Did I mention DUST?

I won't be able to write much tonight as it is late and I want to be well rested for my class tomorrow.

I had trouble sleeping last night. I woke up at 3 and struggled to get back to sleep. When I did fall back to sleep I had disturbing dreams that I had forgotten that I was supposed to go to Dubai after Tanzania and I hadn't gotten a visa and I was struggling to figure out how I was going to pull this off.

Breakfast was a little different today, instead of the cold pork sausage was baked beans and the omelet had a few more ingredients in the cut pieces. Their coffee is very good and they have warm milk to go in it.

As I approached the dining area I saw Johannes was eating so I joined him. I tried to look up whether the airport would, indeed, be closed tomorrow for Obama and the internet wouldn't finish displaying the page before he had to go so he took his chances and took the bus to Dar Es Salaam and was going to call the airline from there.

I listened to some podcasts that I had downloaded before I left and around 8:30 the driver came to get me and drive me back to Morogoro. It certainly was luxurious in contrast to the bus ride to Mikumi! The driver spoke very little English, but we managed. We drove the road that cuts through Mikumi Park and we saw many of the animals from the road. Each time we saw an animal the driver would tell me the Swahili word.

Twiga = Giraffe (it sounded like trea)

Punda = Zebra

Nyani = Baboon

Nyati = buffalo

Simba = Lion
Shwali = All good
Safi = Good

While we were driving the radio was on. Everything was in Swahili except for their tag line (in a deep, echoing voice) "Sounds BEYOND Cool!"

After a while I heard what sounded like a teacher talking to a class. The teacher would ask a question, the student would recite the answer. The teacher would either correct the student or the class would chant some kind of congratulations to the student who answered. Every once in a while the student's answer would make the driver and his companion chuckle, but I had no idea why.

Later I asked Paul what that was about and he said that this is from lack of programming on the station. He told me that a popular show in the area is when they broadcast parts of people's weddings -- not edited or narrated, just the wedding. He said he even heard of show where they show people sleeping.

It took about 90 minutes and things started to look a little more familiar. I was reminded that someone in Tan Swiss said that he had heard that Arnold Schwarzenegger had bought a big plot of land at the base of the mountain and was building a resort with golfing. It's a beautiful place. I can imagine that it's true.

I also noticed that drivers were flashing their headlights a lot and then I realized that it was a signal that there are speed cops with radars ahead. Works just like home.

Eventually the driver dropped me off at Dennis's hotel where we had all arranged to meet. I took my obligatory picture of the Tanzanian flag for David Aranow. Here you go, bro!

By about 11 AM we were back on the road bound for Dodoma. In addition to our driver we have Paul, Cassie, Dennis, James and myself. So the only way to fit would be for someone to sit in the "jump" seat -- the folding seat in the very back.

Since I had had the luxury of the front seat on the way to Morogoro, I volunteered to take the jump seat. It wasn't really so bad except we had so much luggage that it was hard to move my feet. Eventually I had worked my right leg out so that I was using the luggage as an ottoman and I was fine. We talked of books that we liked and movies that were adapted from books to great or disastrous results. We also noticed the Facebook Pub and Cassie told us of a place called Twitter Dot Com in Morogoro.

At one point I asked what I should expect in Dodoma, I was told DUST and good Chinese food, and an iconic chicken place and, oh did I mention DUST.

We passed several beautiful baobab trees and Paul told us that it is the world's source of cream of tartar. (Who knew?)

We finally reached Dodoma and went quickly to get some food. We ate at a cafe called City Garden Food 4 U. I was surprised that the food arrived quickly! I had a spicy rice and fish. It cost 4,000 Tanzanian shillings. That's like $2.50. Dinner was one of the most expensive meals I've had here and it was like $9. It was the Chinese food that we had been promised.

In between we worked for a while but I felt a bit as though I was thinking through molasses. I guess sitting in a car for two days is more tiring that I realized. 

The hotel is really beautiful even though we are, indeed surrounded by dust. 

One interesting thing about Dodoma though is that they have a lot of sidewalks. This is actually a bit unusual. Apparently they even have a pedestrian mall that is shut off to cars. 

