Blog 1:
September 6, 2015
In a few hours (of me writing this) as a group we will have been together for a week, this is counting the long plane ride of course. When first arriving to The Mount Kilimanjaro Airport it was pitch black with bats flying around like crazy. It took nearly 2 hours to get our visas, bags, and pile into the bus. The first person we met as a group was Alan who we learned would be with us through Safari. We all were asking him so many questions as it came to our realization that we were in a different country over half way across the world. It was interesting to see that there were random speed bumps in the road along with the fact that they drive on the other side of the road.
Days passed with many naps and many lessons of Swahili (this is the native language we are learning). As of now our living situation is tents with our sleeping bags and sleeping pad. There is running water which means we have toilets and showers. Water has not been an issue yet since they have provided us with clean water to drink.
On Friday as a group we took a “field trip” to town. The first stop was at the ATMs so everyone could get shillings. To my surprise that consisted of different colored bills representing 10,000, 5000, 1000, and 500 shillings. Next we went into a market type setting so all of the girls could get congas. Those are fabric with a design for the women to cover up. It is very much a tradition for all women to have them in Africa. I of course picked out a pink one that had the message reading “together with one heart we love”. Going through the market after picking one, there were so many people selling fruits, veggies, and really anything to make money. I think the most shocking was the open water bottles with some sort of juice in it and so many shoes that didn’t have a pair with them. It was eye opening to say the least.
The next stop was to the women’s foundation DARE, which Mother Maggie is apart of. Mother Maggie was with us the whole time and from the first minute she met us she took us all in as her children. Anywho, she is apart of this foundation which takes in women who have dealt with alcoholism, abuse, leaving school for personal reasons and so forth. We were able to see what different things they make to help support their foundation. These items consisted of earrings, carpets, and shirts with their logo on it. After that we were able to learn from the girls how to make these carpets, which let me tell you was beyond difficult. I was happy that my helper spoke English and she too was 21 like myself. Through the process of learning to make these carpets we had much conversation to better know each other and the whole time she was so helpful and talkative. A girl that has so little came across as she had so much. This hour with her was such a special time for me as I grew as a person to really realize and appreciate the life I was given. Along with her expressing through conversation the meaning of true happiness. Some of these girls have such a hard life, but they never let that stop what they want to pursue. I bought a carpet as a souvenir. It has such a special memory and meaning behind it that I will never forget. Our next stop was similar and we met more women with such empowering stories. A humorous apart of the trip was when I needed to use the restroom and it was a hole in the ground with flies all in the room. I screamed, but decided this is how it was going to be and just dodge the shoes haha. I’ve been here for 7 days and it truly already is the trip of a life time.