The Final Goodbye

“Memories aren’t always on paper, they are in your hearts.” -Unknown

Yesterday was our final day at LOAMO and leaving the school was one of the hardest moments in my life. The day was filled with lots of joy, but also a lot of sorrow as we left the school, because leaving the school almost brought me to tears, but the students will never be forgotten by me.

The two weeks I spent at LOAMO will always be in my heart. The kids made such in impact on my life and I will never forget them. The students taught me so much about life and happiness and I will keep those lessons with me for the rest of my life. They taught me that I need to be grateful for what I have and live my life to the fullest every single day. Coming on this trip with an open heart made such an impact on me and I learned so much. I will be coming back home to America with a whole new meaning of life. It is going to be very hard for me to know that I could possibly never see them again. They mean the world to me and I am going to do everything I can to come back to Arusha. The kids are like my brothers and sisters and it was very hard to leave them.

However, though we said farewell to the younger classes after lunch, we didn’t have to say goodbye to Classes Six and Seven just yet. On Friday, we had a dance for all these students. It was amazing to see the smiles on their faces as they were walking into the dance.  The dance couldn’t have been a better way of saying goodbye to them. We all had a night to remember out on that dance floor. Watching the kids smile and having a good time definitely put a smile on my face. They all loved teaching us how to dance, and they also loved watching how we danced. Dancing with the kids was one of the best times of my life; I will always remember it. Towards the end of the dance, Loserian took us all outside to give a speech. He thanked us for the blessing of having us at the school and to help teach the students. As a thank you gift, he gave us bracelets and roses. He gave us the presents by having a student walk up to us and hand them to us. Brenda, in Class Seven, gave me mine, and she gave me a hug after she handed them to me, which couldn’t have been sweeter. After we got our gifts, he gathered us all in a circle to say a prayer. At the end of the prayer, the kids had to go back home before it got too late. We all walked back to the bus and said our final goodbyes. While the kids got on the bus and started to leave, I ran up to the back of it and put my hand against the window. Then Nossien put hers against the window, too. Once I let go of the bus, I stepped away and waved my final goodbyes to the kids.

This trip has opened up a whole perspective on life to me. The kids at LOAMO taught me so much about life and I wish everyone could learn what I did. I am very grateful that I was able to come on this trip with the people I did. I will be coming back home as a new me.

Don't Judge A Book By Its Cover

As you might have read in my last blog, we have switched classrooms. Switching to Prep was very rough, but so far very worth it. Switching to Prep meant that I had to start fresh by getting to know the teachers and students, teaching differently, and learning how to control a different class.

                As the week has been moving forward, I have developed stronger relationships with the teachers. The teachers and I can now sit down and have a full conversation about anything. The teachers would tell me about their personal stories and some things I could never imagine telling a stranger. Over the past week, I have gained a great sense of pride in myself because the teachers trust me to teach and watch over their students. On Wednesday, the Kindergarten teacher, Teacher Mariam, pulled me into her class and gave me a friendship bracelet that she personally made. This gesture made me feel very close to her and it showed me that we are really important in their lives. All the teachers asked me for my contact information so we can keep in touch. It feels good to know that the teachers want to keep up with my life. It’s very special to me that they care about us as much as we care about them.

                Today, Teacher Mariam treated me to something very special. At our break time, she took me to a little shop right by the school and bought me candy and a soda. Just from going on that little walk, I’ve learned more about her than I have ever imagined by just asking one simple question. I asked her about her story and if she went to school. She told me that she is living alone and is working on getting a diploma, then a degree. As I see every day, she works very hard while teaching to get money to go to a university. The one thing that she told me that really impacted me was that she has everything she needs to get a diploma, except one. That one thing holding her back from going to get a diploma was money. It’s crazy to think that in this world, the one thing holding us back from doing what we love is money. The Kindergarten teacher is unbelievably smart and she is being stopped from pursuing her goals because of pieces of paper. It really showed me that my whole entire life could be controlled by paper, rather than pursuing what I love and pursuing a career. 

                I also went on my second home visit to Mama Elli’s (part of the kitchen staff) house. She lives with four other people in a kitchen-sized house. Mama Elli had no shame of her house at all – she was more proud of it than anything.  She kept her house so clean and neat; it was amazing to see how much pride she had in it. Back home in America, we have so much and will just throw it on the ground, while here they take pride in every single thing they have. It showed me that I need to treat my possessions with respect and be thankful that I am so blessed to have everything I have.

                The week has gone by so fast and I’m sad it’s coming to an end. I have gotten so close with the teachers and they have all taught me so much. One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned from them is to not judge a book by its cover. The teachers come in with the biggest smiles every day, but you don’t know their real story until you get to know them. 

