Diary - Sunday, July 26 2009

Stuck in the middle of winter here in the “Jam”, we can hardly complain about the nice warm days and the relatively cool evenings and mornings. I laugh when people tell me how cold it is and then I proceed to describe to them what cold really means, at least to Canadians. I have to say they have a bit of trouble wrapping their heads around concepts of central heating and shovelling snow off the roof of houses so they don’t collapse. As one of my favourite song writers Jimmy Buffet said, “Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes”.

Anyhow, all is quite fine here on Zanzibar since our last update. The “High” season started off quite slowly for us but it has now really taken off and we are keeping very busy in the restaurant with lots of repeat customers and positive feedback. The work experience has been fantastic for our present students and in fact all of our first year kids who will be entering second year in September are doing their work experience somewhere on the island. This is good!!!!

One of the things we are becoming well known for is our Sunday evening dinner specials. We tend to do different themes each week such as Italian, Indonesian, Sri Lankan, French etc. and for the most part these are always booked out in advance. Of course this does entail a lot of extra work and preparation but the practical experience for the students is excellent as they get to be involved in a busy and “happening” environment and we also are generating some income which will help us to keep doing what we are doing. The classic win-win scenario.

The JTTI continues to offer our six week “short” courses and this is also proving very popular and in fact, it seems most of these are fully enrolled. We even have a couple of Masai taking beginners English so they can interact with the tourist population more effectively.

With the increased awareness of our programs and quality of training, Pat is getting more and more inquiries from hotels to see if we can also take on some of their staff to upgrade and provide additional training modules. It seems we have created a monster here. :-) Did someone mention a holiday?

Cousin Alex is doing some awesome work with the students teaching them math skills and of course he is presently heading up the computer lab and trouble shooting any problems that arise. He informs me he is not a geek but a nerd. It seems geeks were entertainers in medieval England who enjoyed biting the heads off of things. One never stops learning in this line of work. :-) Alex has also been a great help in the kitchen when extra hands are required, especially during our Sunday evening dinner specials. Thank you Alex!!!

Well I've made it past the half way mark of my Zanzibari adventure and I can say that things have only gotten better. So what's new? Well I've got my own class of students who take part in daily math and IT classes with me. Things have started to get a little more energetic in the restaurant so I've started to take a more involved role there to help Pat deal with the increased workload, and thanks to a couple of great students I've gotten the chance to really explore and get to know the village of Jambiani from an insiders perspective.

I guess one of the big highlights since the last update was the graduation of the first crop of students from the 2 year Diploma, it was great to see all the students so excited and there was a noticeable sense of pride coming from everyone involved. Currently we are in the process of preparing the newest group of students to enter the diploma program and most of them are taking part in the computer and math short courses. I think there is a lot of promise in this group, most of them are eager to learn and all are very interested in becoming more familiar with the computer.

I've also been lucky enough to take part in the regular Sunday dinners that are being served at the training restaurant. I came into JTTI having had zero experience working in a professional kitchen so it has been a bit of a trial by fire, but once I got comfortable with the environment it has become much more enjoyable.

Other than that I have been busy with working on the IT curriculum, making assignments and grading tests, still reading tons, walks on the beach and spending time outside class with some of the students. A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to attend a Taarab concert that they held on the football pitch with one of the students and Cate. It was great to be able to blow off some steam and cut loose a little. When I think back, my time here has really flown by, but then I remember about how much has happened in that time and how many great memories I am going to take back to Canada with me.

Alex Walter

On the wellness side of the equation, Dr. Cate Andrews is still holding down the fort at the Centre and she is doing just a fine job of it. I have to say that Cate came into this situation as a relatively new graduate from her school in Australia and without very much previous clinical experience but she has managed the many challenges that have come her way in a very professional and accomplished manner so thanks so much Cate for your care and your determination. Here are some words from the Doctor herself.

Jambo from Zanzibar and the pinch yourself beautiful beaches of Jambiani. In overview of my time here I have befriended a running and riding trainer, become a swimming coach, helped read dinosaur English coloring books to the gardener, made pottery with the local women’s group, been welcomed into every hotel, restaurant, bar and fishing boat over the 7km stretch of Jambiani beach and of course treated many of the local inhabitants with chiropractic care.

Many of our first time patients don’t generally understand what chiropractic is, they just know we are doctors, so I have seen individuals with quite a wide and diverse variety of presenting complaints, including neurological disorders, bone infections, sprained ankles (they love their soccer) surface wounds, sting ray bites... you name it. People also travel from locations other than Zanzibar for treatment. The furthest to date for me is Kilimanjaro which is on the mainland. A lady there was experiencing acute pain in her back and she happened to meet a man who knew about us, so she traveled for two days to get here. She was told once she made it to Zanzibar to get on a dala dala, which is the local bus to Jambiani, and to ask for Ali Baba and “they will know where to take you” he said. She was subsequently escorted to our door step. It is not uncommon for the local dala dala to provide transportation services to the clinic, as patients come from all over Zanzibar for care.

We had another patient who is from Israel and is working in Nungwi which is on the north coast of Zanzibar. He was elated to save himself a plane trip to Israel in exchange for the three hour drive to Jambiani. He was quite desperate as he had had Chiropractic care previously and would have taken the flight home for even just one treatment. He decided to take a holiday in Jambiani just to be able to get some consistent care before heading back to work.

My time here has been fantastic. I have the greatest of facilities available to me, better than home honestly, certainly not what I was expecting in Africa. The beach is right at my door step, the people of Jambiani are fantastic and Mama Pat and Ali Baba are great hosts and make you feel welcome immediately. I would recommend to anyone to consider partaking in this experience.

Dr. Cate Andrews, DC

Well, I think that’s about all the recent news for now. We’re still rocking and we’re still rolling here, keeping positive, focused and healthy as we continue our commitment to be part of the solution on planet Earth, to contribute and to help make life just a bit easier for folks who really appreciate opportunities to move in an upward direction.

Take care everyone and continue to enjoy your summer “daze”.

Lot’s of love,
Alastair and Pat and the HABS team on Zanzibar