Day 17

            Travel Day. We spent the morning shopping and bartering for things we do not need. The prices are great and become even better after some hard-core negotiations. We work up an appetite with all our haggling and grab some Ethiopian food for lunch. It's so much fun to eat with your hands. You just keep waiting to hear your mother say, "Use a fork. You look like a barbarian." but she never says it and you eat the whole meal while nurturing your inner barbarian.

            Chris and I bid farewell to our wives (and to eighty percent of our luggage) as we leave for the airport. The world began its correction process after giving me two emergency-exit seats on flights I am now stuck in the middle for our flight to Dar Es Salaam.

            A couple hours of waiting in the Dar airport is rewarded by the arrival of the rest of our team. All 12 members and 24 bags arrive safely. Pastor Charles arrived on time with a bus that looked sufficient to carry all of us comfortably. I underestimated the space consumed by 25 suitcases (1 more was added because Chris and I had one we were sharing). We all crowded in and sat as best we could with towers of luggage threatening to fall on us and occasionally making an attempt. However, we all arrive safely to the Nuru Centre, which will be our home for the next two weeks.

            Our accommodations are pleasant. We sleep in a workshop where disabled Tanzanians make jewelry to sell. The girls share a room with Esther, a 19-year-old handicapped girl. She is gracious enough to allow 8 American women to crash in her room. Us six guys slept in the room next door. We had two showers to share, cold water only that did double duty as a bathroom. One had a toilet and one had a choo (pronounced with a long O sound). A choo is a hole in the ground for waist and is the most common form of toilet found in Tanzania. It requires greater aiming skill than a toilet does, but I find it kind of fun (let's just keep that between us). Having a toilet in your shower is actually a very practical idea (aside from the wet toilet paper). How many times have you been in the middle of a shower and heard the call of nature. You rush through the end of your shower to attend to more pressing matters. You get the picture.