Rotary, Raffles, and Reflection: A Journey Through Connections

Today was a busy day! We woke up around 6:30 a.m., grabbed some breakfast, and headed to the Kigoma Airport to catch our 8:00 a.m. flight to Dar es Salaam. Thankfully, we made our flight and arrived safely. Once we landed, we got a ride to our hotel.

The hotel was beautiful, it had three bedrooms and three bathrooms! We arrived around 12:00 p.m., and then had a Rotary meeting scheduled for 2:30 p.m. At the meeting, we met some wonderful women who are part of the Rotary International Dar es Salaam, Oyster Bay Board. We learned so much about how the system works in Tanzania, as well as about each and every one of the women who were invited to fellowship with us. It was inspiring to sit with women who are deeply committed to service and hear about the impact they're making in their community. 

The meeting ended around 5:00 p.m. and we had some time to chat with each of the women individually. The conversations were filled with purpose and meaningful exchange, reminding us how powerful it is when women come together to support one another across continents. After our Rotary connection, we headed back to the hotel to get ready for our annual cultural immersion raffle. We prepped our speech and then went all the way live!

Going live, really worked up an appetite. Unfortunately, our dinner took so long to arrive. It felt like we were waiting for hours. When the food finally came, the fried rice with that chili sauce was well worth the wait!
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When we got back from dinner, we took showers, relaxed, and headed to bed, so that we were well-rested for another exciting day on the horizon. 

Oldina Bigot
Cohort 2024