Here’s Debbie’s experience…

Leaving Old Blighty

You see this is a first for me travelling alone so I wanted it to go with out a hitch, as most people would. Then add in to the fact I was travelling alone. A single woman going to far flung Africa to go stay in a village, not knowing any one and not a word of Swahili apart from ‘Jambo’. I had had the run down from friends and family on the do’s and don’ts. I had felt quite sanguine up till the point where others in their sage wisdom had given me their words of caution. For the most part our views of the world are based on what we see on the BBC news. Even then we mix up our countries in that vast continent. I had spoken to John and again patiently he went through all my questions of how it might be.

Yes, it pays to be travel wise to research the area and culture. John is very knowledgeable with his 20 years experience of visiting Zanzibar and the village. He helped organise the flights. Then through his contacts let Ali Mcha and the head master Mohammed Ali ( not the famous boxer- is the running joke) of the secondary school, know that I was coming .
My fears of ‘Ooooooooooh!, ‘What if?’, were soon settled when Ali greeted me.

Being Welcomed
Mawana, and her husband Rashid, invited me in to their home. I was shown where I would sleep for the next two weeks. I had heard so much about the place so on my ‘to do’ list was definably going to the forest to see the monkeys and the dolphins a visit to the local schools and big medical facility. The rest was all up for discovering.

The Village life
I creaked open my eyes as the sing song voice came over speaker system the Arabic words running in to one an other to my foreign ears but I know it was the call to prayer. I sat and listened for a while with a silly grin on my face thinking. “I am in Africa, I am in Africa”. I must have drifted back asleep because when next I woke up it was to the laughter and excitable squeals of children playing out in the street. The sun was up so of course so was every one.

I had decided to get the most out of this trip and cause I had been camping before and am not all about 5 star hotels, when I stood in the tiled bathroom and poured cold water all over me for my morning shower. I am proud to say there was no girly screams. It’s like that old saying ‘when in Rome’. Well! When in Zanzibar just get stuck in. Heck, I had visions of me needing to fetch my own water from the well so the plumbed in washing and toilet facilities were a bounce too me.

I sat with my breakfast of boiled eggs and mandazi (doughnut type bread) and the kids came with a mixture of fascination and delight. ‘Jambo’ seemed to be the main form of communication that would expand over the coming weeks as I had the kids try and teach me my numbers and the elaborate forms of greeting.  The children would come every morning to see me.

The first couple of days I stayed in the village getting used to my bearings. Ali would collect me in the morning and we would go a walk up the main street. I would have on my long floaty shawl covering my arms. It was important to remember this was not a tourist hot spot, this is people’s local community.

The main hard packed road ran through the heart of the village. On either side of the main street were houses of varies sizes depending on how it was built. The mix of homes some the wattle and daub (‘wattle-and-daub’ is a building material used for making walls, in which a woven lattice of wooden strips called wattle is daubed with a sticky material. In these cases the deep dark reddish brown clay of the earth), other hoses are breeze block constructions. The roofs were corrugated iron sheets or woven banana leaves. Banana leaves were a useful material from baskets, to doors, mats. Fences wall. And impromptu lids for putting over food to keep off the flies

All around were coconut trees, banana trees, mango, popo and orange trees – the main staples. Shambas tended for food and trade. Chickens and goats having free reign. “How did the chicken cross the road?”. Safely is the answer. It just seems to work. The bullocks are tethered on a length of rope to graze. The goats don’t wonder too far and the chickens seem to be homing chickens and find their way home the locals call them clever chickens!

For late September the temperatures were still very warm, this is why folks started there day early also. The school day starts at 7.30 am and the session ends at 2 pm.
Noël Coward hit the nail on the head when he said only mad dogs and Englishmen stay out in the mid day sun. Folks found shade when the sun was at its zenith and often times had a rest period.