While we were working a bridal party came in to the courtyard with their photographer. They were so sweet and so lovely.

It's a lovely place for a wedding. 

It's also great for wifi!  It's strong in the courtyard and my room!

Mikumi Safari

First of all, let me say, as you can imagine, today was AWESOME!

Breakfast is always included in hotels, as far as I can tell. 

They served omelets cut into bite sized pieces as well as a very thinly sliced cold pork sausage. 

Last night I ate under gazebo this morning I ate in the main dining area. 

Johannes met me at 6:45 and he came in with our guide for the day, Abi. I almost felt numb as we got under way. 

Abi confirmed that Obama had been planning to come to Mikumi and as a result we benefited greatly. Roads were repaved and fresh paint was applied all because they were expecting Obama.

I thought it was funny that I could not pay in Tanzanian Shillings because I am not a resident. Even, Johannes had to pay in US dollars  Admission was $20. 

I was so glad that I borrowed Eric's video camera with a super zoom. Here's what we saw:

Maribu stork

Plover

A bunch of Warthog

Baobab trees

Giraffe

Jackal (Sounded like Abi was saying Jacko) 

Impala 

A place for a sign that was to say "Welcome Mr Obama"

A man-made watering hole with Crocodiles and

Hippos

Buffalo

Wildebeest

Baboons (Masharubu kept his promise!)

Zebras

The Mikumi Airstrip where Obama was supposed to land. 

Abi told me they had been having problems using the airstrip because buffalo had been sleeping on it.

Elephants so close that I could have counted his eyelashes

This is just about the time David would have said, "Enough, already!"

We went to a second man-made watering hole that Abi told us they used to have hippos there but recently Lions killed two hippos and the rest moved to other man made watering hole that we had seen already. 

Going on with the list:

Fiscal shrike

We began to be quite bothered by tse-tse (pronounced saysay) flies coming in the land rover and biting us. 

At this point I think Talia would have said, "Enough already!"

A rest area designed just for the Obama delegation

(The tables still smelled of fresh paint)

They also had these black and blue flags all around designed to kill tse tse fly

Ground horn bill carrion

And all of that was before lunch. 

Both of us had ordered lunch boxes. 

Lunch: chicken (from the farm not your Purdue)

Cheese with sauce on a roll

Hard boiled egg

Banana

Juice

Water

Mars bar

Then it Rained for 15 drops

Now we were really determined to see a lion. We had been looking all morning. 

Instead we saw:

Tawny eagle

Black headed heron

Many more giraffe, zebra, elephants, but we weren't finding lions. 

I made a few observations. When giraffes run it looks slow motion.

When warthogs run it look as though they're sped up.

Finally, I now know that Eric's battery lasts right up to, but not including, the main attraction. Just as we were making one last drive around the main area where the animals seemed to be hanging out, there she was. Sleeping on the side of the road. And Eric's camera chose that moment to die. Fortunately I did have my phone with me and we were able to get close enough for 

Oh, what a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful experience!

I will make more photos and videos available when I can recharge Eric's camera and transfer things to the computer. 

Last working day in Morogoro

I got up extra early this morning to allow time to finish packing for my safari. I said goodbye to my bedroom view, double checked that I had everything and off I went. 

We worked for a few hours at the office that felt like a blur and then it was time to leave. My heart was jumping at the nervousness of the unknown.

My driver wound through the crowded, narrow streets of the town narrowly avoiding collisions with motorbikes and pedestrians. We turned onto a small dirt road in really rough shape (like the road leading to Paul's place.). Bohani came out a short time later and we aimed toward the bus station. 

This is, of course, like no bus station I have ever seen before. Buses, cars, shops, and people everywhere!  We couldn't be sure what time the bus would come so we waited in the car for some time. When a bus would drive in the vendors would swarm over to the car like flies to honey, but it never appeared to be more aggressive selling than that. We had a few people come to the car, but when they didn't get my attention they moved on. 

I was quite surprised that, at one point three men started hanging around our car. They weren't trying to sell us anything, they were just hanging out, leaning against the car. One started rhythmically tapping on the car at one point. Bohani, didn't seem the slightest bit phased and, frankly didn't seem to notice. It made me realize that Americans have unspoken rules about personal space about our cars. 

