Arusha, Tanzania

We went on a tour of Arusha and it is actually a pretty bustling city. There weren't very many tourists like everyone said there would be but that's probably because it's the down season. Most of the animals in the Serengeti have migrated north to Maasai Mara NP in Kenya because it's the dry season. While we were walking around with Christina we bumped into a guy named Rogers. He's a friend of SIC's and walked around with us. We asked him if he knew where the camel rides were that we had heard about and he actually did! He offered to take us there because it was a pretty far drive from the center of town and it was on the daladalas, which can be a little confusing if you haven't taken them a lot or don't speak Swahili. We found the camels and for 1000 Tsh (a little less than a dollar) we got to ride them around. It was short but was a really fun experience. They are really scary to get on and off! I have a video of it and if I ever get decent internet access I will definitely post it. Because he offered to take us all the way there Megan and I got Rogers a ride too; he had never been on one before!

After the camels he took us to the Maasai trading market that was next door. He is Maasai so he knew all the people there. There were goats, chickens, donkeys and cows running around a big open area that you could trade or buy. I don't think many "wazungu" (the slang term they call us "white people") venture out here because they seemed absolutely shocked to be seeing us there. We caused quite the commotion when we had Rogers take our picture and everyone else wanted to be in the photos too and then see them on the screen. It's amazing how something that we take for granted in the states is such an exciting item here. All the men kept touching my hair too which was weird but it's because most of the women shave their heads here. Because my hair is so long and thick they were very interested in it.

Megan and I were ready for lunch and we were craving burgers. We had heard about this amazing burger place and we weren't dissappointed. It definitely wasn't an american burger though. Everything on it were things that I had never had on a burger. But I actually LOVE the ketchup here surprisingly. It's a little like spaghettio sauce. Bright read and really thin. But it actually tastes more like a tomato sauce than ketchup at home.

The next day in Arusha, it was our first day of the program. We had a health and safety talk at the SIC headquarters there and then were free the rest of the day. Megan and I looked everywhere for a market to buy gifts but couldn't find anything. All we have seen so far is lots of second hand clothes for sale; nothing I can bring home for friends and family. Hopefully I find something eventually though. We did find a little restaurant with delicious curry and CHOCOLATE CAKE! Yum.

We had opening dinner later that night at a really fabulous Chinese restaurant. Meg is Chinese and she was SO happy. She said it was actually pretty good and authentic. We met all the Tanzanian teaching partners (they help us lesson plan and translate for us) and they seem really great. I'm excited to get started!

The final day in Arusha our whole group went on a hike. It was supposed to be an "easy" hike up through the foothills of Mt. Meru and end at a waterfall near a creek. It ended at the waterfall but it was anything but easy. I seriously wanted to turn around every step of the way but I had no idea how to get back so I had no choice haha. The first half was all uphill and really dusty. At least it wasn't too hot though it was nice and overcast. The last part of the hike was downhill and by downhill I mean straight down. I pretty much slid the whole way on my butt and got very dirty. Then we walked up the creek and saw monkeys in the trees and crab and frogs in the creek. It was very pretty and really cool. The waterfall at the end was pretty and we had lunch there. The only thing that dampened the mood was realizing we were going to have to go back up that muddy hill that I could barely get down in the first place! Somehow we managed to get up it on all fours and started the descent down back to Arusha. On the way down we passed a bunch of kids running around with GIANT machetes and for a second each time I saw them I would flinch because it was so scary seeing them swing them around at me! Flora (another girl working with SIC) and I also got rocks thrown at us by little children that asked us for money. As we started running from them their mom came out and started screaming at them haha little children! Don't mess with the Mazungus!

The dinner they took us to that night was amazing. By far the best food we've had the whole trip. We went to a restaurant called Kahn's and it was Indian food. We had tons of Naan, the best BBQ chicken I've had in my whole life (Not an exaggeration!) and tons of yummy sauces and shiskabobs. We were in the Muslim area of Arusha and there was a funeral nearby so it was really interesting to see the process right next to us. Also an interesting point is that the restaurant didn't serve alcohol because of their religion. We leave tomorrow morning for Babati. Wish me luck it's a dirt road the whole way!