hakuna matata.

hello, old friend. so we meet again. how are you? 

i am very well, thank you. i've been gone for a while since you know, life happens. some things have changed, others have stayed the same.

i fell in and out of love. i moved places and ended up where i started. i found inner happiness through therapy. i lost friends and found new ones. the world is ever moving, sometimes spinning faster than other times. especially right now, a lot seems to change.

for me, there are some things that will never change: my love for music. my passion for making this world a better place. and my undying love for travel.

so here we go again. even though there is a pandemic happening, in less than a week i fulfill a livelong dream. and boy has it been a struggle to get here. but let me start in the beginning:

i was 8 years old when the lion king came out. yes, that animated disney movie. i was hooked immediately. to this day, it's my favorite. about 10 years later, i saw the musical for the first time and was blown away. ever since then, i've seen it 4 more times, in germany and on broadway. and it doesn't matter whether it's in german, english, i am alone or with someone, as soon as the first chords of the circle of life hit, i am in tears. i am never sad, nor am i particularly happy. tears just start flowing. i have no idea why. i feel like there is some deep connection to africa that i can't explain. after reading sapiens, it somehow maked sense to me. all of us have our roots in africa. whether you like to hear it or not. it's not like all of us can go back a few generations to find some ancestors from there, but if you study the history of humankind, you'll realize that the homo sapiens spread out from africa.

maybe that's what makes me long to explore that continent or maybe it's something else. 

fast forward to june of 2019, i stumble across a teacher going to africa as a volunteer on insta. i interpretated that as a sign from the universe showing me how i can make my dream of going there and doing something good a reality. half a year later, i talked to the organization, set the dates and booked my flights to tanzania. and then the pandemic hit. 

up until last wednesday it wasn't clear if i could go at all. finding an insurance despite a travel warning, dealing with canceled flights and making sure i don't contract covid-19 while working with 20+ kids in a small space was a challenge. but all through this, i never gave up. i kept on buying meds and tools i need for this trip, i kept on getting all my vaccines and most importantly, never doubted i am going to make it there. i am not scared of the pandemic. i could get infected here or there. just because i am in a different part of the world, doesn't mean i would be safer in germany. call me careless. i like to call myself brave. 

so where am i going? it's tanzania,  a beautiful african country near the equator. you have the kilimanjaro, the serengeti and zanzibar (among other beautiful places). fun fact: the language used in the lion king (for names like simba and nala and songs like hakuna matata) is swahili. the official language of tanzania!

i am going to work with an organization called step africa. it's located in arusha and as a volunteer you can support a variety of projects. i decided to volunteer at the animal rescue center mbwa wa africa and an NGO called twiga vision that supports women, kids and teens whose life backgrounds are challenged in one way or another, which puts them into some kind of vulnerability. 

i am super excited to put my heart and soul into those projects and help wherever i can! 

the next couple of weeks, i am going to keep anyone interested in this journey updated here. 

if anyone wants to donate some money (for those projects), you can send it to me via paypal (a.oczenaschek@gmail.com) and i am going to show exactly what it's going to be used for. so far, i already received some donations from my wonderful students i had to say goodbye to yesterday after 4 years together. i want to thank you! you rock! 

so here we are. everything changed and everything will continue to do so. stay positive. fight for your dreams. it'll be worth it.

oh, and hakuna matata.