Arrived, and it's a bit like home

After 24 hours of travel, I've finally arrived in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Although the city is much more chaotic and poor than I expected to find, much it feels familiar, like China 10 years ago. Stopping at a light, a half-dozen hawkers approach the car windows selling everything from apples to bike tires. Tiny shacks along the street sell everything else. The pavement stops outside the main thoroughfare, and dirt roads lined with garbage course into cramped neighborhoods of tin roofed houses.

Everyone I meet is extremely courteous, and tell me over and over that I am welcome in Tanzania. My small hotel is interesting - girls working there come up to me and say, 'Hi, what is your name? Oh! You are the 'Linda Jin' ?'

Unfortunately, there is no water at the hotel. I'm assured this will be fixed soon. Stay tuned.

UPDATE: The next morning, I spent several hours downstairs using internet in the hotel lobby. Unfortunately, when the water shut off the previous night, I had been in the middle of showering. This meant that, while I was downstairs, and the water turned back on, my room got entirely flooded by the time I ventured back up. Luckily this resulted in me getting upgraded to a better room. Win some, lose some.