Final Friday

“Yesterday…all my troubles seemed so far away”: This is actually a quote from yesterday, compliments of the uber-cheesy (and flat) entertainment at the wedding that Alison, Yu-Jin and I attended. One of the mentors, Sophie, invited us last week informing us that it would be the final evening of a weekday-long celebration for her cousin’s marriage, beginning in Dar and ending at a hotel by the northern coast of Stone Town. The invitations we received, along with word from Sophie, were assumedly clear about the time of arrival: 7:00pm. When Alison and I arrived half an hour late, our worry was replaced with laughter as we gazed over an entirely decorated and empty dining room! After choosing any seat we wished, the two of us waited…and waited…and waited! Two hours later, the crowd finally began to trickle in and Yu-Jin arrived having hadn’t missed a single thing…besides the previously mentioned Beetles cover. Alison and I had eaten at Lukmaan’s at 11am, and what a day to eat an early lunch since dinner wasn’t served until midnight; after the bride and groom had posed for a few hundred pics and had done the lovey-dovey cake ritual which we all know. I enjoyed a plate of bitter lettuce and bread after denying a host of meat and fish choices, and found my entertainment in playing around with my camera’s macro feature. It was a much different experience than I expected from a Zanzibar wedding. There was some dancing, but not really local, upbeat music. Most people stayed seated the entire time, except for the handful of times that the women decided to gather to dance by the stage. The roses were wilting, and there was a cat prowling the ledge around us the entire time. Quite an experience.

I left hungry and hoping for a change in the night pace; and eventually met up with Star, enjoyed a Zanzibar pizza, danced to some Gaga, and watched the sky ever-so-slowly transition from deep black to rainy grey over the ocean as Saturday morning arrived and rain began to lightly fall upon my head as I strolled the incredibly silent streets of Stone Town on my way to write this post.