I had the pleasure of visiting two of the local schools where I was greeted enthusiastically by staff and pupils alike. The classrooms are poured in to the landscape of white washed concrete laid out in a quadrangle with open sides half way up. The old fashioned desks of wood lay out like in a Victorian school room. Children sat industrious. When the head master took me round each class I walked in to the first child to spot us would get to there feet. The call of Teacher in the room was the signal for all to stand. On mass all chorused “Good morning teacher“, and because I had been well versed by John, I responded “Good morning class, please do sit back down”

To be continued…

24 hours

I’ve now been here for 24 hours and I’m starting to get an idea of how things work around here. My initial impressions of this place are that its extremely beautiful and the people are very friendly and welcoming. I am staying with Natalie, Angus and Elise who are really wicked which is a bonus!

A couple of days

As I have learnt everything in Zanzibar happens very slowly as were constantly told “just waiting” and “this is Africa” which makes me laugh.

Several days

Elise and I went to Mtende one morning, so we set out up to the centre to get the Dala Dala with two boxes with fans in, 2 mosquito nets, 5 litres of paint and our bags for the day.

We got to Mtende and started painting, my painting skills are not the best so after spilling most of the paint on the bed and on the floor we now have a blue bed as well as walls! We then tried our best to assemble two stand up fans and after some time we finally managed it! We were feeling quite proud of ourselves and thought we deserved a break so we put some “Jessie j” on my ipod and had a little lie down. Then I heard      Mr Bam (who is a teacher at Mtende school and my new next door neighbour!!) shouting through the window saying, “do you want some food now or next time?” and when we were here last time we said no because we had to rush off so this time we agreed and one of his daughters was already round the corner with the food.

We were then brought so much food by most of Mr Bam’s children! (there are a few of them! I think 7 in total) we were given, 

·       Rice and beans

·       4 mangoes

·       Frozen juice

·       Bowl of drinking water

·       Bowl of water to wash in

·       2 glasses

We had a feast! It’s funny because something like that would never happen in England and we felt kind of awkward being given all of that but it’s rude to say no and people here enjoy doing things for you.

We went round to say thank you to Mr Bam’s wife and while we were there we told them we were going to the beach and Mr Bam sorted us out two bikes to borrow and his son took us there. That is another thing here if you ask someone where something is they will more than likely take you there no matter how far!

So we cycled down to the beach and just before we arrived Bam’s son propped his bike up against a tree in the shade and told us he would wait for us until we have finished and then take us home, we told him that it was very kind of him but we could find our way and after some persuading he went home.

So we carried on down to the beach and when we got there I was amazed, I can only describe it as the best beach I have ever seen it is absolutely beautiful! It’s a tiny cove like beach with nothing on it except a couple of fishing boats, it was deserted. We got our bikinis on and got straight in the warm sea.

After taking advantage of the water getting clean was my first priority, so the exfoliating began! We looked up to the sky and saw some black clouds heading our way… one thing about Zanzibar weather is that it can be 32° and clear blue skies and 10 minutes later in can be monsoon rain, thunder and lightning! And that’s exactly what we got. First we thought it was cool being in the sea when it was raining but the rain got so heavy that we couldn’t even see and when the lightning struck we screamed and ran out of the water!

1 week

Its 6pm and we have just got back from a hectic but wicked weekend! Yesterday me, Elise, Nat and Angus went to town in the day, Sian didn’t come because she was ill so we left her in the capable hands of Ali Mcha and got the Dala into Stone Town. We got into town at about 1pm and headed straight for Asha Fatuma which is a clothes market just outside of town. Here there are absolutely no tourists just locals as the clothes are second hand. It’s basically a huge car boot sale full of clothes, can be stressful but you can find some good stuff and we were on the hunt for clothes to go out in! I quickly spotted a beige dress that I wanted, but being white people constantly try to rip you off which is infuriating if you live here and know the real prices of things. Sometimes they try and charge us up to 10 x the actual price. So I asked how much the dress was and the man replied 10,000 which was ridiculous as I knew it was only worth 3 or 4. I said “Hapana” (No) and carried on knowing he would follow me and offer a better price! I eventually got him down to 3000 and went along happily on my way with my new dress!

