Glimpses of the Unadorned
It was thrilling to find this twilight scene in Zanzibar.
Scores of young men were lined up along Stonetown’s water front … waiting for their turn to launch themselves in to the Indian Ocean.
Some did flips. Others soared. A few belly flopped. One young man barely cleared the stone sea barrier … then crashed in to the sea, fully clothed.
It wasn’t staged. They surely loved the crowds of tourists who gathered, but it wasn’t organized … just a glimpse of unadorned life in a faraway culture in a faraway land.
Earlier in the day, I’d found bits of classwork from a child’s notebook in the gut of a dirt road outside Stonetown. It’s difficult to make out the exact lesson, but it looks like someone was working on conversational English … with hand-written phrases like “What are the disadvantages of being teacher?” and “What are the advantages of being a doctor?” A teacher has corrected mistakes in red pen.
This, too, was a joy of a find. It wasn’t staged … just a glimpse of unadorned life in a faraway culture in a faraway land.
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