Actually, I’ve been up for since 5:30 this morning and just laid in bed listening to the sounds outside my window. Birds, dogs barking, rooster crowing, cows mooing, people talking…so much is going on here.. all the time.I texted my mother to let her know I’m alright.

Eva woke up and prepared breakfast for us. No cheerios, no frosted flakes or waffles and pancakes.. I had a piece of bread which was harder than what i was used to with some peanut butter?? I’m guessing that’s what it was along with half of a banana and bottle of water. the girls joined me at 6:30 and they’re all really super nice and welcoming. I actually believe I’m in the wrong place. My assignment was to go to Arusha, Tanzania.. but I’m in Moshi, Tanzania right now and I don’t think anyone is aware of this. I’m waiting on word from a man named Deo or Joe to arrive to let me know what is going on. I’d actually like to stay here if I could. My stuff is already here and I’ve already met the people here and like them. The girls offered to take me to their orphanage, called Upendo, to show me and see if I like it.

I’m definitely the minority here and you feel it as you walk the streets. I never felt like this before. I dated a man of colored skin for a while and he always talked about this feeling but I never understood until now. They call me “Mezungu” as I walk down the street (which is nothing more than dirt made into a road). It’s not a derogatory term, actually I’ve asked, and there is no derogatory term for a white person here. I was surprised by this. I walk out the door of the house, fearful to walk down the street. I felt like such a kid, like my mom was gonna yell at me for walking to far from home.

Deo came today. He seems like a wonderful person. He is studying business management and accounting in college and he also works for I.F.R.E. Volunteers. He took me into town today to get a Tanzanian phone and to convert dollars into shillings. $1.00 = 1,500 shillings approximately.  I told him I’d like to stay here in Moshi and apparently the girls at the house had already asked him if I could stay as well. This was no a problem. 

Courtney told me today that she’d like to take me to the orphanage with her today, which was super nice of her and I’m pretty excited about it.

Earlier today, I shook off my fears and went for a walk into town. People were staring at me like I was an animal in a cage at a zoo. Children LOVEEEE you and want to get their picture taken as much as possible. I was observing the culture here and how kids get to and from school and what the school system was like. The kids were about the ages of 5-10, wearing blue uniforms and carrying their books. They walked to school. No school bus, no mothers/fathers driving. They walked and they walked alone. Sometimes with friends but they’re parents trusted them to go to school and trusted that they’d make it there without any problems. The school was not close to the residential neighborhoods either so if you were walking, you were walking far.

Women carry objects on their heads, just like you picture it to be. Men are working by gathering fruits from trees, milking cows, or herding sheep. There’s dogs roaming the streets, chameleons and lizards on trees, and bananas all over the floor. A coca cola and Fanta are very popular drinks here, by glass bottle only. Once you’ve finished your coke or santa you must return the bottle to the place you purchased it from cause they will refill it and sell it again. Toyota’s seem to be the only car that anyone uses, and the fancy ones, outdated, very outdated toyota corollas. II’m watching the people and what they wear. Most women wear dresses, very light material, but they cover the majority of the body. I see others wearing t-shirts with American Universities logos and names on them, which had to have been donated and shipped here. Many people sport “Obama 09′” t-shirts but I don’t think they know what it means.

Mt. Kilimanjaro, I believe the 3rd largest mountain in the world, is my backyard… and its BEAUTIFUL. It takes 5 days to hike the entire mountain and you start off in tropical weather and end in the arctic. Crystal is going to hike it while she’s here. I unfortunately do not have enough time to do it, although I would love to.

Popular songs here: Celine Dion-My Heart Will Go On

Michael Jackson: Will You Be There (Free Willy)

I don’t really know what I feel right now.

I’m just really glad I did this.

Talk about culture shock. Forget culture shock, I’m in a whole other world!

Everything about this world is different…from the moment you get off the plane. The plane lands in a parking lot and drops you off there, then you have to walk to the actual airport. Once inside, it’s total chaos. There’s people everywhere. It’s hard to separate the lines from the people who have their Visas and the ones who don’t. Fortunately for me, I got my visa at the Tanzanian Embassy in Manhattan so I got to bypass somewhat of a line. Once on line.. you wait, for what seems like forever until you reach a kiosk with a man sitting in the booth authorizing you to enter the country.

I grab my luggage off the conveyor belt and continue outside. Its 10:30 P.M. humid, dark, and hot. There’s a man standing outside the door with my name on it. “I.F.R.E. Erin Chase” So i follow him to a 1995 white Toyota Corolla and he tells me to get in and he’ll take me to where I need to go…. Scary.. i know. but at this point…theres no going back, theres no calling mom. You just have to get in and trust that a mysterious man who tells you to get into his own personal vehicle and doesn’t speak a lot of English is going to take you to the hostel you signed up for and that everything is going to be ok….yeaaaaa

In tanzania they drive on the other side of the car, and the other side of the road.

