Grateful for the learning is an understatement; more than a month embraced by the community.
We lived in a small local village, where we experienced a wedding and a funeral, visited different schools, attended mass, and shared conversations in the humble village bars.
At the foot of the imposing Mount Kilimanjaro—stone paths, small food stalls, and life lived outdoors… Without a doubt, a way of life very different from what we know in the West.
Children always greet us with a smile, pointing at us wherever we go and shouting “Mzungu,” a Swahili word meaning “white person” or “foreigner.” Speaking with the locals, they tell us that for many of these kids —some over six years old— it’s the first time they’ve ever seen a white person.
There’s no doubt, we are immersed in Africa.
I remember a good friend, back home, asking me when I told him my next destination was Tanzania:
“And you… what are you looking for with this trip?”
I instinctively answered:
“A shock.”
Now I can say yes—it went far beyond my expectations.
The personal growth this journey has given me… I can truly say no other trip has ever come close.
Always grateful; I just hope I can give back in some way what has been given to me.
Pole, pole.
