Trip Summary... by Rylee

Hey everyone, it’s Rylee. I know that the anticipation is building now for everyone back at home knowing that we are coming back soon. Before that can happen, though, there are many things that need to be shared. People always talk about stories. I remember one of the first lessons that we learned this winter, in Global Issues, was the problem of a single story - how we have expectations of different parts of the world because of what we have heard from a handful of people there. The story of Cathedral students taking a trip to Tanzania has been told many times now, yet each one is a little different. All of the groups have had different experiences and some of the same. I would consider our group’s story special. It’s the story of how the group of 2014 fell in love with Tanzania.

Our theme for this trip was Fellowship Creates Peace and it has set the tone for many connections that have been made. Starting with sharing our mission to others on the plane, we had many chances to meet new people and, after, new friends. There were so many wonderful people to meet here, mostly because everyone treats us with ____. When we pass people on the street, they all say a friendly “Mambo!” or “Jambo!” with a big smile and a wave. Luckily, we caught on quickly to what the correct responses were and it was nice to be able to give them respect in speaking their language.

Along with the random people we saw on the street, we also met wonderful people at the orphanage and school. Personally, I only went to the orphanage because it became so hard to leave. The workers there have to be exhausted by the end of the day, yet they spend all of their energy helping these children that don’t have any other home. I believe everyone could agree that, after just a morning of playing with the kids, we all needed a nap. Besides the women there, the children taught us a lot as well. Anyone watching could see the love on our group’s faces as they held and played with the kids there. On the other hand, even though I didn’t visit the school, I was able to hear all of the stories about kids crowding around, wanting attention from our group that was there. Some of the students even skipped their classes just to spend more time with our group.

After a long morning of hanging with kids, we got to spend time working WITH the women from the Jiendeleze women’s group. It was nice not to just go in and work for the women because it created opportunities for connections with them. We were able to get a taste of what their duties are like while working in garden area with them as well as helping them to fix up a building so they could use it as a shop. The welcoming we received every afternoon is something we will remember forever. These women are fighting against the discrimination they get from men in order to live a better life. It was fun to see how all our work paid off and to hear that all of our work will support them for a long time to come. We even bought so much from them that we paid for a women’s electricity in her house! It was nice to know that we were helping a good cause when we bought from them.

Throughout our trip, there were times that our group got to try experiences that others have not. One morning, we visited a secondary school and were able to ask questions about the students’ lives, as well as them asking about our lives. Their faces when we said that we drove ourselves to school every morning were so astonished that I couldn’t help but think about how much we take for granted in our lives. We all were able to remember times where we complained about driving because of trivial things, such as “bad” traffic and “dumb” stoplights. The people here walk everywhere yet we can find complaints about different occurrences we are truly lucky to even have.

Not only did we fall in love with the people here, we fell in love with the different ways of life that we learned. The first was pole pole. In Swahili, it means to slow it down, take your time. In the world we live in, everything is so go go go that we lose track of what’s really important. We don’t take the time to really just sit down and have a conversation with one another because we always have something else planned in an hour or two. Would it be possible to not put time limits on our lives? I don’t know, but it would be nice to try to incorporate it more and more into our days. Our time here consisted of a lot of pole pole. There was a lot of down time at night just so that we could bond together as a group, however we wanted to do so. Some played many card games with one another, there was music played, and all journaling together as one group… even if we didn’t get much accomplished. We shared laughs and stories, deep conversations about what we learned here, and basically whatever came to mind at the time. I must say, many conversations led to what we are going to eat once we get to the D.C. airport. I have a feeling that Chipotle is going to get a lot of business from us J.

Another lesson that we learned here was that, no matter what your situation in life is, there are always things that can make a smile. People here would die of shock if they saw all that we have in the U.S., yet they are the happiest people I have ever gotten the chance to meet. They have few of the opportunities that we get in our lives – going to college, a for sure three meals a day, etc. – but they work their HARDEST in everything they do so that they can create a better life for their families. Jesca, the founder of the women’s group we worked with, was a main inspiration for a lot of us here. She has scraped her way through secondary school, university, and then law school in order to make a difference in not only her life, but the life of the women she supports in her cause. Hearing her story made us all think about our lives a little more and what we could do to be more like her. Another example would be our visit to Mikocheni. If you have read the blog that Josh wrote, you already know how our day went there. It was our glimpse at the “bottom billion”, the poorest of the poor, but they were simply happy. Smiles, waves, laughing, just everything was set in a place where despair and hopelessness was felt by all of us that were visiting. We can never un-see what was shown to us that day and it is something that we will never forget.

