vitabu na maua [books and flowers]

I walked into a bookstore the other day in Stone Town, with the full intention of buying a book.  The first thing that caught my eye was Lonely Planet West Africa.  Not only would this look good on the shelf next to the Lonely Planet East Africa book (I’m slowly conquering the whole continent!), I thought it could give me some good insight on fun tourism activities in and around Cameroon.  I flipped through a few pages, and then thought maybe I was getting ahead of myself…maybe I should first focus on fun things in Zanzibar.  And then maybe I should focus on learning how to become an “Environmental Education Agent.”

Just out of curiosity, I asked the cashier how much the book cost… 56,000 shillings!  Yikes!  That could buy me 16 chocolate milkshakes, 37 diet cokes, or maybe 375 lollypops.  Granted I could’ve bargained, but I didn’t really want the book anyways.  I would’ve only bought it if it were say, 3 chocolate milkshakes, and even that‘s pushing it.  It’s all about opportunity cost.  (See Mom and Dad?  I did learn something in that economics class!)

I put the book back on the shelf, and after a few words with the cashier, Lawrence, he commented on my American accent.  This sparked a nice long conversation…A conversation that required me pulling up a chair, a conversation that distracted me for so long that I didn’t even get a chance to look at any other books before a friend passed by and called me out of the store.

Lawrence was full of flattery.  First he mentioned how much he loves American accents, but he loves even more the fact that he is able to distinguish between most foreign accents.  He has learned this skill not just by working in such a touristy town, but also through watching movies (his favorites being Van Helsing and Pirates of the Caribbean).

Lawrence gave me the best compliment that I could’ve received at this point in my travels: “Sometimes you look at someone and you can just see that they belong somewhere.  You, you look like a perfect fit with Zanzibar.  This place suits you well!”  Yes!  A local person realized that I am not just a tourist here!  He somehow was able to tell that I’ve been in Africa for quite sometime.  In fact, our first exchange was in Swahili, and he was shocked to realize that I had no idea what he was saying…He assumed by looking at me that I’ve been here long enough to know the language (and that’s probably true…I should really get on that!)

So then we had a nice long conversation about Zanzibar culture.  “Zanzibar is full of spices…not just real spices that you eat, but also spices in our cultures.  Each culture is like a spice, and people have come from many different places, mixing their spices together in a big pot to make up Zanzibar’s culture.”

Then he asked me where I got my smile.  “Um…I was born with it.  Where did you get yours?”  He asked his friend in Swahili what he thought about my smile.  Apparently “it’s unique.  Full of love, happiness, and honesty.”

“Sometimes flowers don’t realize how beautiful their colors are.  You are like a flower.”  

Changing the subject, I asked Lawrence where he learned English.  His English was spot-on…Probably the best I’ve heard on this island (even to the point of including occasional profanities!  Haven’t heard a curse word since my fellow CFSIAers left me!)  Apparently he learned how to speak English through listening to country music with his dad when he was a kid.  Yep, that’s right -- Kenny Rogers taught him how to speak English.  Lawrence demonstrated by singing a few songs to me and his friend, gesturing out each line to prove that he understood the meanings.

After this conversation, we decided that maybe if I listened to Swahili music, I’d pick up the language a bit quicker.  So, I may not have left the store with any books, but at least I walked out with 50 new songs on my flash drive, a new friend, and a big boost in self-esteem!