First Week Round Up

Hello everyone,

I know it is strange to start up again after so long but I think, with the limited access to internet time I have when I am not working, this is just the most efficient means of communicating.

So I have been in Tanzania for 8 days now and it's just crazy how much information I am trying to process-- but it's all good stuff.

Let me start at the beginning. The trip in, well as you may expect, traveling to the other side of the world, in long. I flew from San Diego to Detroit to Amsterdam to Nairobi, stayed over night in a nice hotel and then took a bus for 7 hours from Nairobi to Arusha (I don't recommend the bus).
Despite the heat, dustiness, and complete fullness of the bus for 7 hours -- I actually had a good time. Thanks to the practice on all the Marshrutkas in good ole AZ it was comparatively comfortable and there were a handful of other tourists with who I made quick friends. One of them is supposed to email and check up on me in my small town in three weeks to see if I am ok and if I have been married off yet. Ironically, there is an engagement to report-- but more on that later. So when I arrived in Arusha I was supposed to meet a speed-taxi that had been pre-hired for me. I was not able to find the driver in the swarm of taxis that met the bus.

I should say this about the swarm of taxi drivers in Arusha and also that were mixed in with the drivers for hotels at the airport-- they were unlike the taxi drivers in AZ. I mean they would ask if I needed a taxi and I could say no once and they stopped asking, or I would say no I have another ride and they wouldn't try to harass me into taking their ride. Also the music they were playing was more my taste and preferred volume level.

So, back to the trip, like I mentioned I didn't immediately find my driver so I told another driver that if I couldn't find my driver I would use him. After about 10 minutes I told him it was ok I would use him but I would need to use his phone to call my friend. I called Andy ( the guy I am replacing). Andy was able to explain to the driver that he did hire another driver and he told me that they were there and their lisc number. I told him if he called the driver they could look for me, that I am tall and was wearing purple-- this got misunderstood on the phone and Andy heard that I was tall and purple. He told me that when were hanging out days later and I laughed and said what did you think I was Grimace, which is apparently exactly what he thought and had told Andrew and Whitney.

After I arrived in Karatu (about 3 hours from Arusha) and Andy, Andrew and Whitney and I finally met each other we went to a hotel to meet some other volunteers. We got some cold drinks before dinner I ordered a gin and tonic (Whitney told me later that this is when they I knew I was going to be ok).

Whitney is my current roommate and runs the preschool here
Andy - like I said is the guy I am replacing and leaves 9/30/09
Andrew runs the sports program here and will be my housemate once Andy leaves
I hang out with these three more often than not.