Eventually, our driver told us that our bus had arrived. It was a Tm Luxury Coach. We made our way on board and found seats across the aisle from each other and we started to head off. 

I was confused when the bus took off and we hadn't paid. Bohani explained that they would come through the cabin for that. Sure enough, about five minutes after we got on one of the riders stood up and I could see he was in uniform and he spoke to Bohani in Swahili, he asked us our names, I handed over 20,000 shillings for the two of us (I think that's about $12) and we we done. 

The woman who was sitting next to me said, "Jeanne, I am very glad to know your name," and we began to talk. Can you imagine an American starting a conversation that way?? I'm bad enough that when I hear someone struggling with technology I just can't help myself from offering a hand, but I can't imagine such friendliness being received well. 

Sophia Joan told me that her husband is a Masai. She plans on getting back to Dar Es Salaam by Sunday. She hopes only to be able to see Obama's motorcade. That would be a thrill for her. She wondered if I had ever met him. 

When we got out on the open road the second uniformed bus steward jumped up, went through the cabin asking for trash and then he turned on a video. At first they played loud music videos but then the switched to a silly comedy called Mad Buddies. The volume was too low to hear, but I got the gist  

A black guy and white guy met, instantly hated each other. Ran into each other years later at a wedding which they ruin with their fighting. They are arrested and seem to be sentenced to do something together that will e eventually make them friends.  Oohh! I just saw my first giraffe! And look there go two zebras.  I kept looking out the window but didn't spot anything else. 

The bus felt as though it was going really fast. The seats have buckles on them -- mine was broken but I just kind of tied it together. I noticed that drivers honk their horns a lot less often than in Mozambique, Ghana, or Mexico. Suddenly, I haven't the slightest idea how he knew, Bohani says that we are nearly there and we should make our way up to the front. 

So we grab my bags and sure enough, seconds later the bus pulls up in front of the small driveway. It looked like a nothing kind of place in the middle of nowhere, but I have learned not to judge things quickly here.

A few steps inside the gate and it's absolutely stunning. There are huts and bungalows and lovely chairs and a dining room. A young woman grabbed my bag and directed us to reception.

The woman behind the counter had a few minutes of trouble finding my name but, once found told me that I had a full-day scheduled for tomorrow from 7am until 6 PM. They gave us each a glass if watermelon juice,  I said asante to Bohani and the young woman showed me to my room. 

I don't think a room is an accurate way to describe my building.  I'm in B2, a free standing room with a little living room, a large bathroom and shower (no curtain) and a double and a single bed with mosquito netting surrounding them. It's terribly beautiful. The highlight is this porch that I'm sitting on now. It's in the back of the building. It has three chairs facing a maize field with birds calls surrounding me. I've been sitting here for a few hours now just taking it in, doing a little knitting, dozing for a few moments, watching the chickens scratch their way through the field and enjoying this delicious breeze. 

I haven't had a mosquito problem since I arrived, but I'll tell you, the flies don't seem interested in surprise attacks. They are so loud when they approach!  

Eventually, I made my way over to the entrance and it turns out they do have wireless available for free there!

I started to chat with some folks and a woman brought me popcorn. I was relaxing, talking, chewing, knitting and a colleague in Ghana needed a file ASAP!  I didn't know I could have Internet access so I didn't even bring my computer. There goes my relaxing evening! I'm working to get David to create and send the files he needs. 

While I was eating a fabulous dinner of Prawns Marsala, a young, handsome man came up to me and told me he'll be going me in the safari tomorrow. His names is Johannes. He is from Austria. He was in South Africa in April and he has been here for a month and a half. This is his big adventure before he heads home on Monday. 

I was a little concerned because we were told that they may close the airport on Monday for Obama's arrival. He's going to check on it. Apparently Obama had been planning on visiting Makumi as well, but that part was cancelled. I wonder if he'll have working air conditioner on his flight?

Eventually, Jeffrey, the "Swiss" part of Tan Swiss, came over to give us a run down of what will happen tomorrow. I am glad I will have a pal along for the ride. 

