Arrival in TZ

Sarah
Parents, rest easy. We made it to our headquarters in Tanzania after over 24 hours of traveling, through which most of us slept the majority of the time. Luckily, we were able to wait in the line for Tanzanians and East African residents only at the Kilimanjaro International Airport, thanks to Dr. Moshi. I don't think we were fooling anyone, though.

We started out our adventure with a celebration. It was Emily E.'s 21st birthday. We were able to tell one of the flight attendants, who brought Emily a glass of champagne as the group sang "Happy Birthday."

We arrived at our hotel through a beautiful courtyard with a pool and outdoor dining area. The staff had dinner waiting and we all enjoyed our first taste of African cuisine. The people here are some of the most welcoming we have ever encountered, cheerfully greeting us as we arrived and insisting on carrying every piece of luggage that we brought -- they probably think we are staying for 6 months rather than one. They even gave us the opportunity to learn and practice our Swahili, which needs a little work to say the least.

We were all anxious to get on the Internet, but the Internet room at the hotel was closed for the night. We were therefore able to spend time completely taking in our first night in Africa.

As we spread out and explored the courtyard of the hotel, we journaled and reflected on what we left "unfinished" leaving for this trip and what we expect to take away from it. We will see. . .

Oh, and in case we get tired, the hotel offers massages, as well as manicures and pedicures -- not exactly what we expected when we thought about a trip to Africa. This, most likely, will be the first of many surprises throughout this trip.