Arrival and First Week

Arrival in Arusha, looking back at the plane.

Here I am already at 10:20 pm Sunday night and I am just starting. I have committed to put something up each week, so here is a brief synopsis of our arrival. We took KLM from Dulles to Amsterdam, then Amsterdam to Kilimanjaro airport in Arusha. Fairly direct. My parents and Rebecca's parents drove us to the airport with about 15 suitcases. The flight was bumpy but uneventful and the entertainment system in every seat kept the kids very engaged. We arrived at about 7pm and spent several hours in the airport to get a visa and clear customs. Had to pay about $50 duty. Not bad for the amount of luggage we had with many of the kids' games and toys.

Oren and David looking very 'smart' in their uniforms

Our Country Representative, Sharon, picked us up and we were back at her house for our first night at about midnight. It was a very long hard day and it was hard to keep the kids from feeling really bad and anxious about the move. Their mood was not improved the next morning when we headed over to St. Constantine, their new school, where they met the headmasters and got uniforms. Oren was also told he would have to sit for a 2 hour placement test the next morning--the first day of school.

Although everyone at the school was very friendly it was hard to keep the anxiety level down about the newness of it all. The school is quite charming: a British system school with separate primary adn secondary sections on lush grounds, even including a 25 meter pool for PE. (Oren was not excited about swimming during the school day.) He is very sad about having to wear a uniform, and for boys like him in the lower secondary that includes a tie. David's uniform is a bit less complicated.

Arusha is surprisingly temperate and comfortable with nights that are almost chilly and days which, thus far, only warm up into the mid 80s. It does have the feel of a town in the Southwest. Not a lot of grass that isn't cultivated, fairly dusty and flat. Mount Meru, however, is a significant exception rising majestically in the distance to the North. It is similar in size to Bujumbura, where we lived before, but seems a little less densely populated. Still, driving through town from the kids' school at rush hour takes about 50 minutes, and that is creeping along. The time it takes to get through town is important because our new home is at the outskirts of the far south end of town, and their school is at the far west end.

We were taken to our new home on the second day there, and moved in during the kids' first day of school on day 3, Thursday. We were given a small double cab Ford Ranger to move our stuff in and spent the day unpacking and getting the house set up. We are renting a house built on the compound of a teachers' mission community called the Joshua Foundation. It is a fabulous 5 bedroom 2 story house within a 12 acre compound with other houses and farmland. There are also farm animals and other families living here, some foreigners and some Africans. David already has a friend who lives next door. There is also a community playground with a trampoline that he can walk to out our back door. We met the directors yesterday and they are very friendly and happy to have us join the community.

Oren and David were happy to be out of school after only two days. On Saturday we spent most of the day around the house moving in. David and Rebecca started their day with a good walk around the 12 acre campus to look for birds and other wildlife. We invited Sharon, our Country Rep. and Zoe, a new SALTer to have Mexican food that we prepared at our house. I was amazed that we were set up so quickly.

Some of the routines--shopping at multiple stores for different items, buying cooking gas, dodging minivan taxis and motorcycles while driving, felt familiar, routines from Bujumbura that had been in hibernation. One significant twist is driving on the left side of the road. I have done it before, but it does take some re-adapting.

Children's moment at church

Sunday we joined Sharon at her church, the Arusha Community Church, a non-denominational lay-lead congregation that follows the Lutheran liturgy. It was very nice and I saw a number of kids our children's ages. They were shy today, but I am hoping they will open up next week when Sunday school begins.

David enjoying a Fanta at George's

After church, we followed Sharon and Zoe to a restaurant called George's that reminded me of Ubuntu in Bujumbura. Fantastic pizzas and salads in an open-air restaurant under umbrellas. We will probably return frequently, perhaps as an after church ritual. We followed that by trying out one of the local pools where our family played in the water for a few hours. Rebecca and I have been on the hunt for a 25 meter pool for morning exercises. I think we are close to finding one.

In the evenings the kids have settled into a ritual of listening to Harry Potter for 30 minutes before bed. We have diminished screen time significantly, although there is internet here and it is not bad. We are hoping to set up healthy patterns from the start here.

Tomorrow (Monday) orientation begins in earnest as the kids will be in school and we are now settled in. The kids will also be taking the 'bus' to school for the first time. A school shuttle is privately contracted through a contact at the school. The bus is scheduled to pick them up at 6:20 am, fully dressed in uniform. Please pray the anxiety of adjusting to new routines is not too stressful for David and Oren.

Our family with Sharon and Zoe at George's Restaurant