Made It!

After a 9hr flight to Istanbul, a 7hr flight to Dar es Salaam, and a 10hr bus ride, I have finally made it to Iringa.  I arrived with 2 other Gap Medics students on the last flight where we were then picked up by a man from the program at 4:30am and drove to the Landmark Hotel in Dar where we could nap, shower, and then meet the rest of the 12 other students for breakfast.

The difference in culture was immediately striking as we drove to the hotel.  Many people walked along the dark streets or gathered around stalls selling goods, slept on motorcycles or huddled around fires fueled by trash.  Even though it was so early in the morning, it was surprising to see so many people walking around.

When we finally left the hotel, we crowded onto a "chicken bus" and drove to the coach buses.  It's really important to note that when I say driving, it's a lot more like 4-wheeling with large buses.  The dirt roads and parking lots are filled with massive ruts and the highways frequently have series of 4 consecutive speed bumps, but this still doesn't stop the drivers from going nearly 90mph and upwards.  Any driving standards we considered normal in the US are completely disregarded in Tanzania.  Drivers pass anyone and everyone, even if there is oncoming traffic... which often leads to 3 buses in 2 lanes.  During the drive we saw several large buses that had crashed and tipped over or slid into the river, and despite the the giant ravine we drove above (easily hundreds or thousands ft deep), we all miraculously made it unscratched.

The landscape itself is beautiful in a chaotic way.  Colorful, rundown shacks and buildings line the main highways and there are palm trees and bushes everywhere.  There are also expanses of of grasses and trees and farmland that is otherwise unpopulated.  The landscape is so unlike anything that can be found in the US that it is initially a huge cultural and sensory overload.  I will eventually post some photos of that as well.  For now, that catches me up to Sunday evening and actually arriving at the house I am staying at.  I have written about Monday already, but will post whenever internet permits.