I have arrived! (Finally!!)

So. I have just completed my second full day in Tanzania. Now, if you have read the schedule I posted earlier.. you would know that I was supposed to get here Thursday night. I did not. I arrived on Friday night. Let me tell you what happened. There was some bad weather in Minneapolis on Wednesday morning, when my plane was supposed to leave. It was delayed, at first for 45 minutes, then an hour, then 2 hours. Then we were delayed from taking off. So we took off 2 and a half hours after our scheduled take-off time. It was not good. So, when I got to Minneapolis, I sprinted through the airport from terminal C to terminal F (which is a long way, mind you) and arrived at my gate for Amsterdam just before they shut the door and started pressurizing the cabin. They wouldn't let me on, even though the plane sat there at the gate for another 20 minutes. I was frustrated. So I was booked on a flight 2 hours later, with the hopes that in Amsterdam, I could catch the flight to Kilimanjaro with everyone else. This did not happen. For one thing, I had the wrong gate printed on my ticket, and also, there was only 15 minutes between when I got off the plane, to when the flight to Kilimanjaro took off, meaning that I did not have sufficient time to find the gate and get on. So I stayed overnight in Amsterdam, courtesy of KLM airline. I watched random Danish and German television, ate free pasta and slept for a loooong time. Which was nice. The next day, I got to the airport 3 hours early to find out where my gate was, make sure my luggage was on the plane, and eat. So all went well.

My first two days have been wonderful. The first day I was here, we had a lesson on Tanzanian culture, which was informative. We visited Watama, an HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment clinic. Watama is a nation-wide organization, and the district office for Arumeru is the office we visited. We had a basic, but good discussion on HIV/AIDS in Tanzania, and also were asked questions about HIV/AIDS in the USA. For the most part, people in our group seemed very uninformed, including our professor/leader, which was disappointing. Luckily, Leah and I pulled through with some handy facts originating from SGAC. After that discussion, we watched a graduation ceremony. Wamata in Tengeru also runs a Tailoring School for Orphans, and we watched this year's class graduate. They received a sewing machine, scissors, thread, and a diploma. One aspect of that that really struck me, was that in the speech before the graduates were presented their machines, one of the directors said that the machines are not a gift or a reward. They are a loan, and the graduates are expected to use the machines to give back to the community that has supported them. There was a lot of singing and some dancing as well. Even a little rapping (about fighting HIV/AIDS and having safe sex). After that we ate at a local restaurant before going to a coffee farm. We saw all stages of coffee production, and actually our group made enough coffee for all of us to have a cup. It was some of the best coffee I've ever had. Then we visited Tengeru market where I purchased a kitenge to wear to church the next day, because I did not bring any skirts.

Which brings us to Sunday. We went to church, had lunch and then visited some of the parishioners. I visited Mama Hellen. She was very nice. She is a nurse and her husband is a doctor at the regional hospital. The only frustrating part of the day is Barbara, making awkward comments again. For example, that American bodies can't move like African bodies (after watching the choir sing) and that American choirs can't sing with as much passion and emotion.

So that brings me up to tonight, and right now is dinner.