Miss America

It was a great day. Class went well, I think we covered some really good things. We were able to finish early and just talk about business for a while before a few of us went back to the office. There is a lot to do and not much time available that won't be spent teaching.

I almost feel guilty that I'm taking the weekend off for my safari... almost.

After work a few of us got together and went to Dragonair. My friend Paul apologized to me that it was an "American" style restaurant, but I told him not to worry. It was so much fun. It was sort of African/Chinese and how someone imagines American restaurants. We sat outside in an absolutely lovely space that was tastefully decorated with pretty lights all over the place while Dolly Parton followed by the Eagles followed by some dance music played. It was very quiet there tonight, I'm told this is place is swarming with people on Friday and Saturday nights. In spite of the small crowd it was still a hardy wait for the food. Paul said that it almost seems slower when there are fewer people. Much of the discussion was about Obama's visit and how the motorcade would be showing of the symbol for the project. It's quite an honor.

As we were getting ready to call a cab a Zambian fellow at the next table heard us saying we were at the Arc hotel and he offered us a lift. The only catch was that he only had one seat and one of us would have to sit in the back. Paul lives in walking distance of the restaurant so he didn't have to worry. Dr. G was wearing a dress so I was the one who got to sit in the back. He was very nice and funny. He teased me and called me Miss America. He's working to start up two chicken farms in the area. Sounds as though Morogoro is going agri-business.

I think I have my second safari all set up now, which is a relief. I feel almost as though the safari tomorrow is like going in the pool while holding on to the edge and the next week is like going in the deep end. I'm scared and excited.

For tomorrow, we have arranged that my driver will pick up one of my students, Bohari, and take us both to the bus stop. We will catch a bus to the TanSwiss lodge where my journey will begin and Bohari will continue on to his home. I just confirmed that TanSwiss does not appear to have internet access so you will not be hearing from me for a few days.

Since the news of the day is pretty short, I'll leave you with some observations and sights.

I haven't felt bold enough to take pictures of the Masi walking the streets of this town, but it's striking. It actually kind of reminds me of seeing the Amish in cities. They wear the traditional dress and carry the staffs that they are famous for, but it's very impressive.

The people in this town seem to fall mostly into two categories: exceptionally tall and thin or shorter and bulkier -- not fat, mind you, but rounder and very strong looking. I am about the height of many of the men I meet. I think everyone I have seen is exceptionally beautiful.

My friend Dennis read my blog and wasn't sure what was missing from the picture of the shower. He informed me that shower curtains are actually not the norm. Apparently the fact that water will go everywhere has nothing to do with it. So my head is now adjusted to recognize shower curtains as a luxury.

All toilets that I've seen have hoses for cleaning

All of the toilets that I've seen here have these hoses next to them. I have been told that, yes, that is for cleaning and there is a particular method for cleaning toilets that involves a bucket and smaller cup.

It appears that all bathrooms are unisex. There is often a stall designated for males and another for females with a common sink area.

The ceilings of all of the places I've been are exceptionally high. All of the doors have windows above the door frame for letting in sunlight.

All meals seem to have bananas and limes served. As I saw in Mozambique, morning "tea" is a whole meal. Today's "tea" was Cocoa yam (sort of like a potato but grainier) and Maandazi (the donut-like pastry that I spoke of earlier,) and a hard boiled egg.

It was dark when I took the picture, but  all doors seem to have this window at the top.

In the past few days I've had two types of banana stew (one soft bananas and one hard bananas), mchicha (spinach) nyanya chungu (bitter tomatoes), chapati, samaki (fish), ng'ongbe (beef), and filigisi (chicken gizzards).

I'll let you know what else I eat and see if/when I get back on line on Sunday.

Dragonair

The courtyard of the Amabilis Centre of the
Mgolole Sisters (nuns) where the class was held.

Classroom time

I'm going to have to keep today short and sweet. It's already 10:30 and I just gave up on trying to get anymore work done. I'm beat!

It's another gorgeous day in Morogoro. The temperature is perfect, the humidity is just right. I even slept well last night.

