Finally had internet at the airport, most everyone checked their email and grades. We arrived in Dar es Salaam this afternoon. It was a 5 hour plane ride – hats off to Emirates Airlines… First glance of Africa was Somalia. It did not take us a lot of time to check through security – only one lost bag. Sorry, Dr. G.My first impression of Dar was rusty metal roofed shacks all clustered together. It was a massive change from Dubai. The weather is just like being back in Alabama – hot and humid. (Dubai was 112 degrees when we got off the plane.) The lights went out momentarily while we were filling out paperwork in the airport; guess I have to get use to that. We got on the bus to take us to the hotel. Driving habits here are very interesting, not as bad as I expected, however. People just go where they want and make traffic lanes as they go. There is a lot of informal economic business going on here. At every stop there are men walking by trying to get you to buy nuts, shoes, and other random items. We stayed in a few traffic jams for a while, but finally got a room and had some dinner. (Dr. Koti’s stories were great and quite inspiring.) Tomorrow we visit the University of Dar es Salaam. Looking forward to talking to some of the students and professors.

agsmith

Hello everyone, this is Amanda. I am a graduate student in the Geography Department’s Geo-Spatial Science Program and an assistant for the Physical Geography field labs. I am from the ‘big town’ of Lutts, TN (you may have seen one of the numerous signs pointing to there, but probably never actually been there.) I graduated from Waterloo High School. I have a long background at UNA. I received my BA in Sociology and my MA Ed in Secondary Education from UNA. I am also a firefighter/EMT. I love helping people and teaching all ages. I enjoy anything to do with the outdoors - from gardening to kayaking, to camping and hiking.

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