Thursday morning we woke up very early and caught a bus headed through Tanzania’s southern highlands to the peaceful town of Ilembula. The ten-hour journey took most of the day, but it was an incredible chance to escape the city and to catch a glimpse of Tanzania’s vast, natural beauty. We headed west to Morogoro, then south, skirting the Uluguru and Udzungwa Mountains on our way. The landscape slowly transformed from the tall city structures to grassland, the soil changing from yellow to orange, and back again. As we increased elevation in some areas the roads became lined with Eucalyptus and pine trees. We even passed a couple of patches of zebras, small baboons or monkeys, and gazelle. It was very diverse!
The bus played loud, popular music and TV programs, keeping the drive very lively. As if that was not enough to entertain us, any time we came to a stop vendors carrying bottled drinks on their head and holding cooked foods on skewers ran up to make sales through the windows of the bus. Some even hopped on board and rode with us, walking up and down the aisle until we reached the next place!
We arrived in Ilembula just as the sun was beginning to set, and wandered the streets of the small village, which are filled with wandering chickens and the occasional donkey, rather than cars. As evening approached, I settled into the guesthouse just down the path from the nursing college where we will be working. The small, local life here has been a nice change of pace from the city. It has also been a really nice chance to get to make friends. We have a wonderful host, Asha, who prepares our meals, and I enjoy working with the students and staff at the college each day.
So far, if there was one place in Tanzania I would insist upon visiting, it would be Ilembula. But it is very small and out of the way—I don’t think you could go looking for it. Instead, you have to listen. Along every street, inside each business, school, or home, you can hear the choirs singing from sunrise to long after sunset. It is the most amazing thing I have ever heard.
The bus played loud, popular music and TV programs, keeping the drive very lively. As if that was not enough to entertain us, any time we came to a stop vendors carrying bottled drinks on their head and holding cooked foods on skewers ran up to make sales through the windows of the bus. Some even hopped on board and rode with us, walking up and down the aisle until we reached the next place!
We arrived in Ilembula just as the sun was beginning to set, and wandered the streets of the small village, which are filled with wandering chickens and the occasional donkey, rather than cars. As evening approached, I settled into the guesthouse just down the path from the nursing college where we will be working. The small, local life here has been a nice change of pace from the city. It has also been a really nice chance to get to make friends. We have a wonderful host, Asha, who prepares our meals, and I enjoy working with the students and staff at the college each day.
So far, if there was one place in Tanzania I would insist upon visiting, it would be Ilembula. But it is very small and out of the way—I don’t think you could go looking for it. Instead, you have to listen. Along every street, inside each business, school, or home, you can hear the choirs singing from sunrise to long after sunset. It is the most amazing thing I have ever heard.