A New Beginning

As quickly as it came, my time in South Africa went. It was such a blast while it lasted and I know that I will miss some of what I experienced there, friends in particular (Hats off to Japan if you’re reading this Ken), but I am ready to move on to the next stage of my adventure. I landed in Tanzania yesterday afternoon, stepping off the plane into sweltering heat. My plane and Marlene’s plane actually pulled in at the exact same time and so I got to meet Marlene before we even went through customs in the Dar Es Salaam Airport! It was great to be able to get together with her because the customs situation was quite unclear. First, they had all 300 people who had just gotten off planes wait and fill out forms in this tiny little cramped space. Then, we proceeded to hand our passports along with these forms to a women at the counter along with the visa fee - $100 in cash and newer than 2006 – and then wait for our name to be called. From there we could literally grab our bags and walk out of the airport without being stopped. Clearly airport security in this country is not a very high priority.

What I saw when I got outside and during my time here so far has made me realize how different Tanzania is from South Africa. I thought I had seen the third world in my time in Cape Town and Botswana, but this is nothing like what I’ve experienced before. The infrastructure here is so far behind both countries I have been in previously. The ride to our hostel from the airport and all the car trips we have been on up to this point have taken us much longer than they needed to because the roads are in terrible condition and there is too much traffic to actually get anywhere quickly. At some points I wonder if it is even worth taking a taxi because we can literally walk as fast as the flow of traffic most of the time. I guess sitting in a taxi is a relief from walking in the scorching heat. It’s almost not worth taking a shower here because you start to sweat as soon as you get out. Walking along outside has also given me the opportunity to see the excellent water and sanitation that this country has to offer. Along both sides of the road our hostel is on are long pools of water/sewage that is just sitting stagnant. Looks like prime mosquito habitat. I have to make sure to take my malaria pills now. In addition to these puddles of sewage, as we were driving downtown today we went through one section that was completely submerged by water. Taking a quick glance around, I saw that the source was a ruptured sewage pipe which was still gushing. I guess this is why I came here to work on a water and sanitation project.

It is weird to be here now, because I suddenly feel like I don’t have a good sense of my surroundings anymore. Spending so much time in Cape Town helped me to become comfortable getting around. I knew the neighborhood, the transportation, and knew where to get things I need. Here, I feel lost. Most people only speak Swahili here and so suddenly my most important asset is missing. The currency is new and I don’t have a sense of that yet either. I think much of the next month is going to be spent learning some basic Swahili and getting to know what life in Tanzania is like. I was expecting this to be a different experience from Cape Town, but I have already been blown away by just how different it is. I’m excited to see what these next three months bring and to see an entirely different side of the third world.

For those of you that have been following diligently (or every once in awhile), I will continue to update my blog. I should have relatively reliable internet here as well so I will post as often as I can. Marlene is also keeping up her blog on the trip, so if I haven’t posted one day you should check her blog to see her take on everything we’re experiencing. I hope all of you are having a great start to your summers and I pray that they aren’t as hot as Tanzania!