Africa

Lately I have really been missing one thing...Africa. Two years ago I spent 10 weeks in Tanzania. It was the most amazing trip I have ever been on. I learned to speak Swahili, had some unbelievable experiences, learned so much and made amazing friends. I worked at an orphanage and a nursery school, teaching English and other subjects. I absolutely adored my kids and still think about them often. I stayed in Moshi, a town at the foot of Mt. Kilimanjaro. Kili was the backdrop of my stay, and took my breath away every single day I was there and looked up at her. I got to climb to the first camp of Kili, and want to return some day to make the 6 day trek to the top and back. Being there for 10 weeks gave me a special advantage. I became more than a tourist. I became part of the culture and community. I made friends who I still keep in touch with. If you don't know, Tanzanian's are the most friendly, welcoming and warm people on the planet. Moshi became my home, and I miss it dearly. I can't wait to return and bring Kevin with me. Africa is a special place. Before I left, people told me that I would leave a piece of my heart there, and they were absolutely correct. This trip was very special to me because in college my major was Global Studies (essentially global political science) with a focus on Governance and Politics in Africa, and I was working and learning in the place I had studied for so long. I have been very lucky and have been many places in my life. I love to travel, and my parents made sure that  my sister and I were able to do so growing up. I traveled to Germany alone when I was 17 to meet my sister, who was studying there, and had my 18th birthday there. We traveled from Germany to Austria to Italy to France. I got to study at La Sorbonne in Paris for a month in the summer between my 2nd and 3rd year in college, and had my 21st birthday there. I also got to stay for an extra two weeks and travel around France and Germany with my sister, who had been living and working in Greece and Germany. Besides my oversea's travels my parents also made sure that we saw all that the US has to offer. We made more than a couple of road trips through the Black Hills and Badlands, to Colorado or Wyoming, visiting the sites along the way. I really want to make this trip with Kevin, because he has never been to the Badlands, Mt. Rushmore, and those fun places like The Corn Palace and Wall Drug. My mom made sure to make time to take a trip to NYC with me to see the sites and go to a Broadway play. There have also been trips to Washington D.C. (where my sister lives now), California, Florida, North Carolina, a road trip to Georgia (high school senior spring break and one of the funnest trips ever) Dominican Republic (once for our honeymoon, and another time along with other tropical stops like the Virgin Islands on a cruise), and I'm sure I'm missing some more. Once you've traveled, you become addicted to traveling, and want to see everything and go everywhere. Some places are more memorable or meaningful than others, and some stick with you so strongly that they become part of you. That's how I feel about Africa.

I have, in the past, started a list of places I'd like to travel. I've given up because I end up putting everywhere I can possibly think of on the list. Like I said, I want to go everywhere, AND go back to those places I've been.

The two peaks of Mt. Kilimanjaro. The most famous is on the left.

Moshi town

Ngorongoro Crater. This was where we had part of our Safari

Small picture but here are my adorable kids!

On Safari

Your turn...

What was your most memorable vacation/trip?
Do you plan to go back to that place?
Do you love to travel like I do?
What places on your "to go" list?


xoxo
Dory