..just arriving

The first few days so much happened, I can only now begin to arrive, sort myself out and tell you about my experiences.

The flights went wonderfully and I reached the airport in Dar es Salaam at 10 pm. It was followed by a 2-hour wait for the visa and an adventurous ride in a tuk-tuk to my host family. It was already 1 am at night, the house was very remote, and we drove through the darkness of Tanzania. Phew, my heart was pounding 😅 Three bunk beds were prepared, one was assigned to me. There I was, somewhere in the middle of nowhere, alone and still with the fear of the ride in my mind. I tried to sleep. A few hours later, three girls came in through the door (it was around 5 am) and I didn't feel alone anymore.

Tuesday, 14.08.2018

We started the day at 9:30 am. Finally, we thought we could take a shower. Well.. 'shower' in an African way: Take a bucket of water from the rain barrel, pour half of it over yourself, then soap up, and then pour the second half over yourself. What fun 😅

So we were awake and accompanied by Hameela to the city center (capital of Tanzania). There, I experienced culture shock. After walking for 30 minutes, we arrived at the bus stop. I asked Hameela how long we would probably drive (in the bus, as long as the door can still be closed, there aren't enough people inside). She answered, 'Oh, I don't know, maybe a little while.'

In Africa, time often doesn't matter. Hakuna Matata! It takes as long as it takes 😉 It was about 1 hour 15 minutes in total. We reached the center, and all I saw was: thousands of people, a lot of dirt, stench, and garbage. I thought to myself: where have you ended up 😬

We ran some errands: buying a SIM card, exchanging money, and buying tickets for tomorrow's bus ride. But we didn't make progress quickly..

People constantly wanted to talk to us, they shouted, 'Mzungo! Mzungo!' = White

Four white women were probably the main attraction for many, luckily Hameela quickly taught us how to deal with it. Actually, everyone seemed friendly and interested in us. If we continued walking, they left us alone.

I started thinking.. I began to think about how we treat people with a different skin color in Germany.. But I assume that I can speak for many when I say that we don't go up to them and ask how they're doing or where they're from, and we don't stare at them in admiration, but rather approach them skeptically. I don't want to judge this, I just noticed the difference and was taught that it doesn't hurt me to answer two questions and that it absolutely pleases people.

After the eventful day, we went back. There was dinner, another bucket shower, and the alarm clock was set for three o'clock the next day..