Back in the USA

We're back, and all we can say is......WOW! What an experience. One thing that was a definite take-away for us was the fact that there are 4 million orphans in Tanzania. As we reflect on the things that we saw, lived, ate, and captured on film, we can't help but become a little emotional. There are moments in life when things get put into perspective, and this was certainly one of those moments for us. Being over there made us feel blessed for having the opportunity to do what we love every day.

As we start the process of piecing together the footage that we have shot, undoubtedly, we will begin to relive the same feelings we had while we were over there, and that's definitely a good thing. This experience is not something that should ever be forgotten. There are over 4 million reasons to always remember the days that we spent in Tanzania, and we look forward to helping those reasons in the future.

SAFARI

Day 4

Today was great! We got to go to the orphanage at the UAACC and play with the children. It was wonderful! They were all so sweet and they all just loved playing different games with everyone that was there.
After lunch, we all hopped into the jeeps and headed towards the Bouganvilla Lodge. On the road to Bouganvilla, we were so blessed to see many amazing scenes that can only be described by seeing what we saw.......

The Masai women doing laundry


Our photographer, Jessica Peterson, gets REALLY close to a giraffe


The giraffe takes off running after it sees me


A masai man walks his goats


Stanley takes some footage of the Ngorogoro Crater

It was truly amazing to see animals, which we would normally only see at Animal Kingdom, ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD!

We arrived at our hotel and checked into our rooms, which were VERY nice. Our dinner was really good, and we were greeted by the head chef of the hotel several times throughout our meal.

Tomorrow........SAFARI!

Slums and High Class

On the second day of our journey in Africa, we saw both sides of Tanzania. The first part of the day we drove through the poor part of the town Arusha. Some of the kids on the sides of the streets didn't have shoes and their clothes were completely tattered. Their houses were made out of dirt and logs. There was trash in the street. People were pushing carts where normally animals would be. Kids were playing soccer with balls made out of trashbags and tape. Simply said, it was pretty devastating.
We made it to the orphanage and we met some adorable and charming children. We handed out candy, and strangely they all sat down and quietly ate their candy. The gave us a tour of the orphanage and then we went to their school. We played with them on their playground and had an awesome time. We then gave them balloons and they had a blast. We got some great shots of the children while we where there and also had a very sobering experience. You can view some of the photos from Good Hope here.
And then we saw the opposite side of town. We went to this ultra luxurious resort called the "Coffee Lodge". Think 5 star resort and put it in Africa and add a field of coffee plants within view. Our meals were delicious and we all spent an average of $12 when it would have cost us closer to $30 in the states. The only people at this lodge were foreigners.
We finished off the day going to the Masai market. Imagine a close quarters flea market with very pushy salesmen at every booth saying, "You come into my store. Looking is free. I give you... special price." At least we got to negotiate pricing! All in all it was a very busy and eye-opening day.
Tomorrow, we finally have some time to spend with the children that live in the orphanage on Pete's property here at the UAACC. We also will be leaving here to go to the Bouganvilla Safari Lodge, where we will stay for 2 nights. Stay tuned!

First Leg of the Journey

Our journey began on Tuesday morning at 11:30am EST. We boarded the plane, took our seats, and prepared for our day of flying. 3 flights, 6 meals, 11 in-flight movies, and 27 hours later, we arrived at the Kilamanjaro Airport. Though it was 1:30 pm EST, it was 8:30 pm in Tanzania. The first thing we noticed as we walked across the tarmac was the smell of the air and how different it was from the US. Stars everywhere, almost down to the horizon. After battling a line of fellow travelers to obtain our visas (only two immigration employees for the entire airport), we went outside to meet our host, Pete O'Neal, and our guide, Juma. We packed up the vehicles and headed for the United African Alliance Community Center (UAACC) where we will be staying for most of our trip.

As we drove to the camp, we passed many local people that were walking along the side of the highway in the darkness. It was amazing to see, because there were no signs of lights or houses for miles, so it was clear that these people were walking a great distance to get wherever they needed to go. We got to the dirt road that led to the the UAACC, and there was a sign there that said 2 kilometers to camp. Although it was a short distance, it took about 15 minutes to get to our destination due to the conditions of the roads. Bumpy is an understatement. At times, it felt that the vehicle might tip over. When we pulled up to the gate, we saw the flames of torches coming towards us out of the darkness. We heard music, and singing, and as the gate opened, we were greeted by a dance troupe who led us all the way to the pavilion at the camp. They continued to dance for us for about thirty more minutes and after that a fellow traveler from France provided further entertainment.

Our accommodations are like that of a camp. The food is delicious, consisting mostly of breads, meats, and rice. We visited two orphanages here in Arusha; Cradle of Love, which caters to helping babies from 0 - 3 years of age, and Havilah, which takes care of children from 3 - 11. Both were eye-opening and we all really enjoyed the interaction we had with the children. We got some amazing footage of the children laughing and playing, and we even got to feed about 30 babies at Cradle of Love, which was one of the best highlights of the trip so far.

Tommorow, we visit another orphanage. We look forward to connecting with the children there and seeing how things are being done in Tanzania. More to come!