After a quiet ride with the owner and operator of Peponi in his Land Rover, we got dropped off at the Tanga bus station. If I never have to take a bus (or grace a bus station) in Tanzania again, I don't think I'd be too devastated. The guy who shuffled us into the dalla dalla somehow recognized us and offered us another ride and followed us in our circle around the bus station until we booked our tickets.
We did a short circle around Tanga, in desperate search of the ice cream parlor. Of course, we were followed for literally 2 km by a guy who had requested a cig. Do I look like a smoker? Finally, after lots of angry attempts to get rid of the guy I yelled Niecha! (Leave me!) at him. We found refuge from the heat and the pesky follower in another ice cream parlor that from what I could tell hadn't opened yet for the day.
Warning: I'm about to complain about another sweaty bus ride. We were called to board the bus, along with everyone else sitting in the back two rows. B's backpack didn't fit in the overhead compartment and neither did mine. Sweaty with pushy Tanzanians anxious to sit in their seats all around, I managed to squeeze mine under the seat. Unluckily for B she sat with hers on lap for almost the entire trip.
Ah...finally in Dar! Again, mean and hypoglycemic we made a quick taxi drive over to Sweet Eazy for happy hour and overpriced vegetable stir fry. The calamari made my day but also made me miss DC and my usual calamari consuming companion. (Hope you're reading this Gatto)
Then after a much needed boost in my blood sugar levels it was out to the airport to fetch Little Mango, the newest American arrival in Tanzania. Another great night and the Swiss Garden Hotel, Nutella crepes at Seacliff Village, and another thrilling trip to Shoppers Supermarket. Also picked up North of South and The Yiddish Policeman's Union at A Novel Idea. Set me back 40 bucks but worth.
Back to Morogoro!
Showing posts with label Swiss Garden Hotel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Swiss Garden Hotel. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 29
Saturday, May 31
Dar to Morogoro
After arriving in Dar es Salaam (which everyone here just calls Dar) and collecting my baggage (which wasn't lost, hurray!), I was met by a taxi to take me to the Swiss Garden Hotel. Dar is pretty dirty and there are a lot of beggars who come up to the windows of the car selling randoms things like car mats and cashews. The only other white person I saw on the half hour drive to the hotel was what looked like a businessman driving a Mercedes. The hotel was very nice and everyone was extremely helpful. The orange juice I had while checking in was probably the best I've ever had, just a touch of mango--amazing! I was a big fan of the mosquito net which looked more like a canopy. Below is one angle. (Notice Dennis Bear and the amazing orange juice on the table.)
I had dinner at the hotel with a German anthropologist studying AIDS activism who had been at the hotel for 3 weeks already. She was really helpful and recommended that I take a trip to Zanzibar, among a number of other adventures. I'm not sure how much time I'm going to have to travel but she was certainly an extremely helpful single-serving friend.
I left early this morning to catch a bus to Morogoro. At least five of the people I have met have said Morogoro is their home. I was the only tourist in the bus station, I may venture to say that I was also the only person who spoke English. A family of German tourists got on the bus at the second stop with two children that could not have been older than four. A small Tanzania girl (mschina) sat next to me, stared and smiled for the first ten minutes. I wasn't really sure what to do, then she pulled out about 15 photographs and showed them to me. Just nod and smile. Here's a picture out the window of the bus while still in Dar es Salaam. I think we spent more time getting through traffic in Dar than actually moving towards Morogoro. The smog certainly isn't as bad as LA!
Morogoro is really pretty and I'm so happy to finally be here. Everything is so lush and the greenery is amazing. This really nice guy--who I'll give the nickname T-Man--met me at the bus station in Morogoro and helped me check into the hostel. While the attendant speaks very little English, the accommodations are nice and very safe. I have my own bathroom and there is a common room where I can imagine watching many a soccer game. The hostel is on-campus and very near to town.
After checking in, I followed T-Man to the lab and the hospital. Right now I'm in the "containers" which are literally shipping containers that they've turned into offices and study spaces for the graduate students. The internet connection is good, even good enough to g-chat with the original Poopie-pants (I told you I'd give you a shout-out). The graduate student that I'm going to be working with is SUPER nice--let's call her Kitty. She lives right down the street from me and speaks very good English. She has two girls or waschina (5 and 2) who I am really excited to meet. Tomorrow we'll have lunch together. Later tonight I'm heading to dinner in town with another graduate student and T-Man, possibly some others. If I don't crash immediately following I'm going to work on the Kiswahili. Since I've traded Stella McCartney for OFF! mosquito repellent, I'm looking forward to a shower, however short and cold it might be.
I had dinner at the hotel with a German anthropologist studying AIDS activism who had been at the hotel for 3 weeks already. She was really helpful and recommended that I take a trip to Zanzibar, among a number of other adventures. I'm not sure how much time I'm going to have to travel but she was certainly an extremely helpful single-serving friend.
I left early this morning to catch a bus to Morogoro. At least five of the people I have met have said Morogoro is their home. I was the only tourist in the bus station, I may venture to say that I was also the only person who spoke English. A family of German tourists got on the bus at the second stop with two children that could not have been older than four. A small Tanzania girl (mschina) sat next to me, stared and smiled for the first ten minutes. I wasn't really sure what to do, then she pulled out about 15 photographs and showed them to me. Just nod and smile. Here's a picture out the window of the bus while still in Dar es Salaam. I think we spent more time getting through traffic in Dar than actually moving towards Morogoro. The smog certainly isn't as bad as LA!
Morogoro is really pretty and I'm so happy to finally be here. Everything is so lush and the greenery is amazing. This really nice guy--who I'll give the nickname T-Man--met me at the bus station in Morogoro and helped me check into the hostel. While the attendant speaks very little English, the accommodations are nice and very safe. I have my own bathroom and there is a common room where I can imagine watching many a soccer game. The hostel is on-campus and very near to town.
After checking in, I followed T-Man to the lab and the hospital. Right now I'm in the "containers" which are literally shipping containers that they've turned into offices and study spaces for the graduate students. The internet connection is good, even good enough to g-chat with the original Poopie-pants (I told you I'd give you a shout-out). The graduate student that I'm going to be working with is SUPER nice--let's call her Kitty. She lives right down the street from me and speaks very good English. She has two girls or waschina (5 and 2) who I am really excited to meet. Tomorrow we'll have lunch together. Later tonight I'm heading to dinner in town with another graduate student and T-Man, possibly some others. If I don't crash immediately following I'm going to work on the Kiswahili. Since I've traded Stella McCartney for OFF! mosquito repellent, I'm looking forward to a shower, however short and cold it might be.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)