Blog 1: Orientation & Introductions
On Thursday June 27th, nine adventurous teenagers and one awesome Global Routes leader, Avy Harris, (scroll down in this blog post to learn about Avy) set off for nearly 22 hours of travel time to go from New York City to Dubai to Kilimanjaro, Tanzania!!
Big shout out to all the parents and supporters who helped get this incredible crew ready and packed up for their day of departure!!!
Not even a recent foot fracture could stop this group from taking their first steps towards their Tanzanian destiny!
JFK Airport
After picking up the last member of this crew in Dubai, (she flew in from Madrid), the group was finally ready to continue their journey together!
Dubai Airport
At Global Routes, we always strive to put students in a leadership role. Each student has therefore signed up for a specific “crew” to help document their journey. This includes blog posts, photos, videos, journaling, and other forms of creative expression.
Approximately twice a week, we’ll be posting updates from the group right here on the blog. Check back often and stay tuned, you might even learn some Swahili!
This first blog post looks to have a special shout out to parents:
“To our parents: we have been vigilant with medicine, bug spray, and sunscreen.” (HA!)
All to say, the group has a great sense of humor and is having a blast.
Student Blog Post continued…
After a full 24 hours of smooth travel, Mary (Global Routes co-leader), and Hussein and Raymond (in-country leaders) picked us up pre-dawn.
Raymond (center)
Hussein (left)
We drove through our first Tanzanian sunrise to a great breakfast spot where we all tried out new foods and started to get to know each other.
After a bit more driving and seeing amazing sites [out the window] like kids herding cattle and tourists on bicycles, we arrived at Jambo Camp in Mto Wa Mbu.
Bus Games
While everyone was exhausted, they did an incredible job of powering through the first day of orientation in order to stay away until dark and beat jet lag. We continued with some activities to help get to know one another, talked more about the philosophy of Global Routes and the impact we want to have as guests in Tanzania.
The Group working on setting group intentions
We then went for our first walk to explore the local town, returned to discuss some of our personal hopes and fears and how we can support one another and then, after a delicious meal from our wonderful chefs Chaz and Jarod, we all fell asleep early.
Today we had more energy after a good nights rest and continued with orientation activities, talking about health, safety, and cultural do’s and dont’s. This evening we went for another walk to the market and some folks tested out their Swahili skills and their bargaining skills. We also talked about community and created a full value contract (a group agreement).
After another delicious dinner we are packing up and getting excited for the safari tomorrow at Tarangiri National Park.
[End of Student Blog Post #1.]
The next blog is scheduled to be posted on Wednesday, July 3rd, but shifts in schedule are always possible. We’ll send parents an email when it’s posted! Until then…this intrepid crew will be traversing the Great Rift Valley as they safari through Tarangire, Lake Manyara, and the extraordinary Ngoronogoro Crater as they continue their orientation and prep for the community immersion.
Below are some beautiful photos from co-leader Mary Heinemann, who arrived in Tanzania early to prepare everything for the group!
