In Zanzibar

Finally! I have been wanting to visit this island for years and finally I made it. There's so much to share that I don't know where to start from. I also don't have the time to do it, especially since I am blogging from a cyber cafe located in the post office. Internet access here is cheaper than Lagos (1US for an hour). It's also kind of fast.

Although Zanzibar is really an archipelago (group of islands), the main island where I am, Unguja, also called Zanzibar. It's a predominantly islamic island. And for such a small place, there's a surprising amount to do. However, because it has such a ladi-back and olde worlde ambience, you don't feel guilty if you decide to do nothing and laze around all day.

Yesterday my friend, Funke, and I went on the spice tour, which is almost obligatory to do when you get here, seeing that Zanzibar's spices are some of their biggest exports (if not the biggest). Today I went snorkelling for the first time ever!!! I'll write more abou that later. It was also my first time swimming in open waters and I was taken aback by how salty the ocean water was. It's one of those things that I know, but was still very surprised by just how salty it tasted. The plan was to swim with the dolphins resident in the waters off the Zanzibar coast, but they were apparently not feeling very friendly today. I was still able to see a family of about 8 dolphins swimming some yards away from me. The guide said that we were out farther than we should be, as people don't normally have to go that far out to see the dolphins. Anyway, I was happy enough.

My time is up now, so I'll write more when I can.

nGOmobile Competition: 8 More Days!!

nGOmobile is a text message-based competition aimed exclusively and unashamedly at grassroots non-profit organisations working for positive social and environmental change throughout the developing world. NGOs from developing countries are invited to submit a short proposal outlining how text messaging could make their job easier.

Deadline is December 14, so get those proposals in if you're interested. Check the website for more info.

7 Wierd Things About Me

Tagged by Tayo and accused of being too serious.

I don't know what wierd things I can list here. Growing up I was considered wierd anyway, but here goes .....

1. I love to drive (though Lagos traffic makes me insane with impatience). When I was younger I envied my parents' drivers for their good fortune of spending the entire day gallivanting all over Lagos. As I was being dropped off at school for my daily 6-hour 'imprisonment', I thought how much I would rather be a driver instead.

2. I can be quite chatty when I feel like it.

3. While I love to travel, sometimes the thrill of getting away can be far more enjoyable than actually arriving at my destination.

4. Although I tend to have strong opinions about quite a number of things, I am also able to see both sides of an argument. It can be fun but also maddening (to me and the person I'm arguing with).

5. I love, love, LOVE my birthday. I get very excited when it's approaching (cough, cough, it's coming soon - on the 18th of this month) and I am on a high for the entire month. I feel that people should not have to work on their birthdays.

6. I love rice (well, people who know me are aware of this already). I can eat rice for breakfast, lunch and dinner everyday of the week and not get tired of it.

7. I really don't what else to mention here ..... I've never been drunk. Is that wierd? Hmmm, probably not, if you know me. I like reading and learning new things, but I HATE it when people recount every minute detail when relating a story to me. It's like I ask them what a film was about. Thirty minutes LATER the have only covered a quarter of the film. I'll keep my advice brief: "Stay sharp and straight to the point."

Thank God, I made it through. Now, it's your turn. I'm tagging Ayoola (but of course), Nneoma, Adefunke, Mysterious Meander, Pilgrimage to Self, Tuckergurl, and Gbenga Sesan.

If you've been tagged with this already. Ah well, what can I say? Practise makes perfect.

Here are the rules
1) Link to the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog
2) Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself
3) Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs
4) Let each person know that they've been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog

Chika Unigwe Book Reading

'Tis officially the season to be jolly (what with it being December now and all .....). Here's news of an upcoming book reading, courtesy of Wordsbody.

Chika Unigwe reads from her debut novel, The Phoenix (published in Dutch in 2005 as 'De Feniks'). The West African edition of the book is published by Kachifo and the book readings will be held on:

• Saturday December 8 - The Jazzhole, 168 Awolowo Road, Ikoyi, Lagos @ 4pm


• Friday December 14 - Quintessence, Falomo Shopping Centre, Ikoyi @ 5pm


• Saturday December 15 - Bookworm, Eko Hotel Shopping Complex, Ajose Adeogun Street, Victoria Island, Lagos @ 2pm