After a relatively stress free shopping trip we headed to our friends brothers house where we were staying that night. When we got in I was so happy! It was a real house with beds and a FLUSHING TOILET! Which was amazing, I can’t believe at this point in my life a flushing toilet would give me so much happiness but sadly it did! We then went down to the food market on the beach before getting ready, it was sensational! Loads of food stalls obviously over charging but we found a really nice guy who made us pizza kind of thing for 1,500 shillings (60p) which was delicious!

Only in Africa…

So been thinking about things, we’ve spent months making our own entertainment; reading, talking, doing nothing, sewing, writing, making things, sitting on the porch under the stars whilst Angus played guitar. We’ve debated, entertained randomers among the many friends that show up at our house. We’ve tried to learn new things.

The first 5 months of this it all felt so permanent, like there was no end in sight and this was our lives forever, I guess you might find that hard to understand? We jumped in at the deep end, fully immersing ourselves in a culture that was nothing like our own. And now, well now there is an end in sight, and it’s not far off.

We’ve been treated with nothing but respect, trust and kindness by the most genuine and simple people I’ve ever met. I guess now is our realisation that this ‘gap year’ thing is nothing short of phenomenal.

Being here I’ve realised how much I love where I’m from, but for now I’m going to love here before it’s time to leave.

“And then I laugh, because it’s so ridiculous and so gorgeous and it’s all I can do not to melt in a fit of giggles”

Excert from his travel book he is currently writing based on his time in Zanzibar.

There is no arrivals gate at Zanzibar international airport. Everybody is trafficked through one all encompassing shed with two sets of double doors: one leading in, the other leading out. Baggage reclaim is on the left, security, if you can call it that, on the right.

After being accosted by a customs officer and forced to sign several forms, we (that’s Natalie, Elise and myself) collected our bags, briefly displayed our visas at a Plexiglas window, and pushed out into the world.  The world, as noisy and bustling as it was, was apparently indifferent to our arrival.

That’s the first lesson of travelling: you are a very small fish, in a vast, bottomless, pitiless and unsympathetic ocean. The waves are so high and the other fish swim so desperately, that if you want to be heard above the clamour you just might have to swallow your pride and shout.

We’d met just less than twenty four hours ago, and although we’d all got on, the social strain of introductions and assimilation had left me shagged. Not literally, of course. I guessed the other two were feeling much the same, and as we climbed in to the 1989 Landrover Discovery that had come to pick us up, we were all fighting the urge to take a quick nap.

That said, once we hit the road, and the baobabs and banana plantations flickered past the window, I couldn’t help but sit up and stare. Tiny dirt tracks, leading to clusters of mud huts and half finished breeze block houses, meandered away from the road, penetrating the thick foliage. A billboard flashed past, then another two. Then an open, scorched wasteland, dotted with blackened stumps, and burnt out shells.

It seemed deforestation was the same all over. I doubt there’s anywhere left on earth that man hasn’t laid claim to and fucked over. It was horrible: the serenity of a natural Eden, juxtaposed with mankind’s lust for destruction.

Soon, though, it was gone, replaced by swaying coconut palms, idyllic scenes of village life and picturesque coastlines.

All this and more passed by: I had barely enough time to take it in. I still couldn’t believe it, I’d arrived, I mean, actually arrived. It felt good, I suppose. Good in a daunting, unfathomable fashion that left me scared and alone, though more than a little excited. 

I looked back over my shoulder and, seeing the girls were as mesmerized as me, I found myself smiling: grinning like a prize idiot, though I had no idea why.

As the island rolled past, I sat back in my seat, partially submerged in baggage, and contemplated our arrival.

It was the strangest and most exhilarating experience of my life, I decided, and I felt the need to cry. I can’t explain it, I just did. My world of comforts had dissolved and I was frantically treading water as the current of a new world dragged at my feet. I didn’t want to drown, but it felt inevitable.

Arriving in a rural African village, as one of the handful of Europeans, or Wazungu, who have ever arrived, was terrifying.

