In the Boma - Tanzania Reflections

We've just returned from a full and amazing sixteen days in Tanzania.  The group of travelers included nine high school aged students from states across the country -- below are their written reflections after a life-changing journey . . . . 

Monday: Anticipation in Amsterdam/Arriving in Arusha

Monday, July 30th started off with the group arriving in Amsterdam at around 5:13 am local time. If you have ever had the pleasure of being in the Amsterdam airport, then you would know that the Dutch make sure that there is plenty to do; even before dawn! In the early hours, some of the group went to lie down in the empty terminal, while others went off to explore everything that the airport had to offer. The 5-hour layover went by surprisingly quickly and before we knew it we were on our way to the Kilimanjaro International Airport. The 8-hour plane ride was made more bearable by the frequent naps and abundant movie options. When we landed in Kilimanjaro, we faced shockingly long customs lines and we ended up being the last ones leaving the airport. Fortunately, everyone remained in good spirits and we were able to head off to Arusha and begin our African adventure. When we arrived in Arusha most group members set off to shower and get ready to sleep after a long journey. Our night ended at around 12am to ensure we all would be well-rested for our busy day ahead.

Tuesday: Adventuring in Arusha/Leaving for Longido

Tuesday was an action-packed day to say the least. We started off the day with a yummy breakfast in the rooftop restaurant at the backpacker’s hostel. After breakfast, we sat down to discuss the local language and plans for the day ahead. The first order of business was exchanging our American dollars for shillings, so that we could shop throughout our day in Arusha. As we exchanged our money a crowd of eager salesmen gathered outside the door waiting for us to exit. This is when we discovered that in Tanzania, salesmen will follow you for blocks in order to make a profit. Unlike the United States, they won’t just stay in one place and their persistence keeps them off the street. Even though we all felt a little pestered by the salesmen, we had a great time exploring Arusha and seeing how the locals live. Before we left for Longido, we stopped by a Masaai market where many of us purchased bracelets, shirts, art, etc. to bring home. It was awesome to see all of the craftsmanship that goes into each piece. After the market, we all piled into cars and headed out on the 1-hour journey to Longido. This year we lucked out immensely; we saw not only giraffes but zebras and gazelles too! It was like a safari without being an actual safari! We stopped to take pictures of the wildlife a few times before we headed down the final stretch to Longido. Everyone in the town was automatically welcoming and before we knew it we were surrounded by grinning children who were eager to play! We ended the night with a delicious dinner, a few rounds of cards, and a lot of laughter. It was definitely a day to remember.

Wednesday: Living in Longido:

Today started off with a sleepy group, as we were all worn out from our busy day in Arusha following our travel. We woke up to the sound of roosters crowing and the beautiful voices from the Mosque in prayer down the road from our home. We all had a delicious breakfast at La Mamaa, the restaurant we were eating at for our time in Longido. After breakfast, we all headed to the Meloc school; this school hardly existed when the Gogi group came last year. We spent our morning at the school playing with tennis balls and teaching the children in school. Many of us sang with the children in the classroom of this English-speaking school, further enhancing their English-speaking abilities. Each and every kid was perfectly content and happy to learn. Many of us were surprised by the good behavior and listening skills of the children, as the majority of them were between the ages of three and five. All of our time at the school was filled with joy, laughter, and smiles. When we finished at the school, we headed back to La Mamaa for a filling and yummy lunch followed by a brief rest. At around three, we headed to the after-school program at Leyeyo’s guest house. We played games, did face paint, and colored. We had a great time with all the kids. After a few hours, it was time to head back to La Mamaa for dinner. We had, once again a delicious meal before the end-of-the-night check-in and bed.

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Thursday: Living in Longido

Today we woke up and had a wonderful breakfast that was partially made by our group. Many of us wanted to learn how to make the delicious doughnuts made by Nancy at La Mamaa. Nancy taught us and we made them the night before. We added our own little American twist to the doughnuts by adding some Nutella! After breakfast, we headed to the Meloc school for a full day of work. While at the school, we planned and began work on the painting of the slide, mural, and tires. We made tremendous progress on our work and had tons of fun with the kids, yet again playing with tennis balls and running around. Soon enough it was time for lunch, so we said our goodbyes and headed down to La Mamaa for a delicious lunch. After lunch, we had a brief rest before heading to the after-school play program created by Leyeyo’s mom, Sarah. We spent a couple hours there playing games, talking, drawing, and getting some pretty stylish braids in our hair. After our time with the after-school children, we headed back down to the house to take some pictures and rest before dinner. After dinner, we had a group check-in and headed to bed.

