Believe it or not, an uneventful journey to Moshi! highlights from the 24hr trip -- the sun essentially never set b/c the seattle-amsterdam flight goes so far north. Greenland really WAS green (though I couldn't take a great picture)
my favorite chain french boulangerie made a yummy appearance in amsterdam :)
The Kilimanjaro airport was none too pleased that (1) my passport wasn't scanning in their machine (and I was NOT about to say, "well, it works in the US"), (2) I only had a scanned copy of my Tanzanian residency permit (avoiding the $100 tourist visa moneymaking fee), and (3) my excess baggage had nothing on which to impose a duty. And for the first time in my life, I arrived at the airport with someone holding up a sign with my name and a car all to myself :)
After the long drive to Moshi, Ruchi, the Duke Global Health fellow who will be here most of this coming year, oriented me to the house, which is very comfortable and well-equipped, and most importantly, warned me about all the strange nighttime sounds -- including our house rooster, who wakes up at 3am every day!! I totally thought I'd need ear plugs to make it through the year, but already by day 3 I only wake up briefly except for the nights all the compound roosters are in collusion and cock-a-doodle-doo simultaneously. Of course, I immediately unpacked and arranged my room, which is definitely larger than I expected or need (but I'm not complaining), before passing out!
my house from the outside, and our chickens :)
My first full day in Moshi was awesome -- I explored the house and the garden, which has lots of avocado, banana, and mango trees, met Mama Rosie, our housemama who takes care of the household errands, started my Swahili self-studying in earnest, went into 'downtown' Moshi to get money and a mobile, and saw Kilimanjaro for the first time!! It barely had a cloud cover and stood so majestically above Moshi that I finally internalized the challenge of climbing Kili -- but I'm still determined to do it!!
Being in the Moshi market was hilarious -- the vendors address all potential buyers as "rafiki," which is hilarious because you feel like you're in The Lion King and you should be looking for a little old monkey with a cane :)
That night, we all had dinner together at Sumera's house, who lives just across the road in the compound and is the wife of my PI, and I met many of the Duke-KCMC people, all of whom were very welcoming, nice, and fun. I even survived into the evening despite the jet lag and came home feeling that I will be very happy here.
Those damn roosters.
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