It's gonna take a lot to take me awayy from youuu

While reading this entry, I encourage you to blast the song "Africa" by Toto.

Goodbyes were tough... I've never been away from home for more than a couple weeks. I'll admit, there were some tears at the airport. But I moved on pretty quickly as I made my way through security. I looked up from my baggage to see a parade of women bypassing all other travelers, dressed in identical fancy outfits with delicate scarves falling down from their hat in the same way. At first I couldn't figure out if they were princesses or flight attendants! If this was any indication of the flight I was about to have, I was in for a treat. To be honest, the 20+ hours of travel didn't seem all that bad. Emirates Airline had the best entertainment system I've ever seen on a plane. Thousands of songs, movies, tv shows and games to choose from. Needless to say, it made the flight seem a lot quicker than if I was trying to memorize popular Swahili phrases all that time.

I was also fortunate to have Jasmine and Halimat on the same flight. They will be studying abroad in Dar es Salaam this semester, along with another girl named Pam. Somehow we managed to navigate through the massive airports. And then we got to Tanzania!!!

Flying over Dar es Salaam was very different than any other city that we passed over along the way. I don't know if I'll ever get used to all the beautifully vibrant colors. Scattered rooftops were bright green, blue, red, yellow, and orange. I love it!

And guess who was waiting for us at the airport? Chris (my adviser) and Samuel, who is the site coordinator. He will be available for Swahili tutoring and general advice for living in the country. 

Please remember that we were traveling for almost a full day to end up in what felt like 100% humidity... no judging the following pictures:

And for all of you skeptics out there, I want it known that I have tried at least one bite of every food set in front of me... so far. That includes spicy chicken peri peri, carrots, mango juice, and rice with slimy vegetables. In general, I like to eat chicken fingers... and that's about it. I might be the pickiest eater you've ever met. But not in Tanzania.