A story from Iva about our experience camping out at the boma in the Crater:

On Thursday, August 9th we all woke up at around 5:00 am, packed our day packs as lightly as possible, and scrambled out the door to get a much needed breakfast. As we sat down to eat we discussed the safari we would be on all day and the boma we would be staying at in the Crater. Even though we were all tired at 5:30 am there was a general sense of excitement about the day to come; no one could wait to see the animals! Unfortunately, there was a lot of waiting to do. There was a slight mix up with the jeep company that was going to take us on the safari and we ended up waiting at the Crater entrance for around 3 hours. Even though it was frustrating the 3 hours passed by rather quickly thanks to the fun spirit and patience of the group. Before we knew it, we were all settled into our jeeps and heading down into the Crater. The drive down was beautiful but a little scary for me because it was so foggy and so steep. Luckily, something appeared to take my mind off the drive; AN ELEPHANT!

We hadn’t even started the safari and we had already seen the biggest land mammal…. mind blown! The rest of the ride was amazing too; we saw lots of zebras and Masaai men herding their cattle. It didn’t take long for us to get down into the Crater and when we did, no one could take their eyes off the windows. Animals we had only seen on Google or in films were as close as I was to Liz as I typed this. It was insane. We were lucky enough to see over 20 elephants, around 10 lions, 2 rhinos, a bunch of hippos, and many more. The safari gods were really on our side that day. Sadly, safaris can’t last forever so we had to pack up and leave; however we got to head to a beautiful boma a few hours away and that was amazing. Staying at the boma for a night, in a pen with cows, really was an experience like no other. From the endless night sky above us, to the goat cooking on the fire (that had just been skinned); it was a night I will never forget. It was a little overwhelming to sit in the dark under the stars with the fire glowing and illuminating the recently killed goat; but it really allowed us to understand Masaai culture more and I could not be more grateful for that. Overall, Thursday was a success and a day I’m sure we will all remember for years to come. Few people get to say that they saw so many animals and slept with cows at a boma in one day, so I’d say we’re pretty lucky!

 Saturday: Living in LongidToday we woke up, ate our breakfast at Nancy’s restaurant at the usual time and Liz gave an overview of our day. Around 9:00 am, we began our walk to Leyeyo’s Boma. The walk took about 35-40 minutes. We saw the main water hole and Maasai warriors herding their cattle. Once we arrived we were greeted by Leyeyo’s mother, Uncle, and other family members. We walked over to the mother’s cement Boma, made by Leyeyo, and took a tour of the huts. Once we were done with the tours, we gathered in front of one of the huts made of cow dung and participated in traditional Maasai chants and dance. They placed the beaded collars around our necks and we practiced rolling our shoulders back and forth to bounce the collars up and down to the beat. We tossed a tennis ball around for a bit, then began beading ankle bracelets with the mothers. With the donations we brought we passed out piles of gifts to each mother and said our goodbyes. Fred and Babu (Leyeyo’s best friend since childhood) met us with lunch as we walked to the market. There we saw goats, cows, shoes, jewelry, soda bars, and met tons of Maasai warriors. We walked around for a bit checking out all the stores, then ended our adventure drinking Fanta’s under a tent.

Sunday: Hike → Mount Longido

Today we all woke up with the sun and had our usual breakfast at La Maama. Following breakfast, we all headed through the town of Longido and on to the base of Longido Mountain. We followed our guides, one of whom was fully responsible for our safety throughout the hike and would be our watch-man during our night in tents at the campsite. We all walked in somewhat of a trance due to the early hour of the morning. The beginning of the hike was very dry and rocky and many of us were struggling to clear our breath, with the large amount of dust floating in the air. Throughout the hike, we took many breaks to hydrate and rest. The majority of the hike was very steep and there was a large increase in elevation from where we started, in the town of Longido. As we progressed, the climate of the mountain changed drastically, from the dusty dryness that has become familiar, to lush green forest land.