Class started today. We are gathered in a meeting room and there are a lot of people in the class -- something like 25 people. Fortunately Dennis and James have been terrific help.

I lost a few years off my life when, the first time we tried to enter a form on the phones we got error messages on all of the forms. Pretty quickly James figured out we had the wrong version of the program on the phones and it wasn't too difficult to download a new version and away we went.

They were very receptive and we got a great deal of work done. At one point we needed to make a decision about something and the room was divided about how to proceed. I put in my cohousing facilitator hat and decided to do something we call a "spectrum" exercise where people show their support for one point or the other by physically standing relative to how strongly they feel about their point. People at the extremes get to defend their view and see if anyone has a change of heart. It was really fascinating and effective.

What I was most proud of was that Joel, who is the most senior person on this project and holds admitted disdain for technology, has pointed out that if this is not good and user friendly enough, he'll put an end to it. Part of the way through the day he was saying, "This is COOL!" and, "I really like this!" That was very gratifying.

Even with the delays I think we are farther along that I had expected we could be at this point, so we will pick up where we left off tomorrow and see how much more time we need to spend on it. There are a lot of changes needed to the system as a result of their feedback, so it wouldn't be bad to stop early and get started on that.

So one quick, non-work story. The dining experience has really been an interesting learning experience for me. Joel had said that you should go to dinner about (as he puts it) 30 minutes before you expect to be chewing, because it takes a long time to get served. There were lots of wait-staff so that certainly isn't the problem. But Joel and I went to the hotel restaurant at 8PM and got served a bit after 9PM. I don't think that what we requested was so unusual. The waiter didn't apologize for the delay -- just standard operating procedure.

The bananas are getting smaller

After finally finishing my blog last night I settled in for sleep. No book, tv or radio required, I was exhausted! So I turned on the fan above my bed. It's not a typical ceiling fan, it's an oscillating fan that's been mounted to the ceiling above the bed. So I turn it on and it gently purrs, "buzz, buzz, buzz, KRACHATACHA, buzz, buzz!" Of course I might not be spelling that right as it's a Swahili fan.

I knew this was not going to do, so I made found my way out from inside the mosquito net over the bed and turned it down to a lower speed. If anything it was worse, I pulled my way out again (it's not easy to find the opening in the dark!) and thought, ok, this is a classy enough hotel that it has an air conditioner in the room. I'll just put that on. Well, I hadn't dozed long before I realized that it had two settings -- off and freezing. I struggled out of the net one more time turning it off hoping it would keep the room cool enough to last me the night. It didn't, but I didn't mess with it again.

All was forgiven when I woke up the next morning and saw this out of my bedroom window:

The view out of my window this morning

Hey, I just realized that Google automatically put those three picture together in a landscape for me... amazing!

Can you imagine waking up to that?? It took a while before I could compose myself to take my curtain-less shower and get out for breakfast of dosai, baked beans and hot dogs (they call them sausage, but they're really hot dogs.) The bananas were even smaller and sweeter than the ones I had in Dar Es Salaam.

We went into the office and then disaster struck. I kept trying to log my computer onto the internet and it just didn't want to. Eventually I  was able to get the computer and eventually even the internet going but all of my documents are gone and essentially locked away from me until I return. My hats off to our IT department who got me on my computer enough to at least get on without my files. They told me how I can connect and try to pull my files off from Cambridge, but I think I'll have to see if I can find a way to live without them.

Fortunately almost everything I need for THIS project is in the cloud and almost everything I need for my other project is stored right on the hard drive so I didn't lose too much.

Our office building in Morogoro

For this first part of training, I only had two students Dennis and James, and they were sharp as tacks. They're geeks who are learning to take over my part after I leave. They vacillated from "This is EASY!" to "That's too hard!" But we had a lot of fun and I'm sure they'll do just fine.

For lunch Joel took me and Cassy (a new person hired for the project) to a place called Rick's Cafe. It was a nice lunch, but it took 45 minutes from order to serve. I still really needed to go to the bank after all of that, so it was a long lunch. I waited behind people trying to deposit piles of Tanzanian bills and when I finally got to the desk, the clerk reminded me that they won't exchange denominations of bills lower than $20. I had forgotten that from my trip to Mozambique last year! So I pocketed the money I had and went to the ATM outside and pulled out piles of bills myself.

