We Didn’t Climb Mt. Kilimanjaro

Yes, I went to Moshi, Tanzania for two weeks during our school’s intersession, and I didn’t climb Mt. Kilimanjaro. In my defense, I wasn’t really prepared for such a physically challenging feat.

However, what I did get to do:

– Saw baby zebras at the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.

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– Got my glasses stolen by a very curious toddler.

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– Dug a foundation for a new school building and carried surprisingly heavy buckets of cement under the intense Tanzanian heat (Important: Keep hydrated, always).

– Hiked the Pare Mountains range (did I mention that I was very out of shape?).

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Departure: Procrastination

I have two more days. Reality still hasn’t hit me yet. It felt like yesterday when I landed in Albuquerque after a grueling six-hour flight from Boston, after a four-day orientation at a boarding school in Connecticut without any air-conditioning, after a whole day of traveling halfway across the world. I am not looking forward to the long trip home. If only Doraemon’s “Anywhere Door” really exists.

I left home on a rainy Tuesday night. I will return on a Saturday night. Hopefully it will be rainy. Living in New Mexico gives one serious appreciation for water and humidity.

My mom is very excited for me to come home. She has been counting down the days ever since I arrived in Albuquerque ten months ago. I’m sorry I’m growing up, mom. Really, I am. Life seems so much easier when you were coloring outside the lines.

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