Although the tarmacked main road cuts through Makunduchi (the village in question) it doesn’t hang around, winding on down the east coast to Jambiani and Paje´. Makunduchi high street is no more than a dusty gravel track, flanked by rows of mud-brick houses, concrete foundations and wooden stalls in all manner of lively decrepitude. These stalls are strewn with eggs, tomatoes, fresh aubergine and heavy green papaya. Little mountains of coconuts lie at the vendor’s feet; they’re husks browning in the sun, while gangs of children, having finished school for the day, play marbles in the dust.

The crack of glass against glass welcomed us as we walked down the street, towards the school house. Turning to watch, the younger children began screaming at the top of their voices: “Jambo, JAMBO, JAMBO!!!”

Jambo means hello.

Eventually, we reached the school house. It was larger than most buildings with all the concrete appeal of a public convenience. As it was, it was hardly inviting, but hey, that’s what a gap year’s for, right? Inside was a surprise. We had a sofa and two armchairs, a ceiling fan, a kettle and each of the three bedrooms was painted with a different pastel shade. It felt homely.

There was an adjoining yard with toilet attached, an oil drum for water and a drain in the far left corner. There was no running water, though there was a shower, and the toilet, a sad, hole-in-the-ground affair, was designed to flush: obviously it didn’t, and the shower stayed dry as nun, but the intention was there.

Home, sweet home.

I unpacked. I washed my feet. I died.

The weariness of the flight, the drive, and the sudden cultural immersion caught up with me and I lay down for a minute or two: head reeling with new sights, smells and ambitions for the future.

When my thoughts had come to a standstill, I got up, stretched and took a Kilimanjaro from the table. A six-pack had been thoughtfully left by the director, and I noticed one was already missing. Natalie must have taken it. Elise was on Doxyciline, instead of Mefloquin, (both malaria prevention drugs), and anyway, she’d said she didn’t drink beer.

Can-in-hand I decided I’d sit on the porch and watch the world, and his goat, drift by. The other two had got there first and were talking quietly. I sat down. The concrete felt warm and reassuring through my shorts as I sat, watched, and sipped at the warm beer. It was bitter-sweet. If this was how we’d pass the time, I thought, life might just about be OK.

About the village.

As you know, the village of Makunduchi is located at the very tip of a tiny little island off the coast of the giant African continent, isolated from modern city lights by its remoteness in Zanzibar and separation from mainland Tanzania by the Indian Ocean (an ocean that is so foreign to me, that swims with so much history, my sense of excitement is heightened!).  In addition, even when the island is not suffering from its notorious electrical blackouts that flickers power on and off all day, only a handful of privileged Makunduchi residents, including myself have electricity.. obviously, there are definitely no street lights or any other forms of public lighting.  Besides the small bon- fire like fires that set the red- mud houses aglow, the town is completely dark and quiet by nightfall.  The combination of such conditions permits the Earth to expose the depths of its natural beauty at night and with all respect to my beloved skies at home, I have never seen such an array of stars before.  Every time I glance up, the grandness above me shrinks me to the size of the ants that are currently conquering my temporary home. 

A typical morning for me

Additionally, the mornings are often greeted by heavy downpours that use our tin roof as an instrument to create loud thunderous melodies that not only sound beautiful but overwhelm me with coziness.  Sometimes the rain is so heavy I hold my breath in anticipation, expecting the roof overhead to collapse all together.  My eyes are spoiled with the sight of the palm trees silhouettes swaying in the rains against the navy starry sky and if I stretch my ears far enough, I can just make out the prayer call that usually bellows through the village every morning.  It is this orchestras of sounds that uniquely characterizes mornings in Makunduchi. 

