After 32 hours of taxis, planes and airports, we magically popped out into the morning sun and humidity of Dar es Salaam. Ironically, Cristiano and I were the first people to leave for our placements, but not the first people to reach the country of our placement.
Full of kicks and giggles, Cristiano and I took on the first leg of our journey from Vancouver to London – a short 8/9 hour flight. The plane was old school with taped up armrests et al and Red October playing in the background. A classic moment was when Cristiano’s headrest came off his seat while he was adjusting it. Cristiano’s attempts to reinstate the headrest were met with some amusement from the older Indian ladies sitting behind Cristiano, as every push or pull of the headrest caused their trays to enthusiastically pop open.
Heathrow was Heathrow. It was also a great opportunity to hang out with Lindsay and catch up on the last couple of years. The highlight was eating strawberries and cream, and drinking champagne with Lindsay on a bench in the departures lounge. A quintessential English experience in a quintessential English location.
Onwards and upwards to leg two of journey from London to Nairobi. This stage is a bit of a blur, as I was completely knackered and spent most of the flight trying to get into a position in which I could sleep. Originally, I had an aisle seat but got somewhat conned into switching seats with an older Indian woman who had the middle seat. She said she was ill, but I think she really just wanted an aisle seat. I became somewhat unimpressed with our switch, as I realized that the in-flight entertainment on her seat was non-operational and that it was impossible to get out of my seat without clambering over her sleeping body. Nairobi was a quick stopover with just enough time to think about brushing my teeth and marvel at the $16 bags of chocolate.
In Vancouver, Cristiano and I started a strict regime of taking a herbal no-jetlag medication. Every two hours, we dutifully swallowed a little pill and waited for our circadian rhythms to reset (we realized about half way through that we should have been chewing the pills). I think there may be something to the pills, as I felt somewhat awake and alert when we arrived in Dar. Being awake and somewhat alert helped, as we tried to track down our MIA luggage. Lucky for us, our luggage took a relatively short sojourn
in Nairobi before joining us in Dar later the same day. It did give me pause for thought, as I wondered how one pair of jeans and two tops were going to take me through 6 months and whether I should have ticked the luggage insurance option on my travel insurance. The picture is of Cristiano and I celebrating our arrival in Dar.
At the start of the journey, I also started taking my malaria medication. I opted for doxycyclin, as Malarone costs an arm and a leg. Aside from the obvious benefits of not getting malaria, doxcyclin will also ensure I have no acne problems for the next 6 months. On the downside, if I get pregnant while taking doxy, I’ve been advised to have an abortion immediately as the base chemical causes deformities in the foetus. It makes me wonder what it’ll do to my body after 6 months of continuous use. Cristiano and I are each experiencing a side effect of our malaria medication – I have 30 minutes of nausea and he has a rash (not even Malarone is perfect).
After all that, we are heading off to the city centre today to get some maps and more information about accommodation. Monty Python had the holy grail, we have the quest for affordable, safe accommodation. As of yet, I don’t really have an impression of what Dar is like, but I’m sure that’ll change in the next couple of weeks.
Full of kicks and giggles, Cristiano and I took on the first leg of our journey from Vancouver to London – a short 8/9 hour flight. The plane was old school with taped up armrests et al and Red October playing in the background. A classic moment was when Cristiano’s headrest came off his seat while he was adjusting it. Cristiano’s attempts to reinstate the headrest were met with some amusement from the older Indian ladies sitting behind Cristiano, as every push or pull of the headrest caused their trays to enthusiastically pop open.
Heathrow was Heathrow. It was also a great opportunity to hang out with Lindsay and catch up on the last couple of years. The highlight was eating strawberries and cream, and drinking champagne with Lindsay on a bench in the departures lounge. A quintessential English experience in a quintessential English location.
Onwards and upwards to leg two of journey from London to Nairobi. This stage is a bit of a blur, as I was completely knackered and spent most of the flight trying to get into a position in which I could sleep. Originally, I had an aisle seat but got somewhat conned into switching seats with an older Indian woman who had the middle seat. She said she was ill, but I think she really just wanted an aisle seat. I became somewhat unimpressed with our switch, as I realized that the in-flight entertainment on her seat was non-operational and that it was impossible to get out of my seat without clambering over her sleeping body. Nairobi was a quick stopover with just enough time to think about brushing my teeth and marvel at the $16 bags of chocolate.
In Vancouver, Cristiano and I started a strict regime of taking a herbal no-jetlag medication. Every two hours, we dutifully swallowed a little pill and waited for our circadian rhythms to reset (we realized about half way through that we should have been chewing the pills). I think there may be something to the pills, as I felt somewhat awake and alert when we arrived in Dar. Being awake and somewhat alert helped, as we tried to track down our MIA luggage. Lucky for us, our luggage took a relatively short sojourn
in Nairobi before joining us in Dar later the same day. It did give me pause for thought, as I wondered how one pair of jeans and two tops were going to take me through 6 months and whether I should have ticked the luggage insurance option on my travel insurance. The picture is of Cristiano and I celebrating our arrival in Dar.
At the start of the journey, I also started taking my malaria medication. I opted for doxycyclin, as Malarone costs an arm and a leg. Aside from the obvious benefits of not getting malaria, doxcyclin will also ensure I have no acne problems for the next 6 months. On the downside, if I get pregnant while taking doxy, I’ve been advised to have an abortion immediately as the base chemical causes deformities in the foetus. It makes me wonder what it’ll do to my body after 6 months of continuous use. Cristiano and I are each experiencing a side effect of our malaria medication – I have 30 minutes of nausea and he has a rash (not even Malarone is perfect).
After all that, we are heading off to the city centre today to get some maps and more information about accommodation. Monty Python had the holy grail, we have the quest for affordable, safe accommodation. As of yet, I don’t really have an impression of what Dar is like, but I’m sure that’ll change in the next couple of weeks.
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