Still in Dar

(Disclaimer: this and the following few posts are copies of emails previously sent to family.)

I am sweating through my "knickers" and my hair is a grease ball (and I have a few bug bites around my ankles! - don't worry, I've been taking my meds), but I am alive and well in Dar. Right now I am in the Jesuit House using their internet. We had a little trouble figuring out how to get through customs last night when we arrived around 11pm (Sean and I each had to pay $100 - Thanks for the extra cash, Dad. I had to spot Sean). (Also, JVC is going to reimburse us.) But Christen, Gretchen, Emily, and a Jesuit named Everest picked us up and drove us home in a truck. All luggage arrived with no problem!

The fights went surprisingly a lot faster than I expected. I didn't sleep the first two, but slept like a rock from Amsterdam to Kilimanjaro. It was night so we didn't see the mountain. But I guess I do have a few years...

Their place is pretty rough.. apparently our house in Dodoma is going to be a lot nicer. I slept on a mattress on the floor last night - didn't need a cover because it was so hot. Sean and I got up around 10:30am (I have no idea what home time is), and Christen came home from school. She bought us some tortilla bread thing (I'm sure I'll know the real term soon) and we ate it with cold black beans and a banana.

Their stove is broken (no oven) so I'm not quite sure what we'll have for dinner. I'm sure they know how to whip something up. Kristen just took us on a tour of her school, Loyola High School, and then we stopped by the Jesuit Residence which is on campus. We met a few Jesuits (one used to be a Dean at John Carroll!), and drank a soda.

Christen had to go back to class so Sean and I are using the Jesuits' computers. Everyone is so nice. The girls are really good at Kiswahili - I can't wait to start picking it up. I keep hearing really great things about Dodoma. It is nice being here but I'm kind of anxious to get there and set up. (The whole "nesting" thing is really important to me - you know, like deciding what drawer my tshirts are going to be.) The plan is to stay in Dar until Sunday - tomorrow (Friday) we might sit in some classes, Saturday we're going to the beach (YES!), and Sunday we'll start our way "home." Apparently the road from Dar to Dodoma is paved, and the bus we'll be taking is pretty nice.