Made It!

We made it to Tanzania! After 30 hours of traveling we arrived in Dar Es Salaam on Wednesday morning at 7:00am. There was a giant praying mantis that greeted us in the tunnel getting off the plane. If you know me, you know I have a knack for identifying insects of the East Coast of Africa. It was a Tanzanian Flowering Praying Mantis. We were also greeted by guards with guns. Not quite as friendly as the mantis but probably a little more effective at keeping hooligans in line.
After leaving the airport parking lot it was like entering another world. Everything is so different compared to home. There are hardly any paved roads so anybody with a car travels on these roads. The other roads are dirt and have pot holes deeper than the deep end at WC Blair. Maybe even deeper. Needless to say driving is pretty much a nightmare. There is also a huge contrast between the rich and everybody else. There are some big, nice houses that are surrounded by make shift homes for people who have hardly anything. It is very strange and makes me wonder what the heck the people who live in these giant homes were thinking when they decided to build a mansion in a place full of poor people.
The roads are lined with little shops and stalls of people selling fruit, fish, rocks, flowers and other stuff. Lots of people are sitting around little fires on the sides of the roads.
Today we visited Ardhi University, the place where I will be working. As you can imagine, the planning/development issues they face are very different than at home. They were all so fascinated to hear about how things are done in Canada. About 80% of the population in Dar is informal (slums and other makeshift housing). I was also fascinated by them briefly describe some issues here. It makes me think that things are maybe a little too orderly at home.
We also visited HOPAC, the school where Jen will be working. The campus is absolutely amazing. I was happy and relieved to know that Jen will be working at such a great place. I was also over come with jealousy as HOPAC has air conditioning and other amenities.
We are learning so much over here. Time is really a non-factor for most people here. One hour is the same as one week. It makes us feel very powerless. Kate Gosselin would not last very long here. She loves control. I not miss Kate Gosselin one bit. For every step we take forward we take 5 back. Everything takes time.
We went for a walk yesterday morning and learned that going for walks is not safe. Even my macho exterior is not enough to intimidate people to back off from us. I know. Weird.
Our internet is very slow so I am going to see if I can stream Canucks games. Or at least the last period of them. The games are on at 5:00am here. Finally jet lag will come in handy for something. I am so happy that we beat Chicago. I am back on the "We'll never lose another game again" bandwagon.
Tomorrow we are going to HOPAC to watch the rehearsal for the school play. Today the teachers at HOPAC explained that everyone is in the play, even the gardeners and local people who work at maintaining the school property.
It has been a tiring but exciting few days and we are looking forward to starting our work and getting into routine. Now that we have the internet look for me to really blog it up. After I post this I am going to brush my teeth. Keep it dialed in here to hear all about my brushing habits. I'm thinking about starting with the lateral incisor and then moving to the central incisor. If I'm feeling really brave I might even start with the lower left 1st premolar. It is Friday night after all!