so where am I going?

Sometimes I feel like I don't know the answer to this question, especially when people ask for specifics about Arusha, my home for the next year. All I've been able to offer in the past is a blank look and a shoulder shrug because I really didn't know. Oops! I guess I should have done my homework.

I finally made myself do a little research and came up with some interesting info about Arusha, Tanzania. Now we can all be informed (although my main source was Wikipedia so don't assume its all 100% true).

click on the link to see a map of Tanzania, Arusha is in the northeast, west of Mt Kilimanjaro.
Map of Tanzania - Lonely Planet

The city itself is only 3.22 degrees south of the equator but has an elevation of 1400m which all boils down to a pretty temperate climate. Humidity is low and the temperature ranges between 13 and 30 degrees Celsius with an average of 25. (Now you have to do your homework and think back to 5th grade science class where you learned how to convert Fahrenheit and Celsius.)

The population is just under 300,00 and Arusha just became an incorporated city in 2005. Arusha has played an important role in African history, it is currently the home of the East African Union. It is also the site of the the signing of key documents including the documents which ceded independence to Tanzania (Tanganyika at the time) from Great Britain in 1961, the Arusha Declarations in 1967, and the Arusha Accords which mediated an end to the Rwandan Civil War in 1993. Arusha is currently the host of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda which has been going on since 1994 and is scheduled to end by 2008.

Arusha is the center of a busy tourism industry in northern Tanzania. Its location on the Eastern Rift Valley and proximity to many famous national parks including the Serengeti, the Ngorongoro Crater as well as Mt Kilimanjaro keep the city bustling with tourists from all over the world.

Some other fun facts about Arusha:
It was the setting for the 1962 John Wayne film Hatari!
Its sister cities are Kansas City, Missouri and Durham, North Carolina
The clock tower in the center of town is reportedly the midpoint between Cairo and Cape Town
Its known as A-Town to some locals (I guess I'm leaving one A-Town for another)

I hope you enjoyed your brief look at Arusha, I know there is so much more for me to learn. Thanks to everyone for asking questions, keep 'em coming!