El Fin

I'm not sure why I waited so long to write this final post, closing up my summer travels. I think it's because so much happened in such a short time and I've just been in processing mode.

I posted my last post only moments before leaving Kibaha and have been unable to get the place out of my mind since! I stayed in Dar for two nights, had my last round of mishkaki, nundu, and chips (reasons enough to move to the country - that is only paaartially a joke), took my last trip to Oyster Bay (Ostabay), and saw the last slew of family that I could squeeze in. Flying Egypt Air again was, as always, glorious. My connection in Cairo was with BMI (a British airline) that took me into London. It was SO weird to order orange juice and have them hand me a glass of orange water (ha) and for there not to be a default halal menu. That's when I knew I was heading back to "The West."

Stopping over in England was amazing. My mum's uncle (Nana Jaffer) was the most pleasant host for my first night and first day in the country. We did the whole rural nine yards from eating fish and chips at Warwick Castle to wandering around (and getting lost) in Stratford Upon Avon to watching the sun come up over the hills in Stroud. We also checked out Oxford, and I think he has me sold on applying to law schools in the UK! It's funny how accustomed I have become to remote, quiet Northampton; all other "college towns" seem like they have way too much bustle. Silly, silly Smith. I spent the next night at another uncle of my mum's (Nana Akber). Just about all of my mum's family came over for dinner. I was so honored that they had all made the effort, especially considering it was a weeknight! It was a night full of laughs, great food, and (once everyone had left) plenty of brain waves. Nana Akber's wife is awesome. It was my first time meeting her, and I sure hope it won't be my last. We discussed my mum's other uncle's (Nana Muhsin) educational endeavors in Bhavnagar, India. I'm going to see if I can get Smith to financially back me up to spend time with him in India in January .. *crosses fingers*

I left for New Jersey the next morning (August 4th) and met my mum and Lina in Newark that night, which is where I will stop narrating the chain of events as that marks my return back into the United States. We were in Newark for 5 days for my second cousin's wedding. I arrived into Houston late at night on the 9th of August. Ramadhan started roughly two days later.

It's weird to be back here in The States. I miss being abroad, especially in Tanzania which felt like home. The West was boggling to return to. I remember walking into my first Western store. I was trying to buy a calling card so I could call Tanzania. The store had an entire wall of headphones, as in 85 kinds of headphones! Eighty five!!!! All I could think was, "Whyyyy?!" I also now see that everything in this part of the world is really, really bright. All the lights, action, movement. We always feel this need to be doing something. There's always an itch that needs scratching. I feel like I am constantly undergoing sensory overload. I'm sure that has more to do with Kibaha than being abroad in general ..

And, oh my God, do we have an endless amount of rules or what?! During the wedding in Jersey, we (my cousins, second cousins, basically anyone attending the wedding between the ages of 15 and 30) would stay awake through the night talking, laughing, and playing games. After the first night, we got in trouble with hotel management for utilizing the lounge space late at night. We irritated them so much that, on the third night, they put up a sign saying "Closed after 4 AM" followed by a sign reading "Closed after 3 AM" on our final night in Newark! We relocated to outside by the pool area (take that, management!), but I don't think we would have had this problem in either Spain or Tanzania. People just don't care enough and are way too laid back. It was very strange.

I also find myself removed from my surroundings and in my head for large portions of the day, which I don't actually mind. I also find that I am hesitant in sharing my trip with anyone. I think these are both "give it time" things.

So, final thoughts? This trip was amazing. I can't wait to go back to Tanzania and can honestly see myself living there for a longer period of time. I love the people, the food, the atmosphere, the lifestyle, the attitude, and, most of all, I love how I felt in the country. There was no ache for something more, no desire for anything other than what I had. I felt very complete. I felt similarly in Spain (though not as much as I did in Tanzania). It feels wonderful to understand both languages slightly more than I did before leaving. I can't wait to go back to Spain, too. There's so much left to explore that I had no time to get around to!