Joel Masharubu

We stayed at the office as late as we could manage, rushed back to the hotel and were picked up by a different driver. When the drivers greet me they call, "Asante Mama!," essentially saying, "Thank you, Mama!" Joel and I had been invited to dinner at the house of a Greek fellow named Chris who has lived in Tanzania most of his life. This is also Joel's friend who has arranged my whole trip this coming weekend to Mikumi Park. It was a lovely evening where Joel and Chris reminisced about Tanzania in the old days before the roads were built and people they knew in common. Chris's wife and daughter joined us and made terrific pizza (they explained that their daughter had married an Italian, so it was ok that she was making pizza.)

I got to give Chris the money for the trip and lo' and behold, he was able to take US Dollars after all -- he was going to deposit the money rather than exchange it so he didn't mind. So that leaves me with most of my pile of shillings for the rest of my travel -- and I'll still probably have to get more, but at least I don't have to walk around with all of that cash. So my hotel and guide are paid up for the park this weekend and all I have to pay is my park entrance fee.

The driver brought us back to the hotel and what do ya know? I've got a shower curtain! It's very exciting. Of course that doesn't approach the excitement I have about my safari! I'm so excited about it that I'm not sure how I'm going to be able to teach my big class tomorrow!

Morogoro

Another interesting travel tip... when you're traveling with a smart phone, remember that the date and time only update when you get an internet connection. Since I had no internet connection on my phone since Amsterdam I forgot that I was an hour off. So when I thought I was going to bed at 10 last night it was really 11. Once I realized that I also realized that -- then I needed to set the alarm for 4:30 AM so that I could actually wake up at 5:30 AM. Even though it was really 5:30 it felt so much earlier, I forgot to take melatonin so I woke up about 400 times during the night. At one point I thought I was hearing a helicopter but as I became more conscious I realized it was my own ceiling fan and an army of frogs humming a merry tune outside my window.

Joel and I had coffee and headed out to the office. He was frustrated because he wanted to show me how bad the traffic was but his efforts were foiled by clear sailing every route we took. (I really have to figure out how to stop trying to get into the drivers seat every time I get into the car.)

The office is very nice and tidy. Joel's nickname is masharubu which means mustache. When I get a picture of him, you'll see why. His office door says Karibu (welcome) with a
under it.

Magic Obama Strawberry Flavoured Bubblegum

At the office, I finally got internet connection on my computer and phone and started working. I met several of the office staff and gave out the gifts that I had brought from Amsterdam. Fortunately I didn't make the same mistake that I made when I went to Ghana when I got gifts for all of the techie guys but nothing for the admin who had made all of the flight and hotel arrangements for so many hours and had made the trip possible! Anar really enjoyed the chocolates that I had gotten her. I feel badly when I hear of all of the things they need here and can't get such as Scotch tape and genuine Post-it notes (that actually stick.)

Joel brought us some maandazi -- the Tanzanian equivalent of donuts. They were great because they weren't very sweet.

Why can't our bananas have a bigger taste?

Before I knew it, it was time to leave the office and head to Morogoro. Before leaving Dar Es Salaam, Joel's housekeeper, Maggie, had prepared a big feast for us! She served Bagia which were made from cow pea flour and tasted a bit like tater-tots. She also served green beans, salad, chicken pilau and the cutest and sweetest bananas I've ever had. I was told that in Arusha I should look for Banana Stew and that it will be superb.

All five of us (me, Joel, Paul, Dennis and our driver whose name sounds like Harari) huddled into one 4x4 for the trip to Morogoro. It was a tight squeeze and my luggage was obviously overkill compared to the others.  The trip took only 3.5 hours which I'm told a excellent time. I was surprised that the roads were paved the whole way until we got into

Uluguru Mountains outside of our office in Morogoro

the town itself and and turned off of the main road.

