Karibu, Tanzania!

Well, I made it all in one piece, if not totally exhausted and jet-lagged. But I love it already, and the last three-ish days are a total blur. I got in on Sunday afternoon, and happily both my bags arrived with no problem. The flying I did to get here was absurd, and I was so tired and so sick of being by myself when I arrived, so it was immediately wonderful to see and talk to other people. The director, Chet, picked us up at the airport and drove us to our dorm at the University of Dar es Salaam. I have a very simple room with a bed, desk, and closet, which is all you really need when you think about it! My roommate is from the University of Chicago, and we seem to get along fairly well. In fact, everybody here on the program is getting along, and we all seem to be clicking and bonding really quickly. We're already a very tight-nit group, which is making the transition so much easier. It's much easier to be confident and less stressed and scared about the newness with people to lean on and do things with.

We've gotten a good grasp on the campus, and have eaten mostly at the cafeteria, but branched out a little and tried a few places around campus as well to get an idea of what's out there. We learned more about the schedule of the program and our classes, too. Turns out that we're in the field for 6 weeks, but for the first 3 we're going on safari. For three weeks! It's unbelievable, and I really can't wait. Our classes sound great, and I really can't wait to start taking Swahili. I'm already extremely sick of pointing and grunting to communicate with people here. I feel like such a tourist - although I understand I kind of am at leat for the beginning of this experience. The trees here are incredible, and there are all sorts of crazy animals just running around. I've already been woken up by screaming monkeys and incredibly loud frogs just in my few nights here.

Yesterday we rode the Dalla Dalla into central Dar. Dalla Dallas are a type of public transport here in Tanzania that run around the city, and are marked on the front with their route. It costs about 250 Tanzanian shillings to ride one anywhere, which is about 20 American cents. It's a fantastic way to get around. They're run-down, kind of sketchy vans that fit a lot of people, they just pack everyone in. We took the Dalla Dalla to the Village Museum, which is an open-air musem with 20 actually constructed huts from various tribes around Tanzania. It was very informative and interesting, and afterwards we got to see a dance and music performance which was fun. Then we rode the Dalla Dalla back out towards school, and stopped at the Mwenge wood carvers' market. They have absolutely beautiful artwork there, and I'm definitely going to visit it again to make some purchases once I have Swahili skills to bargain. I just know that because I can only speak English, and I'm very apparently a foreigner, that I'm an easy target to get ripped off. We walked across the street to the mall, and checked that out. It's a good place to get comforts from home, as well as necessities like shampoo, toothpaste, etc. We went to dinner there, at a nicer place that had meals similarly priced to the US. It was really delicious and a great time.

Tomorrow we're going to visit the American embassy, which will be an interesting time. We're planning on getting into the city and maybe checking out the beach this weekend. We've all been roasting this whole time, and we're ready for a refreshing cool-off. This semester has started out great, and I can't wait for the adventures to come!