I don't want this to be long so I'm going to cut it off right here. Thanks so much for those of you who followed intermittently / through out / whenever. I hope we all get to take trips like this more often in our lives :)

A few photographs

The day I took five classes of primary boys to the orphanage. So many kids. So much fun.

Typical night on kushaalibankro. It was Uncle Hassanain's (Zahra's dad, Jabir's father in law) birthday. Zahra had made a cake. Jabir had made coffee. We had taken the telescope up to star gaze. It was a wonderful night. This is take two of Zahra feeding Jabir since I didn't get it the first time.

Typical sunrise in Kibaha. No pictures or words can describe how beautiful this is.

My prayer buddies.

The orphanage in Mlandizi. So overwhelming.

Feeding the fish outside the administration building.

Gotta run. Wish I had time to post more. I will miss this place. God. So much.

The last day is upon me.

I cannot believe today is my last day. Yesterday, I finally came to terms with the fact that I have to leave and that going back to the United States is the right thing to do in my life (as of right now). It has been a beautiful couple of days here really. I am coming to like the COEJ group more and more. The girls are great upon closer acquaintance (especially when you're not in a large group and hanging out with them one on one). Abbas Ladak, the newcomer from Birmingham, has proved to be quite a hard worker and a lot of fun, as well. The whole group left this morning to go to the cancer unit in Dar. They will be in Zanzibar for the rest of the weekend so I said my farewells to them at 6 AM as they hopped into the bus and left Kibaha.

Rahim was quiet (I suppose because it was early). He is hilarious, in the wittiest way possible. They remind me why I always wanted brothers. Yesterday, during lunch, Rahim, Kanani, and I were sitting at one corner of the "sufro" (long plastic sheet laid down on the ground which serves a similar function as a "tablecloth" and upon which food is served and consumed). They picked up a whole green chili each. Kanani tossed one in my direction. "On the count of three, we are going to put the entirety of our respective chilies into our mouths." I was hesitant (not quite a eat-chilies-whole kind of girl) but picked it up and got ready to chomp anyway. When Kanani said, "Three," I bit down, encompassing a 1.65 inch long green chili with my mouth. The three of us chewed away. My mouth was on fire and my senses / nerves were numb and malfunctioning within  a minute a half. The other two seemed totally unaffected. Minutes later, once I had tossed some carbohydrates into my mouth to slow down the burn, I looked over at their plates. Both of them were laughing, their green chilies still in tact in their plates. I should have known!

Then, Rahim told us this ridiculous story (one of those typical woman-blonde jokes). There were three women standing on one side of the river. They needed to get across. A genie appeared and said he would grant them each one wish. The first asked for the ability to swim. She swam and swam until she reached the other side of the river. The second one asked for a boat and used it to sail across to the opposite bank. The third said, "I wish I could think like a man." As her wish came true, she turned to her left and walked across the bridge connecting the two banks of the river. As much as "blonde" jokes are old and repetitive (as are ones that discriminate between genders), we all laughed.

Yesterday, during our nightly walk, Nana Bashir was describing a fruit (I cannot remember the name right now for some reason). In describing its physical appearance, he used the simile "kaa mende" (like a cockroach). He does not cease to make me laugh. My favorite part of our walks is always at the end. We go to the water tank behind the girls' secondary school. It is about 10 m in diameter and between 6 and 10 m deep. Nana Bashir and I always check the water level together as well as which of the three pumps is channeling water into the tank. How does one go about doing this? There are three pumps, each connected to the tank by a metal pipe. During the daytime, the pipe connected to the pump that is working is colder than the other two (which are hollow as water is not running through them). At night, the one which is working is warmer than the other two which have been switched off. Nana Bashir will always be my favorite science teacher.

