Tanzania: African Cultures & Landscapes

My first choice to study abroad in was Argentina however I'm so glad that I didn't get it and got Tanzania instead. The group I went with was so diverse, every ethnic background and twelve different states combined. I loved this trip because every time I travel I like to visit rural areas and considering I'm pretty low maintenance and like to go with the flow this trip was perfect. I would say you have to be pretty rugged to endure this trip. There will be times where you feel uncomfortable about something but once you cross that line you will have more fun than you ever did. This trip was a perfect balance of learning about culture and having outdoor fun. Things I will never forget are the skies painted in stars and postcard beaches. Also I feel like the reason my trip was so fun was because of the people I went with, everyone's personality and contribution was amazing, I couldn't have asked for a better group. The fun was meeting new people and sharing stories, I wouldn't have traded this opportunity for anything else.

Traveling to Tanzania was by far the most pivotal and unforgettable experience of my life! The journey began at the airport when we first met our group members and group leaders. We were all strangers at first, but in a matter of days, we grew inseparable! Tanzania itself is such a welcoming and nurturing country. I enjoyed every single moment of my trip! From the hotel stays, to the restaurant visits, to the Swahili classes, to the homestays, to the bucket showers, to camping, to the safaris -- everything! The good times were incredibly enjoyable but the challenging moments made my stay furthermore meaningful and unforgettable. If there’s one thing I learned while being in Tanzania, it’s to embrace the moments — every moment! The good moments, the bad, the awkward, the angry, the passionate, the silent, the sad, the uncomfortable — all of them. Truly living in those moments without trying to anxiously change it makes the experience worthwhile. It’s okay to revisit feelings of homesickness or uncomfortableness just as long as you’re only visiting it and not creating a permanent living space in it (if you know what I mean). All in all, I really enjoyed my stay in Tanzania. Tanzania will DEFINITELY be seeing me again in the near future!

As part of the Experiment in International Living (EIL), my service and cultural immersion trip to Tanzania has offered me some of the greatest experiences of my life. Merely going to Tanzania was such a landmark event as I had never traveled outside of the United States before. Ever since then we landed in the airport in Dar Es Salaam, I have never felt so welcomed in a community back. Everyone in Tanzania is just as excited to meet new visitors as we are with them, so I have been accustomed to the Jambo’s (Hello) and Mambo’s (What’s up?) that greet me and my group of peers as we have traveled throughout the city of Dar Es Salaam.

As we have gone to restaurants, to museums, and even a cave, our group of 20 has soon started to become a close-knit family. This statement could not be any more correct when my group gave me my first swimming lesson in the Indian Ocean. As my group leader Carly and my friend Luke lead me into the water with a life jacket, the rest of my group soon joined us, cheering for me and circling me to make sure I felt safe. I was and still, am amazed at how supportive this group is to the rest of each other.

I also loved the opportunity to assist the communities we immersed ourselves in, such as during the homestay portion of our trip in Stahabu Village. As we helped teach the youth of Stahabu the ABC’s and how to count up to ten, we also assisted in the construction of a larger school for the children so that they could have an equal chance to succeed in their academic careers as many children do in the United States.

In addition to community service, directly connecting with my host family was a great joy and a blessing. I always loved going back to my homestay for dinner and speak with my host parents and sibling. As we would sit down and eat food such as rice and beans, ugali, and fish, I would share with them my past experiences and the United States.

Visiting Tanzania has been a life-changing experience that I wouldn’t change for anything. I was a part of incredible experiences that you could never do in the US, such as going on day-long safaris and seeing lions, zebras, and elephants! Thank you EIL (Experiment in International Living) for this incredible opportunity!

5 weeks in Tanzania. For some people that would have seemed like such a long time, yet for me. I was ready to spend the next 5 years there. From the safaris, to the beaches, the homestay, the Maasai, the mural, the songs, and the streets, to the love and community that I was revived with, I never expected it to be this amazing. I had read the itinerary a thousand times and yet everyday was a new adventure. Because no matter how much I read about it, actually experiencing it was 100x better.
The people that I traveled with and the people that I met while staying there became like family. They accepted me and treated me as their own.
I learned so much! I lived so much! And I am ready to go back, because that turned into my new home.

