Hello students!

The Land of Smiles is thinking of you today! It seems like just yesterday we were stir-frying our own pad thai, making new friends with the elephants (and each other), and living our best lives. The Tianna Team has sure been missing our shared laughs and all the memories we made. We hope your new school year is off to a great start!

The time you dedicated to teaching English at the local schools made such a lasting impact on the students. And we know it made a lasting impact on you too! Cross-cultural communication plays a major role in today’s world and you not only learned how to navigate these tricky situations, but… ya’ll THRIVED. Pottery may not have been our strong suit, but bonding with the kids sure was! The tears, notes, and hugs shared on the last day really demonstrated the connections you all made in just one week.

Our days were long, but we are so thankful to have made the most of the short time that we had to get to know each one of you. Celebrating each other’s’ strengths, supporting one another, and lending a listening ear – you are truly an inspiring group of young people. As mentors we were able to watch your progression and growth in just 14 days, imagine what awesome people you will become as you continue to lead, explore, and venture out of your comfort zones. We are so proud of you.

Some special moments from our trip:

-Cotton Eye Joe…. say less!
-Foooooooood
-The Story of Me
-Facing our fears at zip lining
-Learning about indigenous culture and challenging our ideas about development

Stasha Malcolm
Mentor

 

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Humjambo GLA Children’s Education Adventure Alumni,

Can you believe how much time has passed since we were all together at our cozy
homebase in Arusha? It feels like just yesterday that we were all waking up
together to the cats fighting or the cow mooing or Joseph’s cowbell, or perhaps all
the above. Wherever you may be as you read this letter, we hope you are happy and
healthy and still reflecting back on our time together and all the friends and
memories you made, as well as all the blood, sweat, and tears you put into making
the adventure unforgettable.

We cannot express how thankful we are that we had the opportunity to get to know
all of you during our 21 days together in Tengeru. You came from different
backgrounds, countries, states, and families with different skills, life experiences,
goals, and aspirations. Despite these differences, you came together as one and
were able to give significant contributions back to our community of Tengeru.

You left your mark on Patandi Primary School through your teaching and through your
physical service. You formed meaningful bonds with the children while also
braving the front of the classroom to teach the students English; perhaps along the
way you also refreshed yourself a bit on the English language! You left your physical
mark on the school through your gardening, tree planting, desk fixing, classroom
painting, and most hardcore of all making a new concrete floor. We had the good
fortune of getting to watch all of you pour love, compassion, patience, and
dedication into all that you did. The work was not easy and we all faced difficult
challenges throughout our time together, but you came at those challenges with
perseverance, determination, and grace and for that we thank you so much!

We thank you for opening your hearts and minds to this experience and to one
another. Together we embraced Joseph and Jackie’s Tanzanian food, traditional
dancing, hiking to the base of the tallest freestanding mountain in the world, hearing
women living with HIV tell their stories, learning about cultural practices of the
Maasai people, making our own Arabica coffee, sleeping with loud animal noises at
any and every hour of the night, learning Swahili, and forming deep and lasting
connections with each other. We hope that the knowledge you gained while on this
trip will serve you well and all of the future communities that you are a part of!

We are proud of you and all of the accomplishments and personal growth you achieved.
Thank you all for making this experience what it was and for giving it your all- full
send!

Warm and Fuzzy Memories:

Uka’s warm and fuzzy pouch
Jogoo becoming our spirit animal
Dish crew dance party
Hailey’s sweet 16
“Love that for all of us”
Corn-rowed cuties
Mama Simba giving us her left breast
Nestory taking selfies every possible moment in every possible location
Sadie making a double chin montage video
Rohan coining the new name for shillings- shingalings
Tyler roasting everyone at the Twiga Lodge Talent Show
Successfully jailing at 7 mafia members during family fun night
Ali showing us that she is a professional singer
Julia busting out a drum solo at the coffee farm
Chakula Circle appreciations
Seeing more than 10 lions in 2 days
Lodrick always wearing a sharp suit
The epic and uniting dance party that occurred on Kate’s birthday
Students polar bear plunging at Kili
You are a superstar!
Molly (Howie Howard) informing us that she made up the nickname Howie
for this program
Laughing and playing with the children outside of our gate
Students teaching Maasai community how to do the Mac arena

Asante sana,
Your staff❤

 

Feeling nostalgic? You can experience that same sense of friendship and adventure abroad again! Check out all our 2019 programs, or enroll now.

