Dream, Plan, Travel, Repeat.

At 5PM today—after four long days of watching cheesy instructional videos, reading a textbook, completing four quizzes and one final exam, scaring hotel guests as I sat in full scuba gear at the bottom of their pool, and going on four amazing dives along Zanzibar’s western coast—I officially became (drumroll please!) a card-carrying PADI Open Water Diver.The dive center also gave me a dive log, which I can present to other dive centers around the world as proof of my experience. The log requires stamps, and reminds me of my passport pages—I’ve become addicted to getting visa stamps on my passport, and now, given that diving has been one of the most incredible experiences I’ve had, I imagine that I’m probably going to become a dive stamp collector as well. My brain is filled with plans to go to the best dive sites around the world—and my next stop will most definitely be Egypt’s Red Sea!Under the water, I’ve seen gorgeous coral reefs, tiny shiny fish, big triangular fish, huge fish whose eyes look like googly cartoon eyes, blue starfish, sea urchins with long spikes that frightened me as I hovered above them, sticky anemones, and so many other things living in an entirely different world of their own. (Happy sigh.) I can’t wait to see more.For the last four days, I’ve even been consumed by thoughts of the water on dry land. Such intensive training really messes with your head. Whenever I close my eyes to sleep, I begin to feel as if I am descending into the water. When I sit still, I imagine the rocking of a boat. Above water, I’m aware of each breath I take, and have been breathing slower and deeper than normal, because below the water that simple action dominates my thoughts.So now I find myself busy conquering land and sea. Maybe I’ll learn to fly next…I’ve got to keep things interesting, right?

I like the way the name of my current location, Zanzibar, rolls off my tongue when I say it aloud. Try it: Zzaanzzibaar.From the first moment I saw images of Zanzibar’s palm-fringed white sands and turquoise waters on Google, I counted down the days to my arrival. Now I’ve been here for nine days and, having found that it is exactly the type of island paradise I dreamed of, I’m not interested in leaving. Sorry mainland Tanzania– I’m going to have to see the rest of you on some other trip.Zzaanzzibaar. Really, just try it.Years ago, Zanzibar belonged to the Sultan of Oman and traces of Arab culture remain throughout the island– men in robes and embroidered caps, women in headscarves, mosques, windows with onion-topped arches. Narrow, pungent market alleyways and intricate carved wooden balconies– so similar to those I saw in Delhi and parts of Rajasthan– and the prominence of Indian shopkeepers also reveals the proximity and influence of the Indian subcontinent. Intermixed within all of it are the familiar sights, sounds, and smells of tropical Africa. Huge segments of the world come together on this island. A global blend. I love it.Besides wandering around and enjoying all of these people and their surroundings, my daily life on the island involves eating massive quantities of delicious food. (Sadly, this comes at the same time that I spend most of my days on the beach, wearing a bikini.) The best place to eat is Forodhani Gardens, an oceanside outdoor night market beloved by tourists and locals alike that is lined with dozens of inexpensive street vendors grilling seafood and meats, frying vegetables, and displaying juicy slices of fresh fruits. Matteo and I have fallen into a routine– first, we head to “our” seafood vendor (a lovely man who doesn’t try to charge foreigners extravagant prices), where Matteo orders grilled barracuda skewers wrapped in chapati bread and I have crab claws with plantains. Next, we make our way to “our” juice man, who pours us fresh glasses of sugarcane juice seasoned with ginger and lemon. Then, despite protests from our full bellies, we head over to “our” kabob man, who gives us a plate of beef and fries drenched in spicy pili pili sauce. Afterward, groaning but unable to control ourselves, we’ll have some ice cream, or a crepe with bananas and chocolate. (Best of all, the whole meal will cost us about $4 each.)A good way to digest all of that food is to spend hours lying on the beach and reading. After some time, swimming in the warm, clear ocean also helps. So, after traveling up to a beach on the north of the island, and renting a cozy bungalow with a porch overlooking the ocean, I did that too for five wonderful days.Now, lured by the promise of colorful tropical fish and coral reefs hidden beneath the water’s surface, Matteo and I are back in Zanzibar’s main town, enrolled in a four-day PADI Open Water Dive course. (I’ve read that there’s also wonderful diving in Egypt’s Red Sea, so I think this may be the beginning of a long relationship with scuba equipment.) I spent all of yesterday studying dive theory; today, I wore scuba gear for the first time and took my first breath underwater in a hotel swimming pool. Tomorrow, I go on the first of the course’s four ocean dives– I can’t wait.Once I finish the dive course, I may travel to another beach on the east coast of the island and stay there for a few days. And then, despite my longing to stay here forever, I (probably) will leave Zanzibar to return to Nairobi. I have a flight to Cairo booked for August 7, and the excitement of traveling to another region of the world is beginning to run through my adventure-addicted veins.