Karibu (Welcome)

To get lost is to learn the way. ~ African proverb

I woke up to chickens cockadoodling and dogs barking before dawn on my first full day in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania--note to self, use ear plugs tonight!   This needless to say prefaces the fact that I safely made it to Dar after 20 hours by plane from Boston--the longest plane ride I've ever taken and by far the furthest I've ever been from home.  I sat next to some nice people on the plane and I highly recommend flying Swiss Airlines as they have delicious food!  One guy from Tanzania even lived in Liberty, Missouri of all places, we laughed about Kansas City and bbq.  Oh it is a small world and the universe has a way of bringing people together.

Just a girl & her pack...

It was a fairly smooth ride beginning  from my uber ride from my University to a pit stop in Switzerland and then breezing through immigration in Tanzania-something I thought was going to be a long and complicated process but was rather not the case.  I had even gone through a ton of extra preparations and probably some unnecessary worrying to ensure that I had all my documents and then some, but the immigration officers just quickly scanned my documents, took my money for my visa processing and did not even use the nicely precut passport photos with the photoshopped blue backgrounds that I had made sure to obtain.  It was actually pretty funny because they shooed everyone over to this little waiting area to receive our passports and then every once and while an immigration officer would come over and distribute a few passports with visas in them and those lucky ones got to proceed slowly but surely.  After waiting for a bit the immigration officer called my name and I went to check out of security.  The officer there saw my passport and laughed--"haha you come from the land of Trump, you have a twitter president!".  Yep, the whole world knows and is laughing at us...  I proceeded to tell him how nuts the whole state of affairs was and I touched his arm, immediately remembering that he was an immigration officer and I should not try to be so casual--oops.  However, he returned my passport and touched my arm too- "welcome to Tanzania" he said and I made my way out.

Checkmate!

After gathering my bags, I went outside to find a sign "Knopps Millicent", the NGO I'm working at kindly arranged a ride for me and there was my driver, no issues finding him.  After exchanging my dollars for Tanzanian Shillings, I hopped in the car (left passenger side, psyched me out a bit) with Omary my driver.  Omary didn't speak much English and I have yet to become familiar with Swahili so we mumbled some small talk but were able to bond over bumpin' Sean Paul on the radio as we sped through town.  Dar's streets are poppin'!  And the traffic is every bit as wild as I imagined.  Omary used his horn and flashed his brights many times throughout the drive at other cars, motor bikes, and people running in front of traffic to cross the busy streets whenever they pleased, he knew what he was doing so I just sat back and enjoyed the ride.  

There were a lot of people out and about.  Night markets were open and in full swing, there were fires burning in large can things and people cooking and posted up to observe the spectacle of the evening.  It was lit, I really enjoyed watching the scenes as we drove to the apartment.  I could definitely get used to Dar's pace and vibes, once I get my bearings of course ;).  Coca cola definitely has a stronghold here--adverts on every corner type of thing, its kind of wild how this brown beverage is such a staple around the world, I can't really stomach the stuff but its definitely infiltrated developing countries as a daily thing, multiple times per day, hmmm.

I arrived to the apartment with no issues.  Gill my coworker and new roommate originally from Ireland came outside and greeted me with a hug, so nice to have someone welcome you to a foreign place, I think this will make the transition that much easier!  We went upstairs and met her boyfriend Doudi from Moshi, Tanzania who was visiting for the weekend.  The apartment is perfect.  A lot of space and even an extra bedroom besides the two occupied-fancy!  There is also a nice sitting room with a balcony and TV *sigh* I'm pretty spoiled already.  After a short visit and a much needed shower I hit the hay and I hope that I'm rid of my jetlag until those damn chickens woke me up roughly 5 hours later...

Cuarto de Millicent

The apartment is on the 6th story of a highrise building in the Sinza Mori neighborhood of Dar and if you look over one side of the balcony you can even see the ocean!  A stunning view of urban structures and thick tropical vegetation, with a constant smell of smoke/smog accompanying the honks and shouts of the street, also there is a night club right next to the apartment so the jams are also on blast during the night, all things I'll have to adjust to.  As the street animals far below assisted me in greeting the morning before the sun, I took the liberty of unpacking my 3 hefty bags and putting all my belongings into the nice shelves and drawers my bedroom provides. 

Indian Ocean Views

The apartment is very nice with all the modern amenities- air conditioning and washer included!  It is also really lovely to begin to get settled for this extended stay.  The past month previous to my trip here I had been living out of a suitcase moving from Boston to visiting family in Kansas to back again and always hauling things around, so although it is a short stint here, its nice to unpack and have a nice bedroom to stay in (with a comfy queen sized bed too)!

Check out that AC Unit!

Why can't my kitchen back home be this nice?

Large water jugs: my new best friends

I am a bit concerned that the dog below has rabies, all he did this morning is bark and the barks sound a bit crazy like he is flailing around down there.  The one vaccine I did not get was for rabies (as it was expensive and needed a few additional booster shots) so if I do encounter some kind of street animal I guess I'll just have to bop him on the nose and run!  Just kidding, don't worry everyone, I'm going to try my best to stay away from the animals here.  Except, I did find an amazing little critter right outside my window. Out my bedroom window across the way is a large flattened lot with a large stone wall encircling it.  The ground is leveled dirt with some shipping containers and other random things and if I stare down long enough I can make out most details from my window.  I saw a man hanging clothes this morning which gives me the impression that he lives somewhere closeby or in one of the small hut structures on the lot.  Anyhow I did also spy with my little eye a small little creature that was hopping around down there--a rabbit!! I kid you not! If you know me, you'll know I have my own rabbit- Mr. Bojangles who I love with every fiber of my being.  There is just something about rabbits-they are the best companions!  Anywho I distinctly recognized the animal as a rabbit by the way it was hopping along and the flash of the white tail--I think it even has a hutch.  I am so excited and I hope that I can continue to appreciate it from afar, however I do know that there is a high probability that this rabbit may be kept not as a pet but for eventual dinner :/  he is pretty large!  I'll continue to keep this blog updated on my rabbit rendezvous.

Very excited to see this view everyday

Back patio

The landscape is a mix of palm trees, high rises, grass roof structures and roads with lots of traffic.  After my eventful morning Gill and her boyfriend accompanied me to the local shopping center across the way--a "modern mall" that's even equipped with a Pizza Hut and KFC  *eyeroll*. Anyway I was able to get a local sim card and internet bundle there with their help--again so thankful to have someone looking out for me as I begin this stay, I don't think I could do it otherwise!  I now have internet service and I even went grocery shopping by myself :) It was pretty easy, another thing that I am grateful for so I can proceed to make my lunch tomorrow.  After a nice lunch at a modern coffee shop in the mall and a Tuk tuk ride back to the apartment (expertly bartered by Gill--also note to self--learn how to be firm and barter, oh and work on your dang Swahili!) I'm all settled in and ready to show up to the office tomorrow to begin my work.  It was a wonderful first day, its just the beginning.  I'll have an update on my work later this week- let the adventure begin!

Sundown in Dar Town