I'm here!

I have arrived in Tanzania to begin my internship at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda!

Arusha: very dusty. This is the end of their rainy season and, while I've only been here a few days, it hasn't rained at all. It is also a lot busier than I anticipated, but I think that's because there are a lot of people walking about and people here drive like maniacs. There aren't any lines in the road, there are only two traffic lights for the whole of Arusha (all the rest are round-abouts), and using a turn signal is optional no matter which direction you're going. "Hooting" is also prevalent whether you're on the road, off the road, walking, biking, or driving. I still tend to look around guiltily whenever I hear a horn honk (because I'm usually trying to cross on the wrong side of the road) but it usually isn't me.
Housing: my room is very nice, but very basic. The homes here have no screens on the windows, but grills to keep people from getting in, concrete floors, concrete walls, and rudimentary electricity (i.e. lightbulbs). At least that's what my home looks like. The Conference Center is a little more western but still no screens on the windows, and I get nervous every now and then that a bird is going to fly through the huge open window and we're going to have a mess on our hands. I don't open the windows at home because it lets in the bugs. (I tried it last night but freaked out when these huge nasty worm-fly-things started buzzing around my room. I was so grossed out that I caught all of them, threw them outside, closed my windows, and turned off the light. Ew.)
Work: Can't say much about this (ooh, confidentiality!) but I can say I'm working on witness testimonies for the Karemera Case at the ICTR. You can go to the ICTR webpage to the cases and click on the link for the Karemera case to get the publicly released information. It's a pretty big case, actually, which is really cool. We had training sessions yesterday about the substantive elements of the crimes the accused are charged with (genocide, extermination, murder, etc.) which was very interesting.
Me: I'm good. No negative side effects from traveling or living here besides spider bites, looking the wrong way when I'm crossing the street, and sticking out like a sore thumb. All of the Swahili I learned came back in these last few days but I'm a little too scared to use it. I said "asante" (thank you) to the woman who sold me my samosas this morning at the ICTR, but I couldn't understand what she said back. I'm managing to eat mostly well: I'm trying to bump up my intake of fruits and veggies without increasing my intake of bacteria and parasites, which takes a little bit of knowledge and lots of fresh water. Food here is pretty cheap, and grocery shopping is a whole new experience--the shop was maybe a 10th of the size of a small grocery store in the US with a corresponding small selection of items. Then some people stood in line to pay, while others just stepped up to the front and called out what they had to pay for. There's no order to it at all--because my landlady was there, she got two shop assistants to call out my items, tell me how much it cost, then bag them for me. I probably would have been waiting a very long time if I was there by myself. : )
I've only been heckled once (a man got nasty when I wouldn't give him money or pay attention to his bum leg) but lots of kids have said hello and some men have called out too. I can't understand what they're saying and my landlady says that's for the best, so I just ignore them and go on my way.

Post questions for me if you have specific inquiries--I'll answer them as best as I can!