It's Official

I am now a Tanzanian resident. What a relief! It seems like it was such a huge hassle for such a small piece of paper: that's bureaucracy for you. I can now move about the country freely and without worrying that I might be picked up by the immigration authorities. All four of our permits arrived a week ago Wednesday and I didn't want to get my hopes up until Theo actually handed me my piece of paper. Thanks to him, we were able to have them flown from Dar es Salaam to Musoma with a friend of his the day they were completed.

Peter and I went to the Musoma immigration office first thing the next morning to have our passports stamped and made official (to avoid carrying the paper permit). We were ushered into a sparsely furnished office where the immigration official (barely my age) pulled out a stamp and ink pad with much flare, stamped and signed our passports. The one thing they'd forgotten to tell us was to make a photocopy of the paper for their records, not a big deal considering what we went through just to get to this point. Of course, they had no photocopier on the premises and we were directed down the street to the Musoma airport's photocopy shop (I know, random). In any case, they took the copies and gave us our passports without further trouble. Now that I have the permit, I'm hoping to open my own bank account and apply for a driver's license, although I'm not entirely sure if I trust myself driving on the left side and on these roads. It could be an adventure!

Thank-you again for all your prayers while we waited.