Panic gripped the people of Dar Es Salaam today as rumours of a massive Indian Ocean Tsunami circled through the crowd of patients, doctors, and nurses on the Paediatric Oncology Ward of Muhimbili National Hospital. With rain bucketing outside the windows, I struggled to process the words coming out of the doctor’s mouth.

“There has been an earthquake and a tsunami might hit the coast of Tanzania”, she explained. “You should go back and get your things, but move to a different hotel, further away from the ocean.

People chattered all around me – their voices elevated, their gestures pronounced. After 3 months away from Canada, I have grown so used to not understanding the conversations around me that I had no idea that the earthquake and threat of tsunami conversation had played out on repeat over the last hour (both in the hospital and on social media sites all over the country).

The Doctor didn’t want me to go back to the hotel alone, so she dispatched a young resident (on a working vacation from Chicago) to escort me in a taxi back to my hotel. I guess she thought two white women in a cab during a crisis was better than one?? The resident offered for me to come back and stay at her guest house because it was a little further away from the ocean (although not by that much). With no reliable sources of information (i.e. the seriousness of the threat and when the tsunami might hit), I couldn’t help but wonder what made the doctor suggest that I get in a car and drive TOWARDS the ocean. But, with no other options and the lightheadedness of not having had any food since I came to the hospital to volunteer 7 hours before, I got into the backseat of a car and we pulled away from the hospital.

We drove through puddles so deep I could hear the car’s underbelly splashing against the water underneath. Woman lifted their skirts to wade through the clogged intersections as cars jockeyed for a way to get through traffic jam after traffic jam. It felt like my new friend from Chicago and I had just landed in the latest CNN Newscast – “Volunteers stranded during flooding in Dar Es Salaam narrowly escape their taxi getting swept into the Indian Ocean…”

Neither the driver nor the hospital employee in the car spoke English, so I called the hotel hoping to learn more about the potential crisis. They assured me that there was no cause for panic and they knew nothing of an earthquake.

Tell that to the parking lot of cars on Ocean Road, trying to evacuate, I wanted to say. But, instead I passed the phone up front to the lost driver to explain how to get to the hotel. He proceeded to drive in the wrong lane or around trees on the road’s shoulder until we finally got back to the hotel.

Thankfully, by the time I logged onto the internet, the tsunami warning had been lifted for the Pacific Ocean and was close to being lifted for the Indian Ocean. My new friend and I shared a snack and a conversation about the global challenges when it comes to cancer diagnosis and treatment before she secured a cab and ventured back through the traffic to her hotel.

Now, I am trying not to obsessively refresh the news sites to ensure that I’m not in any imminent danger due to aftershocks or unforeseen tsunami complications. But, given that the rest of the guests are lingering over dinner and seem completely unconcerned, I figure that the worst of the crisis must be over.

I learned today how different it feels to be potentially in the news rather than watching it on TV and how terrifying it must feel to not have any access to information or any idea what your best course of action should be. My heart goes out to all of the victims of today’s earthquake in Indonesia and the survivors of past natural disasters. Today, I have to give my Guardian Angels a serious pat on the back. They have been working double time for me during my month in Africa and I am looking forward to a safe arrival back in London on Friday. Until then, I have a couple of links I’ve wanted to share with you for awhile now.

About a month ago, I had the chance to write a piece for Huffington Post about my experience with Cross-Cultural Solutions in India. This felt like a BIG deal for a little blog writer like me and I would love for you to read it and spread the word on social media (if you like what you read): Do Your Eyes Light Up?

Secondly, when I was in Bristol before I flew to Rwanda, I had the pleasure of speaking with Steve Byrne, a fellow adventurer at heart, and he wrote about our conversation here: ProWorld Perspectives: A Conversation With Terri Wingham. I am very much looking forward to my ProWorld project in Urubamba, Peru during the second half of May. It’s not too late if any of you want to join me!

I have so many more stories to share with you, but today I wanted you to know that I’m safe and grateful for your continued support and prayers.