Teaching

I loved my students to begin with but every day I love my students so much more!!! They are so, so sweet.  I teach three different classes and one class more often than the other two, with both Teacher Shabaani and Teacher Mussa.  My classes are just soo amazing, they are all so well- behaved, so keen to learn! And sooo smart, they pick things up soo fast!  And I am happy to say that I erupted an art competition in the class! Ahaha!  I had them do art one class a couple of weeks ago and since then, following my student Iddi-(an incredible artist) as he would excitedly hold up his art and show it off to me, they now all excitedly hold up their newly done drawings sporadically throughout the class (even though I know Iddi has done some), then they wait for me to praise them, getting soo excited when I do!! Their ages range from about 12 to 19!! It is very hard to tell their age!! Sometimes, I am standing in front of a class of 60 students stumped because they are simply not understanding the particular topic I am trying to explain, and I just stare, they stare back absent mindely, not sure what to do until Teacher Mussa or Shabaani picks up Aha.  Other times, I find my patience, take a deep breath and marvel at how far a smile goes.  In my opinion smiling is the most universal, beautiful, simple but grand gifts that people can exchange, I think this a thousand times a day. Shabanni, (my closest friend here who I will explain) taught me this through his own teaching, when he is happy his students are happy and for him this is really, really important, sometimes its all that matters. 

Cleanliness

I now know from this experience that our bodies can handle so, so much. People barely wash their hands, do not use toilet paper to go to the bathroom, prepare food with their hands, eat with it.. and it is impossible to actually clean our own dishes, let alone the ones that I am using outside of the house. And yet, I have never been violently ill!

The less I know about my food, peoples hands, cleanliness in general- the better and when I do see how things are prepared, left, handled, there is not much I can do about it because food is hard to get here, I am always hungry, thinking about food, trying to find it… ( I feel horrible saying that I feel ‘hungry’ when so many people have it so much worse) but as I have already journaled, it is really hard to just “buy” food here. Sometimes, I will find bread covered in ants and still eat it right away (after getting most ants off) because I get so hungry! So it is just better not to know! Eating was (and still sort of is but in a different way) one of the hardest things at first, I was always that much more exhausted and impatient, irritable, without it and when I did get it, I was so hungry that I physically did not mind the conditions of it, or the smells, or the tastes but mentally stressing about it.

But now, I am accustomed, I have gotten used to the food and get excited for things I previously did not like and I know what to expect.  Also, as it is probably clear by now, I had a really hard time dealing with the cleanliness at first- not frustrated with always being covered in mud, or sweat, or children’s hands, or the conditions of the house which is covered with bugs, shit, dust.. .etc. but the actually germs and stuff that I could not see, but I think that is is so so “Western” to feel this way! I knew it was culture shock- because we disinfect and fear germs soo much!!! We are drilled to wash our hands, not to touch or share food and drinks with strangers, to disinfect food areas, etc.  But there are more diseases and illnesses probably from not too so. Actually, I know this because (prepare oneself)- – I got worms- horrible experience!!! Probably from the children who are full of them, who do not watch their hands, then touched my hands… etc.  But my point, I think we disinfect too much, sanitize everything, it is a cultural thing.  

Culture

Although I have had the privilege of travelling before, I have never immersed myself in the communities that I have travelled to quite so deeply. If I had come close to this, the community would have been much more culturally similar to my own.  But over the course of my stay in Makunduchi, I have come to love the feeling of adventure, the pure thrill and the challenges, I now crave the challenges.  It is similar to an adrenaline rush that hits you when you take the plunge from a great height, only you are not plunging into open air or a body of water, you are departing from the cushions of familiarity and taking a grand leap into the unpredictable, unknown and subtle foreignness.  And you are not flying through the air simply meant to watch, observe and enjoy, you must engage mentally, physically and emotionally with the people that have so kindly welcomed you into their lives.   For me, it is this interaction that strikes me with the greatest rush, overwhelming me the most when I enter a traditional red mud Makunduchi home greeted by a large and extraordinarily welcoming family, when a stranger places her beautiful newborn baby into my arms completely trustingly or when someone has generously placed a dish of unknown food in front of me, concentrating on my facial expressions and eating methods to see that I not only enjoy but do it Makunduchi style … the list could go on.  But I think the greatest thrill of all has been standing in front of about 40 students and not only receive complete trust and confidence in my abilities but have them show me their own, becoming both teachers and leaders as they so determinedly teach me Swahili.

I have come to believe that this type of travel is much more a state a mind than any physical activity.

The irony is that one needs not relocation but an open mind and heart. 

