Arrived

Day 1 November 9, 2013

Sixteen hours in the air and 22 hours of travel and we finally arrived in Kilimanjaro, Tanzania. The trace smoky aroma of wood burning and the warm humid breezes were our welcome as we stepped off the plane onto the tarmac. I watched Jill’s face and I could tell she shared my feelings of excitement, and that it was all a little surreal.

By the time we cleared Immigration (after a meeting with officials in their office regarding our volunteer CTA stamp  that we needed – but couldn’t get – and drove the forty minutes to our CCS home base, we were all travel weary. We had a warm welcome from Sarah, our Program Director and a brief orientation – reminder to not brush your teeth with the tap water – and then we were shown to our rooms. T

he home base is a large white adobe-like building with lush gardens. Our room has two bunk beds and a single but with there only being three of us sharing, we have the upper bunks for storage. They didn’t have Jill and I in the same room initially but we agreed we wanted to be together and one of our trip mates was kind enough to offer to switch. So day one – first night, we popped our malaria meds, brushed our teeth, climbed under our mosquito nets and fell into a ragged sleep.

Lyn

Bunk beds - just like camp!

Closet space

Our beautiful home base

The outdoor kitchen where Primo worked his magic

Assigned!

Photo courtesy of Good Hope Facebook page

Finally, the moment I have been waiting for -- getting an email from CCS telling me what my volunteer work assignment will be in Moshi Tanzania. I could barely control the adrenaline rush as I opened the attachment. The CCS team matches your skills and interests with the volunteer needs of the service organizations. I had hoped to work in the HIV/AIDS support group, and my wish was granted.

I am assigned to the Good Hope Support Organization in Moshi. They provide education, skills, knowledge, support, comfort, safety, and love to children infected or affected with HIV/AIDS, orphans, people suffering from illness, and the disadvantaged to help them create an empowering life of hope. There are young children and youth in the community who are not able to attend secondary school, and this group also helps provide them with Nursery education and English instruction respectively.

I am not sure if I will have much to offer but one thing I know for sure, I will take away more than I leave. I have so much to learn. I can't put into words how I am feeling -- my anticipation and excitement is larger than life right now.

Jill has her own assignment (I'll let her tell you about it) so I can only imagine the exchange we will have in the afternoons. Double the pleasure!

Hard to believe that in a few short days we will board the plane for Tanzania - and return a few weeks later, changed forever, with the imprint of Africa on our hearts.

Everything is possible.

Lyn

Homework

Couldn't wait to get my volunteer package and today, there it lay on the kitchen table - a bulging cardboard envelope bursting with things inquiring volunteers need to know! It's been my experience that reading up on the culture and country and preparing in advance can really enhance the travel experience. CCS made sure we had lots of reading material ... volunteer information, placement info, participants handbook, luggage tags announcing to the world that I am an international volunteer and an over-sized CCS tee-shirt.  No shortage of materials here. Most importantly I need to find myself one of those Swahili language CDs and get some basic phrases nailed down -- "where is the bathroom?", "how much does this cost?", "what is your name?", "can you guess how old I am????".

So far I am very impressed with CCS and their staff; their experience in organizing these volunteer trips is evident. The support has been exceptional. The website is rich and comprehensive and includes a CCS community page to help us connect with alumni and other volunteers. Haven't found any of my com padres yet but I can't wait to!

With every little development, movement forward my anticipation grows. And really, isn't that half the joy? It's the journey -- AND the destination.

Lyn

Contact

I had a call from Katie from Cross Cultural Solutions; she was just checking in to make phone contact. We chatted about Tanzania and what I could expect on my volunteer experience. She reiterated what I knew to be true - that the volunteer experience is simply the setting for a cross cultural exchange. I joked that I hoped any young ones on the trip wouldn't be disappointed to get stuck with a couple of old ladies (Jill and I) and she told me that so far, there isn't anyone under 32 years of age. Not that it matters... but it adds to the excitement to learn more about the profiles of the people we will be sharing our time with.

So hats off to Katie and CCS; it's been a wonderfully positive experience thus far, with Katie providing attentive, professional and personal service. Next step: pay up!

Lyn

Africa Part 2: A New Adventure

A new adventure is in the works... a return to Africa, but this time it will be to Tanzania and I will have my forever friend to share it with. Stay tuned as we work out the kinks, get ourselves organized and educated, and prepare for our Tanzanian volunteer trip. I am not exactly sure what to expect but I do know that Africa is under my skin and from the first breath of fresh Kenyan air, I was convinced Africa was the cradle of civilization -- I felt like I had come home.

Well things are in full motion and the flurry of emails have begun -- how to prepare and articles to read about Tanzania; suggested Swahili language CDs and books; vaccination requirements; visas and entry paperwork; and the list goes on...

Tanzania is taking shape before my very eyes and I can feel that tingling in the pit of my stomach that I get when I anticipate something good is about to happen. When my friend asked me about Africa and told me she would like to voluntour with me, I was afraid to get my hopes up. I waited for several days for her email with subject line: Trip. Then it arrived with the simple message: "How do we book this thing?"

We finally had a chance to touch base today after having booked the volunteer part of the trip last week. We were giddy and full of questions, ideas, and speculations - all expressed in rapid succession, in overlapping sentences. It'll be our first trip together since we were 14 and 16 years old and we both agree that it is OVERDUE!

We have no illusions; although it's called a volunteer trip, the purpose is really a cultural exchange to ultimately build bridges. We will leave with more than we give and if we are lucky, we will leave a little of us behind and take a piece of Tanzania home with us. It has me reflecting alot on our attitudes and intentions toward developing nations. I realize that often our good intentions have far reaching, negative consequences and I have to take more time to research my participation in philanthropic efforts to ensure that they align with sustainability and do no harm.

In the meantime we will have months of planning and anticipation to look forward to. I am beyond excited even though it is months away, however at the risk of wishing my life away, I will anticipate the trip with a measure of restrain (but not really)!