Vicarious Arrival

It is 3:00 PM CST and in Ilula 11 PM, with our 8 hour time difference.  The first group should have arrived in Ilula several hours ago and now may be heading off to dream land.  Lala fofofo. This idion is translated a "sleep very soundly."  However, I have noticed that when you say this to a Tanzanian they always seem to laugh or at least giggle.  I have taken this to mean that the literal translation is slightly different than "sleep very soundly," as in "sleep like the dead."  The Tanzanians are too polite to tell the wazungu (white people, mzungu is singular) the literal translation.

The travelers should be settled by now, with Gary Moody and Dr. Saga seeing to their needs, probably with some sodas and perhaps a Kili, Safari, Serengeti or Tusker beers.  (There are also a couple others like Ndovu.  Why would I be so familiar with beer brands?  Well, you can't drink the water!  OK, there is bottled water too.)

Of course, I will be anxious to hear how things have gone.  It can be a long hot drive from Dar es Salaam to Ilula.

Below are door photos of the buildings where the travelers stay.

Isimila is the student residence

The students can upload photos of the interior of their building.  Likewise Chandra and Deepthi, the couple's residence.  This will actually be the residence of the Nursing School Principal once the school is operational.

All three buildings were built for student and faculty use, if I understand correctly.  We will be making good use of them!

The couple's residence

Faculty residence

Ruaha is one of the national parks where the group will go on safari.  Isimila is a stone-age park, not to be missed.  Mufindi is a town of about 5000, some distance from Iringa.  I will need to check the significance of the name in the context of Ilula.