Service & Safari in Tanzania

I did not have too many expectations for the program other than that we would do a lot of service work. I think it far exceeded my expectations. A big part of why it did was because of the relationships Putney has formed with the people over there. I loved how on the weekends we would travel places and during the week we would stay in the village. I didn't expect to do this, but I loved it! Living in the village is such a unique and special part of this trip. What gave me the greatest sense of accomplishment was when I finished painting my two classrooms. When I first got there, I knew I wanted to try and make a positive impact on the village because of all they will have given us, so when I was able to freshen up their classrooms a little bit for my independent project I was happy about that. I know that I have been impacted by this, but I am not quite sure yet. I think in a couple of months or maybe years it will become more clear to me. The highlights of my experience were honestly the whole trip! However, I especially loved every time we were in the village. Safari was also really amazing because of our guides and how much knowledge they had. I wasn't the biggest fan of the construction work, but I didn't mind too much because I knew the impact it would have and the value of the work we did. I would have liked to do more service work, but maybe that would not have been possible to still do enough cultural activities and adventure. I'm sure everything we did was carefully planned and were reasons for everything, so I wouldn't have changed anything.

I expected to leave the program with a better understanding of the world and myself. I would say that the program overall definitely made me think in new ways which I saw especially after the trip in adjusting back to American society. Leaving Tanzania knowing that I made healthy relationships with the people there opposed to stereotypical tourists gave me a sense of accomplishment of doing the right thing. I found myself in situations where my ability to empathize, persevere and stay positive was really pushed and I think I've grown as a person because of those moments. I loved working in the village alongside the locals and the safari at Ngorongoro Crater. My leaders were also fantastic and were my favorite parts of the trip as well. Most people in my group did it, but I didn't have any time to do my independent project and I would've liked more time to do that. The work hours on the house were perfect because we would get a nice break in between to rest which I really appreciated. Everything felt like it had the right amount of time though.

I expected to be more of an outsider in the village and within my group. I think Putney did a great job of making sure that we were fully integrated into the culture of our group and of Tanzania. This program exceeded my expectations. I think the feeling of really being recognized and on common ground with the people of Maji Moto at the Goodbye Ceremony just solidified my feeling of accomplishment. I realized the success of the whole trip at that moment. More small-scale, though, our construction project was my service-related highlight because I could really see our progress. I loved the feeling of seeing exactly what we built. Personally, my goal at the beginning of the trip was to let go. By the end of the trip, I was definitely more relaxed and more flexible. I was able to just appreciate what we were doing, and not worry about whatever was coming next. My highlights were the food because it was amazing, our independent projects because we were able to really focus on what interested us and go in our own direction, and the safari. I will say that I don't think the safari would have been such an eye-opening experience had we gone at the beginning of the trip. We were able to really see the impact of tourism from a non-tourist perspective. I also think we were more appreciative of the safari having already been acclimated to the culture and values of Tanzania. It was like a final goodbye to the beauty of the country and the people. Yes, I Think the balance worked well. Our weekend excursions gave us a nice understanding of other parts of Tanzania.

Before going on this trip, I didn't go through many ideas in my mind. All I knew during the days leading up to the trip was that I was going to Tanzania. The only expectations I had was that I was going to be helping a community and learning about the culture. Those two were strongly exceeded. It wasn't that I had just learned about the culture or JUST helping the community, but I had become apart of the community. I felt at home, I felt comfortable, and I felt collaborative and happy. The only expectations that fell short for me was before the trip I had hoped to make lifelong or strong bonds of friendship. I loved my group as a whole but because of groups within the group that started to form from two girls who had already known each other, it became obviously divided at points. Because the entire trip was quite incredible and amazing, group dynamics didn't affect how I overall felt about my experience. On the last day one of the girls who I created a friendship with told me she would remember me when I left. Hearing that while reflecting on the first day where I didn't know many of the children, I felt more than accomplished. I think creating so many bonds while learning so much about each kid gave me an accomplished and an attachable sense. Personally, it was so hard to let go and say goodbye and because of that I gained strength. It's so hard to pick even a couple highlight because truly the entire month was quite the highlight of my life. If I were to pick a couple though it would be the waterfall hike. That day in general was so rejuvenating and lively. The adventure of hiking to it made me feel accomplished and we created so many memories by seeing the beautiful treasure of that waterfall at the end of the hike. Another one was meeting every single person in the village. I know that might sound extremely vague but I never took any of the moments we spent dancing on the soccer field with the kids or the welcoming and closing ceremonies with members of the village. The people of Maji Moto were each a highlight. Getting to know them and their families was such a wonderful experience. Of course also the safari was so unforgettable. I loved how we got to travel to the Masai villages as well as seeing animals. One thing I would have wanted to spend more time on was our independent project. We only got about three or less days to work on them which gave some time but I wish there was more time for that so we could be more involved what ever we did for a longer period of time. On our trip it was hard for that because we had a tight schedule but maybe if things in the schedule were altered it might have worked out to spend more time on the independent projects.