Arusha

I was only in Arusha for a few days because the main purpose of stopping there was to meet up with the whole Support for International Change team I'll be working with for the next eight weeks.

My initial impression of Arusha -- COLD. Compared to the warm weather I became accustomed to in Zanzibar, Arusha felt like a freezer and no one warned me of this! Good thing I came prepared with one pair of jeans and one fleece jacket...

I stayed at the Center House hostel. I initially shared a room with Chelsea but was then moved into another room with three girls, Chelsea, Carman, and Camille. The rooms were pretty spacious and we had REAL blankets to use! (In Zanzibar, we were literally given a sheet, or nothing at all and therefore resorted to using our microfiber towels as a blanket, haha.) Unfortunately, hot showers were hard to come by, the electricity turned on and off randomly, and the windows didn't shut completely. These were just some of the things I've had to get used to since I've been here.

One of the highlights of my time in Arusha was the waterfall hike in the foothills of Mt. Meru. Rogers, an SIC friend and Masai from Arusha, lead the hike. We left our hostel bright and early at 8am and didn't return until 4:30pm. The hike started off pretty flat but gradually became steeper and steeper until we were basically hiking uphill on uneven, rocky dirt road.
We visited Rogers village and school he attended as a child along the way. We were welcomed with open arms by the smiling children who were all super excited to see foreigners and amazed by our digital cameras. The scenery was beautiful -- lots of open green fields, trees, and hills.
As we kept moving it soon felt like we were hiking through a jungle. We followed a muddy trail and had to be careful not to slip down muddy slopes, using our hands as support. Eventually we reached a stream. Changed out of our muddy sneakers and into flip flops and hiked the rest of the way through the stream. The water was pretty cold, but it wasn't all that uncomfortable to walk through. Before we knew it, we reached the waterfall!

Everyone got so dirty and wet during the hike, but it was well worth it to see a natural waterfall secretly tucked away and bond with the rest of the team. It was awesome.

A (typical) Day on the Bus

5am: woke up at the YMCA hostel in Dar es Salaam
6am: caught a taxi to the bus station to go to Arusha
8am: started boarding the bus
8:30am: bus left Dar es Salaam

Arrival time in Arusha? 8pm...

I was told the estimated time to bus from Dar es Salaam to Arusha is about 6 hours. It took me twice as long.

We made so many pit stops along the way -- often times it was just to pull off the road in the middle of no where and stop for a little so people off the streets could sell us something, or it was to pull off the road and make a loop to go through some random check point.

The bus breaking down twice was also unfortunate and slowed us down. The first time wasn't too bad because we were fine within five minutes or so. The second time, however, made me nervous because they had to completely stop the bus in the middle of the road and check the engine. They didn't tell us what the problem was so we all just sat there waiting, hoping we wouldn't have to walk the rest of the way to Arusha because it was getting dark.

They never told us what the problem was, but we were back on the road after 20 minutes. (Phew!)

I've noticed events like this are normal in Tanzania. A lot of things are just out of your control...

P.S. I can't seem to upload pictures right now (slow internet). Hopefully I can get it to work next time.

Zanzibar in Three Days

The first stop of my nine-week trip was Zanzibar.

I had the worst seasickness ever on the two hour ferry ride from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania to Zanzibar. Within five minutes into the ride I already felt like vomiting...And honestly, the only thing holding me back at the time was probably the fact that I didn't know where to puke. Luckily after about 20 minutes of unbearable nauseousness we were allowed outside onto the deck. The fresh air helped a lot, and eventually the severe rocking of the boat subsided a bit. Only then could I finally began to enjoy and appreciate the beautiful ocean I was crossing.

The moment I entered Stone Town, Zanzibar, I was bombarded with multiple locals following me while speaking a mixture of Swahili and English, trying to get me to ride their taxi or stay at so-and-so hostel. It was overwhelming to say the least. Chelsea and I tried our best to be patient and reply with "No thank you", but when that proved to be ineffective we tried to ignore them, hoping they would get the message. At some point we were approached by a local who looked the least sketchy out of the bunch. He guided us through the crowds and drove us to our first hostel, Jambo Guest House.

I came to Zanzibar to explore and to see the beaches. Over breakfast one morning, Chelsea and I were fortunate enough to bump into two ladies, Michelle and Audrey. We told them we were interested in going to the beach and asked if they had any suggestions on where to go and how to get there. Lucky for us they were heading to the beach that very day and asked if we would like to share a taxi with them. We gladly accepted (of course =])! And so, we spent the day at a little beach town called Paje. It was AMAZING!! White sand stretching for miles and teal-colored water surrounded me. Definitely a sight I will never get tired of...

Another wonderful place we visited was a night market on a hill overlooking the beach. We came here two nights in a row to enjoy the sunset and feast on delicious authentic Zanzibar cuisine made for you right on the spot. It was really cheap, too! For $1 I was able to get fresh naan and two beef skewers. YUM.

The past three days in Zanzibar have been quite an experience. Everyone here has been so welcoming and helpful. I could spend hours reflecting and sharing all the adventures and stories I have so far, but that would simply take forever...So much happens in one day!

I'm heading back to Tanzania today to get ready to start my volunteer work. Hope everything is well back home. I am doing really well here and can't wait to share what's to come.

Megan