African Adventure - Before Departure

For the next six weeks, this Miami native will be exploring what East Africa has to offer. Along with Operation Groundswell, I'll be traveling through Tanzania and Rwanda to learn about animal conservation.

I've read a few books about the region, have tried my hand at learning Swahili through Duolingo and haven't stopped looking up pictures of where I'll be going. To say I'm excited is an understatement!

So why Africa?

Mostly because not many people can say they've been there.

Partly because I'm as impulsive as my mother.

I applied to go to Africa with Operation Groundswell because I liked that it wasn't just traveling, it was about learning the local way of living and giving back to the community as we go along. I applied on a whim, had an interview not thinking much of it and then feeling a knot form in my stomach when I got the email that I made it in! The knot formed because how would I tell my parents that their only daughter, who has never lived away from home, is going to the other side of the country for six weeks.

Clearly I had it my way because I'm going on this life changing adventure - to say the least! I can't wait to see what East Africa is like and debunk any myths and preconceptions people may have of the area. Plus, aren't you a little jealous you're not coming along?