Guest blogger: Dez!

Hi everyone! My name is Dez and I am from Virginia Beach! 

It has been officially two weeks since I have left home to come to Tanzania. So far everyday has been a great adventure and I have learned so much. Every weekend we go somewhere out of Iringa and stay the night. This weekend we went to Ruaha National Park, which is the second largest park in Africa! I have never been on a safari before and for this first time experience I really enjoyed it. Going there was really fun, just seeing the animals and bonding with people that I usually never talk to. I got to see elephants, hippos, giraffes, and even a lion, alongside several other animals. My friends and I made up a new language for most of the animals that we had seen. Giraffes were riff rafs, elephants were kiwis, impalas were doctors, and many more. Since there were two cars and one guide, and I was in the car without the guide, we were our own tour guides. We spent our time at the park in safari trucks that allowed us to stand up with our heads out the roof while we were driving. While this resulted in us getting a great view of the park, and an amazing sunset, it also caused us to get covered in a layer of dust from head to toe. By the end of the day when we finally got to take a shower, we all felt nasty and dirty. It changed our shirts, no matter the original color, to filthy brown and our hair to grey. But hey, it was worth it. 

The trip on the way back to Iringa was funny because we all took a great nap in ways we never knew that our body’s could bend. Every 5 to 10 minutes everyone would be forced awake by the thud of the car speeding over rocks and potholes. Also, the funny (but also not funny part) was that we all woke up coughing up the dust that the car kept making and we kept inhaling. Overall this weekend was the highlight of my trip. I am very thankful that I had the opportunity to come here and learn as much as I have. I only have 4 more days left in Tanzania and every moment is another for the memories book. Even just being here for 2 weeks I have learned a lot about myself, the Tanzanian culture, the Swahili language and even about back home: Americans take a lot for granted. This experience is something that I am going to take home and cherish for a long time along with the many lessons that has come with it. Whoever is reading this I recommend trying somehow to find a way to come to Iringa, Tanzania you will really go home a new person. 

That’s all from me for now! 

Xoxo Dez, Dee, and the Iringa Session 2 Girls!