Ummi and I have been working with the primary students on maintaining a spinach "farm" behind the school. We took grades 4, 5, and 6 girls to plant two days ago. They made up a song / rap that went "tuna panda, tuna chimba, tuna pika, tuna kula, hey!" (we are planting, we are digging, we are cooking, we are eating, hey!). It was way too much fun - lots of clapping, yelling, and running. Yesterday, I went to brief the grade 6 boys on the planting that they will be doing today. The students are divided into groups of three and the plots are divided into one plot for every six students. The conversations I had with them while they were painting the signs with their names on them (to stick into the dirt, labeling their plot) were great. I have videos of them dancing Michael Jackson style and mock fighting. They all told me to take them to America and that they either wanted to marry "wazungu" or "wahindi" - whites or Indians. It took me forever to explain to them why neither option is necessarily a better one than marrying locally.

I love how much attention these kids pay to what I am saying. On my second day in boys' secondary, we had a discussion about futbol. They asked me how I felt about the sport and I responded with, "One day, I am going to marry Casillas." Yesterday, Abdul (one of my Form II students) handed me a farewell letter that he had written as well as a few drawings he wanted me to keep as memories of my time here. In it, he wrote "Say inshallah and you will marry Casillas and I will come to your wedding with majani mdomoni." That was a conversation we had four weeks ago! A few of the students write me letters. It warmed my heart. I can't read these letters in private. I get way too "emo" for my own good.

The sandpit is dug! Now, we need to tarp the bottom, sand the brick that we want to use to line the walls, and toss in a layer of soil followed by a layer of sand. I'll leave these tasks for Kanani, but I'll set it all up with Deo (the construction manager) before I leave, insha'Allah. There is so much to do this afternoon between my last class, finishing up the farm, finalizing the sandpit construction, finalizing the different pamphlets and letters that I have been working on, saying goodbye to everyone, taking pictures, and exchanging contact information with them, writing any letters that I'd like to leave with people here before I leave, cleaning up / packing, making sure to milk my last nightly ritual opportunity, and God knows what else ..

I'm going to post a few pictures here now (primarily of Kibaha) so I can (maybe) shed some light on why I will miss this place so much.

With a few of the Form IV and V girls at dinner one night. They are way too much fun. The menu was "ndizi" (aka banana) with coconut curry and meat. This is one of the students' favorite meals so the dining hall was in party-mode. I really enjoy spending time with these folks.

Ah, I had a whole list of pictures lined up to upload but the internet keeps coming in and out and I'd rather post this up than risk not being able to post it while the photographs load. More soon, I suppose. I think tonight, once everyone is asleep, I'll come back out to the office and finish up my last blog post in Kibaha, pictures and all (provided we have internet)! Hope you are all splendid ..

15th Sha'baan

Everything here feels so spiritual all the time. Last night was the night of the 15th of Sha'baan. I spent much of the evening with the primary students, praying and reciting du'as with them. I love that they all recite everything loudly, in unison, and without hesitation. It's fantastic. I usually pray near the Grade 3 girls, but yesterday I prayed nearer to the Grade 6 and 7 students. What energy was in that room. After the two ish hour a'maal, I headed over to secondary / Zainabiyya (the name of the mosque where the secondary girls pray everyday). Their a'maal was starting at 10, as the primary kids were ending. On my way, I ran into Nana Bashir. We decided to go for a walk around campus. It was fantastic. The entire campus was still. As we walked, we could hear the du'as being recited on the loudspeaker in the background from every corner of campus. I received a text from Mohammed Abbas saying that the boys were all set to go to the futbol field that we always go to. I left Nana Bashir and made my way over there. Mohammed Abbas, Mohammed Rahim, Frankie, and I sat under the stars in quiet contemplation interrupted by discussion regarding how much of the khoja population is plagued by cultural racism. We were joined shortly by Ali Khimji, Abbas Ali Jagani, Khadija, and Ilham. The second group only stayed about five minutes which, in a way, was good because it was getting crowded and noisy which was defeating the purpose of us being there anyway.

