We made it! 30+ hours of travel later, Katie, Nathan, and I have made it to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. So far everything has been as smooth as possible (knock on wood!), with no issues with our layover in Amsterdam, going through customs, and getting our TZ travel visas. We're already getting Swahili lessons from the hotel staff (asante sana=thank you so much, karibu=welcome)!
Since we didn't get to sit next to each other on the two flights over here, we all had some interesting stories to tell at the tail-end of our trip. From ATL to AMS, I sat by a retired UT Health professor who now spends his time traveling all over the world and bird watching. By the end of this year, he will have been to over 100 countries. He told me that Tanzania has some pretty magnificent birds, so I'm keeping my eyes open!
Nathan's seat neighbor from AMS to DAR had a surprising allergic reaction to almonds... but luckily multiple doctors and nurses were on board and he's doing just fine! (Apparently this was a big ordeal on the plane, but I was so tired that I had passed out already and didn't wake up even with the commotion.)
Katie sat next to a lady who was born in Trinidad, grew up in England and taught as a professor, and then came to States to teach elementary education. She has kids in Argentina and Scotland!
The plan for tomorrow is to find an ATM to exchange US dollars to Tanzanian shillings (1 USD=2236 TZS), meet with our MUSC contacts to stock up on supplies before heading to Kisarawe, and make a plan for the next few weeks!
Cheers from TZ,
~Irene
