Stone Town and the like

I have to say, the streets of Stone Town are lovely...if you know where you're going that is! The streets are very hard to navigate for a number of reasons some being: all the streets look the same, all the shops look the same and sell basically the same curios, and possibly worst of all...the buildings are tall which means that you can't see the ocean to navigate your direction! I like to say that I am good with my directions but the first few times walking through Stone Town, I was absolutely lost! On our second attempt wondering aimlessly we were lucky enough to run into a muzungu who looked like she knew where she was headed so we stopped her to ask for directions! To our luck Wendy (also from Canada!) has been working in Zanzibar for about 6 months now with CUSO/VSO and she was happy to help us find our way. We ended up having coffee with her and another CUSO member we ran into. After coffee these 2 lovely ladies let Sabrina and I tag along with them through Stone Town and showed us some much needed landmarks to watch for to avoid getting completely turned around!

This past weekend, Sabrina and I attempted our luck at Stone Town just the two of us and I am happy to report that we did not get lost! In fact we made a "to do" list before hand and we were able to locate and purchase everything we needed.

Work is going swimmingly! The ZANGOC office as a whole is very nice and the best part about it is that I have my very own office complete with 2 desks and chairs, a computer and reliable internet which is more than I ever hoped for! The staff members (that I have met so far) are all wonderful and very eager for me to be here which is nice. I have made good friends with Saidi who is a project coordinator and also who drives Sabrina and I home from work everyday! Yes, we have a fairly good set up going on!

Last week I had a few productive meetings with my supervisors to compile a list of tasks for me to work on over the next 7 months. It has turned into a very extensive list and I am hoping that I can accomplish a few of the tasks! The first thing I am working on is the ZANGOC strategic plan for 2011 to 2016. This five year plan will include an updated vision and mission statement for ZANGOC as well as delve into issues the organization is currently facing and creating goals, objectives and activities which will focus on where the organization wants to be and how it is going to get there. Obviously I cannot make up the organizations objectives for the next 5 years but I do have full support from the ZANGOC Executive Committee and I am in the process of setting up meetings with key committee members to talk about where they see their organization in the future.

In terms of living arrangements, we are currently in the apartment complex that we want to be in but we are waiting for a lady upstairs to move out so we can move in! Our wonderful, and very patient, landlady has told us that we will be able to move in Wednesday or Thursday at the latest which actually works out perfectly for us as Thursday is a holiday here so we can spend the day nesting in our new pad! I know I keep promising apartment pictures and I know I keep saying soon...but I do promise they will be posted SOON!

I have heard vicious rumors that there was a snow storms recently in Toronto. I think I've already forgotten what winter feels like as the temperature here is just crazy. Everyday is hot and so humid that as soon as you step foot outside you are already sweating. I don't think I will complain about being cold ever again!