Habari!
Hey everybody how is it going in the states?
I’m taking some time to reflect a few weeks back when the NKULA group first got to Tanzania.
It was a quick plane ride in from Rwanda. There was a shortstop in Kenya where we all got off the airplane and got a quick spray of freshness at the perfume store in the airport. All smelling like we just came off the Jersey Shore and with Alvin’s new book, 50 Shades of Grey, we hopped on our flight to Tanzania!
The second we stepped off the plane, the humidity hit us, we were instantly drenched in sweat. We made the long soggy trek through the terminal to baggage claim; getting past immigration was a breeze. At baggage claim a “hide the bag” prank went wrong, but it was still funny.
We got to Avy’s FAVORITE hotel in Dar Es Salaam which we had heard so much about. I was expecting the fanciest place I had ever seen and was ready to get in the bath tub. Turns out it just had a really nice balcony…
From there we had a eight hour bus ride to the language school. They almost left me half way when we stopped for lunch. I thought I was watching Alvin get some food but it turns out it was just some other muzungu and everyone was already on the bus.
We arrived at the school in one piece; it was a long day of travel. That night we got treated to a beautiful candle lit dinner buffet and COLD WATER!!! We had these all week along with gourmet lunches and breakfasts with bacon and everything.
Our teachers were awesome and they taught us so much Swahili. We had class every day for 5 hours with a tea break in the middle. The tea break has made many of us now dependent on tea, all except for Colin, who spent tea break chasing around a little chicken type thing called a guinea fowl. He fell in love with it at first sight and its been the apple of his eye ever since. I think I even saw a tear when he had to say goodbye.
It was a great week, tons of learning with free afternoons mostly spent journaling, playing frisbee, and doing homework. We were all hesitant to leave the luxurious grounds, but we were ready to get back into the real world.
We were all grateful to have this experience and to have met these amazing people. We will never forget this!
Till next time,
Kevin