Adventuring into chili water in the river at the base of Mt. Kili
And Strutting down the runway with your tailor made ensembles;
Mangoes!
Boom boom boom Bonita, I see a friend!
Remember holding Franklin the baby goat at the Maasai Boma?
And Gustavo Jose taking a swim in the lake?
And laughing with the children outside the gate?
Arusha, Arusha, Arusha!
Surmounting the coffee climb and sipping our homemade batch of Arabica;
Watching cheetahs watching zebra in the open savannah;
Naming the 8 parts of speech (!)
And passing countless jars of nutella around;
Bringing home a chick from the Tengeru market,
And Jamming on Joseph and Jackyln’s making 4 th of July burgers;
Being convinced that “I’m not de mafia, I’m de sneaky kid,” only to find out …“ I’m de mafia!”
Arusha, Arusha, Arusha!
Remember bargaining at the market to bring home that special something?
And Getting out of our floating bus to see an incredible sunrise over the Rift Valley?
Watching Honorary Kili Wizard Peter getting down at the field, and
Gummy bear’s dance moves
And the Patandi students singing farewell.
Arusha! Arusha! Arusha!
Uncovering the foil to find Mac and Cheese! Guacamole! Yes!
Sharing in Apprecialove Circles and
Drinking hot cocoa and signing along to Matt’s songs on the guitar;
Smiling with Lodrick dad-ing all the time and
Cheering to One Direction 2.0, impressions, magic tricks, and Aurora’s Meet me down in Tanzania crowd
pleasing performance at the safari talent show;
And so many, many more times together.
We are grateful for our time together and all the memories….
You are a superstar!

With love from Arusha,
Megan, Kate, Lolly and Debra

 

Feeling nostalgic? You can experience that same sense of friendship and adventure abroad again! Check out all our 2019 programs, or enroll now.

Mambo students!

Can you believe it’s been so long since we were all stuffing our faces with Mama D’s delicious
guac, Christmas rice and fried chicken?! We know you have definitely missed the amazing kids
at Mnini and Matoli Primary School. The hard work and dedication you showed towards the
students and put into teaching English in your classes is evident in the songs they still sing
(Way oh, Way oh!) and all the items and money you donated…thank you for being so generous!

All your hard work during physical service will make an impact on Mnini and Matoli schools for
decades to come. The bright blue windows, doors, and new floors have definitely brightened up
the area and has created a welcoming learning environment.

We still think about the time we were able to witness a humongous elephant cross the road in
front of our jeeps at Tarangire, a true cat nap, all the gazelles, and probably the most wild lunch
view any of us have ever had. We know that the weekend made a lasting impression on many
of you, and we are so happy we were able to share such a cool experience with so many
different animals with you all!

It was great to be immersed in the culture with the Chagga tribe and Kill Wizard group, to
making coffee, and hearing from so many incredible speakers. Discovering our art skills and
learning more about each other through Batik, leadership activities, and dancing was so much
fun! Did you get your Batik framed yet?!

We truly were an adventurous group. The two days of safari and the hike around the base of
Kilimanjaro hopefully helped grow your appreciation for the natural wonders of Tanzania and the
great outdoors. Even the freezing mountain river we swam in was appreciated after the shock
of the cold water wore off. Kudos to those that made the plunge!

We hope that you still think on your time in Tanzania fondly and have lots of happy memories to
look back on. We could tell you all created deep and meaningful connections with each other.
We hope you continue to stay in contact with one another and we look forward to see how you
will continue to be the changɘ.
Thank you, teachers.

Your mentors,
Racquel Maronde, Andie Gemme, James Davis

 

Feeling nostalgic? You can experience that same sense of friendship and adventure abroad again! Check out all our 2019 programs, or enroll now.

Mambo students!

Can you believe it’s been so long since we were all stuffing our faces with Mama D’s
delicious guac, Christmas rice and fried chicken?! We know you have definitely missed the
amazing kids at Mnini and Matoli. The hard work and dedication you showed towards the
students and put into teaching English in your classes is evident in the songs they still sing
and all the items and money you donated…thank you for being so generous!

All your hard work during physical service will make an impact on Mnini and Matoli
schools for decades to come. The bright blue windows and doors and new floors have
definitely brightened up the area and has created a welcoming learning environment.

We still think about the time we were able to catch sight of the baby elephant and all it’s
family members in the river at Tarangire, a true cat nap, some truly entertaining drivers
and the most entertaining lunch view any of us have had. We know that the weekend made
a lasting impression on many of you, and we are so happy we were able to share such a cool
experience with so many different animals with you all!

It was great to be immersed in the culture with the Chagga tribe and Kill Wizard group, to
making coffee, and hearing from so many incredible speakers. Discovering our art skills
and learning more about each other through Batik, leadership activities, and dancing was
so much fun! Did you get your Batik framed yet?!

We truly were an adventurous group. The two days of safari and the hike around the base
of Kilimanjaro hopefully helped grow your appreciation for the natural wonders of
Tanzania and the great outdoors. Even the freezing mountain river we swam in was
appreciated after the shock of the cold water wore off. Kudos to those that made the
plunge!

We hope that you still think on your time in Tanzania fondly and have lots of happy
memories to look back on. We could tell you all created deep and meaningful connections
with each other, as we haven’t seen that many tears in a goodbye all summer. Andie thanks
you for contributing to her winning streak for S.P.A.C.E. J.A.M. Jiggly Pigs for life.
Thank you, teachers.

Your mentors,
Racquel Maronde, Melissa Portch, Andie Gemme, James Davis

 

Feeling nostalgic? You can experience that same sense of friendship and adventure abroad again! Check out all our 2019 programs, or enroll now.