From Zanzibar to New York: A Bittersweet Goodbye

Today was our last day in Africa, and I know I’ll miss it forever. We started the morning with some peaceful beach meditation and were amazed by the drastic low tide that had occurred overnight. The water had receded hundreds of feet, something I had never seen before! Afterward, we took a walk along the beach, enjoying the view of different resorts and spotting tiny, transparent crabs scurrying along the sand.
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Following a few hours of relaxing, we had lunch and then began our journey back to the port to catch the ferry. Unfortunately, I’ll never forget this ferry ride, but not for a good reason. I’m usually fine on boats, but this ride proved otherwise. It was extremely rocky, and almost everyone onboard needed a sick bag. Hearing all the sick people around me was, frankly, awful.

After what felt like forever (but was only an hour and a half), we finally arrived in Dar es Salaam, where we were immediately met by a crowd of porters eager to help with our bags, for a tip, of course. We made a quick escape from the hustle and continued on to the airport.

The first leg of our flight, from Dar to Amsterdam, was nine hours long, but thankfully, I slept through most of it, which made it go by quickly. The flight from Amsterdam to New York, however, was the complete opposite. I could barely sleep, and it felt like it dragged on forever.

Once we landed in New York, we had to go through TSA and customs. Unfortunately, we missed our connecting flight to Fort Lauderdale. I was really disappointed because I was so ready to be home, see my family, sleep in my own bed, and eat some good old American food (even though the African dishes were absolutely delicious).
Thankfully, the airline put us up in a hotel in Long Beach, and it turned out to be a beautiful place. It felt like a scene straight out of a summer vacation movie, with a beachside boardwalk and a local ice cream shop right off the path. I treated myself to a huge ice cream cone, and it was everything I needed.

Later, we went out to an Italian restaurant for dinner, and I had the best Caesar salad and pasta I’ve ever tasted.
By the time we got back to the hotel, I was beyond tired, but grateful to finally be back in the Eastern Standard Time zone, it felt like the first step to getting my sleep schedule back on track. The next morning, we woke up bright and early, packed our bags, and began the final stretch of our journey home.

Siara Lewis
​Cohort 2024