Earlier this month I said goodbye to two of
the Mtwara volunteers who have finished their placements and are returning home
and also my housemate who has moved to a different VSO placement in the North
of Tanzania. I have known these people since I first arrived here, over 15
months ago, but as is the way of VSO volunteering, people come and go like the
tides of the sea! I now have a new
housemate and two new volunteers have arrived in Nyangao as well as many more
new volunteers in the Mtwara region. Last
week I went up to Dar es salaam again to do the
induction for a whole new group of 13 volunteers who will be based in many locations
across Tanzania. It is always nice to meet new people and
share my experiences about living and working in Tanzania with them – I
remember when I first stepped off the plane over a year ago and all the
questions I had in my head at the time, the fascination with the sights, sounds
and smells that now I consider part of everyday life, the heat (well I’m still
not used to that) and the excitement and trepidation of starting something
completely new and foreign.
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| The new intake of Volunteers October 2013 |
It is easy to form friendships between volunteers
as we are all experiencing the same things, we can joke about how late our
Tanzanian colleagues turn up for
meetings, discuss the price of tomatoes in our local markets, compare the best
chipsi-mayai we have eaten, and despair about whether the work we are doing is actually
making a difference! Whilst VSO attracts
all types of people, most of them share a common attitude to life – although
you do get the occasional oddball! I’ve
met volunteers from many different countries and we have shared and joked about
the differences and similarities between us and I have enjoyed learning about
life, customs, and the beliefs of others.
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| All of the VSO Tanzania Volunteers on the steps of the Tanzanian Parliament at our annual conference in December 2012 |
I’ve
also formed friendships with many Tanzanians both in and out of my workplace,
and again it is interesting and enjoyable to share our knowledge and customs
which are sometimes so different between the two. A few days ago one of the doctors came to ask
me “Mr James, I have a question… why is
it that Europeans get married so late in life?
And some of them never have children?”… very true,
given the average age of marriage in Tanzania is 18, two thirds of women are married before their
20th birthday and the average age of a woman to have her first child
is 19.5.
It took me a while to think of a reply…. I
did not want to get into a discussion about women’s and children’s rights in
Tanzania, so I replied that Europeans tend to focus on their jobs in their
early adult life, and to get enough money to buy a house and car and a flat
screen TV and pay for the wedding and children.
Weddings and children are expensive, I told him - which he found most
amusing!
Experiences like these make you wonder what is
really important in life.. is it the materialistic things or is it the people
you surround yourself with, family and friends?
Whilst these friendships I have made are by
nature transient, I hope I will stay in touch with some of the people I have
met along the way (well I know at least one person I certainly will!). And although new bonds are made, they still
do not replace the bonds with family and friends back home, formed through many
years not just a fleeting visit to another country. I do miss my friends and family back home,
especially when I hear bad news from home, and know I am not there to support
them. Thankfully there is the wondrous
inventions of the telephone and internet, which even reach into deepest darkest
Tanzania
to help stay in touch! It’s always nice
to get an email or letter from friends back home, and it is the support of
those people I know well, as well as those that I have just met that keep you
going even if you have a crappy day!
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| Well it's not nicknamed "Valentines Service Overseas" for nothing ;) |
Well, that’s my thoughts for the day… hope
it didn’t get too depressing.. it wasn’t supposed to be! I’m having a great time!!
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| It's a hard life being a volunteer, but somebody has to do it! |
