Last post of the day, I promise! 9:12 pm/1:12 pm

So we landed safe and sound, but had to wait like five hours for the other twenty people from OU to get here before our ride arrived. Their flight landed at around 7:40 and we finally left the airport at 9. You see most of the people from our plane had disembarked at Dar so we only had like fifteen people to get through the visa and passport check and fingerprint scan, then the luggage retrieving and non existent customs (you had to go through customs if you had something to declare, but if you had nothing - or claimed to have nothing - you could just go right through to the exit). So we waited on the sidewalk outside the airport because we weren't allowed to stay inside after customs or go back in once we had walked out. 

Eventually one of the people working out there got worried about us poor stranded tourists and called TCDC, the institution that is hosting us. We assured them all that we weren't stranded but were just waiting for our group to arrive and they sent us to a little restaurant to get something to drink and wait in some real chairs for a little while. There was a neat elephant statue that we took pictures in front of:

We eventually headed back to the airport, about a three minute walk away, before it got dark. Then we sprayed outselves with our insect repellant, which ate away at the plastic band of my new watch which I had just bought at the airport because I forgot my own watch at my parents' house. Big bummer but it still works, the band is just really sticky even after washing it, so I just fastened it to the purse I'll be carrying the whole time <edit: this morning it's no longer sticky and I can wear it again!>.

The driving here is crazy. It's like they just expect people to get out of their way rather than yielding to them like we do. Also we're driving on the opposite side of the road than I'm used to and with the driver on the opposite side of the car. The driver just passes people whenever he feels like it as the lines on the road aren't like home. <edit: on second look, they do have solid lines In some places and dashed lines in others, so apparently they're just all disregarding them...also there are a to. Of just totally random speed humps everywhere> Overall it's a ton to get used to, but I'm still glad I came!  

I know this is a lot to read and that not everyone will care about every single detail of my trip, but bear with me as I'm really just doing this as a stream of thought kind of narrative in place of talking on the phone about it all with everyone back home. Write again soon!