i don't think we're in africa anymore...

phew. i made it.

after calculating that i've spent over 100 hours on a bus in the last few weeks in africa, not to mention the plane trips and trains etc, etc, etc, i've finally made it to europe. i'm now in amsterdam chillaxin with a heiny (the way life should be).

two things i've already noticed:

1. i learned about two different blacks today: in tanzania, the people are black-skinned, but they all dress themselves in the most brilliant colors with flowing fabrics, but then there's the londoners who are mostly white-skinned, but they all don themselves in black jumpsuits of coats and slacks, etc. i'm not exaggerating...i was astaunded by the amount of black coats i saw on the tube today. i was thinking about how it might be kind of strange not to be surrounded by africans anymore, but then i was weirded out by this new type of black that was all around me. but then again, there was me, tuesday morning on the tube in london, dressed in the clothes that i'd been wearing since friday (no, i'm not joking), and a sweatshirt that's grey and says 'las vegas' that also hasn't been washed for three months so it looks more brown than grey, and i'm pretty sure i have a distinct smell but i can't really tell because i'm a little clogged in the nose right now. not to mention the fact that i wasn't carrying a briefcase or reading today's Metro, but lugging a backpacker's backpack with strange african goodies all over the place. i stuck out like a sore thumb, but i loved it.

2. in amsterdam's airport, i learned that "geen doorgang" means 'no entry'. well, i don't know what geen means, but if there is a doorgang, i don't know why you'd want to enter in the first place. seriously people.

ok, i'm having a great time...more updates on life in europe as it continues on.

kwa heri!