Teaching at the school in Tanzania

My arrival in Dar es Salaam

After a ten hour flight I finally arrived in Dar Es Salaam and was really surprised right away. Dar es Salaam is huge and there are people on the streets everywhere. I stayed in Dar es Salaam for a total of 3 days, where I have already met a few other volunteers from RGV. Then we finally went to Tanga, my actual place of work for my volunteer work in Tanzania.

The bus ride there was a real wow experience. I didn't know what you could cram into a bus like this. In Tanga I lived in a student house together with 5 other volunteers and our housekeeper Josie. I got on really well with everyone and we always had a lot of fun. Then I was finally able to start my social project.

Teaching at the school

I was in a preschool and taught a few hours myself. Teaching at the school in Tanzania was relatively relaxed and everyone was welcomed in a friendly manner. One day we brought the gifts we had brought with us to school and gave them to the children, and it was really nice to see that children can look forward to a few balloons, pens or stickers. However, it took some time for me to get used to African life.

Polepole - From decelerated life in Tanzania

Above all, the calm that the Africans show was very unusual for me. There is no such thing as stress, everything happens very slowly, or as the locals say "polepole".

Common leisure activities

The food that Josie prepared for us every day was not very varied, but always delicious. In the evening we played games or sipped a cold soft drink somewhere. I also went on a trip to Saadani National Park with the other volunteers, which was pretty cool. We were particularly impressed by the river tour. Of course, the Kilimanjaro could not be missing. The 4 days in Moshi, that is the city on Kilimanjaro, were great!

At the end of the trip, I went to Zanzibar with the girls, which was my personal highlight. It was like you know dream beaches from the movies. Turquoise sea and white sand everywhere. We always went out to eat in the evening, which was really nice, since the restaurants were all directly on the sea, and you could hear the sound of the sea alongside the chill-out music. Of course everything went really "polepole" here and you had to wait at least an hour for your food, but that wasn't so bad with the atmosphere.

Conclusion: Heavy farewell and great culture!

Saying goodbye to the girls was a bit difficult for me, after all we saw each other constantly for a month and got to know each other well. But we swore it wouldn't be our last meeting. All in all I am very satisfied with my volunteer work in Tanzania. Things didn't always work out as they should, but you just have to learn that. In Africa, the clock ticks much more slowly and you should always plan less for the day than you actually want.

On the other hand, the African culture offers great qualities! People are very open and simply have time for each other. You definitely don't have the kind of stress that we have at home there. I don't regret for a second that I dared to teach in Africa and I take a lot with me from Africa.

Teaching at the School in Tanzania Review by C. Kirschner, January 2014