It was an early morning departure on July 17, as the taxi picked us up at 3:30 am. My scale was accurate to max out our allotted weight for our 4 rolling duffel bags. We both tried to nap on the flight to Amsterdam, though Anya was more successful. Though, she was highly motivated to be rested enough to get 4 movies in on the flight to Kilimanjaro International Airport. I also got 4 movies in, as I didn’t see any movies in the theatre in Norway. At $20 a movie, I passed.
As a returning traveler, I knew that the airplane also unloaded from the back door at the airport, walking down the moveable stairs onto the tarmac and then walking into the terminal. So, I chose two seats in the back (not the last row that sometimes doesn’t recline fully or too close to the line for the bathroom) so we could be one of the first ones in the line to purchase a visa in the airport for the same price of $100. This was great, as it already is an ordeal of going through 3 lines, one to buy the visa, one to put the stamp in the passport, and the last to have a picture taken and a digital fingerprint reading. It still took us about 15 minutes, and we were some of the first people in the line!
Elizabeth and David met us at the airport with warm hugs, malaria meds, and a modem. The trip is at least 2 hours, with about 100 speed bumps (also known as sleeping policemen and what you need when you don’t have cops in cars to chase speeders), and one road stop. The police, on foot, chided David for having wazungu (white people) out at night, as it isn’t safe. David thought that this was not a good way to welcome guests, by telling them that things are dangerous at night. David did pick up a friend, George, to do with him to Monduli after dropping off Elizabeth in Arusha.
So, the four of us went to the Girls School guesthouse where we were greeted by my former teacher colleague, Ciwila. She is excellent, and one of the most hard working teachers at MGLSS. If there is an event, Ciwila is the busy beaver and leading up the women (there are few men around, and none in service roles). The women make it work.
David had a duffel bag of our Tanzanian clothes and gear (water filter, binoculars, sun screen, sandals, etc.) that Elizabeth brought with her from the USA. Even though we had a water filter, Elizabeth picked up a couple bottles of water to have. Then we could brush our teeth without having to dig out and set up the water filter. It was a long day, so we said goodbye to David and George, and we were able to get to bed right away and rest well for the night.
With blessings,
Beth