DAY 1 So this is me keeping you updated.

   Its the Sabbath day here, so it's not as busy as normal; in fact, this morning we woke up to the beautiful sound of the Muslim call to prayer. We started today with a Tanzanian breakfast with amazing matunda (fruit), yogurt to have our bodies get to know the Tanzanian probiotics, madazi(donuts), and muffins. The fruit here is amazing! 

   After breakfast we got ready, and set off to explore the bustling streets of Arusha. And away we went! The roads are rushing with dolladollas, motorcycles and semis, but have no fear we were safe! We walked through a really awesome fruit market (you can buy fruit for 50 cents) and got harassed by vendors and men.  I learned really fast how to be firm and say "huhitaji kujua" (you dont need to know), "sitaki" ( I dont want it), and "acha bwana! Hapana" (no!). No proposals yet, but that will change fast. 

   We also went to the supermarket for waters, and the electricity and internet are out because it's Sunday, which is supposed to be meant for Jesus and family. We talked with an old gal who pulls garbage carts.  She wanted us to take a picture with her, and with her and her cart. She was very sweet! 

   It is crazy to see the differences in style in women's clothing.  We saw everything from your traditional Tanzanian women in wrap around skirts and heads covered, to westernized women in tight skinny jeans and t-shirts. We even saw rural maasai cattle herders every so often, visiting the city for the first time. We saw churches and nice hotels, and we walked to a clock tower, which sits exactly in the middle between Cape Town and Cairo. 

   At the street market we were harassed even more by vendors. Its obvious that my bartering skills and my understanding on the currency will have to improve. We went into this nice indian restaurant where this cute little girl came up and hugged me and smiled big. Careful though, she bites! We also saw fellow Whitworthians there! Small world! We continued on to share soda at a nice safari hotel and found out... Tanzanians dont like cold drinks or cold foods...not kidding. We then walked to see an old Germany military outpost from when Tanzania was colonized by Germany, and which is now a museum. We also saw a statue dedicated in the name of President Nyerere for the fighters that died in the 1978 Uganda war. 

   We continued walking, and that is when I really got to see a different side of Arusha.  There were little shops everywhere, and behind them many huts made out of mud bricks. Many things were beaten up and old, and women carried small buckets of water for laundry, bathing, or drinking. Many locals gathered in this place. The sidewalks are nonexistent, and the roads to these homes and stores are dirt. It's obvious that cars never yield to pedestrians, and you must always look right, left, right before crossing the street because the cars drive on the opposite side of the road. I even saw a very skinny young dog.  Of course me being the animal lover I am, I felt so awful because that dog will never have the hope to know what it feels like to have a family that loves them and cares for them, so love your pets unconditionally. 

   Although this part of Arusha is very rundown, there is still a sort of beauty for the way that people live here. Even through the poorest conditions from what we Americans have, they are still happy.

   At the end of the day, the women (us) had to stereotypically carry the water jugs back to the Kundayo apartments for the sake of our immersion into the culture.  I got to practice balancing the water on my head... of course I dropped it, but no harm no foul.  I ended up taking the jug after it fell in the dirt. :-)

 I have a lot of blisters on my feet (wrong shoes but still breaking them in), but I knew that girls have to do this everyday, with or without some sort of pain, so as soon as I got back, I washed my feet and applied medicine, and all is well. Now, we relax before dinner to the sound of a church worship band because services last hours here! 

   I have a lot to learn about this place. I cant and wont learn it all at once, but there are a lot of wonderful things and beauty here. I'll keep you in the loop as best as possible, but internet is off and on here so no promises. We do get host families tomorrow! Just know I am safe! I love you all and you are on my mind. Keep me updated about the states! 

Jax