A whole new world

After shorter, five-hour flight, we’ve arrived in Dar Es Salaam, the largest city in Tanzania. The airport was filled with people, chaos, confusion, and worry. The entire airport only had two luggage carrousels, of which only one was used, which meant tons of luggage in a little space and tons of anxious time that passed before our luggage finally appeared. Luggage theft occurs very often in airports like these. It’s a very scary thought. Make sure you keep your eyes on everything.

After we finally left the airport, scores of men in white shirts approached us with candid greetings of hello and aggressive offers for cab services. After bargaining our price for two cabs to the downtown region for twenty thousand Tanzanian shillings per car, we were off to the Jambo Inn, a cheap hostel frequented by Cornell students.

After checking in, collapsing, unpacking, resting, and reminiscing, we found the energy to explore the town as night approached. No sidewalks, street signs, or traffic lights existed. To cross the street, all you needed was aggression, awareness, and a little stupidity. Since Tanzania is just south of the equator, the sun had set much sooner than we initially expected—around 6pm.

“Nice to see you again! How are you?” we had heard from two Tanzanian men who had caught the attention of one of the female travelers. “You’re Canadian, right?”

“No.”

“ahh, you look just like someone we met earlier.” I grew suspicious.

After some conversation, the two men, George and Lucas, guided the six of us to a bar where dancing took place. We got some Tanzanian beer. A waitress recommended Ndovu beer. I really enjoyed the flavor and the relaxation that accompanies drinking a beer on a different continent.

George and Lucas were nice guys who talked to us about everything, from what to do in the city to the falling approval rating of the Tanzanian president. However, I wasn’t born yesterday. Two strangers from the street don’t just drop everything to hang out with seven obnoxious Americans just for the fun of it. They wanted to make a quick buck or two.

I decided to buy a painting from them, and we planned to tip the guys tomorrow when they help us get ferry tickets to Zanzibar.

Fun!