Tanzania: Meaningful Summer Abroad in Tanzania for High Schoolers

This Global Routes trip was the best 2 weeks of my life! Although challenging at times, every moment was truly life changing. I created a new family with my fellow travelers, and the Tanzanians! It was a great experience in which I furthered my global mindfulness and gained a sense of community and family with all of the people I was with throughout the trip. My fellow travelers and I have become friends for life and I will never forget the warm smiles of all the Tanzanians. The trip was amazing and I would do it again in a heartbeat. None of it would have been possible without Global Routes. I truly recommend a Global Routes trip to anyone who wishes to touch others lives while becoming closer with the ones they travel with. If you have any doubts about going on a trip like this, I can assure you that Global Routes leaders offered tremendous amounts of support throughout the trip and they will not let you down.

While in Tanzania with Global Routes and my peers, I was able to step out of my comfort zone in the best way. Through this service program, I was able to learn more about myself and the amazing and unique culture of the Tanzanian people. To explain this trip one one word is impossible, but if I had to: Life-changing. The leaders of Global Routes not only helped get me ready prior to the trip, they also encouraged me throughout the program and helped me to grow in ways I never expected. This trip planted a seed in my heart that has made me realize how fortunate I am and how much I want to help others. I always knew doing a service trip was something I wanted to do, but now I realize it is something I needed to do. It was a remarkable opportunity and one that I would do all over again in a heart beat!! 

There is no easy way for me to put this trip into words. It went beyond my expectations and connected me to the world in a way I didn't know was possible. It opened my eyes to a new culture and allowed me the opportunity to give back to people in the local village there. It truly changed my perspective of the world and I cannot express how thankful I am for the chance to have gone on this trip.
One of the highlights of the trip was the locals themselves. They were all so genuinely happy to see us and welcomed us like family. I was definitely nervous about the language barrier going into the trip but I soon found that the love and gratefulness we had for one another was easily communicated. The kids were so excited to see us and just wanted to hold our hand. I really learned so much about the world around me and would definitely recommend this trip to a wide range of people. Even though this is the only Global Routes program I have partaked in I would definitely be able to suggest any of their trips because they put equal time and effort to all of their programs and make sure that the safety and enjoyment of each trip is at its full potential.

My older sister found out about Global Routes through online searching and introduced the idea to myself and our other sister. We each did separate programs and got hooked on homestay experiences in rural communities. Global Routes introduced me to traveling at age 16 and gave me the tools I needed to eventually travel alone. Constantly being challenged through hiking trips, service in rural communities and forming/performing in a group were key in my growth as a person. I wouldn’t trade my two summers with global routes (Kenya and Morocco) for anything!

Tanzania was most definitely the best experience i have ever had. I have grown in so many ways. I've learned so much about the culture and customs of Tanzania and i have been able to live a Tanzanian life. I felt really welcomed there and i feel like i have a place and a home in Njoro. I wish i could have stayed longer with my family but i know i couldn't have stayed forever. My favorite part of the trip was every night after dinner, being able to spend time with my brothers and roomie playing games and laughing together. Another was being able to play soccer with locals and although i didn't know enough swahili to know what they were saying, we were able to laugh and enjoy our games. The only downside to the trip was having to leave too soon. Also the language barrier was very challenging but if we had stayed longer it would have become easier. I will never forget this trip and i am looking forward to hopefully going back in a few years to visit again.

The best summer of my life. I feel as if I have another family and home in Tanzania. Our family was welcoming and lovely to spend time with. Most of the food is pasta, beans, fruit, chicken, rice, beef but the leaders do have snacks and you can buy some cookies and such around town. There were always children to play with, and students at the school we worked at to interact and laugh with. A couple of us did have difficulties with minor illnesses (specifically in the bathroom) Everyone eventually got used to using a squatter toilet and taking bucket showers, which really isn't as bad as it seems. Although going to another country to live with another family may seem scary, it was one of the best decisions I've ever made in my life. Hakuna Matata Tanzania.

I'll never forget my experience in Tanzania--both because it was incredible, exciting, and inspiring, but also challenging physically, emotionally, and mentally.

Overall, I had a great time in Tanzania. For reference, the previous summer I went to Ecuador with Global Works and the summer before that I went to Peru with Windsor Mountain International. Specifically I thought there were 2 elements that set this company apart from the other two I participated in:
a) the leaders;the leaders of my trip were very very nice, knowledgeable, well trained, reasonable and generally fun to hang out with. They followed the rules of the program but were always trying their hardest to make it so the students had as much fun as possible. We also had a Tanzanian staff member, named Mohamed who was the single nicest man I have ever met in my entire life. I know people tend to get way hyperbolic in these reviews but in all seriousness, he was an amazing human being. I still maintain contact with him via facebook just to check in every once in a while and make sure hes doing ok.
b) the quality of the service; we worked hard for 3 weeks to construct a bathroom for girls at a school that previously only had one bathroom. It felt like the construction we did in our village of Ilkindinga had way more impact than the other 2 programs I participated in. We actually 100% finished the bathroom, which was impressive (to the leaders as well) and it really seemed like we were doing something to benefit the community, not just our consciences. Global Routes balanced and rotated the different worksite jobs so you were never dreading work. We all worked hard, but never so hard that it really became painful, as there were always some less intense jobs to be done if you really got tired. (Preparing lunch, painting murals etc.)

Also as an animal lover, this trip really held something special for me. The trip begins right away with a 5 day safari trip. I was worried it wouldn't be enough safari time but it turned out to be the perfect amount. The safari was amazing, we saw tons of animals and the drivers and guides were all really nice, fun guys. I remember we did one night of camping in Ngorongoro and I woke up in the middle of the night and peered out my tent to see a water buffalo just munching on some grass 20 feet away, it was unreal.

The final trip in Zanzibar was unreal and as close to paradise as it gets. Its 5 straight days of nonstop fun and relaxation. We got plenty of time on the most beautiful beach I had ever seen in my life and we also got a chance to snorkel, visit some really interesting island (which included more beach time), and eat incredible seafood. As Zazibar is a Muslim enclave in the religiously divided country of Tanzania, it was just so incredibly different from anywhere else I have visited.

My homestay experience was really perfect as well. It might be because I already had practice but I had a particularly strong bond with my homestay family. It was so much fun to be in a family of 10 odd people as there was always someone to hang out with. I had my 3 little guys, Lolu, Nickson and Musa who were respectively 4, 5 and 6 years old, my loving mama and baba, Cuthbert, a teenage boy like myself among many other family members. All of them were so sweet and so hospitable, they really did everything they could to make me feel comfortable, to the point where I felt a little uncomfortable for inconveniencing them so much. We had a rudimentary (bucket showers and hole-in-the-ground toilets) but huge, comfortable and clean house. I honestly did not even feel like I was "roughing it" during the homestay. Another note: Global Routes will tell you that no one in your homestay will speak English, this is false, usually at least one person does, if not more.

Cons:
Except for Zanzibar, I am not the biggest fan of East African food. Its not that it tastes bad, it just doesn't have any variety or too much flavor.

Because we were such outsiders and couldn't speak Swahili, our "free time" was pretty limited. If you want to party, there are other programs out there.

Because Global Routes is responsible for your safety, the leaders will sometimes be forced to kind of "baby" you as they really can't mess around