We wrote our arizas in the sand and watched the stars reflecting on the year that had just passed and preparing ourselves for the year to come in relative silence. Because the futbol field is right behind the boys' mosque, we could hear the du'as being recited. We had already recited Du'a e Kumayl and Surah Yasin with the primary girls but, hey, no harm in repeating. It really was a beautiful moment. Then, Nana Bashir came to fetch us and commanded that we go home as it was late and we all had early mornings the next day. Instead of listening to his advice, we relocated to the balcony above the administration building (where we hold "kushalibankro"). Mohammed Abbas grabbed one set of benches, I another, and Mohammed Rahim spread himself out over the table. We ended up falling asleep there. I was woken at 4 AM by the cold after which I headed home. It was a great night.

Today was a bit longer than usual. The morning started off late as the kids were up all night praying. By late, I mean that they started school at 10 instead of at 7:30. I searched around for the rest of the kids that I had to interview for the sponsorship report. I found four who said they would stop by the administration building after 4. The rest were nowhere to be found. Class was fun today, but it seemed a little boring. Maybe that's just me being over-critical, but I doubt it. We did prepositions as well as reviewed nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. We also discussed The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, the movie we watched in class yesterday. It's funny how all the movies that American adults love are seen as childish here. The kids here are not as easily swayed by fantasy, etc which is reflective, I think, of their very "real" lifestyle. I really will miss these boys. A few walked back to the administration building with Mohammed Abbas, Mohammed Rahim, and I to hang around for the next hour. It was nice. Oh, there's also a new volunteer who arrived today. His name is Abbas Ladak and he is from Birmingham. He shadowed me during the afternoon and was rather helpful. I am glad he showed up before I left. I hope he can carry any projects that I have to leave halfway done to completion.

Oh, update on the sandpit. We stopped by earlier today to check it out and tried the water method. It helped some but not as much as I would have liked it to. One of the askaris started digging at the orphanage to illustrate how easy it was for him to dig in this earth. He ended up digging a corner and then asking a thousand shillings for it. I think we might exploit his awesome digging skills and then pay him "generously." I can't believe these askaris. They have no days off, work twelve hour days, and then get paid the equivalent of fifty dollars a month. That's the epitome of cruelty.

This evening, we went to Mlandizi. There is an orphanage there, and we went over to see the kids and drop off iftaar. It was so heartbreaking. I don't know what it is about this place. Africans are so moved by hugs from Indians. To me, a hug is such a natural action. I love hugs! When I see an African, hugging them is not something that I have to consciously make an effort to do. It's something I want to do and something that I do do. Today, I hugged an old woman who was sitting outside the orphanage. Her voice broke when she responded to my "Habari." For some odd reason, that moved me in all sorts of directions. They all tell me that they will miss me when I leave. I'm realizing that I will miss them more than they will ever know. Today, Frankie told me that he made me a gift. he handed me a handmade frame holding a piece of paper that says, "Hanna we will miss you, please come back soon." He had drawn hearts in it and decorated it with brightly colored wrapping paper. It was so thoughtful and so heartwarming. I will miss him horribly.

Haidari is a Form IV student here. He comes and videotapes my class everyday. He's become another part of the family here. I really like him. Today, we were walking to the orphanage. He came with us. We walked by Medewell (the Health Center) and the ambulance was sitting outside. He looked at us and said, "This ambulance has been here for so many years, but I don't think it has ever carried a sick person." We laughed so hard. There was something about the moment - this random African boy with his random African accent, the quiet in the air, the breeze, the giddiness and dehydration due to heat and fasting. It was just funny.

Back to the orphanage. There were about 40 children living in a home that was the size of my sisters' bedroom and mine combined. It was insane. They were sleeping about 15 to a room. There were no lights in any of the hallways or the rooms. There were also no chairs or desks and only two chalkboards in the entire thing. I don't know. It was so sad. The kids were so lovable. We brought them balloons and glowsticks and the looks on their faces were priceless.

I could keep writing, but I have to go. Nana Bashir is setting up kushalibankro and that's the last thing I want to miss. Also, the sky is beautiful tonight and we are going walking soon followed by stargazing on the field. More soon, insha'Allah ..

