The home stretch...

We are currently awaiting our flight to Kansas city in the Washington Dulles airport. We are more then happy to be back on American soil :)

Our traveling actually began yesterday morning with an early flight from Dar to Arusha. Little did we know this process would be so costly. We were supposively unaware that we could not each have 2 pieces of luggage unless the airline was informed before hand. So we had to fork over 310,000 shillings which is roughgly $195. Yikes. Needless to say we were not happy campers.

At least there were no glitches in the flight. We made it to Arusha several minutes earlier than expected. Since we had 4 hours to kill before heading to Ethiopia, Marilyn had plans to visit Patandi Teachers College, while Amner and I scheduled a lunch date with Efraem for one last goodbye. Our rides awaited us among arrival and we quickly dropped our luggage off at the day room at KIA Lodge.

Once to Patandi, amber and I made a brave attempt to travel by "dala dala", the Tanzanian public transportation. We waited on the side of the street only minutes before a "mini bus" pulled up. The locals refer to them as mini busses, but picture a soccer mom mini van pimped out with graffiti and Swahili slang! We piled in amongst many other individuals to make our way into town.the bus quickly filled up, and before we knew it there were 20 other Tanzanians up for travel. I had a young girl sitting on mymlap, reaching to hold my hand, and Amber had another that couldn't take her eyes off of her. Though it was crowded in the 16 passenger van we managed to enjoy the experience and get off at the right stop. We tried communicating with Efraem to explain where we were, but with a lack of street signs it was very confusing. We finally just had to hand the phone over to a local to give directions. By now, we were down to about 30 minutes to enjoy a quick drink and chat with our dear friend. After our goodbyes were exchanged :( we decided to grab a taxi back to Patandi due to our time constant and the fact that the "dala dalas" made frequent stops.

Marilyn was just minutes behind us. We hopped in the car and headed to the airport for our 3:15 check in time. Marilyn shared with us her experiences of enjoying lunch along side Lake
Duluth and touring the ministies teachers college. She was shocked and what poor shape the
college was in and stunned to find out that there earliest text book was dated in 1983. What
help they are in need of!

We made it back to the hotel with a few minutes to freshen up, grab our luggage, and head to KIA airport for Ethiopia. Amber and I had no eatin much and Marilyn had to endure grizzly goat meat so we grabbed a bite to eat and then boarded shortly after.

The 2 and half hours to Ethiopia were nothing compared to the 17 hours that lied ahead. We had a few hours to spare in the Ethiopian airport so decided to grab some water and braid the girls hair. To do so, Amber had to brush through her matted mess of hair. She obtain so much she was able to form a small hair ball and left it for someone to find and make a voodoo doll out of.... Sorry folks we are a bit delirious :) and sleep deprived. Not only was Amber's hair entertaining so too were seeing all of the couples bringing home adopted Ethiopian babies. Joy filled their faces and everyone was goo goo gaga over the adorable children.

It was time for the dreaded boarding... Amber and I were luckily next to each other again, while Marilyn was up closer to the front. The flight began with a round of Dramamine for all! None of us were feeling well and also wanting some good sleep during the evenings flight. We were served a meal an hr after boarding and then shortly after fell asleep for awhile. It never fails that they come around with another meal just as you are in a deep sleep. The flight went smoothly thanks to our several rounds of Dramamine and ibuprofen, people around us probably bought we were major pill poppers, but at least we were resting comfortably :)

The landing was a breeze and now here we are eating on some subway and waiting for our flight to MCI in 3 hours. We are tired, dirty, and ready for a good nights rest in our own bed. We hope you have enjoyed hearing about our experiences in Tanzania as much as we have enjoyed reliving our adventures through story telling.

Plans are already in the makings for next years trip so stay tuned!
Kwaheri!!!