The sites of the trip were amazing, of course. We drove through the edge of town with the now-familiar small shacks/shops with people on the sidewalks, moving to more and more rural views. It rained briefly causing the conversation to shift to global climate change (when was the last time it rained this late in June?) Next we moved through a forest where I was told to keep my eyes out for baboons (I didn't spot any) and finally the mountain loomed large.

Joel and I checked into our rooms at the Arc hotel. It's a nice building. They have one tiny wireless modem in the lobby so we fought for rooms as close to the lobby as we could get. I only have one tick on my wireless signal symbol from my room, but hey, that's all it takes! My room is nicely sized and comes with a mosquito net above the

What's missing from this shower?

queen-sized bed. The shower is funny with a curtain rod, curtain rings but one minor thing missing.

We stopped by Paul's house to let him put away luggage and then we went to the office. We had a 5:30 PM Skype call scheduled with the rest of the team in Cambridge but it was a disaster. We could hear our friends in Cambridge, but instead of hearing us they could only hear roaring noises and there weren't even any lions around!

We went to plan B to use land lines but we couldn't get that to work either.

By the time I realized that Skype phone was working great on my iPhone, it was too late. Half of the folks in the US had to leave for appointments.

We were spent by this time anyway so after a few quick chats with my colleagues about geeky things we dropped off Dennis at his hotel, Paul at his house and Joel and I and our hotel.

We had a lovely dinner out on the patio where we spoke of music and projects that make no sense and learning computers. I had Chicken Tikka Masala with rice and Joel has fish and chips.

Mom and Eric had skyped me earlier that I should be sure to look at the moon as it is a Gypsy moon and supposed to be very large and bright, but I think we have a different moon here -- it hid behind clouds and I eventually gave up.

So best laid plans to be asleep by 9PM -- it's now almost 11:30 even though the time on my phone is correct!

Arrival

After finishing the blog yesterday, I did a little more exploration of the airport. I checked in on the women's shower (great idea if I had thought to bring a towel), the museum and some of the shops. I got some chocolates to greet some of my hosts and I managed not to get any for myself. At the prices they were going for that wasn't much of a stretch.

I got in the waiting line to get in the waiting line to get in the waiting line. (For real.) You wait in some chairs to be let on a line to go through security to wait in more chairs to be let on the flight. I tried to get a better seat, but they only had center seats available.

The seats were really tight. Again my neighbors wanted nothing to do with me. I apologized for encroaching on their space and they curtly said, "It's okay," but I'm not convinced they really felt it was okay. So we sat for 9 hours in silence. If I said that I slept for about 30 minutes total the whole trip I think I would be overestimating how much I slept.

When we first got on I remembered thinking that I was glad that I kept my scarf in carry-on as it was a little chilly on the plane. That lasted about 5 minutes. Once we were in the air I thought that I would be fine without a scarf. Five minutes after that I was thinking it was getting a bit warm. Within 30 minutes I was looking for the controls for the air vent. Finding none I looked at my neighbors to see if they were uncomfortable. They clearly were, but I couldn't tell if that was from crowding or heat.

About 6 hours into the trip I concluded that I had not starting having hot flashes and tried to walk around when I could to get more comfortable. I drank every time they offered to me and felt as though I could have gone for 4 times more.

By the time we reached Kilimanjaro for our brief stop I was just at about the safe temperature to eat poultry. The fellow on my right got off without a word and the woman to my left stayed on. I'm sure we both prayed that we'd get the row to ourselves, but no such luck. A fellow traveling back to Amsterdam sat down next to me. At least he was friendly and the flight was only an hour. Apparently after they stopped at Dar Es Salaam, the plane was going to turn right around and go back to Amsterdam.

So what I hadn't told you before is that I had packed 30 cell phones that I needed in order to teach my class. Most everyone I spoke to told me that either the phones would be stolen or Customs would stop me and prevent me from bringing the phones in. So letters were written explaining that they were for a project; someone from USAID wrote a letter of introduction for me; I had an invoice to show the phones were purchased. Of course, none of that happened. I picked up the bag, walked through the "Nothing to declare" lane and I saw my Abt pal Joel waving to me.

