Tanzania

Tanzania Flight from LaGuardia is cancelled. We are currently researching our options.

Tanzania Flight Cancelled

Tanzania Flight has been cancelled.
Students will be coming from LaGuardia on Delta Flight # 6277 leaving at 5:15 PM.
Please go to Delta.com for Flight updates.

Tanzania flights

The group will arrive from JFK on Delta flight 6155 at 4:31 Monday June 24. . The flight from Tanzania to Amsterdam is on time. Please keep checking this blog for updates.

Tanzania

Another short text from Mrs. Williams in the Ngorongoro Crater area. She said that although it was foggy, they saw very rare white rhino which means they've seen the big five! All is good and they are winding their way back to the lodge for their first hot shower in weeks.

Tanzania

Sarah Williams just sent a text which said "The game viewing is incredible. We just saw a male leopard 3 feet from the truck!" Add that to the pride of 40 lions they saw the other day and it's safe to assume they will have some incredible pictures. They are heading to the Ngorongoro Crater today for more game viewing as they make their way back to civilization.

Tanzania

The group is deep into the Seregenti right now but I did receive a text via satellite phone. They saw a pride of 40 lions today which is incredibly rare! I expect when they return, we'll see some phenomenal pictures. Otherwise, all is well in Tanzania.

Tanzania

Mrs. Williams texted me several times yesterday with Goat celebration updates; the students enjoyed their farewell celebration and some said that goat was pretty good. Now they are off to the plains of Tanzania for the ultimate safari experience. I expect that cell phone communication will be very sparse in the next few days due to the remoteness of their location.

Tanzania

By all accounts, the service work with the Masai has been fantastic. So much so, that Mrs. Williams just texted, the Masai are giving us a farewell celebration with a goat slaughtering and feast. Needless to say, this may be a shock to some of the students, but it is yet another example of how deeply they are immersed in the Masai culture. It is a huge honor to be celebrated with a goat slaughter. Apparently, the tooth brushes have been a huge hit and much needed. Soon they are off to the Serengeti.

Tanzania

Wow, I just got a fantastic call from the group. Mrs. Williams said the kids were pretty excited about their first day in the village. She put the phone up and all the kids screamed. Then one by one they got on the phone and explained how today was the most incredible experience of their lives. The said the Masaai were so welcoming, so kind. They said there were 'thousands' of them who greeted our students with open arms and warm hearts. They went on and on as they passed the phone around. In my ten years as Director of the Nexus program I don't recall hearing a group as excited about their experience. Already, after just their first day, our students have transformed. They are not the same kids that left here a few days ago. They are now people who have seen poverty, been immersed in a tribal culture and they are young people making a difference in the world by helping others. In essence, that is what Nexus is really about. These experiences change our students in ways that the classroom or campus, or Virginia Beach, can't. When you hear Eli Shocket and Garrett Gomex saying their pictures are better than National Geographic, you also hear their excitement about experiencing a world they never knew existed.

Great stuff. I talked to almost all of them and everyone one of them was excited beyond words. Can't wait to hear how tomorrow goes.

Tanzania

All the bags were delivered and the kids are now in their Masaai village handing out lifestraws. All is good and we're back on track after a little rough start.

There is no cell phone service where they are so I expect communication will be intermittent for a few days.

Tanzania

Just received a text from Mrs. Williams. The are at the snake park campground. They all learned to pitch their tents, they handled snakes and a baby croc, rode camels and finally spend the afternoon working with the Lifestraws and getting used to them before they present them to the villages. They had spaghetti bolognese for dinner.

Keep your fingers crossed for the bags tonight!