i'm here... finally! :)

I made it! First impressions are that Tanzania reminds me of Haiti. The streets are littered with people even at midnight. There's a store down the street and a place to get "chips miyai" which is fried potatoes in an egg omelet thing. They put veggies on top (cukes and tomatoes) and then some tomato sauce but it's not ketchup. it was pretty good. i only ate half of it though and gave the rest to David.
i cannot express how it felt going to get the visa in my hands adn then to get my lugggage. the whole trip i dreaded the visa process because of a dream that i had where they wouldn't let me into the country. but the visa went fine and i was in and out in no time. they told me to go thru but i was kinda nervous since it looked all official and what not. so an officer told me to go and escorted me through most of it. i then waited and waited for my bags to come. i was extremely relieve to have my visa and now i could only think about my bags, but i took a deep breath and prayed then waited for what seemed like forever. finally they came and i went out, searching for Iris. when i saw her smile and wave relief washed thru me. i had made it! after 24 hours of traveling i had made it! her friends, david and ditram, took my bags and instantly made me feel really welcome.
i wanted to hug iris so big and help her understand how happy i was to be here and how glad i was to be with her. instead i drank in all that was around me and breathed deep the tanzanian air. i was here! every once in a while during the drive to Iris's place i would exclaim "i'm so happy to be here!" or "i'm in africa!" david and ditram would just laugh at me.
thank you for your prayers of safety, they worked so far. thank you for the stuff you donated. thank you for everything. until later, usiku mwea! (good night!)

i wrote this last night, but was just able to post this morning.
i watched the sunrise over the north sea, the sunset over africa and woke up this morning in tanzania! it's been some kinda ride so far and it's only the beginning!!!
hoping to post pics later!
love ya'll