Tanzania

The sun is blinding and the heat hits like a wall, and it's only 7 am. Van waving Tanzanian flag on the dashboard is driving very fast down street towards city center, hits stop-and-go traffic. Men ride bicycles along side of road with a dozen crates of eggs stacked on the rear rack. People weave in and out of “lanes” and honk their horns. Said van drives over potholes 5 feet wide and a foot deep, dodges bicyclists and pedestrians, and navigates around 4 rows of cars on a road that was clearly built to accommodate only 2 lanes of traffic. But the more the merrier, right?



Welcome to Africa.

The trip to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania took 2 full days, including two overnight flights from Seattle and London. It was thoroughly exhausting, but I’d been too excited to finally land in Africa that I think I ran on adrenaline all day. I've been dreaming of this for a long time.

Dar is amazing. The name means "haven of peace" and along the coast (away from the downtown traffic), it's precisely that. The Indian Ocean hugs the eastern coast of Tanzania and the water is an unbelievable mix of sea green, turquoise, and deep blue. Graceful dhows sail off the coast. The sand is white and dotted with exotic shells that have washed up on shore. Along the dusty unpaved roads, palm trees and bougainvillea frame the landscape and the climate is tropical.

People seem so friendly and welcoming (“Karibu!”), always greeting each other with “Jambo!” (hello!) and asking about your health and your family. Younger people say, “Mambo!” (hey, how's it going?) and respond, “Poa” (it’s cool). Spoken Kiswahili sounds melodic as every letter is pronounced. Dar, yeah, poa.