It's not too hot here, but it is, like, Baltimore humid. We hopped in his 4x4 and landed in his flat. In all the research I had done about the country I never noticed that they drive on the wrong side of the road. I worked very hard not to correct Joel's driving.

Once we got in I couldn't think about anything but sleep. I nearly fell into bed and slept for about 11 hours.

As I said today was all work. Paul came at 11 and the three of us worked until around 8:30. Joel gave us some amazing food made by his housekeeper. A chicken and potato soup and a cooked greens dish for breakfast/lunch and a biryani for dinner. A lot of Tanzanian food was influenced by the Indians so biryani is familiar to me. It was fantastic.

Ok, it's 11:30, it's been a long day. I don't know when I'll be able to write again, but hopefully it will be soon.

Amsterdam

What a civilized airport!

I expected to find an outlet somewhere that I might avoid getting scolded. I envisioned sitting, sheepishly, on the floor leaning against a wall trying not to trip anyone. Instead, I was guided to the business center where I have a chair, a table, an outlet  and free WiFi all while John Meyer serenades me over the speakers!

They have a Dutch Museum that I hope will open soon, a library, a spa (complete with Oxygen bar) and a sleeping lounge with lovely comfortable chairs while a screen displays a bucolic drive down lovely country roads.

The flight was mostly uneventful. I could tell my seat mate was going to be loads of fun. He grunted at me once to get up to use the bathroom and that was the entirety of our conversation. Mr. Grunt managed to sleep most of the trip, but this is something that eluded me.  I got the distinct impression that my knitting annoyed him -- not that he said so in so many words.

I managed to work with the dreadful user interface of the Delta in-flight entertainment and I watched several "TED" talks, listened to some music and watched "Pitch Perfect." (Patti, you can cross that off your, "Jeanne, you just have to see that movie!" list.) I'm also going through my knitting project faster than expected. I hope this isn't going to be a problem. I only left one skein in my carry-on and an 11 hour flight ahead of me still.

Back home, the other day while looking for a luggage strap I found this "old lady" eyeglass string so that you can take your glasses on and off more easily without losing them. Oh, I wish I had been less vain! These are great! I can go from reading instructions, to knitting to watching the tv without the  constant... "where did I put my glasses NOW!"

I need to stop looking at what time it is at home. When I got here it was still yesterday at home. These are the kind of time distortion stories that vex David so I won't go into it much further. I will say that the sun is up and on the plane they simulated a "night" experience, but my body isn't going to be so easily fooled.

I have about two hours to kill before I can even go to the gate. Interestingly, each gate here has its own security so it makes it more inviting to spend time in the rest of the airport. I decided to get some coffee at a cafe here -- one of the best cups of coffee I have EVER had. It was wonderfully strong and hot. I sat near the woman behind the counter while I heard her greet customers switching from Dutch to English to Spanish with such ease. I am embarrassed to be so mono-lingual.

Tanzania

It has been more than a year since my trip to Mozambique and Ghana and now I have an opportunity to go to Tanzania. I will leave in just under 5 hours. I have butterflies in my stomach but I have my passport and visa, I have packed everything that I planned to pack and even updated the software on my phone. I even picked up some yarn to knit some socks on the plane.

With the exception of the mysterious disappearance of the suitcase I was planning on using (we had another) things went pretty smoothly.

The courtyard with the obligatory glass of wine.

Last night I spent a wonderful evening with my neighbors and sat out on the patio one last time to soak it all in. I took some pictures to look at when I get homesick. My neighbors promised me that there will be no lounging on the patio while I'm away so I won't be missing out on anything (like I believe that!) and they will give extra love and support (and some meals) to David while I'm gone (I love that!)

Here's the schedule: I will arrive in Amsterdam around 5:30 which will be about 11:30 pm here. I will fly to Mt. Kilimanjaro and stay on the plane for an hour before going on to Dar Es Salaam. I should arrive there by 9:40 PM local time which will be about 2:40 PM here.

I don't know when I'll get to update the blog, but check back here as much as you wish to follow the trip. I'll update it whenever I get an internet connection. Since I'll be doing a lot of the typing on my iPhone, you'll probably get a kick out of the typos and autocorrects.