Welcome to Dodoma, the capital of Tanzania since 1974. On Thursday morning, we left for the six hour bus drive to Dodoma to see the Budget reading session of Parliament (the Bunge). The scenery was pretty, with mountains and open plains and the occasional little village that happened to be in the same spot that they wanted to put the road. It was a long drive during which I managed to finish my book. Luckily, we arrived in Dodoma soon afterwards. I didn't realize that we were in Dodoma until we actually passed the Bunge La Tanzania. The tallest building in the city is maybe 5 stories high, but that might actually be too high. It's ridiculous. We stopped by the hotel, got changed, and went straight to Parliament. We waited there awhile (playing Hangman kwa ... read more

Instead of full fledged stories in this entry, you will get two lists that reflect my first full week in Tanzania. Things I Miss about the US 10. The ability to eat any food anywhere I go 9. Not completely standing out (wazungu wanaondoka!) 8. Feeling safe in a motor vehicle 7. Paved roads 6. Not sleeping under a net 5. Reliable electricity 4. Knowing world news as it happens 3. Not feeling clean at mid-day 2. Hot showers 1. Running water Things I Love about Tanzania 10. Exploring the city and hoping the neighborhood is safe 9. Ridiculously cheap texting (4.5 cents to other Tanzanians, 8 cents international) 8. Unpredictability of animals 7. Not knowing what the food I order actually is 6. Sunny and warm weather 5. Price of meals (usually $0.60-$0.80) 4. Kusema ... read more

One of my main reasons for getting up to Brussels early, besides all the extra sightseeing, was to visit the King Leopold II's Central African Museum. Technically outside of Brussels (it's in the Flemish city of Tervuren which completely surrounds Brussels), it is nevertheless served by Brussels public transportation. Tran 44 takes a 45 minute journey past embassies and through forests. I not-so-secretly wanted to walk it, but the distance and downpouring rain made it a very bad idea. So I settled for the tram. One would think that a museum of high stature would have signs indicating its direction from public transportation stops. This museum, after all, is the largest of its kind in Europe and contains the world's second largest collection of tree samples (after a museum in Madison, Wisconsin). Yet there were no ... read more

In case you didn't know, one of my dreams has been to walk across an international border, and today provided the opportunity. But first, let me explain how I got to this point. So yesterday (Monday), Elizabeth had to go to work so I was left alone with a map of Lille and told to explore. Wrong words? I walked the entire city (except for the south side, which I'm told is a little sketchy). I started in the center, went through Vieux Lille, and ended up on the canal. I walked along the canal until I was almost out of the city and then turned to get back into Vieux Lille. Along the way I passed the French Foreign Legion and another military grounds (which aren't marked on the map, making it difficult to know ... read more

The traveling was good, but the intermediate parts were a little bit worse. Starting at the beginning: I arrived at the airport very early and went through security about 5 hours early (I had a reason, I'm not insane). I watched the earlier flight to Paris leave and then waited for mine. While waiting, a Hasidic Jewish man sat next to me. He and a few other Hasidim were looking to make a minyan, but they didn't have enough people, so I volunteered to the guy sitting next to me. Unfortunately, I only made 8, so they had a Minion, but not a minyan (that's my funny of the day). We got to talking about Judaism and Israel, which killed some time. Yay! The flight went smoothly, but we took off over an hour late. My ... read more