Diary - Tuesday, February 18, 2003 

Greetings once again everyone from your favorite fans here in Jambiani on the Spice Island of Zanzibar. The days are now melding into the experience we have come to know as life in Jambiani, somewhat timeless and totally freeform as schedules become vague and deadlines and commitments no longer exist for us. It is quite far removed from our North American reality. Nonetheless, we have been very focused over the past few weeks fine tuning the house and clinic in preparation for the arrival of Dr Wayne Quinn and his wife Mona who in fact are scheduled to arrive tomorrow afternoon. They are, as many of you already know, our first volunteers and dear friends as well, so we are really looking forward to a great experience together.

The clinic is gaining momentum now and we have seen over 330 new patients since we opened on January 20th. Considering our present office hours are Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 9:00am to 2:00pm, this is quite a substantial number and we are certain this figure will continue to escalate as time goes on here. Of course, this is all good, as this is one of the reasons we are here, and we are grateful that we are in a position to help or at least try to help so many people.

Pat has been very busy as usual, coordinating much of the landscaping around the house and clinic as well as doing a lot of the fine finishing work in the house. In fact at this moment she just finished oiling our kitchen cupboards. They look really nice. :>)

Actually, the maintenance requirements here are pretty hefty and there are always things to do around the house. There is definitely a tradeoff between the absolute pleasure of being near the sea and the corrosive nature of this environment. You just have to accept this reality and do what has to be done to keep things in balance. As we so often say here, "Hamna matatizo" or "no troubles."

There really is not too much new to report to you at this time however I'm certain with the arrival of Wayne and Mona we'll have some excellent stories to relay to you during the course of their stay here. We will try to take some moments to do some touristy things and get out to visit the far south around Kizimkazee and up north to Nungwi, something which neither Pat or I have done over the past 6 years that we have been coming here!

We do hope that you are all well and enjoying life to the fullest. We are still needing volunteers, so if any of you out there are interested or know of someone who is, please get in touch with us and we will try to get back to you as soon as possible.

Until the next time, tuna jua binadamu wote ni ndugu na ni wamoja or we know that all human beings are brothers and are one.

Moyo kwa moyo (heart to heart)
Tuna mpenda (we love you)
Ali Baba and Mama Pat

 Monday, February 24, 2003 

Well, we are pleased to announce that Wayne and Mona have arrived safely and in fact Wayne is in the center at this moment while I type this note to you. It really is fantastic having them here and although I can't speak for them, we believe that they are quite impressed with Jambiani and our set up here. In fact Mona, who is sitting right beside me at this moment, is talking about their return visit and the fact that they would like to stay longer next time. :-) This has to be good!!!

All continues to unfold nicely here now and we have finished with most of the landscaping and just have to plant more flowers and some trees. As I said before, the center is now operating without trouble and we are continuing to see many new patients not only from Jambiani but from all over the island and even some are coming from the mainland now. So this is great and we are seeing some tremendous results in the clinic as well so lots of people are getting relief from years of chronic pain. We have to have a grin on our faces, right? Monday is always our busiest day here so Wayne is now in the thick of a very concentrated morning lineup of patients. Although this can initially be a bit intimidating, especially as many of the patients are new, it is quite refreshing to work with different body types and to attempt to solve problems that are in many cases new and unfamiliar. I would think a great opportunity for new grads. Are there any Chiropractic schools out there interested in an intern placement program? Let us know, as it might prove very interesting and educational as well.

We are planning to take Wayne and Mona into town on Wednesday and we are looking into the feasibility of going to the mainland for a short three-day safari up into the Serengeti, Masaai Mara and possibly Ngorogoro Crater. Once again, Pat and I have never taken the opportunity to do this so we are thinking now may be an excellent time while our friends are here. We'll keep you posted on that one.

The weather continues to hold and I can say that we have maybe had two days with rain since we arrived in mid November. We are certainly not complaining and we are expecting the wet season to arrive in about one month. This will be a pleasant change from the daily sun and blue sky that we have to put up with at the moment. :>)

I'm enclosing a couple of pictures from the clinic with this update so I hope you enjoy them.

We are well and until the next time, we wish you all the best and hope that life is unfolding wonderfully for you.

Much love,
Ali Baba and Mama Pat