By Frances McClain Hi—Frances here!
Unfortunately, I can’t share any photos because I only have a film camera with me, but I’m sure many will come soon considering all of our other group members brought digital cameras with them.
This is somewhat of a blogging test run—it’s only been four days, so there’s not a whole lot to report yet! Tanzania is beautiful and I love the town we’re in.… Read More
Greeting, Friends and Family! We have word from the Kifaru group that all went well in Amsterdam, and they are now on the ground in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. Hurray! The group is undoubtedly feeling the fatigue of such long travels, as well as the excitment at being in a vastly different region of the world. They have an airport pickup to a local hostel, where they will spend the… Read More
Mambo Kifaru Crew!
Greetings from Ellen & Mike. We have spent the last week here in Portland eagerly preparing for our upcoming trip to East Africa. We are excited to meet all of you soon, and look forward to traveling, playing, learning and growing together over the next three months. We hope you are as pumped about our amazing itinerary as we are. Be on the look out for a… Read More
We’ve just received word that the Kifaru crew is all checked into airport security and, after 3 wonderful months together, are parting ways. A huge asante sana (thank you!) to everyone who has supported the journey along the way, from our incredible contacts and hosts in East Africa to friends and families back home. An especially big thank you to our rockstar Overseas Educators, Kelsi and Chris, and to all… Read More
Blog from Riley S. Photos from Kelsi & Chris Greetings from Zanzibar, friends. We have recently spent the last week exploring paradise! After an hour and half voyage on a crowded ferry, we finally made it to Stone Town. There we found ourselves greeted by our guide. He showed us to our home stay. We spent six days staying with Muslim families in the heart of Stone Town. Each day… Read More
Blog from Kevin Seeger. Photos from OEs It seems that I have somehow ended up with the task of writing yet another blog post. I think in total I will have covered the entire time we were in Uganda. I’ll start off with Lake Bunyoni. It was absolutely amazing to be able to swim for the first time in Africa! The water was pretty cold, but it was disease, hippo,… Read More
The group is now on to Uganda and doing well! While we’re waiting for their next blog, here are a few pictures sent by Kelsi and Chris of their time in Rwanda.… Read More
Blog from Moreh Stewart I think I speak for all of us when I say we wish we could have more time in Rwanda, especially the beautiful city of Kigali. We arrived in this vibrant city on the 28th of March and each day has brought its own challenges and joys. we visited five memorials, a colorful market, and an amazing Coffee farm.
After our first night in Kigali we… Read More
Blog from Nina S, photos from Chris and Kelsi Over the last week we had the honor of living and working with the NGO Wildlife Connection. This NGO specializes in bridging the gap between wildlife and humans. We worked with them to build elephant friendly fences for local farmers. Elephants will often travel outside of Ruaha National Park, looking for food, often finding it on farms and tramping all the… Read More
Blog from George Geike We continued our cultural immersion in the highlands of Southern Tanzania through a two-part program in Igoda province organized by Foxes NGO, a non-profit dedicated to child welfare and regional healthcare.
The first half of our program was a four-night homestay with farmer families of the Hehe tribe. Here, our Kiswahili and “kulima” (cultivation) skills gained over the past two weeks at Lutheran Junior Seminary and… Read More
Blog from Jack F. Over that last week we had the pleasure of being allowed into the Ohana Amani experience. The Ohana Amani Holistic Living Center is lead by sisters Chevy and Curry Anton, Curry’s partner Luca, who pursue the holistic living style by not only having a permaculture-style farm, they also have a tree farm, and well-treated livestock.
Hitting the ground running the first day (as all days start)… Read More
The Kifaru team is currently at the Ohana Amani Holistic retreat and seem to be doing great! While we’re waiting for a blog update, the Overseas Educators sent along a few photos. Enjoy!… Read More
Blog from Nanci We started our Swahili classes Wednesday morning at the Lutheran Seminary School. The Lutheran school is a boarding school with students from Kindergarten to graduation. All of the students wear blue and white uniforms.
When we arrived, we were taken to a small classroom. A student assistant, Eliamini, introduced us to our teacher, Mama Josephine. We began by learning a few greetings in Swahili. We started out… Read More
Blog written by Kevin S I’m not sure how many people will read this, so hello to anyone out there. Tanzania is a beautiful country, and the mountains we are near are amazing. It is pretty hot, but not unbearable. The thing that has struck me the most is the infrastructure here. It is much better than I was expecting. The power lines here are all organized, especially when compared… Read More
Blog written by Moreh S The first thing that I noticed when walking in the streets here at Morogoro is that people are extremely friendly and kind. Everyone will say hi and help you with your Swahili. At the places we have stayed the locals are caring and ever willing to help us find the places we would need to visit or eat. Aside from being nice and friendly people… Read More
Written by Nina, Jack, and George while on their scavenger hunt! Our first impressions of Tanzania were definitely a culture shock. We encountered an eclectic and vibrant city in Dar es Salaam and a friendly and diverse people in its midst. On the way to Morogoro we had a 5 hour lesson in Tanzanian hip hop. Upon arriving at the foothills of the Uluru mountains we found a quaint hostel… Read More
We received word that the Kifaru crew has landed safe and sound in Dar es Salaam. They’ll be catching up on some rest at a hostel this evening before transferring to Morogorro tomorrow for their orientation. They are excited to have arrived and we can’t wait to hear about their adventures!… Read More
Hi! Kelsi and Chris here, greetings from Portland, Oregon! Today we would like to welcome you all to our Carpe Diem Kifaru group for spring 2017. We are excited to be discovering East Africa through exploration, humor and reflection.
This is the space where we will share our adventures with our friends, family, and the greater world. Throughout the semester you will all be seeing updates on this blog so… Read More
Well we’ve done it. After a swift escape from the sweltering labyrinth of Dar es Salaam, we write you from the southeastern coast of Zanzibar, basking in the cooling breezes of the Indian Ocean. Slowly, through this white coastal sunlight, the dust is finally beginning to settle, and we’ve been able to wind down and reflect on the powerful adventure we shared with you.
As your leaders, we couldn’t have… Read More
