The most predominant question in my life right now: Is this really my life?

I wake to the sound of the Indian Ocean, roosters, turkeys, and the call to prayer coming from a mosque down the coast.

I walk to the main road and pass a small area of slums. All of the people greet me as the women cook outside of their huts made of garbage. Their children run to say good morning to me even though some of them are too shy to spit out the words in front of a white person.

I go to a local restaurant and pay 1000 Tanzanian shillings for a meal (66 US cents).

I pay under 5 US dollars to spend an entire Saturday on one of the most beautiful beaches in the world.

While scanning through one of Jane Goodall's many bookshelves, I see her copy of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring. Although I had discussed the importance of this book in many of my classes, I did not decide that I wanted to read it until I read one of Jane's books in which she says that it was one of the most influential books that she read at the beginning of her career. The book is old and heavily used and I have a brand new edition sitting at home in Canada. Yet, I cannot resist flipping through the pages that one of my childhood heroines once did.

In the evening, I play cards with Jane Goodall's granddaughter.

Is this really my life? Because if it is - I love it!