Well, we made it!

We arrived on August 8 and have been slowly acclimating ourselves to the Arusha area. Shopping here is unlike anything in the states. To get some basic essentials (meat, milk, eggs, bread, cheese, canned vegetables, soap, juice, etc.) we went to five different places. The first two visits were to grocery stores. (There is not a single store that has everything you need, but you can get just about anything in town.) We then went to a fine establishment called "Meat King" we visited the open air market to buy fresh vegetables, and we stopped the car at a corner where they run to your car with loaves of bread and you pick the one you want.

Driving is also a challenge. Our vehicle came to us on Friday and it is a Mitsubishi Pajero (SUV) with around 160,000 km. It needs new rear tires, but other than that works fine. The steering wheel is on the right-hand side and the shifter is on the floor so you shift with your left hand. When I go to unlock the door, I have been naturally going the side I would normally go into first. I realize that I'm on the wrong side and tell Cathy that I was just unlocking the door for her! Yesterday I wasn't driving in town, but we were with our mentors who are doing everything they can to get us up to speed. There was a road rally and people were lining the streets to see. Vehicles (four must have passed us in an hour's time) came roaring through the streets with their lights on and horns blaring to alert people to get out of the way. Imagine a race going through your town without closing the streets!

The good news is we are making friends quickly and this is beginning to feel like home. I notice that when I'm out front playing with the kids that people just stop and watch us. They smile mostly and I try to greet them with my limited Swahili. We have found our neighbors to be quite friendly, and they are used to seeing white people in the neighborhood. There is a boys' secondary school right next to us. Every morning they wake the boys around 6:00 with a loud bell. They then sing for about 15-20 minutes. It is fun to listen to them start out rather groggily and as they begin to awake, their voices become stronger and the music sounds very happy.

The weather has been fantastic! We have had some light rains overnight, and temperatures have been in the mid to high 70's during the day, and probably the mid 50's at night. We have about 12 hours of sunlight every day beginning at 6:30 AM. Weâve found that this is good to help the kids decide that it IS time to go to bed. Sarah, Emily, and Grace have been real troopers. They are adjusting fine and don't mind sleeping in the mosquito netting. It is not really necessary this time of year, but we want them to get used to it for when it is hot, or when we take a trip to the coast. I thought you would enjoy reading some of the "quotable quotes" that come out of the mouths of babes.

EMILY - kept calling Amsterdam "Hamsterdam"

SARAH to Dan after boarding the plane from Amsterdam to Kilimanjaro - "If I don't puke in my bag, can I save it for a hand puppet?" (Emily and Grace both experienced a bit of airsickness when landing in Hamsterdam.)

EMILY - explaining to our mentors the facts of life of an MK "We sold our toys and our house, now we have backpacks."

EMILY to Grace, when fighting over a book - "I'm gonna take it to the top of Kilimanjaro and throw it down!" (This was on 8/11. They say that the kids adjust rather quickly, but I thought it would take longer than three days!)

We begin our language training today. I'm certain there will be some fun stories that come out of that! We are truly grateful that we were called to serve in Tanzania. God has blessed us with a wonderful family, a good community, and a great deal of support from our family and friends in the states. Please remember that you are in our prayers, as we know that we are in yours.

Peace be with you,

Dan, Cathy, Sarah, Emily and Grace