I made it to Arusha safe and sound after a six-day orientation out in the bush. We went straight from the airport to Ndarakwai nature reserve where we camped in the valley between Mt. Meru and Mt. Kilimanjaro. We hiked around the area...saw elephants, lions, wildebeast, zebra, and buffalo and learned to identify birds. We visited a Maasai boma and learned about their increadibly interesting culture. We attended a Lutheran church service where I was asked to give a small speech (in Swahili!!) thanking the congregation for hosting us...eek! And every night we go to watch the sunset behind Meru. (And my Zanzibari friends were right...it IS cold at night here.) And we did lots of other things but I am running out of time at the internet cafe. Unfortunately the SIT office here doesn't have internet...so all of my blogging will have to be from internet cafes...which means 1. I probably wont get to post pictures very often and 2. I probably won't get to post very often in general.

We have a few days to explore Arusha and have Swahili classes before we start our 3-week homestay in Bangata - a small town outside of Arusha.