• Learn as much Swahili as you can before you go and when you arrive, put your strongest effort into learning. But that being said, I also stress not to be too hard on yourself.  Just try your best, show your effort and accept your mistakes with a laugh

• I wore flip- flops while I said many “Jambo’s” and smiled at people, and carelessly walked over the giant rocks and crevasses of roads in Mak.  I injured and continue to re- injure my toe.  I would suggest not to wear flip- flops, bring or buy proper protected (toe- covered) sandals or shoes.  But bring antiseptic cream incase.

•  If you find yourself biking on the tiny, rocky paths in complete darkness, just ride.  You may lose control, you may wipe out- but its better just to go for it, the faster the better! 

• Porridge may be for children here but it is delicious!  Go to “Mama’s” right across from Kiongoni just off the main road that leads to Makunduchi School.  Porridge with children, Mama Ujgi and her wonderful family is the perfect way to start the day.  Plus it is creamy, sweet and very hot.  AND it will tide your tummy over until Chai at recess. 

• Fill tiny shells with laundry detergent and leave them around the house; the smell is subtle but plenty.

• Label your home in Swahili.  It helps- your mind will process it subconsciously.

• Learn Swahili and make friendships, to me it has been the most important.

• Bring a Swiss Army Knife.

• Try to avoid grabbing bandaids when a child gets hurt, unless you are prepared to provide them for all the children in this village.  Even the smallest children are tougher than I am at 21

• Watch and learn from the people of Makunduchi as much as possible, you will acquire many skills and knowledge.   Be especially attentive of the tasks you will carry out while living here such as washing clothes, dishes..etc.  You will learn skillful methods to do these activities!  Life will be a little easier. 

• Be humble with your ambitions.  I would suggest your biggest ambitions be to learn Swahili, Makunduchi ways of life and make friendships rather than strictly identifying as an English instructor or “helper”.  Not only will this make your time here easier, more enjoyable and thorough but most of the people you interact with will be aware and appreciate such reflexivity and interest.  Despite everything you contribute to this community, you will learn the most.  You will leave Makunduchi with a heavy bag of lessons, memories and experiences that will enrich you immensely! 

• When Aida wants something, especially to help you, nothing stands in her way.  It will be less exhausting for you and more pleasing for her if you just accept with a smile and a sincere “Ahsante.”  For those of you who do not know Aida, she is a seventeen year old who strikes me as a knowing 40 year old Mother!  She is not only very caring and helpful but she is very stubborn and tough about it.  I have had the joy and entertainment of meeting her through Will- our beloved and unfortunately temporary roommate.  

• I learned to be gentle with myself.  Do not let your own voice be a negative one.

• Get a bike!!! It’d be worth it, wish I had!

• Finally, I believe it is really important to be respectful of Makunduchi customs and cultural norms.  We Zanzigappers  are visitors and guests in their homes and communities.  We are very privileged for this opportunity and the welcome, care and love we receive while living there.

• There are many tough moments to confront throughout the day.  But if you like the feeling of being challenged and the joy that comes from succeeding, then you will love it! 
  • Enjoy every minute- It will be over before you know it! 

 How did Zanzigap occur?

Zanzigap evolved from an educational partnership between Aston School, Rotherham and Makunduchi School, Zanzibar which I started in 1990, and which this year (2010) has celebrated its 20^th birthday. The Aston-Makunduchi Partnership very quickly became a ‘brand leader’ generating lots of interest and attention. Several other partnerships were formed as a result, and I found myself called to Downing Street and to Buckingham Palace to brief the Prime Minister, and to receive a medal from the Queen.

 You run Zanzigap as well as working a full-time job. Why do you feel it is important?

 I’ve never really considered Zanzigap as my ‘hobby’, but being a not-for-profit company, I get no financial reward for being the Director. In the meantime, I have my family to support, bills to pay, etc; so I have to keep working as a teacher. Zanzigap is fundamentally important because it interfaces people with a very nurturing, functional African village community, the experience of which invariably causes a profound and life-changing experience which lasts a lifetime. Several former volunteers have instigated their own programmes on their return home. For me, as a person with no particular gift, talent or skill, I find it most empowering to be involved in the scheme.

