Monday morning was a sad day: we left Shirazi. Mama Fatma gave a really neat hat and fan that I think she wove herself. I took some last minute pictures with the family before the kids left for school.
Mama accompanied me to the school where the bus would meet us. The bus was an hour and a half late (it’s African time) but all of the mothers waited to see us off. My stay in Shirazi was really life changing for a number of reasons. It introduced me to a simple style of living that is sooo different from any I’ve encountered in the past.
We couldn’t believe our rural village homestay was over already! Most of us enjoyed it immensely despite our expectations to the contrary.
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| View of Indian Ocean from Old Town Mombasa |
We arrived in Mombasa and jumped right back into schoolwork with a lecture on health at the SIT office. We checked into our accommodations; I was in a group that stayed at a hotel near the office—the Royal Palace Resort. The hotel was interesting—one wall of the room was zebra print and another was checkered with colored squares.
The downside to the accommodations was that a mosque was located directly beside the hotel…and Muslim calls to prayer occur many times each day.
We were woken up by the sunrise call to prayer at around 5 o’clock every day. The calls were very different from church bells. A man sang (and sadly, he wasn’t a gifted singer) and the call was blared throughout the neighborhood by speakers.
We were welcomed to the Mombasa Academic Director’s home for a welcome dinner. Delicious, though I am sooo sick of white rice I might never have it again when I return to the US.
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| Continuing to eat on the floor with our hands...but we got plates here! |
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