Long journey, short transition [2014-10-02]
Tanzania at last! The journey has been a bit more protracted than expected, but we’re closing in on full arrival. Today, our first full day, got us right in the middle of it all with a blizzard of impressions and experiences.
Current and future Reneal IEO board members Priscilla Batty and Justin Thompson graciously provided transportation to the airport Monday morning. Neal and I traveled with eight 16x16x20 boxes, two large duffel bags, two hand-carry bags, and two daypacks – total weight of approximately 550 pounds, but miraculously each bag was within the weight limit. It felt like traveling in those glorious days of yore, with steamer trunks and hat boxes and what-not; however our boxes were filled with used computer equipment rather than gowns and tuxes!
We got to the gate in San Francisco and all was well. However shortly before boarding time, a flight delay was announced. We eventually departed for Amsterdam two hours late, killing any chance of catching our connecting flight to Kilimanjaro Airport. Since there is only one flight a day there, we spent an unexpected evening at a hotel on the outskirts of Amsterdam at KLM’s expense. Thankfully we were able to leave our 10 pieces of checked luggage in KLM’s hands.
The next day unfolded smoothly, and we arrived at Kilimanjaro Airport almost exactly on time (+1 day). Our valued colleague David (along with two vehicles) was there to pick us up. But even given a low probability of losing a bag, eight boxes and two duffel bags seemed to make it inevitable that something would be missing. Unfortunately we were one box short. Supposedly it will arrive in Tanzania tonight, so we’ll see how long it takes to make its way to us…
Anyway, we got checked in last night at the Lutheran Centre, a hostel here in the center of Arusha. We have a work table and room for our boxes (and even a water heater for the shower!!!), so it looks like it will be a great home base.
We spent this morning dashing around checking on our equipment purchases, buying sim cards for the phones, hitting the ATM machine, and other typical first day tasks. This afternoon we had the exciting opportunity of attending graduation at Mwandet Secondary School, one of our 2014 project schools. A few photos are up on the Reneal IEO Facebook page. It was truly a wonderful day, observing student skits, dancing, and tumbling routines, listening to speeches (and giving a short one ourselves), seeing the students receive their diplomas, and enjoying a great post-graduation lunch. We also got to participate in a Maasai tradition of sharing the meat off of roasted goat ribs – quite tasty, even though we were already stuffed from lunch.
The true highlight of the day, though, was seeing how prepared the new computer lab is for us to begin our work. Glass windows and a glass door will keep out the ubiquitous dust. There are grills on the windows and door for security. Sixteen desks and chairs, each with their own outlet, are ready for the Reneal IEO laptops to be installed. The teachers at Mwandet are just as excited as we are to get started!