Business in Dar es Salaam

My stress is slowly melting away as we find our way through this new environment and slowly get closer to our destination with our enormous amount of luggage in tow.

It's strange, I think it is hard to really conceptualize that we are in Africa. In some ways, it feels like Philly...like North Philly got magnified, had less resources, and became its own city. So far, the closest we have come to witnessing any extravagance is at the U.S. Embassy and at the Holiday Inn where we are staying (I actually feel ashamed to say I'm staying here, that is how nice it is in comparison to everything surrounding.) But the city itself is calm, very very chill. In fact, we haven't even gotten hassled other than at the airport when we arrived).

Oh, and we went to the Ministry of Health today...it was a mini-adventure. We had no address (other than a P.O. Box) and no name for a point of contact (other than "the registrar") but we knew this was the department that handled the official aspects of our interactions in the hospital in Tanzania. So we just walked around until we saw a door with a name that looked important, walked inside and talked to the person behind the desk. We then were led all around the building to about 6 different people. In the end, we made an appointment for the second group of med students to follow up on and then we headed out to buy our bus tickets for Karatu...and then off to the U.S. embassy to register our visit to Tanzania. The embassy was the most helpful part of the day, gave us a little background on some of the difficulties that medical volunteers run into when trying to start something new in Tanzania, and then put us in contact with someone at the Ministry of Health. So, off we went back to the MOH to put in one last plea. We finally made some headway with the main office there and even teased some smiles out of the staff there. So, we will pass on the baton to Group 2 and then we will see what happens from there.

I am looking forward to getting to Karatu. Nothing against Dar, but it is a lot of congestion without much benefit, and I'm itching to see the countryside. Our friend in Karatu already has some things lined up for us. We will be working with his high school students and following them as they gather information from local health care offices in regards to HIV treatment in the region. Once we get to Karatu, we won't have email access as readily so this may be the last lengthy post from me for awhile.

Today, we walked by the National museum and House of Culture, so we stopped in. I was surprised by the layout, it was very simple, but very good. The only bad part was when my jet lag slammed me. I was standing there reading about one of the exhibits when my eyes closed and I nearly fell over. I would have laughed at myself if I had had the energy. I did enjoy the museum, though. Colonial rule of Africa is nauseating but the whole thing was presented without commentary, allowing you to make your own conclusions (or not, if you so chose).

The straightforwardness and simplicity of the museum seemed important, like it was trying to say something about the mindset of the country. I sense there is something about Tanzania that is quite unique from any of the places I've traveled, but I haven't yet figured out what it is. Their exhibits were on either science and evolution, or the history/culture of Tanzania. I wondered why these things were put together...it seemed as if the museum saw them as connected topics essential to explaining Tanzania. I liked it. It showed the people of Tanzania as a unique but connected part of the whole of human history. It was as if someone said "Build a museum that explains what has made Tanzania the unique people/place it is today" and they answered by starting at the very beginning.

I miss my friends and family, by the way...in case you think the distance makes people forget their home...it doesn't. We are storing up stories/pictures/videos and you all will get to share some part so that we don't feel we've left our home behind. :)
rachel

Arrival in Dar

Alexis and Rachel are in our hotel in Dar. This is a calm city so far, and we are going to try and get our bearings soon.

Peace
rach