Jambo Friends and Family! After a 20+ hour journey through nine time zones I am proud to announce that we and (most of) our bags arrived safely to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania last night. We started our time together with a team bonding exercise of suitcase sharing. Nothing seems to bring people together quite like that fresh mint toothpaste flavor. While we patiently wait for our final few bags to catch up with us tonight we took the opportunity to explore the wonders of Dar. The morning was spent at the US embassy learning about the structure of the USAID program in Tanzania, the foreign service, and overall influences on Tanzanian health. Special shoutout to our gracious host Jennifer who came into meet with our group despite the government shutdown. After a lovely chat with our new friends at the embassy we took in some of the local life by exploring the fish market. Upon arrival we were quickly approached by a knowledgeable local. With his assistance we were able to people watch and see the purchasing process from beginning to end. One of the items that surprised many of us during the preparation process was the amount of ink that came out of the squid when it was being chopped up. Our group later had the opportunity to sample this squid along with some fresh shrimp. The remainder of the day was spent enjoying other local cuisines and getting to know each other better before beginning our 10 hour bus ride journey to Ilula tomorrow. We all are excited to see what Tanzania has instore for us the next few weeks and look forward to getting to work together as a team.
Pictured below: Tanzanian men bidding on a recent catch
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