How do the volunteers you send out affect the community?

English remains the teaching medium in Tanzania. Having native English speakers around helps considerably, because it impacts upon teaching and learning in a most positive way. Enhancing the educational experience is the best way that I can think of how a country like Tanzania can lift itself from extreme poverty, improve the lot of its citizens, and play a fully functional part in the modern world. After 20 years of sending volunteers to southern Zanzibar, our people are accepted into the very heart of the community in a totally unique way, envied by other travellers and other gap year companies.

What do you find so special about Zanzibar, especially the village Makunduchi?

Situated at a historical crossroads, Zanzibar has been multi-cultural since before the middle ages. It is a true melting point of peoples, cultures, religions, creed and race. Stone Town is medieval – unusual in Africa. Makunduchi is a village totally unspoilt by tourism – a marvellous place to get a ‘true’ experience of Swahili culture.

Your organisation is one of the lower prices out there. How do you make this possible and does it affect the experience for the volunteers?

Google ‘Gap Year’ these days, and you tend to get all sorts of disparate companies offering all manner of different types of what basically is some sort of ‘adventure holiday’. Most gap year companies exist to make a profit. Zanzigap is simply different! When we, rarely, make a small profit, it goes back to either the community, or to our volunteers, or both. We keep our prices rock-bottom, and also partner with organisations that can offer grants. Over a 20-year period, we have never had any complaints from our volunteers, indeed, the basic package we offer has been applauded and celebrated by all involved.

How do you feel Zanzigap stands out from other gap year companies?

We offer the real thing – just an amazing and wonderful experience! We don’t rip you off; we’re not here to make money! We are very knowledgeable, erudite and vastly experienced. We prepare you as fully as possible, for what lies ahead.

Last of all, any advice and tips for future volunteers?

Well, firstly look around at other gap year companies. Check out what’s out there. When you eventually find Zanzigap (and realise this is what you’ve actually been looking for), involve yourself thoroughly in our orientation programme, find out as much as you can about Zanzibar. Study the Kiswahili dictionary on our CD-ROM which we send out, and try to learn as much of the language as you can before departure. A smattering of Kiswahili is the key to a fuller integration into village life.

Finally, get ready as best you can, for something amazing!

Zanzibar adventure entry 1

Beautiful sunset.

It took a total of five flights to get from Toronto, Canada to Zanzibar, Tanzania. Out of those five flights: one was cancelled, one was delayed, the delay caused us to miss the next one and eventually we found ourselves boarding a plane that could seat a maximum of only four passengers. If that’s not scary enough; after we boarded, the engine would not start. The pilot tried, and tried again; it was like an old car on a cold winter day. When it finally did start up Sarah and I looked at each other with worried eyes, “shit that better not happen in the sky” we thought. Obviously, as I am writing to you now the engine did not fail in the sky, instead it ended up being a beautiful ride overtop of Zanzibar Island.

Kids of the village.

Arriving in Makunduchi was exciting and nerve racking all on its own. We didn’t even know where we were supposed to go or whom to speak with but thank god for the people here. I cannot even begin to explain just how friendly everyone here is. As we walk around all you see are wide brown eyes, big smiling faces and the words “Jambo, Jambo” (Hello, Hello) with waving hands. The children in particular get so excited to see us, sometimes they will follow us, or we will hear their soft voices from the bush say “Jambo”, and then another one across the street, “Jambo”. I could not even begin to guess the amount of times I have said that word in the four days that I have been here. Even the older children here and adults, everyone just wants to talk with us, teach us some Swahili, learn English or just make sure that we are doing well. Everyone says hello, everyone says Welcome to Makunduchi, and everyone thanks us for being here. It really is nice.

It is all very exciting but don’t get me wrong has been very nerve racking, emotional, draining and frustrating at times too. We are adjusting to the culture shock, language barrier and being away from our friends, family and home. But I think we will really grow to love it here.
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Zanzibar adventure entry 2

All the women have their hair braided here.

