The 2 years are over!

I am writing this very last blog sitting in Nairobi airport waiting to catch my flight back to Heathrow. I am feeling very different to just under 2 years ago when I was sitting in Heathrow with lots of new people nervously waiting to start my adventures in Mwanza. I can’t believe how quickly those 2 years have gone. I have seen and done so many amazing things while I have been here and have some memories that I will never forget.  As my time is coming to the end I have been thinking about the things I will miss and the Tanzanian ways that have become very normal but am quite looking forward to not having to put up with!

There are so many incredible parts of living here that I couldn’t name them all but here are just a few ……….

•Beautiful African sunsets especially from a boat on Lake Victoria.

•Sunshine all the time! (except for the warm torrential rain!)

•Amazing places to go on holiday just a short car or plane ride away. I have had some incredible holidays and will miss having wonderful places to visit so close. Bring on the rest of the world for holidays now!

•Stoney Tangawizi – Ginger ale Tanzanian style.

•Yummy fruit

•Laid back attitude to life. Although this is mostly a good thing, when you are trying to post something at the post office or be served at the bank it could also be slightly frustrating.

There are lots of skills and things I have found out from living in Tanzania for 2 years. I am hoping that most of them I will not be using in Leeds!

I have discovered that many tasks are possible in the dark. When power cuts happen quite frequently you never know what you might be doing and when the sun goes down it really is pitch black.

I can now:

• Shower in the dark. I only got conditioner and shampoo mixed up once!

• Get dressed only by feeling for the correct clothes to put on and not look totally ridiculous. Sometimes this becomes even more skillful  when you have to avoid the geckos that  like to hide in the wardrobe.

•Insect repellent doesn’t make good perfume. I will not miss having to spray myself with delightful smelling insect repellent to stop the lovely mosquitoes biting. I don’t think my ankles and legs will ever be the same from all the bites during the 2 years. I became quite fond of my mosquito net especially when geckos dropped from bedroom ceiling in the middle of the night. I became quite skilled at smooth exit and entrance techniques!

•I definitely DON’T want to be famous. I couldn’t walk anywhere in Mwanza without at least one person say  ‘Mambo!’….Hi!  Or ‘How are you? and sometimes ‘Will you marry me?’. You might think that Tanzanian people are very friendly, which they are, but when it is only you being greeted you do feel like you are famous. On my fairly short walk home from school I once counted over 20 people that spoke to me on my way home. You couldn’t be one of a crowd being a Mzungu!

•There are lots of amusing phrases that I heard a lot which I will probably never again……..I will try not to use them!

“My leg is paining” ……….I tried my best to get my class to use the word hurting instead but it was a hard phrase to get rid of.

“Please can you on the fan”

“ Even me!”…….I will definitely be slipping this in by accident as I have not heard “Me too!” for the last 2 years.

There are so many other phrases that just became normal to hear and cause amusement.

 

There are so many things about living in Tanzania that are so unique and often amusing that I could go on and on. I have met many wonderful people, made some great friends and taught some inspiring children.  I can’t quite believe the adventures I have been on and the amazing things that I have seen in only 2 years.  My time in Mwanza has been an experience that will stay with me forever and has taught me so much. I feel it is right for me to say a fond farewell to Tanzania and get back to family and friends in England.