There are other lessons we learned on this trip, as well, that weren’t as big I guess. These were just cultural things such as bargaining, learning how to wash clothes without a washing machine, and that Aromat is a life saver when you don’t particularly like the taste of some food you took. It was fun to experience these things with each other and to get a taste of another culture.

Lastly, I, along with all the students and chaperones here, would like to say a special THANK YOU to all our family and friends back home. None of this could be done without your support for us. Another thank you goes to Dick McMorrow for his guidance and work he has put into our trip. It couldn’t be done without him and I couldn’t think of a better person to lead us on our mission. Our last thank you goes to all the people here that helped plan and organize our different adventures. It was the best trip we have ever been on and it helped us immensely.

We all miss you at home, yet we are sad to leave. Our trip to Tanzania will never be forgotten, as long as we live, and we are all so grateful we got to experience something many other teens our age wouldn’t be able to. Please help us, one last time, in praying for safe travels home!

Lots of love,

Rylee Medelberg and the rest of the group of 2014

Ngorongoro Crater... by Dominic and Maddie S

            Good morning, good afternoon, or good night. This is Maddie Schnettler and Dominic Gardetto here giving you an update on our Tanzanian adventures! Chilly feet, birds chirping, or people talking outside our tents woke us early. The campground had a delicious breakfast waiting for us before heading off on our second day of safari. After a brief car ride, we reached the entrance to Ngorogoro Crater (one anonymous person thought we were going to the equator). Here, we found some primate friends in the parking lot! Baboons were all over and not afraid of anything! One aggressively stole a candy bar out of my (Dominic) hand! After a while, we continued on our expedition over the rim of the crater. Saying it was extremely foggy would be an understatement! Our lives were in the drivers’ hands with a few close calls with cars going the opposite direction. After reaching the top, the top of the cars were lifted and we descended into the valley. Over the next few hours, we saw more wildlife than we’ve ever seen before! Some animals included zebras, wildebeests, lions, hippos, cape buffalo, ostriches, monkeys, and much more. We stopped for a boxed lunch by a pond and then embarked on our journey back up. As we neared the top, one of our cars broke down in the middle of a turn on a very steep incline. While the car was getting fixed, another car broke down right next to us. It caused a little bit of a jam, but it was soon fixed and we were golden. We stopped again at the top of the crater and after everyone had taken their fair share of pictures, we started on our long ride back. Sleeping was a popular activity in the cars because watching the crazy driving was too nerve racking. On one particular occasion, we were trying to pass a couple cars, so we were completely in the right lane as a semi quickly approached. We sped up because we were nowhere near passing yet! As we were one second away from a head on collision, our driver swerved back into the left lane! Mr. McMorrow looked back at me (Maddie) with the biggest eyes and I just laughed! It was so sketchy, but the thing is that there were so many other close calls especially in Arusha. We all made it back to the lodge safe and sound after at least 5 hours of driving. The safari was amazing, but it somehow managed to wear us all out! It’s not every day you get to go on an East African safari, and we are so very thankful for our drivers and anyone who made this experience as awesome as it was! It exceeded many of our expectations.

            Hope all is well at home, and can’t wait to see our friends and family soon!

Much love,

Maddie and Dominic

            

