Where’s Dave?
“Where’s Dave?” was our favorite catchline of the trip — do you know why? Because our fellow traveler Dave was always welcomed into people’s houses while we were walking down the street, exchanging conversation with locals, stopping to chat with vendors, and genuinely soaking in all there was to take in during our ten days in Tanzania.
From Day 1, he declared that his goal was to hear people’s stories and really get to know this corner Africa. This is the perfect trip for someone like Dave who searches for cultural immersion and has curiosity about the world. This (contagious!) openness and thirst for knowledge and connection truly set the tone for the experience.
Language
Our group loved learning and trying out new Swahili phrases everyday. We learned how Swahili is the language that unites many people from around Africa; many people speak more than one language, as there are a lot of regional languages or dialects based on your roots or tribe.
Family
Our guide, Mama Simba, is an incredible host. She has a team of family that help make this trip happen, and welcome us into her bed & breakfast-style lodge. Her daughter Maryline accompanied us many days as well throughout the trip, sharing about their culture and showing us around town. Mama Simba’s sister was our chef, and we even got to stop and meet our driver Samuel’s family one day while we were out and about. You could really feel how family centered the culture in Tanzania is, and how they don’t only treat family like family, they also treat friends like family, and are incredibly warm and welcoming to all people.
Service
We spent 4 days volunteering at a primary school where we taught English and painted a classroom at the school. Mama Simba is connected to this school year round: she knows the teachers, the kids, and was able to tell stories of how Discover Corps has impacted the school over the years. Our travelers have provided a printer and copy machine, helped start a library and have also put electricity in the school. These are all huge improvements and also huge projects that our travelers have taken on after returning from their trip. To me it speaks volumes of just how impacted our travelers were by their time at the school, connection with the kids, and also their huge hearts that took action to make a difference. During our time at the school we taught a one-hour English class in the morning and then worked on painting a classroom.
Cultural Exploration
We visited a coffee farm, where we made our own coffee from roasting the beans, to grinding the beans while singing and dancing. It was a coffee experience, not just a coffee tasting. We also did a Batik workshop, where we learned about this textile art, and created our own that we got to take home. And lastly, we got to shop for our own fabric and have custom made pieces made to support the local tailor. This was a very fun experience, and everyone got to wear their pieces for our final dinner!
Safari
The last few days of the trip were spent on Safari! We explored Tarangire National Park, Ngorongoro Crater, and Lake Manyara. All different types of ecosystems, and all were beautiful with incredible wildlife viewing. Ngorongoro Crater is home to more than 20,000 large animals, as we drove down into the crater with the clouds slowly rolling over the mountains, we witnessed lions approaching and stalking some buffalo nearby. And this was just the beginning. We saw Zebras, flamingos, a large group of lions napping, hundreds if not thousands of wildebeests running across the plains.
Tanzania is one of those places I will never forget. We lived SO much in those ten days that it feels surreal to be on the plane home thinking about all of the people you’ve met, the things you’ve learned, and the places you’ve been. It was truly a trip of a lifetime, a sentiment that I saw a lot from returning travelers but finally got to feel for myself. Asante sana Tanzania!