Revisiting Spaiiiin!

I took this picture on my first day in Madrid. It was an hour after I had landed. Oliver, Adarana, and I were making cous cous in her kitchen. She had put on some filmi Indian music, and they started dancing while I fried the vegetables. It was great fun. Sidenote: I think watermelons can complete any meal ..

The famous Museo del Prado. This entrance is called Goya. Outside each entrance, names of famous artists clumped together by era are inscribed on long pillar-like panels. If I thought any of you would find that interesting (Carolina and Iffat, you guys don't count), I'd post pictures of each of the panels. I could have spent the entire day in this place. There was so much to see and those "audioguias" were so wondrously long and detailed. Then again, I think I could spend a day without realizing it just about anywhere in Madrid ..

El Muse de Reina Sofia. This was the museum I received free admission to (fluke!). It's the modern art hub of Madrid. Outside, you can see them starting to set up for Photo Espana 2010, a photography competition that they host every summer. I can't believe I stumbled into the opening ceremony for that business. What luck. The lecture that I sat on regarding modernism, urbanism, and art was in a conference room on the bottom left of the building. You can see one of the windows in the room peeking out from behind the yellow PhotoEspana2010 box.

This is very typical of Madrid (and just about anywhere in Spain that I visited as well as here in Tanzania). The street vendors sell great stuff at really cheap prices. If I was an ounce more shopping oriented, I'd have picked up at least a dozen earrings from this fellow. It was my first day, though, so I was being even cheaper than I usually am. Ha.

These are two examples of some of the advertisements that line the metro station outside El Estadio de Santiago Bernabeu (the stadium where Real Madrid plays). All the walls are lined with variations of these ads. The first (on the left) reads, "One lone shot can change the world." The second reads, "The moment lasts for a second. The legend lives on forever." I was reading these as I was walking towards the plaza outside and could feel my hair standing up. I don't know why these national-pride-inducing-futbol-related things do that to me.

This was another one in the metro station. "Conquer Madrid. Conquer the world." This is basically Real Madrid's motto, attitude, and everything else in the middle. They love themselves. I suppose that's a key to winning and maintaining a fan base, though?

This is the view of the stadium from the very top. I spent at least an hour here. Somewhere beneath all the silence, you can hear the fans cheering endlessly in the distance. And, no, I am not being poetic. It's true!

In the stadium, I found a museum on the third floor. In it, I found jerseys, trophies, profiles, history, videos, photographs, and just about any other possible means by which to record history chronicling the club's history (from its initiation). These are international trophies that Real Madrid has accumulated over time. The one in the center (yes, the one that looks like a shrine) is taller than I am! I know I'm no giant, but I think any trophy that is taller than five foot three is a bit on the excessive side. Nonetheless, the overbearing presence of large trophies with slow, flamenco music in the background was quite epic.

The current roster. Papa, the next statement is a joke. Lina, I am still planning on marrying Casillas, just fyi.

The unnecessarily extravagant shower .. .. ..

The second largest metro station in Madrid. It's called Principe Pio. The first largest is Atocha. It's where you can catch the line to the airport as well as all the buses and trains in and out of the city. Principe Pio is the station which takes you right to one of Madrid's largest malls / shopping districts. I love subway stations ..

I love this ad. It's advertising discounted prices for senior citizens and says, "If you are older than 60 years, the star is you!" So cute!

Walking down La Calle de Alcala from La Plaza de Cibeles (where I discovered that the protest for Gaza was coming from La Puerta de Alacala and ending at La Plaza de Cibeles) to La Puerta de Alcala (this monument marks one of the entrances to El Parque de Retiro, the largest park in Madrid). I loved everything about this day. The rain, the clouds, the "arquitectura antigua." So beautiful. Most of Madrid's major streets look like this, by the way.

This monument can be found in La Plaza de Espana and is dedicated to Cervantes's Don Quijote de La Mancha. You see Don Quijote atop a horse next to Sancho Panza who is riding a donkey.

