A Life Changing Experience

After many months of anticipation for this journey, none of us can believe that it is coming to an end. Just over two weeks ago we began to make our way to Africa not knowing each other very well, but little did we know we would become a close-knit family. Spencer quickly gained the name "Machine Gun Kelly" (yes, the rapper).

We started our adventure off by exploring the city of Moshi as we walked, and drove around. While driving, we soon discovered that they do not have speed bumps, but "speed mountains" (Aidan Hussey). Time passed quickly, and it was soon time for dinner. We ate at IndoItaliano, the food was delicious! When dinner came to an end, we were about to leave when we heard Aidan yell, "BIRCH" for the first time of many due to a little bug.

The next day, we ventured to the Gabriella Rehabilitation Centre for a tour. The facility was incredible. They had many rooms that accommodate each child of different needs. We were unable to have a full tour due to the facility still being constructed. During our tour, a little boy from the centre joined us. He jumped up and hugged a few of us which really warmed our hearts! He found our team members that had glasses and braces very amusing!

On Sunday, we got up at the crack of dawn to make our way to church in Kilema. On our way, we sang, "Take Me Home Country Roads" by John Denver. Little did we know, it would become a song that would hold many memories. We soon reached the church where we sat in at the children's service. There was a lot of singing, which sounded beautiful! The children were very interested in us, especially after Spencer and Aidan went up for communion, where the priest spoke in English to them. When the service came to an end, we were able to join the children outside. We took many photos, and they followed us around laughing and giggling saying, "mzungu". The children were fascinated with Abigail's (Teno) hair.

Over the next week, we set off to teach at Kilema, Kitchilioni, Kisuluni, and Mkyashi. There were many ups and downs at the beginning, but things started to work out as the week progressed. The kids were always happy to see us, and they never failed to brighten our day. We may have been teaching them, but in reality they taught us more than we can express. They truly made an impact on our lives. The schools were in poor conditions, some more than others. We learned that the schools often have more classes than teachers, so students would end up sitting in a classroom all day without a teacher. There is a shortage of food at most of the schools. At Mkyashi, they ended up having to shorten the day and send all of the children home due to the lack of food. Despite all of this, the children always had smiles of their faces and loved to be taught by us. Before we were done teaching, we gave out the suitcases of school supplies to each school.

Throughout our stay in Kilema, we had some very unique experiences. To start off, we had a battle against the moths where Courtney never let us harm them (this part was particularly hard for Aidan, haha). This is where, "BIRCH!" was yelled many more times. Abigail (Teno) often had to tuck the boys in their bug nets to keep them safe from all the moths. We would ask Mr. K to do certain things, but we always knew "the big Kawz gets, whatever the big Kawz wants" (Reagan Lalande). One evening we went to the soccer field to watch the local tournament where we were invited to play a game. We nervously accepted the offer thinking we would loose by a lot. We gave it our best shot and ended up winning the game 3-1!

At the end of the week, we taught the students how to use computers at Kisuluni Secondary in the morning. In the afternoon, they invited us to a performance where they had a talent show, a fashion show, and a pronunciation game. We also did a performance to the song "September" by Earth, Wind & Fire. When it finished, we had a small dance party where everyone quickly learned that the dancing is not what we are used to at school dances in Canada.

The week quickly came to an end, and we had to leave Kilema. We thanked the cooks, and sisters. It was a very emotional time for everyone. On the way back to Moshi, Mr. K played, "Take Me Home Country Roads" which made it even harder to say goodbye. We all wished that we could stay.

The next day, we visited Sister Clarissa's Hospital in Arusha where we got a tour, and she helped out some of the team members that were sick. After that, we went to Henry Gogarty the all girls secondary school. They held a big event for us where they sang, and danced. We once again did our performance to "September" for them. Then there was another dance party where we were all sweating buckets! They gave us a small lunch and then we departed for safari.

The safari was amazing! We saw lots of animals! We safaried into the Tarangire Lodge. The accommodations where amazing. Some of us stayed in tents, and others stayed in bungalows. The first night almost everyone heard an animal grunting which slightly scared some people. When on safari at the Tarangire, we saw elephants, giraffes, warthogs, monkeys, mongoose, birds, and impalas!

We then made our way to the Crater for the second part of our safari. When we were going up to the hotel, it was raining, and roads were slim. When we got there, we were all astonished by the view from the balcony. During the safari, it was almost like off roading! Some of the vehicles got stuck due to the deep mud, and water on the trails. We saw lions, water buffalo, zebra, gazelle, wildebeest, hyena, rhino, hippo, birds, Jackal, and flamingo!

Over the next few days, we will be shopping and taking in our last moments here. We are all sad to be leaving such a beautiful place that has given us a new perspective. However, we are looking forward to reunite with our families.

Asante sana, Africa.

Abigail Teno

It is nearly impossible to describe our experiences from this trip, it has been a truly amazing experience!

Spencer Watson

ps. We can't wait to try the milk shakes at Union Cafe that bring all the boys to the yard!