Katie (fellow medical student) and I arrived at the Kilimanjaro airport around 8pm last night. There were very few lights and it seemed as if we were landing in the middle of nowhere. The airport was clean and hot. All of our luggage arrived safely and the only questions at customs were regarding the sheets we brought to donate to a local school and my large bag of tampons! How embarrassing!! From the airport we took a shuttle into Arusha. The road was paved, but dark and the ride took about 45 minutes. Once in Arusha, we turned onto a narrow, dirt road lined with small stores and shacks. After some searching and help from Christine (fellow medical student) and Brandon (her boyfriend), we finally found our house!!
Our house is small, but cozy. We have 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a living room, dining room, and kitchen. We have a tall gate and a guard that sits outside from 7pm to 7am. It is custom to bring him chai tea at night and hopefully that keeps him awake and alert. After some snacks and catching up, I put in my earplugs, snuggled under my mosquito net, and easily fell asleep.
Today we decided to explore town, which was an interesting experience. I can't even describe the condition of the streets and buildings here. It is very crowded, dusty, and run-down. The people are friendly and I'm already picking up a few Swahili words! The children are adorable!! They run up to us and say "how are you?" over and over again because that's all they know how to say! We bought cell phones and a few groceries and had a lovely lunch at an outdoor cafe.
Tonight we met up with some of the residents we will be working withat their house down the road . We also scheduled a day safari for this Thursday! Yay elephants! We had a great dinner at a local safari lodge and are now getting ready for a first hospital meeting tomorrow morning.
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Great to hear you made it safe. Can't wait to see some photos!
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