We're off!

Friends (Marafiki yangu),
Well, we're off to Dar es Salaam via Amsterdam. We just finished 2 days of Orientation here in Philly - good times. Our group is great. There are 32 total - about 30% male, 70% female, all ages (22 to 65!), from all over the US. Good people. We just had our shots, and will shortly be shuttled to JFK to take off. We will be welcomed at the airport (have to change into skirts to greet officials) and taken to a hostel just outside of Dar. We were informed that our training will actually take place in Kilosa, a smaller village 300 km east of Dar es Salaam. This will provide more of the "village experience" (no phones and one computer). So, not sure how much I'll be updating the blog over the next 3 months of training...but stories will come later. I can't wait to meet my host family. Apparently, we will be their first American homestay group, and many of the villagers have never seen white people (muzungu). The address in Dar still works - they are planning on shuttling mail to us there, which is nice. Looking forward to that first chai, smelling the African air, sunsets, and being surrounded by Swahili-speakers...

http://www.kilosaruralservices.com/location (map with location of Kilosa)