Never Stop

When someone hears that I’m in Africa, they may think I’m on a vacation. But we are here to work, and that’s what we do everyday. That is what I love about this service trip – we are always helping somebody and making their life a little easier. Over the weekend, we didn’t stop working. First, we surprised the cleaning ladies at LOAMO and cleaned the school for them. Then, we went to an orphanage to go and play with kids.

On Saturday, we decided to give the ladies at the school a break. They were all filled with joy and were excited that we would help them. It was priceless to see the excitement on their faces when they found out that we were going to clean the school. Cleaning the school reminded me that we are always doing something helpful, whether it is something big or something small. While I was on my hands and knees cleaning the school, I would get that feeling that you are making someone’s day a lot easier and that is when it really hit me. After we all finished with cleaning, Loserian, (the husband of the founder) came up to us and told us something very special. He told us how thankful and grateful he was to have us there, helping his school. Hearing him say those words so sincerely really made my trip. It showed that we are truly making a difference in the students’ and teachers’ lives.

On Sunday, we still didn’t stop working. We went to an orphanage called Save Africa. At the orphanage, there were thirty kids who ranged from three years old to nineteen years old. Every kid was filled with joy and happiness. Even though the kids were shy at first, they opened up to us with just one kick of a soccer ball. All the kids couldn’t have had a bigger smile on their face while we were there, which brought a smile to my face as well. The kids all have very little in their life, but are making the most of it. Seeing the kids’ smiles and hearing their laughter was truly incredible. While at the orphanage, I started to notice that even though we are here to teach, the kids are really teaching us. We might be there to teach English, but the kids are teaching us how to we really need to live our lives.

With a new week ahead of us we were all very anxious to get to our new classes. Switching from Class Three to Prep was a huge change. On the first day when I walked in all the kids ran to me and hugged me, and after tha,t I knew this class was perfect.  Restarting with a new group of teachers and students was very over whelming, but on day two we started to bond more.  Even though it was a huge transition, it is really starting to get more natural. As the week goes on, I’m getting to know the students, teachers, and myself even more. Among the students on this trip, we could probably all agree that the students at LOAMO and Save Africa are actually the true teachers. It really shows that to find happiness, you just need to make the most of life.

Hit It Straight On

Yesterday was a truly amazing day at the school. At school we had sports day where you could do any activity that came to mind. I taught the kids how to dance, we had a running competition, and we had a huge soccer game.

During sports day Tate thought he was the best at soccer, but come on, we all know he’s not. The kids loved watching Tate and Kevin play soccer. Evan and I did “The Macarena” with the kids, which was very exciting. The kids also loved hearing stories about Barack Obama from me, and how much they love him. At the end of the day we said our goodbyes, but Sophia, Gitte, Mallory, Krissy, and I did not say goodbye to a young girl named Noela.  We all did our first home visit of the trip, and it was very inspirational. A home visit is where you go to the homes of the less fortunate children in the school and ask their parents about their story. Driving to Noela’s house was very nerve-wracking because I didn’t know what to expect or how to react once I arrived.

Once we all arrived, we were greeted by Noela’s grandmother, aunt, and father. Noela’s father really opened up to us, even though he had just met us. Noela’s story was truly inspirational and heart-warming to hear. The story that hit me the most from the house visit was hearing about Noela’s health. Her father told us that she is HIV positive and doesn’t even know. Noela’s father also told us that her mother died when Noela was three months old, and that Noela doesn’t know how her mother died. Hearing that really put a dent in my heart. Personally, I believe she should know about her own life to keep herself safe. Even though she is sick all the time, she is always coming to the school with a smile on her face and you could never tell that she was sick just by looking at her. Noela was also diagnosed with a skin disease that looks like she has light patches all over her body. Noela’s dad said they couldn’t afford both the medication for skin disease and the medication for HIV, so they are only getting medicine for HIV. It is amazing to see her living her life to the fullest while being sick very often. Noela’s father told us she is coming home everyday always in high spirits about school and is always studying when she gets home. In my experience, after teaching her for a week, she is one of the most joyful girls ever and is always trying to live life to the fullest. Noela is truly an inspiration to me, showing that even though life might throw a curve ball to you, you just have to hit it straight on.

The Real Happiness

“ If you need to be happy, you need to surround yourself in happiness.”- Unknown

After looking back at home today I realized that true happiness is not measured in wealth, but is measured in whom you surround yourself with. Being on this trip for even a week has really changed my perspective on life, and I know it will change more in the week to come. If you were on this trip, you would realize that life is all about happiness, not what college you want to go to or your salary at your job. Being surrounded by these kids daily teaches me that we should know we are blessed with what we have – every drop of water, every piece of food, and that we have jobs to support our family. The kids at school are living with close to nothing and are still smiling at school.

