Ninafararah, Dar es Salaam pichas

Ninafararah (I am happy)!
 Below are some pichas (pictures) and explinations from my adventures in Kunduchi, Bagamoyo and Dar es Salaam. Enjoy! 

Above, this is the first lunch I ate in Tanzania including wali (rice), mboga mboga (vegetables), mchicha (spinach), maharage (beans) and Tangawizi (ginger ale soda). 
The food here is incredibly suited for a vegetarian, which makes me extremely happy. Meals are typically made up of four to five ingredients and fruit is served for dessert. 

Above, this is Sean, my partner in crime here in Tanzania! 
He is a fun loving witty hippy from upstate New York with so much respect and understanding for humanity. He immediately understood my importance of every being needing at least 7 hugs per day! As he is about an hour and a half dala dala bus ride away, we have daily downloads during the week and on the weekends, he comes and stays in Kitimondo with Seif and myself. 

Above, this was my view every morning for seven days while we did 
“Genki English” training at Kunduchi Beach, Dar es Salaam. 
The sun rose daily around 6:30am and shinned so elegantly through my mosquito net. 

Above, one of my favorite photos from Dar es Salaam (thanks Sean for capturing this moment) as this was our walk back to Kunduchi Beach, Maui Rest House after lunch in town! 
The colors in this photo truly capture the dynamics of the environment of Kunduchi. 

Above, our groups’ first bajaji ride in Bagamoyo. 
Bajaji’s are these fun little three wheeled motorcycles with a decorative cover on top.
 I feel like they’re oversized go carts! 

Above, walking back from exchanging our money at a near by resort in Kunduchi, I was taking photos of the land and they two young boys got our attention by saying "hello! hello!" 
I walked over to them with my camera and took one of the boys hands to show him how to take pictures. We hung out under a tree for several minutes while these two young boys took pictures of the environment. After they took photos by themselves, they turned to me and said “picha” while pointing to themselves. As you can see, they’re smiles are so innocently joyful and when walking away, their laughing radiated in my ears as their excitement was so pure, so innocent, so youthful. 

Above, the photo leaves me short of breath. One of the bittersweet moments of visiting Bagamoyo was getting to tour an old slave dwelling and burial grounds. This specific monument was created to mark the exact location where “German colonist used to hang to death revolutionary Africans who were opposing their oppressive rule.” It’s ironic so much darkness occurred at this exact location and right beyond this monument lies some of the most stunning landscapes I have witnessed as the sand is so white, the water is a turquoise clear, the palm trees are voluminous and bright green and people walk about with glowing smiles on their faces. 

Above, here is a photo exemplifying the stunning landscapes described above, 
as this is Bagamoyo Beach. 

Above, my smile in this photo is an explanation in itself as to the excitement and abundance of laughter we shared on this adventure! The photo includes several mates from WorldTeach (Patrick, Sean, Rachel and myself), our slave dwelling tour guide (Raymond), our volunteers who brought us to Bagamoyo (Margaret and Joseph) and a couple local Africans whom were hanging around the burial grounds.