[written 1AM Sunday March 9th]

i read about half of “the razor’s edge” by maugham on the way over here. i think i like it very much. very character driven, great stories told about people’s lives and interactions in a sort of instantly gratifying kind of way.

i saw “die another day” crossing the ocean. in business class you get your choice of like 4 different movies. coach you get one movie and one chance to see it. so i read this trip rather than vegging out on the tv.

amsterdam looked pretty flat and wet from the air. i didn’t see any windmills. the airport was bright and nice. lots of shops and things to look at. but i don’t want to buy anything. couldn’t remember exactly what it was my mom wanted me to look for. i didn’t see anything on the flight, perhaps i’ll find it in the airport on the way back.

after i got some food on the flight to dar, i fell asleep for i don’t know how long. i woke up somewhere over kenya. just in time for a snack. then we landed outside kilimanjaro, where a lot of tourists got off. unfortunately it was 10pm and very dark, so i couldn’t see the mountain. i walked around the plane and stood by the open door. the air was very breezy and cool. someone mentioned it wouldn’t be like this in dar (only 40mins away by plane) and i understand now what he meant. it’s hot and humid here. (apparently this fellow works for the ministry of health in dar and knows vanessa from work. his name was something like phillip sevin.) update: his name was “philip setel” and he now works for measure.

i arrived. foolish me hadn’t paid attention to which hotel i’d be staying at. all i could remember was “sea cliff” and supposedly i was going to have to find my own way there. thankfully my memory was correct and someone from seacliff was there with a sign that said “mr watt j”. i wasn’t able to get any of the local currency. i don’t even know what it’s called. but i’ll try to work that out tomorrow.

my hotel room is a little grimy and kind of moist, smells of mildew.