About half way through our journey, we stood in a meadow, surrounded and encompassed by clouds. Up to this point, there were many mental and physical struggles within the entire group, and later the support to and from all was clearly recognized. When we finally reached the last stretch to the summit, some were faced with an even larger mental obstacle; we all had to climb a ladder-type thing up a large rock face in order to complete the hike. When we made it to the top of Mount Longido, we were all overjoyed and filled with a huge sense of accomplishment, especially after we all faced mental and physical challenges. As we sat on the top enjoying the view, we ate our delicious packed lunch from La Maama and watched birds fly above and around the peak. We stayed up on the peak for almost an hour before heading down to our campsite. It took all of us about three hours to make it to the clearing of trees where we would spend the night in tents. When we arrived at the campsite, dinner was already being prepared, and there were seats set up for all of us around the campfire. At camp, we had dinner and a short check-in around the fire before heading to bed, after a long day of hiking.

By Katherine: The hike up Mount Longido was my hardest challenge yet on this trip. Throughout the hike, my mental and physical fatigue varied from positive to exhausted which tested my ability to self-motivate and be positive for myself and the group. Getting deeper into the hike, I learned to find more mental strength within myself and notice more of the beauty around me and how grateful I was for the opportunity

Summer Surfing and Language Immersion in Spain

Cadiz, Spain 2018

The follow reflection was written by Gracie, our Summer Gogi intern on our recent trip to Spain . . . . . . 

Over the course of 10 days, Kemp, Gerrit, Elijah, Nathaniel, Peter, Asher, Evelyn, Liz, Ari, and I travelled to Cádiz, Spain. We stayed with host families, went surfing, took Spanish classes, cooked Paella, toured the city and the country, and worked on a Farm. To those people who say life-changing experiences can only happen over the course of at least few months, you are wrong. Having gone on this trip with Gogi Abroad once before as a camper, and now as a leader-in-training, I can confidently say that both trips have been nothing short of life-changing.

Some of my favorite moments were speaking with my host mom, Pepa, in the kitchen of her humble apartment. Our conversations not only improved my Spanish skills, but also built up a strong connection. Homestays create a sense of culture-immersion like nothing else. When living with a local family/individual in a country, one gets to understand the authentic culture and lifestyle of that country. The lessons I have learned and memories I have shared with my host mother are ones I will cherish for a long time to come.

While we stayed in the old part of Cádiz, we took 5 Spanish classes at a small school called K2 Internacíonal, located in Plaza Mentidero. Evelyn and I spent the week in 2 different higher-level, discussion-based classes, each composed of students from all different walks of life, all over the world. The boys spent the week in an interactive-beginner Spanish class, where they spent each morning walking around Cádiz, getting to know the culture and the people. Although this may surprise you, the 5 classes I took were one of my favorite parts of the trip. It was something about learning a language with people from all over the world and of all different ages – but in the same place. I became very close with the group of people in my class, and I loved getting to know each of them while also improving my Spanish skills. And I know for a fact Evelyn and the boys loved their classes too.

After Spanish class, we all walked home to our respective host families and shared a home-cooked lunch with them. We then either took a siesta or walked around town until we met up as a group. We met up in Plaza San Antonio, usually around 3 or 4 in the afternoon. There, we would eat a snack while debriefing the morning and talking about the rest of our day. Most days we went to la playa (the beach), or fuimos a hacer surf (went surfing). One day the boys biked along the beach, and Evelyn and I took a Salsa dancing class with a local expert. After the afternoon activity we would go home, shower, rest, or recharge in any way we needed, before meeting up again. We then met up again to either walk around the city or watch the World Cup in Plaza Mina. Watching fútbol (soccer) in Spain during the World Cup was very exciting for everyone. The Plaza was filled with people wearing shades of red and yellow and cheering ¡Vamos España! (Let’s go Spain!). Every night we ate dinner with our host families at about 9 pm, and then had free time to hangout in the Plazas until 11 pm.  We left the city for Málaga and camping near the beach on Tuesday the 26th. We stopped at a beautiful beach in Bolonia, Spain for the day. The sky was so clear we could see the coast of Morocco in the distance. At the beach, we walked through ancient Roman ruins, hiked a giant white-sand dune, and swam in crystal clear blue water. The rest of the week was composed of cooking our own meals in the cabins, visiting small white-towns (such as Conil and Vejer de la Frontera), and working on a farm nearby.

The main focus on our work at the farm was bee-keeping and replenishing the land with plants and vegetation that bees enjoy. We worked hard to clear weeds and rocks in order to plant a beautiful bee garden up on the mountain. We planted flowers and trees and even mapped out an area for a stream to flow through the garden. These two days on the farm were very educational and enriching for the entire group. We learned a lot about farming in the South of Spain, the devastating decline of bee populations and how it affects the environment, and made connections with two wonderful people named Jorge and Karmit.