Traveling to Tanzania was truly a memorable experience for me. The moment we arrived to Dar es Salaam I felt good about where I would be for the next days. The first week while we were there i can't express in words how much we were able to do. We went on a bike tour around the city where we visited different neighborhoods and got o learn about the people who live there. We went to Dar's beautiful beaches, we went to carving classes and learned about their detailed and hard work put into their art pieces. The food at each restaurant was so good, and taking Swahili classes really helped when we wanted to do some local shopping around the city. My home stay experience at Stahabu, a village near the coast of Tanzania was unspeakable. Spending time with my home stay family made me realize a lot of things about myself and my relationships with my own family back at home. Working with the children from the village for our community service project was o much fun, and a worthy experience to share a space with kids eager to learn. Working at a construction cite to help build a school made me realize the importance of having a space where everyone can have the opportunity to an education. When spending time with other members of the village and dancing along with them, I felt connected to their community and at home. In Arusha, I was surprised with how much history was behind the community center in which we stayed. I had the opportunity to paint a mural with other members of my group and I was amazed by how it turned out, we really went beyond our expectations. At the Massai, the complete different environment that i was exposed to caught my eye the moment we arrived. Meeting our mommas, dancing with them and beading them are of the many memories I will forever keep because of how kind and energetic they were. Learning about their daily lives, their chores, their traditions amazed me in so many ways because they lived such simple lived and yet they were so happy to share with one another without any problem. The safari in Kilimanjaro left me speechless, the view there was more than beautiful, the animals we got to see were very exciting and truly out there in their habitat, it was nice to be able to see them out in the wild instead of closed in in cages or glassed rooms. I fell in love with Tanzania as a whole. The landscapes were huge and different from another making each of them unique in their own ways. The sky was so clear sometimes, you could see so many stars and even shooting stars if you got lucky. The people were so warmhearted, full of energy and their happiness was easily contagious. Their culture was so interesting to learn about and to be a part of, I do hope and I know I will see myself going back in a few years.

My time in Tanzania through the Experiment in International Living defied words, expectations, and explanations. This program was so well structured and planned. My only wish would be to have had more time. I thought it was perfect that we began in Dar Es Salaam and were slowly eased into Tanzanian life. We then had our homestay in the village of Stahabu, where I was stunned by the connections I was able to build with my family and other members of the village. The homestay experience is one that I believe could not be replicated outside of this program. It was unique and mind blowingly different, yet normal. This would be one of the main reasons I would recommend this program. We also stayed with two ex-Black Panthers, Pete and Charlotte O'Neal, at the United African Alliance Community Center. Exposure to this hub of art and music and creativity moved me deeply and created one of the periods of most creative inspiration that I have experienced in my life. This, along with our time staying with the indigenous Maasai people, are two experiences that I do not believe could be replicated outside of this program. I was extremely grateful to have this opportunity to spend time with a Maasai family and get to know them on such a personal level. I went into my time in Tanzania with no expectations because I knew I could not predict what incredible things I would experience. The trip was more than I could have ever imagined, and I am grateful to have had this unique opportunity.

The trip to Tanzania was an amazing experience that I will always remember. The trip gave me sight into my future career of becoming an international English teacher. The time I spent teaching the students at the schools inspired me and gave me the little push to see that this is what i truly love doing. I made many connections on the trip that I will never forget, and I even got offered a internship there which I will definitely take up on in the up in coming years after college.

I loved this whole trip and the people who experienced it with me. Everyone from my leaders, to my peers, and the people who were guiding us along the way. This trip was the best experience of my life so far. It was so beautiful and eyeopening.I bought back so much knowledge, built life-long bonds, faced fears, stepped out my comfort zone, and most of all had fun. I would definitely go back and do plan on going back and I hope next year’s group enjoys it as much as I did.