Here I am!

I'm not really sure what goes in this blog. Am I going to tell you what happens, like a narration? Or just small blurbs with thoughts on the big experiences? I suppose that will depend on how often I can get online, and what y'all want to hear about. :) I've been trying to keep a journal, with details and such, but I probably won't put all of that online.

A lot of little things have gone crazy/wrong in the last few days, but I suppose that's just part of the experience. A lot of things have gone right, too.

I arrived in Arusha late Friday night, exhausted, and the people from GSC dropped me off and said they would come pick me up Monday morning. So I was tired
In the morning, I was still a little nervous but I went to breakfast (they serve it at 7 am! Who does that?) and met two people from Denmark, Anke and Niles, who have been here for a while. I talked to strangers! You should be proud of me. They were talking about going into town, and asked me if I wanted to join them. Of course I did, since I didn't know anything about the place. So I went with them into the town, and our first stop was an ATM for me. And... it failed. I still haven't figured that out, either. I have about 40 dollars worth left, so that should last me a few days but it's kind of a problem if I don't get it working. Wiring money is expensive, so I don't want to make my dad do that. My card works as a credit card, but very few places can take it. The ATMs all say they are having problems connecting to my bank, so I have no idea what's going on. It doesn't say my bank is rejecting it or anything, it just isn't connecting. It's a little on the frustrating side.
Anyway, Anke had heard of the Masai Camp Cafe and wanted to go there, and Erna had recommended it too, so we decided to go try to find it. We walked around for about 30 minutes, asking people where it was and they kept pointing in random directions (they want to be polite here, so much that they don't want to tell you they don't know something, so they friendly-ly give you directions). Eventually we found someone who offered to walk us there, in exchange for buying him a beer when we arrived. So that was good. And there was wireless internet!

I really haven't started the GSC part of this, I've mostly just been exploring around town. I started training on Monday, and I've been doing things here-and-there. Mostly Swahili lessons (I must say I do miss Latin-based languages). I will start trainings and working with kids and such in the next week or two, and then I'm sure I will have many more stories to tell!

There have been so many small encounters with the people here, and many ways to experience the culture. Tanzania truly is a wonderful place. A wonderful, stinky, dusty place. While I do get homesick, I also love it here.

Quite a bit more than that has happened, obviously, but that's what I've had time to write about. From now on I'll probably stick to shorter posts (with pictures, I assure you!), but we shall see.
I love you all!

Peace + Love,
Brendan