Some of my favorite people in Spain were the street musicians. This guy plays outside El Palacio Royal (the royal palace). His name is Diego and he is an accordion guru. You should have heard him go. Increible!

Not sure if you remember my post after visiting El Palacio Royal. I was upset by the horse with the brand. When I asked the guard why this particular horse was branded, he told me that all military horses were branded with a number on their hide. Here's an image to go with the story ..

This illustrates one of my favorite days in Madrid. I was standing in a throng of people watching the changing of the guards outside El Palacio Royal. Suddenly, the clouds were overhead, piercing rain was upon us, and we were soaked. I stood there and let the rain wash over me for at least half an hour before looking for a roof to stand under. It was so liberating. Magnificent.

Los Jardines de Sabitini. These lie next to El Palacio Royal. The city hosts free concerts here for the public to enjoy. When it rains, everything looks greener so I think I saw the garden on a better day than most :)

I have so many photographs from the protest but I will refrain from posting them all here. I'm sure you'll get tired of flags and people holding [really awesome] signs with Spanish slogans condemning Zionism. This was the start of the second piece of the group. The first piece (I'm sure I have a picture somewhere here) began with a line of ten people. Each of them was carrying a coffin over their shoulder. The coffin was covered in a Palestinian flag and also had a name inscribed on the side. Each individual who died on the flotilla was honored with a coffin. Behind this first group were demonstrators, chanting, walking, and doing anything else it is that protesters love to do. The second "tier" of protesters was marked by a large Palestinian flag at least fifteen feet long and a large banner that said "Por la Intifada" aka "For the Intifada." These were the most vocal of the bunch and had the catchiest sayings. I won't mention them again although I am tempted as they were in a previous post.

The third group began with a group of "musicians" set up in a drumline fashion. It was such a great protest. They covered every possible base. I was also really impressed by this third group because they didn't stop playing for even a second of the three hours that we spent walking from Alcala to Cibeles. I have a video of each tier. Again, don't want to over-bore you ;)

"Yo tambien soy de Gaza" - "I, too, am from Gaza." Shirts like these as well as name tags with "Soy Palestina" aka "I am Palestinian" were everywhere among the sea of green, red, white, and black.

La Puerta de Alcala. El Parque de Retiro is to the rear and to the right. When I first saw this, it reminded me of the Arc du Triumph in Paris.

This is the largest "fountain" / lake in El Parque de Retiro. It was to the left of this fountain that I met the homeless man who gave me the mythological breakdown of all God knows how many (40?) fountains in the park. Listening to him while it drizzled around us and darkness settled in was so surreal ..

McDonald's gave you a discount every time you ordered during a game, provided you stayed in house to watch the game. I loved the fish burger (yes, I had one while I was there. I know - very sad) boxes. "Filete de pescado: un mar de sabor" - "Fish filet: an ocean of flavor." I suppose that is sliiiightly exaggerated ..

And the best street guitarrist award goes to .. Alonso. I stayed to listen to him for almost half an hour. Maravilloso.

Lavapies, the immigrant barrio of Madrid. The whole district is basically an outdoor market full of gypsies, Africans, and Indians. Definitely a great place to hang out (or get mugged, depending on who you are) ..

Now, we move on from Madrid to Sevilla!

El Parque de Murillo marks the entrance into El Barrio de Santa Cruz, the oldest district in Sevilla. These oak trees were by far the biggest I've seen in my life. I couldn't fit my arms around any of the little "wrinkles" (not sure what they're called in the real world). The park closes at 2 AM as too many couples have been caught in the act there. There are so many little kittens running around once it hits midnight! Cute.

This is a "street" in El Barrio de Santa Cruz. They all look like this. Hence, cars are not allowed in 3/4 of the district. Funny how that works. Americans would not know what to do with themselves if they came across such a rule in the US. Ha. Anyway, I loved walking the alleyways. They have no order to them and all wind into one another. Not more than two and a half people can walk side by side down the alleyway at one time.

