I stepped off of the plane and it was like stepping into a dirt sauna. The air was so thick and heavy that I thought I must be breathing in jet exhaust. Seriously. The farther I walked from the plane, the more I thought "awww crap." This is humidity like I've never experienced before.
I went to the visa desk, which was insane. Back to bidding for what u want. There was one old man taking passports and people were throwing money and papers at him. I watched about 3 people buy their way in. After 45mins of pushing, shoving and general unpleasantness, I had my visa exemption certificate and went to find my bags. Guess what? I walked into the terminal and there was my bag! Just sitting there like a faithful old hound,waiting for me :) I was so tired and dehydrated at this point that I didn't have the energy to carry it. And so, I emerged from the airport, soaked in sweat, stumbling, dragging my bag behind me. I didn't even see the HAPA rep. from the NGO I'm working for. I walked right past him and he reached me just in time to catch the bag as it fell off my shoulder. I sat down on the cement for a few minutes and he laughed. I said "boy am I glad to see you."
We took a cab to the compound. It's gated. Here I'm switching tense beacause it's easier to describe. We pull in and a young man opens the wrought Iron gate. Everything is dusty. I get out of the car and am taken to the mess hall. I sign in and am given a key to shack A2. It's dark now and he takes me to a tiny cabin with an aluminum roof. It has a rusty padlock on the door. We open it up. Inside there are 2 beds with mosquito netting. He tells me this is where myself and another girl will stay. He shows me that there is an old toilet and a faucet in the wall that I can use to wash myself. The roof leaks, the windows have bars on them. He leaves, saying that someone might come get me in the morning. Or maybe not. I am exhausted. He closes the door and I do the chicken dance. Alone. In my shack. I turn the faucet on and stand under it with all my clothes on. It trickles out and is ice cold. I'm in heaven. I scrub myself like never before. Hang up my clothes beside my mosquito netting and pass out.
The door opens at 10pm. My roommate has arrived. Her name is Megan and she's from Canada too. Shes had a long trip like me and I tell her to try the shower. We talk for like10 minutes and then I pass out again.
When I woke this morning I could hear a rooster and honking cars. I am excited to see Africa in the daylight, but everything hurts. We lay around and talk for a while and then decide to get breakfast. We don't know what to do. There are no classes today and we are the only volunteers at the time. We walk around and checked out the compound. Crap, I have to go, my internet time is up and I don't know if this will even post. The keyboard is broken, the computer is so old it cant upload my photos. Maybe tomorrow I'll get to a better one. Maybe not. So far so good, Africa is AMAZING. Completely foreign in every way. I love it. This is really going to be the best adventure of my entire life.