Visit Day at the Women's Group... by Madeline and Morgan

Hello everybody reading this, hope all is well. Morgan here, I will be telling you a little about my visit to a woman’s home from the women’s group we have been working with. I was lucky enough to visit two different houses of beautiful women named Gloria and Lucy today. I wish I were able to say the houses were as nice as they were.. I, unfortunately, would be lying. The first house we stopped at was Gloria’s! We sat outside on stools. Noah and I talking to these two women about their families. Gloria was the owner of two goats and two hens, which had many chicks. She welcomed us inside her house and it brought me to tears. It was the size of my bathroom at home. It has two beds on the inside with junk everywhere around in the open space. She stays in one of the beds and her grandchildren sleep in the other bed. They get light from a little lantern that gives off little to no light at all. I complimented her on her cement walls because that is a big deal to have and she said “Asante Sana” (thank you very much). She also pointed at the ground, which was dirt and said she wishes for a better floor and I told her it is still very nice. These women spoke very very little English so we used hand gestures and expressions a lot to try and communicate. Gloria asked me a little about school and asked if Noah was my brother, I said rifiki (friend). We were off to Lucy’s house next where we discovered many pet animals. I got to hold a very ugly duck, which looked like a mix of a rooster, and duck. We also fed the pigeons and the children ran around and caught them for me to hold. We were also invited into Lucy’s house where we found 3 Guinea pigs, and 6 goats INSIDE. Her house was not much different it was 2 rooms one for the animals and one for her bed and a bedtime prayer sign. My heart was filled with sorrow for these two because the hard work they put into their everyday lives I just think they deserve better. We didn’t have any cultural food made for us like other groups did and I would consider myself fortunate since I’m the picky one J. I am very grateful for the experiences we had today and for these 2 mamas I have in my life now.

To my wonderful parents Pam and Rorri, I cannot put into words how much I love and appreciate everything you do for me. I cannot thank you enough for allowing me to embark on a journey of a lifetime. I am so sad to pack up and leave this place but I cannot wait to eat some American food I’m craving like mom’s cinnamon rolls and chipotle in the airport J Mommy I’ll see you soon and dad and Hunter I’ll see you when you get home from Wyoming.

To my Papa David: you are my role model and you inspire me to do the things I do everyday in my life. I love you truly more then I can express. Thank you for supporting me on this trip and I can’t wait to talk to you. <3

Madeline:

            Well I’m back again for another post (hopefully you enjoyed the previous one with Dominic).  I visited with Redempta Kiwale and Frida Pambwe who graciously invited and welcomed Jenny and I to their homes. First we stopped at Redempta’s. Even though we did not see the inside of her house, she lived in a cul-da-sac type neighborhood, with a round meeting area where we sat and talked. Redempta’s daughter knew very well English, so we sat and talked while plucking dried corn off cobs. Redempta’s daughter was surprised when I said I didn’t want to leave Tanzania. I often have noticed that there is a common stereotype that all American’s are wealthy. Which if compared to them, a lot of us are. I think the main reason though is that are standards are different, were a lot more materialistic than they are. 

            As we became more comfortable with each other, Redempta asked both Jenny and I to marry her sons. We sadly declined multiple times. After about an hour, we finished with all the cobs and they were fascinated with our hair. After a couple of minutes we had 7 women and a couple children surrounding us braiding our hair.

            We then went to Frida’s house and finished braiding hair, and sadly had to leave to have a final send off at Jessica’s house. At Jessica’s house, we all gathered together and shared our favorite experiences and memories of the work site and Jessica translated. After the mamas sang us a good-bye song in Swahili and we said our goodbye and left for the last time. Leaving was hard for many of us, these women have inspired all of us to be more open to relationships with strangers and helping regardless of the work (shelving out warm manure). This experience with these women has been more than any of us could’ve imagined, we are all so grateful to have learned from them.

