Happy Thanksgiving

So , as title says, happy thanksgiving to all and a happy holidays in gen. Zanzibar's a happenin place as always.
Good news. Grant was approved! This means they have ok'd it in country. Right now it is on its way to Washington, at which point after no doubt maybe a week's worth of redtape (more or less) it'll be put on the PC website and be up for donations. When I know more bout where it is and how to donate I'll be positive to let everyone know. Right now its just meanderin its way through the various random legal twists and turns. Also a few people who I put on the grant may find themselves getting info in the next few weeks, but this in no way means you have to do anything, or anything more or less than anyone else. As well if you don't get this mailing it means nothing as well. I only had a certain number of spots and put addresses off hand in them. Anyone can donate or not as they please. But as I said, when i know more , you will.
On other topics. Had some shadowers over to my site. These are future PCV's in training who come to stay with a current PCV for a few days to learn what normal life is like. I think it went well! My neighbors were great. And everyone seemed all around quite happy . All the kids came ov er, which as my parents can attest, can be alot of kids. Like 30 ish. And then when my and my female shadower went over to get henna done we ended up being the local entertainment for like an hour and a half. 50 some people watchin her get henna. And talking, and visiting. I think I'll be a total snob when I get back and wonder why no one is obsessed and impressed by my every boring move.
Afterword I went to visit a friend and picked up some totally entertaining stories. Like the one where a local friend of his was talkin to him, expressing his happiness that he had come to zanzibar. "You know" says his friend "it is so lucky that you've come here, you help us too, but there is so much that we can teach you as well!". " Like what?" asks my friend. "Well for example", says his friend "I've heard that when you wazungu (white people) go to the bathroom, you clean yourselves with paper. How disgusting!! Water is so much cleaner! I can teach you the proper way to clean yourself." (To those that don't know Swahili people don't use toilet paper but their left hand and water to clean themselves)
" Well" says my friend, "we often think it dirty that you use your bare hand", "But" says his friend "we use it for nothing else so it is no matter." -- it's considered very poor manners to offer another person anything using your left hand. Just goes to show! Different customs.
Or the story of the hatchet carrying chanting women in the north. Or the mbaya children. On another had an interesting quest for local pombe (alcohol- many tribes make local alcohol out of whatevers the main crop in the area, maize, bananas, coconunt, papa ya- but we don't have tribes here and muslims are forbidden alcohol) on our muslim island, and how we were successful, but moneyless, and hawked our phone card to get some.
For thanksgiving we went to the beach with the remaining members in our small PC posse. But no fear. We're gettin new blood! Well one new member anyway. Not enough to bring our numbers much up though, we're becoming rather few (though proud) . And as for myself, I'm now the sole female. Alas! But in terms of the pickings, numbers are alot more in my favor anyway! :)
Also for the month I've decided my biggest regret was not bringing my camera to the previous full moon party. O ne of the acrobats we're friends with invited me on stage and I got the pleasure of being all wrapped up in a massive foot-wide python. Seriously. I kid you not. Ok, well while its not my biggest regret at all, it woulda been cool to have proof such a narley thing happened. Ya know?
And I gotta go, runnin out of time. But just wanted to thank everyone for great response to my project and promisin to help out with money/supplies etc.

Love muc