James In Tanzania: Comings and Goings

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.

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.

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 20^th 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!