Two Days in Dar

Written: September 30th, 2009

I'm writing this on September 30^th, though it may be a few days later by the time I get it posted on the blog.

The first two days in Tanzania were spent going through a lot of information during Orientation. All six volunteers were present (three of us going to Morogoro and three others going to Zanzibar). We went over a lot of things, which was difficult for me because I was pretty tired from the long flight and I was unable to get a good sleep either of the two nights we were there. That being said, it was good information that we got, and hopefully I can remember some of it when it comes time to actually start working. It was also a good way to slowly get acclimatized to a new place and to get ready for an even bigger jump to Morogoro (more on that in a later post).

During the first two days I really didn't get to see too much of Dar Es Salaam. We arrived late at night and stayed in the hotel all day until dinner the first day. After dinner we got to go to a nearby Internet Cafe and write my first post. The second day was also orientation (with lunch at the same place we had dinner) and then we got ready to go to our respective communities.

Though I didn't see a lot of Dar, I did see some and saw some interesting things. 1) There are people everywhere – and many are sitting around, selling things. 2) Almost everyone was selling something. Fruit, water, snacks. The level of commerce is pretty high and it's nice not to see big name stores everywhere – though the guarantee of quality goods goes down without a reputation – but I will take my chances here. Well that's about it really. I didn't see much. I took some pictures to show at the end of this post. The pictures are 1) The six of us (L to R):Evan, me, Tyler, Stephanie, Nicole, Melissa. 2) A view of Dar from our Hotel's roof. 3) Streetview outside our hotel. 4) My breakfast this morning (those who know me well may be shocked that this is all I ate until about 1pm).

If you're wondering, yes, I did make it to Morogoro and I am in my homestay as I write this (but with no Internet connection, you'll have to wait to get it... or will you). I will write more about my homestay when I can. Really, I have only been here a few hours and have just got settled (and I have to get to bed soon anwyay).