Taking a Break at Dar es Salem, Tanzania
I can't believe I'm in Africa.
— 8 min read
Table of Contents
The Hottest Plane Experience
The plane that I boarded at Qatar with destination Dar es Salem has got to be one of my worst experiences flying. It was so incredibly hot. People were using the brochure that they give you in each seat to fan themselves. I thought it was pretty funny, but got damn was it an insufferable experience.
Brief Stop at Kilimanjaro
So I didn't really get to sleep much during the flight. Even worse, my phone died about 3 hours before we reached an intermediary stop at Kilimanjaro. Since I was sitting window seat, I just stared out for the whole time.
As we were nearing our stop, I got to saw Mt. Kilimanjaro. It was so cool. It was very sunny, but there were a lot of clouds. The surrounding landscape was very flat and green. And then in the distance I saw a mountain piercing through the clouds. It was so weird because, juxtaposed against the surroundings, it looked like a lonely geographical feature that stood above the clouds. Very cool.
We stopped at Kilimanjaro International Airport for a brief moment for some passengers to disembark and for some to board. As soon as I knew it, we were about to take off into the air. At this point, I was sick and tired of this plane I was on so I tried to sleep it off.
At the same time, I was also excited. I'm in Africa! Never would I have imagined that this is where I would be in the years ago. From Alaska, and then to Oregon, and then physically breathing in the air of African country at the other side of the world. Crazy.
And then, from what seemed like 2 minutes had passed, I woke up. I actually managed to fall asleep and I didn't remember when I did. I somehow managed to hit that fast forward button. So useful, but so hard to find that button.
Traveling to Best Western CBD Hotel
We disembarked, went through customs, got our stuff, and met with a bus driver that was scheduled to meet with us. Supposedly, a man named Don, our sponsor for this trip had prepared this in advance. More on Don later.
Our bus was fairly small, definitely not the same bus that you would see in Portland, but it was cute. We had just enough people and luggages to fill all the seats. Despite that, it was a very comfortable ride not to mention the air conditioning and local music that the driver was playing.
We drove off into the busy roads and highways and it was intense. The streets were literally every man for himself. I saw people serpentine their way through traffic, cut people off, aggressively honk at undeserving drivers. We were like that too or at least our bus driver was like that.
He was a very assertive driver.
He had managed to weave his way through that cacophany of traffic. There were road lanes indicated by the road markings, but no driver seemed to care. Sometimes there would be 2 vehicles next to each other and the next moment 4. Our driver was definitely an expert and I felt like I was in safe hands.
We arrived at our hotel called Best Western CBD Hotel and it was a jarring experience. From the current state of the roads outside, the hotel had a completely opposite vibe. It looked fancy asf and bougie.
We did some logistics, gave our passports for identification, and received our room key cards. Our professors also scheduled for everyone to meet at the lobby which had a dining area at 5 pm to eat together. By this point, it was like 12 pm and everyone made their way to their rooms. Everyone showered, some slept, most looked around the hotel. I roomed with a guy named Drew. We chatted for a bit and I found out that he's Chinese, but born and raised in Portland.
I revealed to him my goal of learning Chinese over the summer and I learned a thing or two about his languages. I learned the difference between Chinese/Mandarin and Cantonese.
All of my upperclassmen visited to pool to chat and socialize. I wasn't really about that, so I left before it got too awkward for me. On some level I felt like an outcast, whether that be the fault of others or of my own, I can't really say, but I do know that talking to other people is draining. So in that respect, definitely my fault.
It must be so exciting to graduate. It was the nursing majors that had graduated. Now they can go out into the world armed with degrees, some of them, actually already working. They're actually so cool.
There are only like 7 people or less walking this Earth that do not drain my batteries. Despite my lack of willingness to open up, everyone was very accommodating and they always invited me to do stuff. I wish I was more confident in being myself.
Going Up
I left that pool party and went to the top floor which was a gym. As I exited the elevator, I was greeted by Moi, a nursing major and a very confident individual. It looked like he was in the middle of a workout.
Around the corner I saw my professor, Martin, and another nursing major, Bryce, chatting. Bryce is a very welcoming individual. There's always this quality about seniors that separates them from underclassmen. They're more confident, more comfortable in their own skin, and generally more social. I admire that a lot and I wish I could be like that.
I greeted them and then went to go look around. We were very high up and some of the windows were wide open. You could literally just jump out and that would be it.
After a while, 2 nursing graduates visited gym, Rachel and Cailyn. They requested for permission to go a soccer field which was about to have a game between some university students. They invited me to go, but I declined. I was lowkey scared of getting kidnapped. Martin went to go to the soccer game as well.
Don
I chatted a lot with my professor and one individual came to mind. His name was always thrown around, but I really never knew who this guy was. Supposedly, he runs this NGO which, along with our engineering department, helps fund our trip to Malawi.
The school that I have been working on projects for, St. Mary's Secondary School, has been founded by this guy.
Don is was a priest who retired in his late twenties, which, if you ask me, very early to retire. And now he's involved with all of these projects and his purpose, at least from what I can understand, is to help out local communities in Malawi. Specifically, in regards to the school that he helped build, his goal was to get children out of the streets.
So this school, which I thought had been around for more than a decade has only been around for 4 years. Crazy.
I honestly cannot believe that I am a part of something bigger than myself and I get to be involved in projects that help change peoples lives for the better.
Dinner Time
Drew went to our room to wake me up from my nap to inform me that it was almost time for dinner. I was out cold. I really needed that nap and now I feel refreshed.
I made my way downstairs and to the long long dining table where our group sat. It was long. It spanned like more than half the room.
A little while later, Cailyn and Rachel made their way to the long long table. Both of these individuals are very kind and approachable always chatting with everyone. They were returning students so they've been on the Malawi expedition before so they have a lot of experience.
I knew I can depend on them if I needed anything.
I ordered chicken fried rice. Honestly, I was intimidated by the selection. There were many dishes I couldn't recognize. I went something familiar to me and the one I would most probably like. A simple fried rice. I love rice. I also got to eat this green stuff shared to me. It tasted green and healthy.
Near the end, there was a surprise celebration. It was Rachel's birthday. To be exact, it was Monday and today is Wednesday, but nonetheless, the faculty still wanted to celebrate her birthday. It was very sweet. We celebrated and ate cake.
It was awesome.