After Tate, Kevin, and Nicole told me about their house visit, it really brought a tear to my eye. Mr. Kimaro is the computer teacher for LOAMO and struggles daily in life just because of money, but still comes to school with the biggest heart. After hearing the story that he appreciates every square inch of his kitchen-sized house really showed me how I wished we would start doing that. He has two little pods as a house and supports a family of five. Kevin told me that he and Mr. Kimaro talked about how much time Mr. Kimaro had to relax. Mr. Kimaro said, “My down time is 10:30 PM to 7:00 AM, and that’s when I sleep.” He gets very little pay, works all day, and would never think of complaining about his life the way we complain that our cell phone dies. He is the most dedicated and hard-working man I have ever met and I want to be just like him when I am older.

When Lisa-Marie told us the names of the less fortunate kids in the school and I heard my closest friend’s name I was very surprised. Not because she wears nice clothes everyday, but that she is smiling all day long at school and takes nothing for granted. Every day when I walk into the classroom, she is laughing and smiling and it’s really amazing to see that much happiness in somebody’s life with very little supplies. We have so much in life and just overlook it; the kids at the school would treasure the nice things that we have for the rest of their lives, and I wish in America we could do that as well.

My First Sight

Arriving in Africa was when it really hit me, but I honestly I still can’t believe I am here with some of my closest friends. The first sight of Tanzania I had was Mt. Kilimanjaro and it was absolutely amazing. I was expecting a hot and desert-like environment, but it is tropical and full of vegetation. So far in this trip we have taken everything Tanzania has to offer.

On our way “home” most of us slept, but some of us stayed up to get our first look at Tanzania. When we got to where we were staying we were surprised by a Swahili teacher who taught us about culture and their language. On day two of the trip we toured the city of Arusha with Rasta John and Jason. Even though we did a lot of walking it was definitely worth it to see the culture. It was beautiful to see Tanzanian markets first-hand because that can really show you what Africa is. On day three we went to Cradle of Love where we went to visit babies in an orphanage and your heart would melt as they ran to hug you. We got to feed the babies and play with them outside. All of us were saying we wish we could take them home, but we know that’s not happening.

July 14 was our first day at LOAMO. Right as we got there we had a little assembly, which was amazing to see. The children would line up by grade, sing songs, and pray all together. Then we went straight to our classroom. I got chosen with class three and it couldn’t have been a better choice. They love touching you hair and skin, it can get over whelming, but it’s amazing to see the joy in their eyes. I sat next to a girl named Einoth and she is filled with tons of joy. Every time I walked into the classroom she would always have a big smile on her face and can make me laugh at any time. On our snack breaks we will always play games and tell each other stories about our homeland, which is amazing to hear about first-hand. While all of us bring in happiness it really shows that the kids pick it up from us and are very happy we are here. Since we have been arriving in the mornings we can see the children each day jump up and down with excitement.

I love teaching the kids math, science and geography the most because they always laugh at me for how bad my hand writing is. They always call me “teacher” and ask me a million questions about America. At the end of the day I give the kids big hugs and goodbyes, but I know I will be back tomorrow to teach them. The days at school are long, but I am always looking forward to creating bonds with each and every one of the children at LOAMO. 

The Horrifying History Of Our World

In this blog assignment we were asked to write about the Holocaust and The African Slave Trade, which are two horrible events that happen in our world history. These two events tore families apart and destroyed young and old humans lives.

The Holocaust was governmental mass murder of about 6 million Jews during WWII, which was lead by Adolf Hitler. Even though Adolf Hitlers goal was to kill the Jewish people, the Gypsies and the disabled people came under attack.

The Nazis created Extermination Camps, which were camps for the purpose of systematic mass extermination. They also made Concentration Camps to break the spirit of the Jewish people and at the camps the deaths tolled up due to little food, water, and shelter.

In the end of The Holocaust around 2 out of 3 European Jews died. Once the allies took control of what was going on they finally invaded Germany and Adolf knew he had been defeated, but before the Allies could reach him Adolf had killed himself.

The African Slave Trade was also a horrific event as well. The Trade began when cotton, tobacco and, sugar cane plantations needed extra workers to get more profit. In the 15th century countries such and Spain, Portugal, and England sent ships to the west coast of Africa to take slaves from their tribes.

Portugal was the first country to arrive and they brought spices with them to trade for slaves. After about 100 years other countries started to join the slave trade and also went to gather slaves, The slave trade was at a all time high around the 18th century, but then came illegal soon after.

Around 11-12 million were taken from their tribes and sent to plantations in wealthier places. The slaves were often treated very poorly and beaten. Then due to all the segregation that happen then and after made problems for our country to join as a whole.

The two horrible events are often similar, but can also be explained as being different. While the Holocaust was to kill and the Slave Trade was to make labor workers, they both ruined many family lives. They are also horrific events that happen in our world and show how bad our world used to be.