La Casa de Pilatos. Love the courtyards both across from this place and inside it. Very typical Andalucia, from my understanding.

La Catedral! I could look at this building for hours. I spent three days here and, every time I looked at this place, I noticed something new. Super intricate architecture. The courtyard is lined with benches and the weather in the evenings is pleasant. It's a great place to snag a little repose after a long day. Also, the horses are beautiful. They are always lined up in front of the entrance (visitors do not enter through the entrance).

La Plaza de Espana was my late evening / early night spot. This place is so beautiful and large enough for even "too many" people to be in it, unlike the courtyard surrounding La Catedral which can get crowded. I love how the sunlight hits the bricks in this edifice. Wow. There are little cubicles lining the ground around the circumference of the building. Each cubicle is dedicated to a different part / culture in Spain. I've got pictures but I'm not sure you'd be interested in seeing them all.

"La Nina, Pinta, Santa Maria, toooo ooo ooo. They all sailed, all sailed over the ocean blue!" Columbus's tomb.

One of the many domes in La Catedral. This was outside "El Tesoro" aka The Treasury (where they store all the fancy schmancy goods from the past).

Climbing up the 50 ish flights of stairs in La Giralda (the tower) outside La Catedral. This is the view of La Catedral (and Sevilla) from about 30 flights up. The view here was better than at the top, in my opinion.

On to Cordoba! The pictures start getting less and less because my memory was filling up and I couldn't be bothered to buy a new memory card (I was spending my time more wisely, in my opinion). Anyway, I suppose you'll get a taste of Cordoba and a very tiny pinch of Granada!

More old school alleyways! Andalucia is full of these. Here, you see left (black shirt and shorts on the right), Amelie (gypsy pants on the left), her boyfriend Ananda (red shirt and shorts on the left), and Jacqueline (all you can see is her hair, really). These were my traveling companions in Cordoba. Well, Chris and I spent the entirety of my trip in Granada together but we parted with the other three. In this photograph, we are walking in La Juderia, the oldest Jewish neighborhood in Spain. It's amazing how much the Arabs affected the architecture here in Spain, especially in Andalucia. The alleyways in Cordoba felt bigger than Sevilla but not by much.

We were sitting on a ledge outside La Mezquite overlooking the Guadalquivir River and could see El Torre de la Calahorra across the water. The sun was setting. Such a beautiful setting. We walked across the bridge to the torre. It was quiet and the breeze was light.

There is a man who lives in La Juderia who just writes poetry and sayings. He does not pay rent. He home-hops for meals. He just writes his heart out. Only in Spain can you find people like this who actually live to tell about it. He came out of his house when he saw me and told me, "Mira. Mira esta sangre. En los Arabes, la sangre corre mas rapido que en los demas." "Look. Look at this blood. In us Arabs, blood runs faster than in others." What a character. He told me that he would buy me a house in Cordoba if I would consider settling there because it is imperative (in his opinion) for the Arabs to reclaim that land, those people, and the culture. I should have just told him I was khoja. It would have saved us all twenty minutes of his ranting ;) .. I'm kidding. It was entertaining.

The view from Jacqueline's balcony. We went to this park twice while I was in Cordoba. The third time, we jumped the gate at 2 AM to lie down in the grass. Such peace. And who knew I was such a solid gate-jumper?

On our way to the zoo in Cordoba (don't ask why we went to the zoo there; I'm still not sure why we did it), we came across an old bell tower that was used to alert the town of invasion. We climbed up to the top and sat there. I was small enough to shimmy through the middle set of rungs (it was a set of two rectangles side by side without a rod in the middle so it was a square shaped opening) and climb up to the top. We figured out a way to get the other four in, as well, and then sat up there. Chris and Ananda smoked cigarettes and no one spoke. I love traveling with people who are totally comfortable with silence.

