Almost Time!!!

Hey Everyone!

Thanks for stopping by my blog. I will be posting updates about my trip to Mwanza, Tanzania here to keep you informed about my travels.

I'm new to this blog thing so I'll try to keep my posts pretty regular, entertaining, and not too long. And yes, I'll post lots of picture mom. I don't know who all will be reading the blog for sure but I do know that my mom will be at ease knowing the details so if I get a little ridiculous about the finer points just bear with her :)

Here's the plan for the summer:

Travel to Tanzania

• I will be flying out of Kansas City International Airport this Friday, June 17th at 17:51 (5:41pm) on United Airlines Flight 3762.
• From there I have a 15 hour layover in Washington DC ( I was able to save $700 by spending the night in the airport - Airfare.com has larger layover tolerances for international flights than sites like Expedia and Travelocity and was the only one to find me the cheaper ticket)
• I fly out of the country the next day at 12:00pm on Ethiopian Airlines flight 501 to Kilimanjaro Airport near Arusha, Tanzania. I'm sure I'll get lots of reading/sleeping done on this 17 hour and 35 minute flight. There is a short hour and a half "pit stop" in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and I'll be arriving in Tanzania at roughly 12:35pm.
• After I go through customs I will be greeted by a representative from Kia Lodge, where I will be staying for the evening since the last flight out to Mwanza isn't until noon the next day. (http://www.moivaro.com/pages/kia_lodge/lodge.htm)
• On June 20th I'll take Precision Air from Kilimanjaro to Mwanza where I will be received by my cousin Paula around 13:25 (1:25pm). So all in all I have about 2 days 19 hours and 44 minutes of traveling. I have no idea how long the drive will be until we reach my destination for the summer, Nyakato Health Center but I'll certainly be happy to be on the ground. This is the website for the NGO that I will be working with: http://www.ihptz.org/index.htm

 What will I be doing? 
          There are really five things I hope to accomplish while I'm in Tanzania this summer and they are:

1. The hospital is wanting to start operating 24 hours/day and I have offered to help them analyze what such a change in their operations will do to their financials. They want to be self-supporting through the service revenues they generate from providing care and I will be helping them to design a system that accounts for all the relevant costs.
2. As an independent study with K-State, I will be doing some research focused on informal financial arrangements the poorest Tanzanians employ to help meet large financial obligations when they arise. The inspiration for this project came partly from my concept I pitched at The Next Big Thing Competition - Sponsored by the K-State Center for Entrepreneurship, a book I have started reading entitled "Portfolios of the Poor," and several conversations with my sponsoring K-State faculty member, Chad Jackson.
3. The third thing I'd like to do is become better at Swahili. I have been practicing off and on since winter break and have most of the basics down. I hope to vastly expand my vocabulary and have a goal to go a whole day without speaking any English (Hopefully that doesn't mean I won't be talking at all).
4. I'm really looking forward to climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, the world's tallest freestanding mountain and ranked fourth worldwide in prominence (the distance from the base to the lowest peak). I am still trying to figure out how/when this is going to happen but I'll keep ya posted.
5. Finally I will just be an extra set of hands to help out at the health center. I'm looking forward to participating in this worthwhile cause and getting to know the people who spend their lives caring for the disadvantaged poor. 

Coming Home

1.   I'll be leaving Tanzania on the 16th of August and getting back to Kansas City at 6:24pm on the 17th, just in time for an American cheeseburger and to start classes the following Monday.

Please feel free to comment on my blog or send me emails at klandau@ksu.edu! I'm not sure how reliable internet connectivity will be while I'm there but I do know I'll be able to get access most of the time. 


Okay that's all for now!