Mia ’24, reflects on the importance of human connection and the joy found in “simplicity in life,” and Rob ’26, recounts a Serengeti experience.
I have never felt more at peace with myself than when we were driving past herds of elephants in the Serengeti with the breeze rushing past my face, hair tangled into mats and dirt plastered across my face. I have never seen people as joyful as the girls at Mainsprings when singing songs of prayer with one another, just happy to be in the moment. I have never been as grateful as I am now to reflect on one of the best trips of my life and for being granted the opportunity to meet such amazing people and create memories that I know will last a lifetime.
I’ve heard stories from family and friends about one trip or experience that’s altered their perspective on life or changed the way they think. Me, being a little cynical, didn’t think that a place had the capacity to change who you are as a person. This trip proved me wrong. Mainsprings has moved me to see more of the good in people and has helped me regain faith in humanity. Meeting the girls and seeing the joy on their faces anytime they gathered together to sing, cook food or even just sharing stories with one another made me see just how vital human connection is as well as how to value the simplicity in life. These girls are hands down the happiest and most grateful people I’ve ever met and I can’t help but reflect on how I need to implement more gratitude into my life.
Going to Tanzania allowed me to make new friends across the globe, get closer to Deerfield students I would have otherwise never crossed paths with and experience what life is like from a different perspective and a different part of the world. I don’t think I’ll ever forget the friends and memories I’ve made in Tanzania and how to find joy in the little moments of every day.
-Mia 24
Our adventure kicked off at the crack of dawn, as we stumbled out of bed with sunburnt noses and tired eyes, ready to bear witness to the sun’s ascent over the endless plains of the Serengeti. After a refreshing breakfast, we readied our cameras and layered our sunscreen and bug spray, brimming with excitement for the day ahead. Split into our three herds, we traversed through grassland and rivers; a plethora of animals and their habitats on display. As a faint call came in over our radio, we could sense our guide’s eagerness, as he hurriedly pressed the gas and soared into the distance. After a cool breeze and a couple of threatening bumps in the road, we reached an amazing sight: a female lion, sleeping next to her recently devoured lunch. Over the course of the day, we saw it all: cheetah’s sprinting, lions roaring, elephants bathing, and hippos swimming.
The size of the Serengeti was truly incomprehensible, an endless sanctuary for the deserving animals whom inhabit it. At lunch time, we traded snacks and debated whose photos best captured the stunning animals we had just experienced. (Jasper of course) With faces pressed against the glass, back on the road to Mainsprings drove. In between performances of Katy Perry’s top hits, we reflected on the beauty we all had the pleasure of seeing. We had seen the big and the small, the land and the air, the kind and the scary, the creation and the destruction. With an array of smiles surrounding us, we arrived at the already familiar bunkhouse at MainSprings, that had already started to feel like home. That night we enjoyed a delicious dinner at Papa’s, reminiscing about the fun times and friends that had grown to be more like family. Taking showers and playing cards, we shared our collective excitement for the next day’s activities and basketball game. As we nestled into the comfort of our pillows, visions of the Serengeti danced delicately through the air.
-Rob ’26
