Karibu!!

Thank you to all you loyal blog readers. I hope you are ready for a new year of entries. I have two coming up for you and hope to get a third one up today as well.

June 23rd

I made it!

I arrived last night around 8 PM in Dar es Salaam. I was in the air a total of 15 hours with stops in Switzerland and Kenya. My flights went well. From NYC to Switzerland I was given a seat in the front of my section which gave me a whole lot of leg room which I was quite thankful for. On my second flight, which stopped in Kenya for an hour, there were more empty seats than there were full seats. I stretched out quite a bit. I was excited to be done flying for a while though. I was surprised with how many tourists there were on my flight. I think there were only two or three native Africans on the flight. I met a few students from Canada that were spending the summer in Kenya working at a clinic as nurses. I also met a mother who was visiting her daughter in the Peace Corp in Malawi. It was nice to be able to talk with highly energetic, adventurous people.

The moment I stepped off the plane in Dar I realized I was in a new world. The feel of humidity quickly caught up with me. Every turn I made I noticed more people peeking into windows or doors looking at me, curious to see who got off the plane. The first thing to do when you get off the plane is purchase a visa. I had to fill in two papers while on the plane, give $100, and handover my passport in order to receive a visa. While waiting in line, a gentleman approached and asked for my documents and $100. He walked through the line and received the same from the other passengers (all 8 of us). With the pile in hand, he gave them to a woman behind theplexiglass window and we stood waiting. Ten minutes later, I was called by my last name and given my passport. Inside there was a little piece of paper glued to my passport that gave me access to the country (for 90 days anyway). I then walked through customs which consisted of a man that looked at my passport for a whole 20 seconds and told me to continue on. I grabbed my luggage and headed out of the building. I was met by the field director, Ashley, and my roommate for the year, Lindsay. I was excited how quick the whole transaction took.

We left the airport and jumped in a government owned vehicle heading to my home for the rest of the week. I thought we were going to head straight north to Lushoto and was pleasantly surprised by our short drive. We arrived to a nice welcome from the other volunteers. Since it was quite late when I arrived I have no idea what the place looks like. My room is quite nice though. The accommodation for orientation is much better than what I had in AS. I have my own room which a full bathroom, closet space, and a desk and chair. Today we are going to the US Embassy. I don’t really know what we will be doing there but I am excited to get out and see the landscape. Supposedly I can purchase Internet while here for orientation which I will try and do today. I also will receive my cellphone today, get excited!!

Love,
Gretchen