Final Entry to an incredible journey

I wrote this blog at the end of each day in Tanzania before I went to sleep. It was a way for me to reflect and close out my thoughts for the day. Tonight we had our final debrief with team4tech in their Redwood City office (in a shared incubator space - very cool vibe) and this is my last blog to close out my final thoughts.

I was so looking forward to the night and mostly because I was going to see my special amazing Tanz friends and be able to connect on our experiences again. We are the only ones who can truly appreciate the range of emotions we have been through  - from the prep of the project, through the 2 week adventure, and then the reintegrating into life. Yeah, it was like looking forward to a therapy session with your friends....the only thing missing was the red wine. :)

The night was great and therapeutic. Julie (team4tech CEO) and her team were as usual, gracious hosts. They had lovely appetizers, drinks and a ton of yummy Thai food for us to enjoy while we went through our memories and suggestions. Gita, Theresa, Noel and I were in-person from our team and Marta joined via Skype in Australia. We laughed like school girls at some of our memories, paused deeply at some of the more touching points, and vowed to get together again soon so we can keep these special feelings of gratitude and peace alive. It is indeed a special bond.

The reintegrating conversations and what has changed in our lives because of this experience was very interesting. For me, the appreciation for how plentiful our lives are here and the amazing opportunities we have available to us - no matter where you fall in the socio-economic first world. I also have learned to take more time to just pause and enjoy the moment. I don't want to get numb to the grind of the daily routines, but instead pause and appreciate what is going on around me. It's so easy to get caught up in the insignificant.  I know these feelings will fade over time, but never leave me completely.

Thank you, thank you again to all of you who supported me. I feel like someone sprinkled pixie dust on me to give me this opportunity. Blessed all around.

I am a big advocate for team3tech and think anyone who is interested in a similar experience should email Julie Clulage at: julie@tem2tech.org. Absolutely make the time if you can! It will be amazing, exhausting, humbling and life changing.

Here are FINALLY some pics to enjoy.