It’s a strange thought though that we have only been here one week, it feels like we have been here for months! Everybody knows who we are and greet us time and time again as we pass them on our walks. Some people ride their bikes from nearing villages because they have heard that there are two English speaking volunteers in Mak. and they come to practice their English with us. You would think without television, internet and Western development that we would find ourselves unsure of how to fill our time but instead it is quite the opposite. We constantly have plans, and constantly have people at our door; be it little children wanting to play or asking for food, to students wanting to practice their English, to teachers or friends inviting us to their homes or to go for a walk. I cannot explain how friendly the people of Makunduchi are and I have never once felt threatened or unsafe.
The culture, environment and way of living here is sometimes so different that at times you just have to stop and take a minute to absorb what is going on around you. For instance, three month old babies are sometimes left in the hands of their three year old siblings to be taken care of for the afternoon. The people here live so communally; for example at lunch (chai) the teachers share their meals together, or at night sometimes twenty to thirty (or maybe more) children and adults gather outside to watch one small tv together. It has been a great experience so far to learn about these people: their values, interests and ambitions.

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Zanzibar adventure entry 3

It has been over two months since I’ve been living in Makunduchi which means less than one month left. This both excites me and saddens me. As I have no control over time, all this means is that I have to live every moment to the fullest and enjoy the last couple weeks completely.

Routinely we spend the nights with Ida, her family, and neighbouring friends. Sometimes there’s over twenty people in and out of our house; children, students and adults all together. The kids play cards, soccer, or rough-housing, the older students and adults chatting with us in broken English and Swahili and sometimes there’s even loud music when a group of guys come to use our electricity to set up their speakers outside. You could call it a party minus the planned arrangement of having a full household. It’s pretty wild but I love it none the less.

The last couple weeks in Makunduchi have absolutely flown by and now I only have a couple days left in Zanzibar before continuing on to Europe. How time flies…

Natalie, 18. Currently taking a break from Education, 2 months into her 9 month stay.  

  

 How did you feel leading up to the departure date?

Our next door neighbour!

 

 

What type of food have you been eating?

Eating around a friends house.

 Mainly rice but we have octopus weekly, have tried sting ray, sometimes goat which tastes like a cross between Beef and Lamb! Fruit is easily accessed from the stalls in the village and grows everywhere anyway! Pretty much any food can be bought either at a restaurant in Stone Town or from the Supermarket. Have especially missed cheese, same as the others we talk about cheese a lot!

 How is the teaching?

Some of the girls at the school I teach at.

A very interesting experience, the kids are fantastic and eager to learn despite class sizes and lack of equipment. At first I was very nervous having never done anything like this before but after the first lesson all those nerves just completely disappeared and it almost felt natural having fun with the kids and teaching in general. The language barrier wasn’t so much of a problem, probably because I am teaching maths though.

 Do you get homesick?

 No, here’s a quote from The Beach by Alex Garden to explain.

‘In an ordinary world colour doesn’t exist if something seems strange you question it, if the outside world is too distant to use as a comparison then nothing seems strange.’

How have you found travelling and living with people you didn’t know?

Me and the others.

I’ve really enjoyed meeting the others because we are all quite different but at heart we are all quite similar regarding outlook on life and what we want out of life. Travelling hasn’t been a problem at all, I love travelling and so do the others.

What 3 things do you miss from home?

 Cheese

Having a lovely cup of tea

Frequent rainfall!

 3 things you think you will miss once you are back in England?

At a beach party with some of our friends.

 The People; How everyone is so trusting and how welcoming they are and how chilled out everyone is.

The Culture; Because it’s so different to England and the climate

Any money advice?

Budget, know how much money you have and how much you can afford to spend. Zanzibar is really cheap compared to England. For example credit; £2 for a 10-15 minute phone call. European food in a nice restaurant in Town will cost you £3-£4. Village life is incredibly cheap, things we need literally cost pennies! I think most money is spent on doing ‘tourist activities’.

 What’s your best memory so far?

Just before the rained turned torrential.

When it rained in Zanzibar town, the rain was torrential and we waded through floods that nearly came to our knees before finally reaching a daladala (local bus) and took shelter among the other locals. Completely soaked!