Well, we finally made it to Arusha. Everyone is here safe and sound. It’s weird to be back in a large group. Colleen and I have been so independent this last week. It’s also strange to have hot water, a real toilet, and to see so many tourists in one city. While Lushoto had some tourists, Arusha definitely has more! You can’t walk down the street without someone stopping to show you their business card and trying to get you to arrange a safari. It’s actually quite obnoxious. I thought I was pretty good at getting people to leave us alone but the guides here are relentless.
Colleen and I arrived in Arusha yesterday after our 7 hour bus ride from Lushoto. Ironically, it was raining when we left Lushoto. Perhaps the mountains were sad to see us go. I was glad to have my 2 dollar umbrella that I had bought when we first got to Lushoto. And although the umbrella is awkward and huge, it worked wonderfully and kept me dry. The bus ride was uneventful, except for the fact that it was raining most of the way. The rain makes riding on a bus extremely gross; the floor is covered with mud and water constantly drips from the ceiling and windows. My backpack is so gross from being on that floor. If I only I had a washing machine to wash it! We walked to our hotel, Monje’s Guesthouse and checked into our room. It was fabulous. We had a toilet, a shower with hot water, and TV. Colleen and I took our first showers in 8 days and were instantly happier. Then, we walked around the town and explored a little before eating dinner at Pizza Arusha where we had, yes, you guessed it, PIZZA! It’s funny the things I crave here in Tanzania. Although I not a huge fan of pizza, I get really excited when we have it here just because I can’t have it whenever I want. Then, we went back to the room to watch Criss Angel on TV. Hah, what an evening.
This morning we woke up and had a complimentary breakfast at the hotel of eggs and toast (well, it was actually just bread). Then, we loaded up all of our gear and headed for our two mile walk to the Outpost Lodge, where we were meeting the group and where we are staying tonight. Colleen and I were cheap and didn’t want to pay for a taxi so we navigated the streets of Arusha with our giant backpacks and duffle bags. It was an adventure and I was really proud of Colleen! She didn’t really want to walk that far, especially after our hike from the bus station yesterday, but she made it, and later told me that she was glad she had done it. Someday, I will take that girl hiking (she’s never gone before!). We dropped our stuff at the hotel and then went into town to the Maasai Art shops where they sell a variety of souvenirs including carved wooden statues, scarves, beaded jewelry, and paintings. We spent all of our money, literally every coin we had, and then went to lunch (don’t worry, we didn’t have all that much in our wallets to begin with, and we got some awesome stuff!). I bought a purse with elephants on it, among other things that cannot be named because they are going to be Christmas presents. We had no idea where to go for lunch (we were in a part of town with few restaurants) and ended up at a small diner that served rice and beans. What a surprise. But, we were able to handle wali na since we had had pizza the night before. Truth be told, we are both getting a little sick of rice and beans after eating it for two meals a day, for 8 days straight. On our last day in Arusha, I went to the market and bought some veggies, cut them up, and then asked a guy on the street to make me an omelet with them since I couldn’t handle anymore rice. By the afternoon, Colleen and I were pretty tired and we just went back to the hotel. We reunited with some of our fellow ACM students and we all exchanged stories about our breaks. It was good to see everyone again! We all hung out by the pool, and relaxed. Colleen and I watched the discovery channel for a while and I took a nice hot shower again. You’ll be happy to know that I finished my third book this week today. Guess I’ll have to find another to read soon. We have a sort of book club in operation here. We each read a book and then give it to someone else when we are done. I think by the end of it, we very well may have read all of each other’s books! Anyway, these past two days were extremely successful and it’s amazing what a hot shower and good food can do to one’s spirit. Colleen and I have been wearing smiles ever since we have gotten here. And surprisingly, it’s nice to be in a city again. Well, it’s off to dinner right now. Hopefully I can post this when I return!
Erin
Well, we finally made it to Arusha. Everyone is here safe and sound. It’s weird to be back in a large group. Colleen and I have been so independent this last week. It’s also strange to have hot water, a real toilet, and to see so many tourists in one city. While Lushoto had some tourists, Arusha definitely has more! You can’t walk down the street without someone stopping to show you their business card and trying to get you to arrange a safari. It’s actually quite obnoxious. I thought I was pretty good at getting people to leave us alone but the guides here are relentless.
Colleen and I arrived in Arusha yesterday after our 7 hour bus ride from Lushoto. Ironically, it was raining when we left Lushoto. Perhaps the mountains were sad to see us go. I was glad to have my 2 dollar umbrella that I had bought when we first got to Lushoto. And although the umbrella is awkward and huge, it worked wonderfully and kept me dry. The bus ride was uneventful, except for the fact that it was raining most of the way. The rain makes riding on a bus extremely gross; the floor is covered with mud and water constantly drips from the ceiling and windows. My backpack is so gross from being on that floor. If I only I had a washing machine to wash it! We walked to our hotel, Monje’s Guesthouse and checked into our room. It was fabulous. We had a toilet, a shower with hot water, and TV. Colleen and I took our first showers in 8 days and were instantly happier. Then, we walked around the town and explored a little before eating dinner at Pizza Arusha where we had, yes, you guessed it, PIZZA! It’s funny the things I crave here in Tanzania. Although I not a huge fan of pizza, I get really excited when we have it here just because I can’t have it whenever I want. Then, we went back to the room to watch Criss Angel on TV. Hah, what an evening.
This morning we woke up and had a complimentary breakfast at the hotel of eggs and toast (well, it was actually just bread). Then, we loaded up all of our gear and headed for our two mile walk to the Outpost Lodge, where we were meeting the group and where we are staying tonight. Colleen and I were cheap and didn’t want to pay for a taxi so we navigated the streets of Arusha with our giant backpacks and duffle bags. It was an adventure and I was really proud of Colleen! She didn’t really want to walk that far, especially after our hike from the bus station yesterday, but she made it, and later told me that she was glad she had done it. Someday, I will take that girl hiking (she’s never gone before!). We dropped our stuff at the hotel and then went into town to the Maasai Art shops where they sell a variety of souvenirs including carved wooden statues, scarves, beaded jewelry, and paintings. We spent all of our money, literally every coin we had, and then went to lunch (don’t worry, we didn’t have all that much in our wallets to begin with, and we got some awesome stuff!). I bought a purse with elephants on it, among other things that cannot be named because they are going to be Christmas presents. We had no idea where to go for lunch (we were in a part of town with few restaurants) and ended up at a small diner that served rice and beans. What a surprise. But, we were able to handle wali na since we had had pizza the night before. Truth be told, we are both getting a little sick of rice and beans after eating it for two meals a day, for 8 days straight. On our last day in Arusha, I went to the market and bought some veggies, cut them up, and then asked a guy on the street to make me an omelet with them since I couldn’t handle anymore rice. By the afternoon, Colleen and I were pretty tired and we just went back to the hotel. We reunited with some of our fellow ACM students and we all exchanged stories about our breaks. It was good to see everyone again! We all hung out by the pool, and relaxed. Colleen and I watched the discovery channel for a while and I took a nice hot shower again. You’ll be happy to know that I finished my third book this week today. Guess I’ll have to find another to read soon. We have a sort of book club in operation here. We each read a book and then give it to someone else when we are done. I think by the end of it, we very well may have read all of each other’s books! Anyway, these past two days were extremely successful and it’s amazing what a hot shower and good food can do to one’s spirit. Colleen and I have been wearing smiles ever since we have gotten here. And surprisingly, it’s nice to be in a city again. Well, it’s off to dinner right now. Hopefully I can post this when I return!
Erin
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