephants, buffalo, birds, hippos, crocodiles, a jackal, and a lion! He was sleeping under a tree right next to the road and we woke him up and got to see him shake his mane around and walk away. At night some people woke up to the sound of lions roaring. I could have stayed a lot longer there.

While we were staying in Dar we also got to do yoga! There is a man near the city who came here as a spiritual missionary, opened an orphanage and a school and teaches yoga classes! He greeted us in orange outfits that looked very monk-ish. The yoga session was a much needed relaxation time, and everyone did it including the boys and our academic director.

Back in Stone Town, we've mostly been taking it easy. Last night we went out to a club that played a Soulja Boy song! We danced a ton with the crazy strobe lights and mix of weird choices of American music (move bitch by Ludacris and California Love?) and Swahili music. Tonight we're going to a Swahili music concert at the Old Fort in town.

Tomorrow we leave for Pemba! Pemba is Zanzibar's sister island and is supposed to be much more rural. Some huge portion of the world's cloves were produced there not too long ago, and the island is also well known for its essential oil production. We're going straight into homestays, which should be a little rougher than those in town. I'm excited about it. Anyway, more later, send me emails!