Wista's Inn and trip to Iringa

I stayed at Wista's Inn for the first time and was pleasantly surprised to find a quiet oasis in loud and hectic Dar es Salaam.  This is the new recommended stay in Dar for our Bega Kwa Bega groups and is close to the road on the way to Iringa and also close to the big bus terminal at Ubungo. 

Wista's Inn front entrance.

Courtyard in front of my room.

Flowering hanging vines, I had to duck to go in my room.

"We are victims of situation", click to enlarge

Trucks and Buses in Tanzania often have sayings on them, frequently about trust in God or Allah which is especially important on Tanzanian roads. I thought this one captured the African psyche well with "We are Victims of Situation". Life is a struggle for many people here and they often are resigned that this is just the way it is. Quite different from American hope and optimism and expectation for better.

Why did the Zebras cross the road?

We saw a lot of wildlife on the drive through Mikumi including these Zebra crossing the road in front of us. We also saw many giraffes with one about 10 yards off of the road, a large group of warthogs, two elephants, Cape Buffalo, Impala, and wildebeest. You are not allowed to stop for pictures in the park without paying park fees (unless you are breaking for animals) so it is hard to snap photos at 70 km/hour. Still it is always fun to see animals.

Greek Salad lunch in Iringa, I am eating well.

Iringa University (Tumaini) Science Building, all floors in place.

I took the dala dala bus up to Iringa University (formerly Tumaini University) and was lucky to catch Richard Lubawa.  The science building, under construction since 2009, is getting closer with mostly finishing work remaining.  They plan to start the Science Education program in the 2014-2015 school year.  Right now they are looking for help acquiring laboratory equipment and hoping to find a PhD scientist from Europe or the US to come for at 2-3 years full time to get the program started.  A professor from Finland came full time for 2 years to start the Information Technology program and they hope to repeat that model.  The syllabus I worked on the last few years with the Education Department has been approved.