Upendo Orphanage... by Elisabeth

Hey Everyone! Well the trip is winding down very quickly and so we figured it was about time to tell you about our time at Upendo! Due to the celibration of Ramadan the school was supposed to be closed on July 28^th and 29^th but instead the holiday got moved, since the moon wasn’t right, to the 29^th and 30^th.  Because of this we all got a chance go up to Upendo.  Half of us had never been to the orphanage since we had been at the school the first day of going out to our work sites.  The first day that we all came we sat watched as the little boys and then the girls come out of their separate areas in a very straight line hand and hand.  The workers were singing a song in Swahili but you could tell all of the kids were trying to figure us out.  We went to grab hands with some of the kids and join their procession out to a play area.  The play area was a little smaller than half of a football field and had a Jungle Gym, three slides, three sets of swings, a Merry-Go-Round contraption and two Tetter-Totters.  There were also three benches that became a lifesaver sometimes when you got just plain exhausted or a crying kid.  Upon arriving, for what was for many of us our first day at the orphanage, it was easy to see the excitement on the kids faces as they recognized some of the faces they had seen previously along with some new ones.  As soon as we passed though the gate playtime had instantly begun.  The swings were an instant go-to for many of the kids followed by the slides.  As the day went on it was amazing to see all of their personalities come out though their actions, especially since the ones who could speak only spoke Swahili nevertheless, we were instantly reminded how far a smile could not only take someone else but how happy and warm it made you feel as well.  As the morning went on the first day we started to get to know some children and then were left for someone else then another child would come up and grab your hand to take you to play.  As we meet new children we tried to ask them their names and then when they wouldn’t answer we would ask one of the worker.  This worked pretty well but we later figured out that we were saying some of the kid’s names wrong…oops!  Part way though the day we got to take the children in for milk time and then bring them back out again for more playtime before lunch time and then a nap.  One thing that we were allowed to do, and some of the kids really liked, was taking one or two kids at a time to go see the animals.  Upendo has a small farmish area in the back were they keep pigs, cows, goats, turkeys and chickens.  It was interesting to see how most kids liked the chickens most of all and frightened by the pigs, especially when they would jump up on the gate.  We got to go to the orphanage as a group three times.  Two out of the three we were able to take the kids outside the other time we stayed in an open roofed area where the kids were able to play with various balls and hula-hoops.  Somedays we meet other people and groups from around the world such as Belgium and Ireland, which has been really cool.  It has also been really nice that most of the children are pretty well potty trained (although not entirely) also, not all of the children have gotten down the idea that people are not for biting or hitting but, we are all hopefully they will eventually learn.

            Overall, leaving Upendo is incredibly difficult.  Baba Dick has told us many times that our work is the most important thing that we do here and he is right.  It was not only important for us to go out and help the community but it definitely made some of us appreciate our families even more.  Most of us found at least one child that stole our hearts with their giggles, smiles and the hugs, cuddles and even a few kisses that we have received.  Since you need to live in Tanzania for three years before adopting a child it is hard for us to let some of the children go, knowing that the chances of them being adopted soon are slim.  However, if the people of Africa have taught me anything it is that there is always a reason to be hopeful and happy, no matter what.  We might be physically leaving the orphanage but we have all, hopefully, left positive marks on the children at Upendo and they have certainly left their marks on us.  Not only in our memories but also in our hearts.

To my parents: Thank you so much for this opportunity!! Words really don’t describe how thankful I am for being able to come here! If we could move here for around three years and then adopt the little girl who I fell in love with that would be great! I can’t wait to see you guys but it is going to be really hard to leave and I definitely want to come back someday! I can’t wait to see you soon and tell you all about it! Love you!

St. Louis Primary School... by Ethan

            Hello family and friends! As the trip is winding down, I have been given the task to write about our time at St. Louis Primary School. When we showed up on the first day, I think it is safe to say that most of us were nervous.  We had brought a multitude of books, and planned on helping them read them. The second after we got on the campus we were instant celebrities.  It was a little bit overwhelming at first. Some of us were asked to go help in the nursery school.  That left everyone else to work with the primary students.  We split into groups of two.  A group of about three boys and three girls was what most groups had.  After we all got introduced and talked about our hobbies, we got down to reading.  Almost every kid loved to read, and were very good at it (which made our jobs easy).  It was especially cool to see the children reading the same books that I adored around their same age.  This was how the beginning of our mornings went.  After reading for a while we asked if they wanted to play some games.  Most of them were Tanzanian games, but some of our games were played as well.  The most popular game to play was “Momma in the Kitchen”.  Which is a lot like “Bubble Gum Bubble Gum in a Dish”.  Usually after a couple more games there would be a break, where all the students would come and flock to us.  The first day was most hectic.  Most of us had a group of ten students surrounding us.  Our hair was extremely popular. Following the break we would go to “tea time” with chapatti, which was a flatbread made out of flour, wheat, and water.  When finished with “tea time” we would go back out to the courtyard, and do it all over again.  That would last for another half hour to forty-five minutes, and then we would head back to the lodge.  My favorite and most touching part of our time at the school was when Dan was sitting down, and Godbless someone who he connected with last year came up and gave him a huge hug.  While I am writing this on our last night here I am excited to come home, but also saddened to leave.  I have had the time of my life here, and have made memories that will last forever.  I am very excited to see everyone back home, and see you soon!

           

With love always and forever,

Ethan