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Diary - Monday, October 31, 2008Trust me, I have been intending to write this update for the last several weeks and thanks to some friendly encouragement from my good friend Brian (Brizee) I am taking some time here to get the latest news out to you. It is, in a way, hard to know where to start this as these last few weeks have been absolutely packed with activity.
We will also be saying goodbye to Candice Nesrallah next week. Although Candice excels as a very gifted healer, she has been teaching a number of subjects in the JTTI and I know everyone who has had an opportunity to experience her positive energy and her "lightness of being" will miss her presence. Candice will be continuing on to India where she’ll stay for six months to continue her yoga practice and to study. Here are a few words from her.
As an R.M.T I arrived on the scene expecting to unleash my elbows into the aching backs of Zanzibarian's, but have found myself teaching bartending 101 in hopes to have the students making us Margarita's by 4 on Fridays! This of course is all for the opening of their new restaurant, which I hope to experience one day on a return visit to the Jam! I have been fortunate enough to be able to come into the lives of the people here in Jambiani and witness first hand the amount of effort, dedication and love and kindness that both Pat and Alastair have been sharing for many years. They certainly have had phenomenal success in creating their dream and I consider myself one of the lucky few who get to experience it. Thank you for all your love and light! Candice Thank you Heather, Angela and Candice!!!! It has been so great to spend these last few weeks with you. Your love is contagious and we all will miss you until you arrive again sometime. Keribuni sana!!!!!
I would love to have Pat add some words about all of the amazing things that are happening at the JTTI but she is so busy that I will need to enlist others to fill you in on the latest events. I guess the biggest story here is that we have a completely installed kitchen now and it has been already put to great use. Claire is pumping out bread and pizza, muffins and other delights as we countdown the time before we open the Baraza within the next few weeks. This is all very exciting but also a bit daunting. It’s a huge undertaking but in the end this will be such a valuable addition to the project it will be worth the effort many times over. Spearheading the effort in the kitchen is Claire Prong. There are not enough superlatives to describe what this woman has accomplished, is accomplishing and will accomplish over the next few weeks. Claire is tenacious with her desire to help our students become the best that they can and she is well on her way to doing that. I’ll never forget that first day I walked into the school and was engulfed in the sweet aroma of freshly baked bread. Ideas and possibilities were finally becoming realities and I knew then that we were that much closer to opening the best Juice Bar/ Restaurant on Zanzibar. But Claire is more than just a great teacher, she is a bit like the “Oracle” in the Matrix series, always there to help, to lend a hand or to just listen. Thank you Claire for all that you do and for your enormous love and compassion that we all appreciate. Barry Prong, Claire’s other half, is also one of those rare and unique beings who we feel very fortunate to be working with. Barry brings with him years of teaching experience and it is a real pleasure to hear him interact with his students with such compassion and enthusiasm. Barry also speaks so eloquently and from his heart so it is always a joy to spend time with him. Thank you Barry and Claire. We are grateful for your presence in our lives and for your incredible contribution to the project and to the lives of those people you are touching. We are also very happy to report that our dear friend from Vancouver Yvonne Poulin has arrived safely and will be joining us for a month of teaching and providing treatments in the Centre. You may remember that Yvonne established the African Touch Foundation after her first visit to Zanzibar spearheading a program that taught blind individuals to do massage. Truly an amazing lady and we are very fortunate to have her with us once again. Keribu Yvonne!!!! Anyhow, I suppose I have rambled on here long enough. Life continues to amaze and challenge us as we look back at over 10 years of involvement with this community. We continue to be so grateful for your support and we do look forward to seeing this project flourish and ultimately become self sustaining. Take good care of yourselves and much love until the next time. Alastair and Pat and the entire HABS crew here in the “Jam” Lots of love,  |
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We have a pretty amazing combination of team players with us at the moment. On the clinic side I have been very fortunate to be working alongside Heather McLean and Angela. These two caring and compassionate ladies are massage therapists from Calgary and Angela also is trained in TCM. Needless to say, they have been providing some exceptional care in the Centre and we are really going to miss their positive energy and input when they leave us next week. Both Heather and Angela are already planning their return so I think they have had a pretty good experience since their arrival earlier this month. Anyhow, they have promised to send us a small blurb for the website when they get back to Canada so we will look forward to posting that when we receive it.
Having been a single woman traveler for the good part of my younger years I have had the opportunity to test my gut instincts and rely on my womanly intuition for quite some time. Without a doubt I can honestly say that my good vibes radar was right on the mark when I landed on the front steps of Pat and Alastair's oasis. Unaware of the popularity of this establishment and the lengthy line-up of volunteers, with a little luck and some good timing I managed to snag a sweet spot within the Jam! Now let me tell you that having to commit myself to 6 weeks here has been quite the challenge. Just to name a few obstacles to over come: waking up at 6 to watch the sun rise over the ocean, having fresh coffee and tropical fruit salad arrive shortly after (Thank you Ali Baba), going for a mid afternoon dip, followed by a home cooked beautifully prepared dinner with the gang every night... To the outsider this might all seem very daunting and trust me it took a long time to acclimatize :)
