Whew! It's been a long day. I couldn't get to sleep last night because I was so excited and nervous about this trip. I think I finally got to bed around midnight.
I woke up at 6:15am, left our compound at 7:15am, and was on a bus rolling out of Arusha by 8:15am. I was warned that there was road construction on the way to Nairobi, but I didn't realize that the ENTIRE trip would be on a dirt road. The few patches of pavement were fleeting moments of bliss.
While still in Tanzania, I looked out the window to see 3 giraffes strolling by the road. After we crossed the border, we had to slam on our breaks when an ostrich marched onto the road. Then on the way from Nairobi to Maxwell, a massive baboon scampered in front of our car. Then my driver (whom I could barely understand) told me a series of stories about baboons attacking people in that vicinity. He thought it was hilarious. I thought it sounded stressful. And the strangest part (according to him)? Baboons can tell the difference between men and women and won't attack men. Great.
After spending 7 hours on the bus, we finally pulled into the hotel. The driver was waiting there for me. We hopped in the car (did I mention I had 2 bags for 2 weeks and no one had yet commented on how much stuff I brought?) and set off to find an ATM. We did find one, in a mall. I walked in and froze in astonishment. The mall would probably be considered trashy by American standards, but it was far above anything I'd seen since arriving in Africa. Despite how trashy it mostly was, the food court was decent. I bought a roll and a tart at a bakery. The tart was DELICIOUS. It had a scrumptious crust, a thick whipped cream filling, and fresh raspberries on top. Wow! I'm glad I found the bakery. I was so hungry, having not eaten in 7 1/2 hours.
We had to run a few errands in town, and we finally arrived at Maxwell at 5pm, making my trip a total of 10 hours. I spent the next hour and forty-five minutes conversing with staff about how tutoring would be set up. They even handed me a key to the administration building right away! I was pleasantly surprised by their support and helpfulness.
After dinner I attended dorm worship, where I was introduced to the 35 residents of the women's dorm. They clapped for me, which was really sweet. Now I'm waiting for them to finish trying on banquet dresses so I can start tutoring. I am pretty tired and would like to fall right in bed (it's 8:45pm and already past my bedtime), but I want to start off with a bang. I mean business here, and I want them to know that.
Fun trip, great people. I'm going to enjoy my 2 weeks here. :)
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