I'm here!

What surprised me the most about landing in Kilimanjaro was how dark it was outside. I've only flown into U.S. airports which are typically in bigger cities where the sun never seems to set with the amount of streetlights and headlights. The effect left me terrified, wondering if the pilots could even see where to land (ignorant, I know but it's what nerves will do to you). It's funny how I was scared on the first flight because I could see out the window, and I was scared on the second flight because I couldn't see but wanted to – there's just no happy medium!

On the drive back to the training center where we're staying, I was kind of numb from a number of things, such as loading luggage into the bus through the windows, how DARK it was, the people just walking along the highway, the fact that we were driving on the left side of the road (I had forgotten that small detail and nearly jumped out the window when the driver started going, thinking my life was over), and wondering 1) whether or not there was a speed limit and 2) whether or not our driver knew what it was. The cornfields added a bit of a familiar touch, but the towns or villages we drove through along the way to the center were especially different than what I expected. To be completely honest, I'm not even sure what exactly I did expect because I never envisioned what the surroundings in Tanzania would look like at night, only during the day. The houses and stores in the towns all had only one or two lights so we could see little more more than a half moon illuminated directly around the florescent bulbs. The gas stations only have two or three pumps at most, and there were no stars out. After arriving at the center, we were relieved to finally check into our rooms (I'm staying with Sara Hanssen from Luther) and figure out how to properly use the mosquito nets hanging from the ceiling, which look more like princess canopies around our amazingly comfortable beds. I almost accidentally brushed my teeth with the water (that's a big no-no, as I'll discuss in another entry later), and there are even candlesticks and holders provided for when the power has been shut off. But the water is running, the lights are on, and we couldn't be more excited to finally be here. (The picture is me the night we got in after no sleep for a few days... traveling is exhausting!)