Everyone gained so much more than they expected on this trip. Going to a new country at a young age can be scary; it definitely takes bravery, openness, and adaptability. On this trip we learned about a new culture, a new language, and most importantly about ourselves. In the words of Evelyn Lewis, a student on the trip, “[this trip] really opened up my mind to different ideas and ways of living, which was just incredible.”

Tribal Gap Year, Rural and Urban Reflections

"My first impression of Kathmandu is complete chaos. I thought Arusha was pretty interesting but this tight medieval city has turned my expectations up a few notches. Motorcycles are packed in until they create a sort of liquid formation on the busy streets, and most people are seen wearing a mask to keep out the incredible amount of dust that is kicked up. You can rarely see the snow capped Himalayas from the light brown haze of dust hovering above the city. 

But back to the streets. In the past twenty or thirty years, Nepal tourism has exploded, and the small country has rapidly westernized, filling the main towns and cities with hotels and bars, trash and billboards,  and I assume a lot of migrants and traffic. Coming from “the west” where roads were built wide, the cars big, and social customs and laws are naturally formed around industrialization,  it has been very interesting to see how other cultures and places handle the rapid growth. 

Recycling isn't even a concept, you throw your wrappers on the ground just as casually as you warm yourself around a pile of flaming plastic, and complaining about jaywalking is like complaining to a Louisiana swamp-dweller about mosquitoes. I have seen packed, free for all, four-way intersections that my taxi driver somehow handled with ease. 

The first time I went to Arusha in Tanzania,  a fairly large city about forty five minutes away from Longido, I was amazed at how the landscapes completely transformed. The mountains start to rise up out of the red dirt, turning the land brown and lush as we go from the desert to the jungle. The city itself is unpredictable and chaotic as there is no rhyme or reason to the mass of signs and traffic. Things are not formulated and grid-like, and the bus station is always on the edge of a gridlock of vans, or "dolla dollas", as full sized buses try to make a three point turn amongst the mass of pedestrians and vendors. Despite all of this, it's  amazing how things seem to run very smoothly, and you can just trust everyone knows what they are doing. 

In some of the back neighborhoods of Arusha, where the roads turn to dark red dirt, I noticed none of the houses had addresses, most of the buildings were hastily made. It turns out you are totally free to build a little shop or shelter provided someone loans you some land, paperwork not necessary. This caviler attitude towards urban society and culture, creation and navigation, is rooted in a very nonpolitical and rural mindset, a stable simple lifestyle with fewer rules and more freedom to do what you please because there is less to go wrong or mess up, and less to do.It’s what happens when an agricultural society suddenly has access to sodas and shoe styles and the vehicles to get them. The result is a very organic and chaotic atmosphere to the structure of the city's and particles in them, an ecosystem from the street vendors to the cats and dogs scavenge the overflow. You might have to navigate around pairs of shoes that are radiating out from sidewalk corner while ducking under vines of hanging scarfs. It really demonstrates how well reserved I think Americans are in their commitment to a tight mathematical flow and function in our towns and cities and interactions.

I witnessed this transition in the low but spread out the city of Pokhara in Nepal,  where I stayed in a small Waldorf school/farm on the outskirts of the town. The place has about eight acres of land that they use to graze a herd of eight cows that I spent many hours trying to keep out of the large garden of greens and veggies. Next to the property is a bunch of rice fields that lead out to the looming Himalayas. But they pointed out to me a few time that the view was slowly being filled in by these interesting checkered apartment buildings, about three or four floors divided by balconies. They were sort of randomly scattered across the landscape, occasionally congealing to create small proto neighborhoods. This development was pointed out to me by farmers and taxi drivers. 

Pokhara is the second most visited city in Nepal and has developed a tourist playground known as "Lakeside" of the edge of town next to, well, a lake. It's a fun stretch of small shops that sell everything you would want to bring back from Nepal, gongs, incense, cloths, hemp clothes and backpacks, while classic rock cover bands drift out of the bars and restaurants. As a tourist and adventurer I actually really appreciate the familiarity of all of this with action created by the all-out utilization and exploration.  It is interesting to think about this place a hundred years ago, while we in the west were were ramping up to the roaring twenties and the rest of the world was still very slow paced and simple, sitting around on stoops and in cow fields.

Theo, Tribal Gap Year Student.