Reflecting and Reminiscing

“Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible.”- Tony Robbins

        Reflecting on 2017 I have realized what a crazy year it was, full of visible things that happened right in front of our eyes. Whether it be all the hate that has seemed to overcome the world or all the love that was spread across the nations. Last year was also full of invisible things that occurred outside of our small little bubble. The invisible things are what inspire me daily to participate in CGA’s trips. Traveling to places that I could have never imagined and to places where people told me not to go, has given me a sense of global awareness. CGA has given me the opportunity to be a part of something bigger than myself, to push myself to make daily goals that benefit not only me but the other people in my life.

        When I got the call that I was lucky enough to get to travel back to Tanzania, I was overwhelmed with happiness. A happiness I haven’t felt since last summer when I was there. If someone asked me three years ago if I could go back to one place I had already been, I would have said no that’s only for the really experienced people that are amazing at teaching. Now it’s 2018, I have been on three trips with CGA, I am the mentor for my amazing group and I get to go back to one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. This opportunity to travel back to Tanzania has pushed me to set high expectations and goals for myself. My two main goals for this summer is to be exceptional in my teaching and have confidence in myself once I step up in front of a classroom full of kids. My next goal for this trip is to be the best possible leader and version of myself that I can be. Since I am the student mentor a huge goal for me is to be an approachable leader for the other students on my trip. It is extremely important to me to accomplish these goals because I don’t want to allow myself to settle for anything other than my best work because that is what the students and my team members deserve.

        Before I traveled to Tanzania last year I imagined the kind of thing you see in the Lion King, all deserts and animals roaming around, I was way off. When our team was driving into Arusha from the airport my eyes had so many places to look, sunflowers, sky high mountains, little buses that crammed a whole family, and the Maasai people. My eyes and mind constantly went back to them, they were studded from head to toe with vibrant colors from their robes and beads, they were fascinating. Throughout our two weeks there I learned there was so much more to Tanzania than the sights and students. Tanzania was a safe space from war, where all the tribes could live together in peace unlike its neighboring country Kenya at times. A result of this declaration of peace means the nomadic tribe of the Maasai people are spread all throughout south-western Kenya and northern Tanzania in unity.

        The Maasai have a reputation to be fierce warriors and most other tribes feared them due to this. To the naked eye many would never see that the Maasai tribe goes much deeper, you would never think that the tribe revolves around something as simple as cattle. They believe that Ngai gave the Maasai people all the cattle, therefore anytime someone else had cattle it was assumed that they stole from the tribe. Even in today’s ever changing world, the Maasai have managed to maintain their traditional ways. One of the most interesting traditions to me the circumcision performed on both sexes, when they do this the males are not permitted to make a noise during the ceremony but the females are.  

        The Tanzanian culture continues to inspire me and leave me in awe every time I dive deeper in to it. Learning about what the people of the country, specifically the Maasai people, gives me a greater appreciation for all the beautiful things Tanzania has to offer. I am so blessed and excited to finally go back to the place that took a little piece of my heart 6 months ago!