Tanzania by Georgia

The Tanzania trip in 2015 was full of unforgettable experiences, ranging from the first few days spent in luxury in Zanzibar, where we got a taste of the tourist attractions on the beautiful island. This included snorkelling, a tour teaching us all about the history of the island, specifically Stone Town where we stayed and a fully immersed meal in the Swahili culture, where we were required to remove our shoes and sit on the floor, whilst enjoying a wide range of traditional dishes. However, we didn’t fully experience Africa until we got to Tanzania, where we were thrown into the life of the locals.

We were all filled with appreciation when happily embraced by the local villagers where we were staying, and all had a great time playing with the young village children every evening, teaching them classic English rhymes such as the ‘hokey cokey’. We then learnt how different the education system was, when we were given the chance to teach. This was one of our favourite parts of the trip, as we all felt grateful for the opportunity not only to share new knowledge with the students but also be able to learn from them and how grateful they were for the chance to get an education. We were able to raise money for the school through fundraising before we left and managed to supply every student with a new exercise book, pen and pencil.

Whilst there we were also able to see what the local markets were like, local hospitals, go on a safari, re-paint the blackboards and hike up a local mountain site, Morningside. Although diving into a completely different way of life proved to have its struggles, such as no hot water (or sometimes no working showers at all), we all pulled together and all felt we had personally grown from the experience, feeling very touched by the gratitude each student had for the many things we take for granted back in our everyday lives in England. It really was a remarkable trip, which all of us feel has offered us a new prospective on the world.

By Georgia Davis