I head over to the bus stop just before 6am and luckily enough have time for a quick cup of chai off the street vendor at the bus stop. The tea is piping hot, strong and sweet – luckily a quick hit of caffeine before we depart. We get on the bus and don’t take off until just before 7am – essentially an on time departure for 6am in Africa. We head off again with an overstuffed bus and I anticipate to arrive in Arusha by 9:30am.
About an hour in to the trip the bus stops, as the engine breaks down. We are stranded for about an hour while the driver and ticket collector work on the engine. We stand on the side of the road hoping for the best and trying to avoid as much dust as possible. They announce to get back on the bus and it is a made crush to get back on. The engine starts, stops, starts and stops again but after the third try a few backfires we are on the way. We pass through the heart of the Mesaih land, where men herd cows and women are tending to the market – the colours are brilliant and the women still dress in traditional wear with long beaded earrings neck jewelry. It is beautiful to see. Unfortunately, 30 minutes later we break down again, however, only a 45 minute delay and we are headed off again.
6 hours later we make it to the bus stop at 11:30 – we move quickly to catch my flight. When we get to the airport, which is overcrowded with tourists coming off of safari’s or climbing Mt Kili, all headed back to Dar or to Zanzibar. The flight is oversold so I don’t make it and in panic begin a search for a seat on any flight to Dar. Douglas, who is the driver is helping me and at 12:30, the TSA man comes through – for $200 cash I can fly to Dar via Zanzibar. I quickly pay the cash, my bags are whisked away and I am whisked through security – no boarding pass nor do they even know my name. I board a 9 seater prop plane with 4 other passengers headed to Zanzibar – I am thrilled to be headed to Dar and more importantly this is luxury in comparison to the bus. We land in Zanzibar and I am asked to wait in the transit area while we re-fuel. 10 minutes later there is a man yelling for the “mazoonga” with the ginger, curly hair and blue fleece, not realizing its me I don’t respond, he finally comes over and we walk out to the plane – I am the only passenger – what a riot! 20 minutes we land in Dar and I am off to meet Nigel Roberts, who leads Tanzinear with his wife Judith, and their son Hammish at the Burguruni School for the Death.
Dar Es Salaam is culture shock, particularly coming from Babati. It is a very large city, with 8 million people in a small space. It is hot (hooray), bustling and manic on the streets. In addition, the standard of living appears better with higher end cars, electricity running through neighborhoods and both women and men dressed slightly more casual.
I arrive at the school, where it is slice of tranquility among the chaos of the city. It is tucked off next to Msimbazi Center, on a large piece of property that is green, with a large soccer field, swings and cows. The school itself needs work, hence why we are here mainly in painting and cleaning. However, the goal is to raise enough money to provide an audio center to have the students fitted for hearing aids. The students are on holidays, so I am honored to meet the head teach Maltilda who is grateful for the work we are doing.
Nigel and I have stroll through the local village which is the route to the school before heading back to the convent, where the group is staying. We will be joined by 8 more tomorrow morning, including Judith and Cameron, their other son, followed by 5 more on Friday morning. The convent, similar to the school is a secluded area – like a gated community where there are several churches and places to stay. Hammish and Andrew join us with several of the students returning from the water park. The four of us have dinner here, where the food is homemade and where we will be having dinner for the time that we are staying. Sister Apolonia runs the convent and is entertained by us, she is kind with the heart of gold and a fist of steel – nothing gets past her. It is comfortable, peaceful and very friendly. The rooms are simple and clean, no hot water but luckily we have electricity and the semi-finals are being shown. There is a café that the nuns run, selling simple snakcks, soda and cold beer. I (we) all find it quite amusing to see several nuns at the end of the day enjoying a cold beer.
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