It’s pitch black out and there’s no street lights. I can see through the high beams that there are people wandering the streets just hanging around and talking to each other… in the dark. They can’t even see each other. There’s dogs wandering the streets like squirrels. They’re everywhere! Visibly hung and sick, you an see their rib cage through their skin. Theres trees everywhere… larger than life.  I notice a child around 5 or 6 and a mother sitting outside of a gas station waiting for customers, working, late, in the dark. You can tell just by sight that theres barely any rules, no system, no structure. It’s monday night and theres people all over the streets, in the middle of nowhere.

We finally pull up the house, after about an hour of driving, and theres three women outside waiting to greet me with open arms. One woman is 31, one is 20, and other is 23. There’s a dog and three puppies in our yard, they don’t belong to anyone and they’re clearly hungry.

Eva is the woman in charge, she’s my host family. She shows me to my room, which is a large room with 4 bunk beds, and its all to myself. Eva takes care of the volunteers; she cleans, she cooks, and is the go-to person for any help you might need. She does not speak a lot of English so i’m going to have to learn Kiswahili enough to communicate.

I met the other volunteers. Theres Crystal, from San Diego, who is a medical student and works at one of the hospitals here. Rikke, from Norway, She will be at the orphanage that I’m working with along with Tuva, from Norway, and Courtney from Australia. 

I sleep in a bed surrounded by a mosquito net, theres no AC, the windows stay opened and its always hottt, no need for a blanket.

I’m laying here wide awake in bed cause I’m on a completely different time schedule, my mind is racing, my chest is tight, I’m a little terrified of the days to come, but somehow i know every things gonna be alright.

Goodnight for now.

It’s technically 3:30 in the morning in new york… I haven’t slept at all. My gate was what seemed like miles away from where I was dropped off and this bag is sooo heavy! I ended up sitting outside of my terminal for hours and texted the one person I knew would be awake.. And my mom.

This woman, this blonde, pale skinned, woman in a blue flowy dress with a lot of beads and jewelry ( you can tell we’re from all the countries she’s ever been to) approached me and say on the floor next to me and simply just talked. She had to have been about 60 years old an she had soo many stories about her adventures and life experiences. She always traveled alone and was now on her way to Tanzania from Los Angeles. She was on her way to go on a 10 day Safari in the Serengheti with people she ha never met before.

Now, while talking to this woman I couldn’t tell if she was the coolest person I’ve ever met or the craziest. She kept yelling at the people in front of her blaming them for cutting this imaginary line she made up in her head. She also claimed that I could be her daughter….I never knew her name.

I also met this girl named Morgan who was traveling to Tanzania from Boston. Morgan is 20 years old and spending 3 months there for a study abroad program. She’s never been out of the country either.

I’m already starting to feel less alone than I had thought.

I said goodbye to my new friend Ed.

I said my farewells and packed all of my things to begin a journey I used to only dream of.

I’m alone.

Completely alone.

Now this wouldn’t be that difficult to someone who is used to being alone or someone who has a lot of personal space, but I’m not one of those people. I have been blessed in life with an amazing ground of friends and a very loving family. I don’t know what it’s like to be alone.

I’ve talked to so many people about doing this trip with me, but when it came down to it, they couldn’t go for whatever reason. I can’t spend my life waiting around for everyone else. you need to make things happen for you.

THIS IS BY FAR THE MOST SIGNIFICANT THING I’VE EVER DONE

Oh, by the way, I’m on a plane right now heading to Tanzania, Africa with a layover in Amsterdam. This ride in total will take me approximately 19 hours. My hands are shaking.

I’ve never been outside of the country before, I’ve never been outside of a 10 mile radius of someone I know. I’m a person you can contact 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I send about 700 text messages in a week and work 60-70 hours a week.

This journey began with the click of a mouse. A simple “charge to card” and I was locked in. No refunds. No exchanges. I reached out to family, friends, and acquaintances to get moral support from those important in my life. I held a fundraiser, which i’ve never done nor knew how to, I’ve never done anything like this. January 29th, seemed so far away, came so quick. Here I am, sitting on a plane watching Modern Family on my way to experience something larger than life.

I’m sitting in seat 43 J and there’s this young Asian man sitting next to me. He asks where I’m from (I know mom, don’t talk to strangers) but he seemed harmless so I shared. Turns out he’s from New Jersey and he’s a medical student heading to Tanzania to volunteer at a hospital. What are the odds of that??! Two people traveling alone, first time out of the country, going to volunteer in the same area when theres a 4 hour layover in Amsterdam with transferring flights. This guy was so cool. We played video games and just talked about life, love and lack of and the simple things in life. It’s funny, all of my anxiety of being alone through this whole ordeal disappeared. All because this guy sitting next to me on a flight full of hundreds of people was experiencing the same thing I am.

His name is Ed

Right now we’re over the UK, not too far from Amsterdam. It’s pitch black out my window, Ed is reading over my shoulder… he assumes I’m writing about him, I haven’t slept at all yet, It’s 5:30 in the morning, and I have no idea what I’m in for. All I know, is this feeling I have, this fear of the unknown, this gut-wrenching feeling is what I live for.

Www.chasethemusic.net

Sometimes I feel like wearing a Fedora… i feel more sophisticated.