Arrival

I made it.. sort of. I'm in Dar Es Salam right now, the capital of Tanzania but I still have to make it to Arusha. It has been a long, exhausting journey from Minneapolis. I left Wednesday afternoon around 11.30am. A 4 hour plane ride took me to D.C. once there I had a 6 hour lay over and was told I needed to check in again because Minneapolis couldn-t check me through internationally, so once I left the boarding area I realized the check in counter for my airline didn't open for 2 hours. So I sat, and sat and watched everyone go by. A 12.5 hour flight later and I have no idea what day or time it is, but I'm in Doha, Qatar at night. I was crossing my fingers that my baggage would be transferred to my flight that was to leave the next morning. I had to switch the checking in D.C. so it would carry through, but you never know, and seeing as I have such good luck with checked baggae.. Spain specifically where I lost all my checked luggage... I was crossing my fingers real hard. I digress, I arrive in Qatar and skip the baggage claim and am the first to exit the doors from our flight. Being totally honest, it was a little nerve racking seeing about 50/60 men lined up along the railing in white head dresses that flowed to their ankles. Here I am a single young female in a band t shirt and jeans. yep. Realizing I don't know any arabic, I went up to a security gaurd hoping he spoke English and asked him how I could find the bus my hotel said they would pick me up in. He generously pointed outside. Now, stepping off the plane I was completely blasted with intense, hotair baloon type heat. I figured it was just from the engines because seeing as it was dark out there was no way that much heat could eminate from the ground. wrong. Literally 95 degrees at night in Qatar! I was sweating profusley to add to my luxurious state of no shower/brushed teeth/combed hair for whatever day it was.

So I venture outside. first steps in the middle east for me! all men. all white. saying I stuck out like a sore thumb doesn't even being to descirbe it. So I ask a few more people where exactly this bus is supposed to be and how I'm supposed to read the arabic on it, and I am ushered to a sort of holding lot for hotel buses. so far so good, but my bus is nowhere in site. As I look like I know where I'm going, and what I'm doing a man dressed in a hotel uniform starts talking to me in English. I find out he works for a different hotel, but since he noticed the sweat dripping from my face he told me I could sit in his van with the A/C on while I waited. hesitantly I did. He was from Ethiopia and the first question he asked me was if I was married. I said no, but quickly added that I had a very serious boyfriend at home.. sorry Ryan... the man was very nice though, I heard all about his life and culture in Ethiopia. but soon his passangers arrived so he passed me off to a "friend" from yet another hotel. 2 hours have now passed so as this new man and I are talking I ask him if my bus will ever come. as I'm asking a thrid man comes up to the new one and tells him he needs to go back to the hotel to pick up some people that need to get to the airport. So this man, who also wanted my hand in marriage told me he would drop me off at my hotel because it was on his way. Now I know most of you are cringing right now, but honestly, after 2 hours I didn't think my bus was ever coming, and I had a nice man who would drive me willingly.

Everything turned out fine, he asked me to go to the clubs with him that night, but I told him I needed some sleep before my long flight in the morning. The one thing that redeemed my night was trying unsucessfully to fall asleep, turning on the TV and seeing they were televising the Brewers v Braves game. talk about a sign that everything would be ok. however the brewers lost 8 to 1. oh well.

So after the 5.5 hour plane ride from Qatar to Tanzania, I arrived in the customs area ready to get my visa and they ask me for 100 dollars in cash. oh boy. I didn't have cash but I had my debit card. So they told me to go out to the ATM and get shillings, then exchange them for american dollars. I went to the ATM.. out of order. panic. I turned, the other ATM..out of order. ok, what do I do now? Finally after pacing for quite some time, a man in a white button up shirt approached me with English asking me if I needed help. I explained the situation and he calmed me down saying he would spot me the cash and take me to an ATM in town that worked so I could pay him back. So after 100 days of travelling, I arrived at my second to last stop at my hostel here in Dar. I arranged with Mohamad, the man who spotted me the cash, to reserve a bus ticket for me tomorrow, then come pick me up at 7.45am to take me there and get me to Arusha finally!!

I still am not sure what the time difference is, because my watch and my iPod both broke before I left D.C. but its 4.23 here right now. maybe a 6 hour difference ahead or something??

well I have some other things to do on the internet before I go back to the hostel, where I hope my stuff is still waiting. I'm sure I'll write more when I arrive in Arusha either tomorrow night or the next day. I can't wait to settle down.