Catch up.

I am five days in and already slowly getting the hang of things. There is absolutely no even ground anywhere on this campus, so I’ve already mastered converting awkward falls into graceful Indian sits. Yesterday Dr, Leedy helped us take dala dalas, the mini buses that comprise the Tanzanian public transit system, and we got cell phones, which was a sad day for me since I hate them even in America. Still, it was a ton of fun because it was our first time downtown and I met my first fiance, who thought it was appropriate to start taking awkward cell phone pictures of me only moments after we got through introductions. I also met a nice man who volunteered to teach me better Swahili if I would meet him at his street corner every day.

As hilarious as some of the cultural differences may be, I have never met a friendlier, more inviting group of people. If you’re lost or need help translating or just want to ask questions, there are ten people jumping at the chance to talk to you and assist you however they can. They want to sell you things, but they also just want to talk to you and learn about America. I pretty much love everything about this country, although it’s necessary to constantly remind myself that this is real - abject poverty in the flesh, not some ride at Epcot.