Day 2

So Arusha is pretty amazing. I am on the outskirts of town, kind of what we would consider a subdivision. The bus system here is color coded and I have learned to take the yellow dalla dalla into town. Went into town for the first time yesterday. What can I say but culture shock. Everything was so different, driving was crazing. It is whoever gets there first goes and whoever is in the street just dont get hit. I have learned some more swhilli and am able to communicated better with the locals. We celebrated News Years last night but another thing that is different is that no one really counted down except the volunteers. In fact we counted down many times because no one really knew what time it was. HAPPY NEW YEARS! I went to AICC Hospital which is a local hospital here. There is a gate and a security guard you must pass through to enter. Also on the ground are armed police and army forces. At the hospital here it is about 30.000 shillings for stitches which equates to 30 dollars. MAJOR difference in health care. We are still in orientation and learning the area and the culture. We had omlette pizza with fries on top last night which was pretty good. The children here and people are amazing. Most everyone here are really welcoming and have smilies on their faces. Poverty here is pretty extreme and can be noticed instantly when walking through town. People on the side of the street with cups, people who are dirty, and people missing limbs. It just goes to show how much help is needed over here. We are also working on building a library and painting in for the children. Not very many people go to school here, but the ones that do are fantastic. Could not ask for a better group. One weird thing is I have found that many other cultures do no like Americans, and I have been constantly defending our country. But why is that??