TZ Winter Amp Day 0

On January 2, 2025, the Tanzania Global STEWARDS travel team set off on our 24+ hour journey to Dar Es Salaam. Our team is is led by faculty advisor from the School of Public Health (SPH) Dr. Rianna Murray and SPH Science Writer & Media Relations Specialist Fid Thompson, and is comprised of 6 students - Ash (AGNR), Fahmi (AGNR), Chuck (CMNS), Damani (CMNS), John (AGNR) and myself, Gerry (SPH).

We met at 10 a.m. at IAD (Dulles) for our first flight to Atlanta (ATL) at 12:59 p.m. While waiting, we had lunch and introduced ourselves. After landing in Atlanta, we hurried to catch our next flight to Amsterdam (AMS). Luckily, the 8-hour flight had some empty seats, giving us space to stretch.

Arriving at Schiphol Airport (AMS) at 6 a.m., we were welcomed by magical Christmas decorations. With four hours before our flight to Kilimanjaro, we had breakfast, napped, and chatted. Ash and Chuck bonded over their shared interest in aircraft, while Fid stretched out for a quick rest on a long bench. Damani wandered around exploring the terminal, and Fahmi and I struck up an interesting chat with travelers from Taiwan. We departed AMS at 10 a.m. for a 9-hour flight to Kilimanjaro. The plane was full, and we had little space to rest. Unfortunately, arriving at night meant we missed views of Mount Kilimanjaro. After a short stop, we took our final flight to Dar es Salaam, landing at 11 p.m.

Rianna arranged two cars to take us to the CBD Hotel downtown. After checking in, we said goodnight, excited to start our program the next day.

--Gerry Andhikaputra