After one cancelled flight and a free night in a luxurious hotel followed by a dreadful 15 hour flight and two 3 hour ones, I'm officially in Tanzania! In perspective, the plane ride was not as awful as it seems. I had a window seat with a beautiful view, an array of good movies, my iPod, and two planemates who were super friendly and interesting. One was a grandfather from Zambia who had moved to Canada and has 4 daughters. He was so nice and wise and he talked a lot about the value of family and how to truly be happy in life. The other guy was from Ethiopia and had moved to New York for work but was returning to visit his family. I met a lot of super interesting people during my flight. I met this one Australian couple during my lay-over in Ethiopia and they were super cool. They were in their sixties and returning from 3 month holiday in Europe and were heading to Africa for a 4 week Safari! They told me that it's never too late to live life, and that they think it's really great that I'm taking all these opportunities while I'm young and truly enjoying life. I agree. They were so inspiring. I hope I'm that adventurous when I'm older!
I was picked up at the airport by Dominic and Chris. Dominic is in his twenties and is from England. He has lived here for three years and knows Arusha better than most of the locals. Chris is a local Massai who is the volunteer coordinator and helps to show us around and take us to places we need to be. There is also Doreen, another local Massai who also helps to show us around and teaches us Swahili.
This program so far is super different than ones I’ve done in the past. Of course no place or trip is ever comparable, however this program is just more underdeveloped than ones I’ve done in the past. I guess the weirdest thing for me is that I’m not surrounded by a bunch of different people, as I’m so used to traveling in a group with different people from all over. So far, it is just me and another volunteer should be coming in a few days. I kind of like it, though. It gets lonely, but it’s a good feeling. I just love the feeling of being in a completely different place that I’ve never been before, and the novelty and adventure all around me. I’m so excited to explore tomorrow. I feel so independent and at times it's scary and lonely, but I think it’s a good thing, as it will prepare me for Peace Corps which will be a similar situation!
They dropped me off at my host mama’s house who lives right in downtown Arusha. It’s a super great location, as it’s right by the Shopright (for those of you who have been to Africa, it’s like Nakumatt but smaller..and for those of you who haven’t, it’s a mini version of Walmart)
My mama is older, she introduced herself as Bibi or grandmother. She has seven kids but they are all grown and displaced all around Tanzania and Africa. She also has a housemaid named Jennifer who lives here. In Africa it is super normal to have this, especially if you are older and single. She is 25 and does not know any English, so it’s difficult for us to communicate. My mama knows great English though and she is such a character. Her favorite thing to watch on television is wrestling! She literally knows everything about it, which I find so funny. She also loves to watch MTV and Usher is her favorite. Whenever she hears a song she’s always like yeah this is old. She’s definitely up to date with the modern music!
Some of you may find it weird that I speak of televisions and cell phones. Arusha right now is in a transformation stage, where they are caught between their traditional lifestyles and the modern one of any city. Cellphone shops are literally every other store and everyone has one, just as they would in the U.S. In between these cell phone shops are locals sitting on the side of the street selling fruits and vegetables on blanket. It’s like the typical stereotypical African image you may think of, mixed in with cell phones shops and internet places. Technology is big here, just as it is everywhere else. It’s actually kind of funny, as they are so up to date on the modern technology, yet when it comes to bathrooms it’s usually just a whole in the ground or not even, and simple utilities that we wouldn’t think twice about they usually don’t have.
my bed :)
I was exhausted when I arrived, and went straight to sleep in my mosquito-netted haven. A bed feels so amazing after a million hours of flying. I have an open-mind and am so excited for tomorrow and the weeks to come. Karibu Arusha, I can’t wait to take you on!