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Published: December 10th 2009
I have just had craziest day of my entire life... Right now I'm sitting in a 5 star hotel in the presidential sweet that rents for 2500 USD a night in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania hundreds of miles from where I thought I would be 24 hours ago. HOW might you ask did I get HERE?? well...
After leaving London I had to connect to the Nairobi flight in Zurich, Switzerland. We flew into Zurich just as the sun was rising over the most beautiful view of the Swiss Alps! Completely breath taking! I hustled to my second flight that was to Nairobi. Once on this plane I could already feel a different atmosphere. Everyone was talking to each other! I found this so strange because I've never even spoken to the person next to me!! One Kenyan man came and sat down with me for an hour and looked at my itinerary making suggestions for what to do along my trip! As I was speaking with him when the pilot came on the loud speaker and announced that we could not land in Nairobi because he couldn't find the runway. The lights for the airport were not working because of the drought (doesn't make much sense right?) As the African man next to me said, "Well, that's Africa!" So we landed in Dar es Salaam at 7 o'clock with the intention of flying back to Nairobi in a few hours. At this point I already made a group of friends. A women who is a professor at Appalachian State University in North Carolina, a young man who just graduated from technical engineering school in Kenya, another younge man student at the London Music Conservatory school, and a woman who is literally a walking miracle after surviving two severe head traumas both resulting in 3 day comas! I enjoyed having a local Tanzanian beer with two of my new friends while waiting for an update on our flight. After 8 hours of waiting and waiting we were told that the problem would not be fixed until the next morning and we were set up with a transfer visa and a hotel. I was expecting a really shabby hostel and was extremely surprised when we arrived at a beautiful 5 star hotel. While waiting for a room I began speaking with a hotel worker who was asking me where I was from. Turns out, she just moved back home to Tanzania from the US where she went to school at the University of Maryland! This is where by cousin hybrid best friend goes to school and 30 minuites away from where I will attend school next year! SUCH a small world!
After waiting for a long time in line for a room I asked someone what was going on. Apparently the airline did not confirm there would be enough rooms at the hotel and some of us were without a bed. Well, that's Africa! We either had to wait while rooms were cleaned or share the presidential sweet with two others where there was only one bed but plenty of couches. So two of my new friends and I decided to do this! Best decision ever. The sweet is bigger then my house at home! SO, a few hours later here I am, unable to sleep because of what an exciting day it has been! Who knows what excitement tomorrow will bring!
Bye for now! xo
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Elizabeth Owen
non-member comment
yeahhhhhh maryland!
Carol so crazy that she went to UMD!! love ittt! and also what an adventure!! makes going to africa a little easier when your roughing it in a pent house!! sounds soo fun I am so jealous and wish I could be there with you! LOVE YOUU and LOVE the mention in the blog :) better luck with those african airports tomorrow (although not sure this was exactly bad luck...)