Sylvia's Journal

I am back in the land of Islam. The vast majority of Zanzibari are Muslim. And so I listen to the call of the muezzin and it transports me back to Afghanistan. There is something very soothing about that call – a permanence amidst chaos.

I do miss being in Afghanistan, strange as that may sound. The place has an addictive quality to it that is hard to explain to anyone who only knows Afghanistan from the media. But anyone who has ever been there (really there, not in military garb) understands, instantly. We are all bitten by the same bug.

And so now I am in Zanzibar and only barely present to the town. I made one quick outing into the old city which was sleepy and quiet after lunch. It s good to do nothing as it is very hot and humid, and any effort is met with lots of perspiration.
Today the last of the people arrive for our meeting. We reviewed the program and are mostly set. The sun is setting, the sundowners consumed and I am looking forward to another great seafood meal, meeting people I have never met before. What fun!

A peaceful night I had indeed, under my mosquito netting canopy. Nothing disturbed me except a dream about physical decrepitude, a body that ached all over. I woke up stiff and followed the wise instructions of my DVD yoga instructor to loosen up. The post breakfast massage finished the job.

I met a few of my team mates last night for dinner at the beit-el-chai restaurant across the hotel. We drunk a cool South African Chenin Blanc, sampled variations on Bouilabaise and exchanged stories.

Today is reserved for reviewing several documents that are under construction and dot the ‘i’s and cross the ‘t’s in my facilitation notes for the meeting that starts tomorrow. This will keep me busy for the rest of the week.

I tried to conduct my weekly coaching session by phone, then Skype and had to give up. The Internet connection is OK for mail and surfing but it doesn’t quite support voice.It will set me back a bit but in the greater scheme of things, I decided, it is not important enough to worry about. next week I will try again from Abidjan.