La Mezquita! The famous archways. The lighting was shoddy and my time there was short as I was leaving for Granada in the afternoon, but the archways really are as magnificent as people say they are. I don't understand why every monument in Spain is a weird mesh of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. Everyone wanted a piece of everything. Funny that every religious monument in Spain is somewhat reminiscent of other religions (aka once-upon-a-time enemies). The agreement between the government and Spanish Muslims is that the Islamic architecture and essence can be preserved provided no prayer occurs within the building. A man was arrested for saying salaat near the mihrab last month. They weren't kidding.

La Capilla Mayor - Christianity's portion of La Mezquita (also the central, most prominent part).

On to Granada! I have one picture so don't get excited. The other require too much explanation or didn't come out as clear as I would have liked. I'll edit them sometime once I'm home and post them if you're really that interested. This was my favorite city in Andalucia. It's too bad I have the least number of photographs of it!

Here's your view of the city at night. The large dome in the center is La Catedral. Chris and I visited La Catedral on my second day there. It was there that I received a free CD of flamenco guitar music (so moving) and met the most wonderful elderly gentlemen who gave me the entire history of the area. You could tell that culture was his oxygen. I think I blogged about him. He emailed me a poem a few days ago from a Moorish poet. I have yet to respond. I think I feel the need to respond with something substantial. I hope I come up with something soon!

Back to Madrid before heading off to the Motherland.

You must be sick of seeing photographs of Madrid, but this is the first thing I saw when I returned to the city. Of course I felt like I was home! "It is our year. It will be our era."

And that concludes the very, very brief summary of my trip to Spain. I hope that these few photographs satisfy the curiosities of those of you who had requested I post pictures up. I would put some up from Tanzania but just putting these up has taken five hours. The internet is slow and I've been popping in between assignments to upload more pictures to the blog. If I was to go through my Tanzanian folders and photographs, I'd be here until tomorrow evening! That being said, I will definitely give it a shot sooner than later :)

Sifting through these photographs rekindles my nostalgia. I really do hope that I return to Spain one day. There is so much to see in the north that I missed out on and I don't feel like I filled up my hispanohablante (spanish-speaking) gas tank enough, though that thing doesn't ever seem to be satisfied. Anyway, it's Maghrib time here so I will be taking your leave now. Until another day ..

PS. Two nights ago, Mohammed Abbas, Mohammed Rahim, and I were discussing different types of comedians. Mohammed Abbas's description of "black" comedy: "I'm black. This is what happened. Now, laugh." As much as I enjoy black comedy, I laughed. I found it a relatively accurate description.

PPS. Nana Bashir corrected Neelam's spelling of Mili Moja today. It is Maili Moja - pronounced Mile-ee Mo(h)-dya. He also doesn't believe me when I tell him that mosquitoes can fly up people's clothes. It's true! I feel them!! During lunch, he asked me who Ja'far was. I had no idea what he was talking about until I realized he was referring to my cricket (he had been reading my blog). Good company, Nana Bashir is.

PPPS. The askari today (Fatima) just walked in. She's been in and out all day and I get along with her. Her replacement (James) is sick tonight so they have told her that she is staying here through the night to guard the administration building. Fatima has been here since 6 this morning. Her shift was supposed to end at 6 this evening but she will take the night shift until 6 tomorrow morning as well as her usual day shift tomorrow until 6 in the evening. This girl is going to work a 36 hour shift to make her ends meet. The next time I think about complaining, I am going to remind myself of this little lady right here. How insane ..

PPPPS. We have all been singing "Wavin' Flag" and "Waka Waka" just about every night. It's unhealthy in the best way possible. Also, (Neener this is for you primarily) we watch the 2002 FIFA World Cup Commercial every night (the one on the ship where all the star players of the cup were competing against each other; it plays to Elvis Presley's "A Little Less Conversation"). Good to know that the spirit can be kept alive.

Okay, now I really think this is all for now. Please accept my half-hearted apologies regarding how long this particular post is. Lots of love to you all.