High School Study Abroad in Kilimanjaro, Tanzania

I went to Tanzania for three weeks during the summer of 2018, from late June until early July. Going into this trip I was so excited to meet girls living at a boarding school and to work in an orphanage. I was excited to meet all the people that I would be staying with and going on safaris. What I wasn't expecting was to have my outlook on life changed forever. When we landed in Dar es Salaam after two long flights, we were greeted with the most love and joy I have ever seen and felt. Everyone was smiling and waiting to help us in any way they could. I was so overwhelmed at how amazing these people were. After being greeted we began the drive to our first hotel. On the way, I saw the poverty throughout the capital, but what I also saw was smiles. Smiles everywhere. I saw mothers carrying their children along the streets, with no shoes on; but they were still smiling and talking happily to each other. Not only did I see this is the capital, but I also saw this with the girls and the orphans. These girls had nothing but their uniforms and books, yet they were so happy. They always thanked us for any little thing we did. I will never forget one time a sweet girl about my age (16), cried out of happiness just from me sitting with her and making friendship bracelets. The little kids in the orphanage that had been living there since before they could remember were all joy. All they wanted to do was hold your hand and be next to you. These things will always stay with me, not because I got to go to Africa, or see zebras and lions and giraffes up close, or meet some amazing people who I still keep in touch with today, but because I saw people who realized that life is not about what you have, it's about who is in your life and how you chose to live it.

This was easily one of my favorite trips I have ever been on. The trip starts in Dar es Salaam, where we get to learn about the country and go to an island to have a relaxing day on the beach. Then we proceeded to Morogoro, where we worked at a local school known as SEGA. Working with the girls at SEGA was such a moving and memorable experience for me. All of the girls at the school were brought there because they could not attend school otherwise for various reasons. It is such an amazing program, and the girls were all so sweet. We got to meet with our small groups every day that we were there, and our activities ranged from Swahili lessons, movie night, and even a spa night. Throughout that week we also went on a beautiful hike and went on our first safari. After an amazing week at the school, the 21 day trip moves into the safari/local tribe portion of the trip. We got to go on two more amazing safaris where we got extremely close to lions, giraffes, zebras, elephants, etc. The local tribe visits were so amazing! You definitely get off the beaten path with TFT; nothing about those visits seemed touristy! The culture and traditions of the tribes were all so unique and interesting. After a few days of camping, tribe visits, and safaris, the group goes to Zanzibar for a few days of relaxing on the beach and exploring. I would recommend this trip to anyone! It is one of TFT's smaller trips, so our group got to be extremely close throughout the 3 weeks. I loved every second of my trip to Tanzania with TFT, and the staff did a wonderful job of keeping everyone safe and happy!