The last two weeks have been so exciting yet at the same time the most depressing as we bid farewell to our friends which have become our family over the past 3 months.
We spent last week in the village adopting the village lifestyle. We milked cows, herded cows, participated in seaweeding and surprisingly we were trusted with machetes to chop firewood. Our favourite however was cooking japatti and samosas with the mamas. After spending some quality time with them we developed a strong friendship. So much so that on our last day in Mwambani we were invited to one of the mamas houses for afternoon tea.
Unfortunately Friday ended on a sad note when one of the village boys passed away from eating a poisonous fish. Many of us had taught him English and would watch him play soccer on the field. The next day we attended James' funeral. Because of the Muslim community in the village the funeral was different to what any of us had previously experienced-nevertheless it was an equally nice and reverent ceremony.
Our last week was spent finishing off our paintings on the school. We painted worlds, digestive systems, maps, eyes and ears. On our last day at the school we were bid farewell by the school children through song. They had prepared for us 2 traditional Swahili songs and a song in English wishing us luck for the future. We were put on the spot when we were asked to perform so settled with singing Do-Re-Mi (a song that has frequently been sung in our group). Whilst taking hundreds of photos, we hugged goodbye to the children and took our last glances at what we had achieved in our time working there. It was then time to say goodbye to the villagers.
As previously stated we were invited to one of the mamas houses for afternoon tea. We ate one of the traditional dishes; rice pudding and potato. We had invited all the villagers we had become rafiki sana (good friends) with and over rice pudding we laughed, hugged and finally with teary eyes waved goodbye.
We have all learnt different things from our 3 month experience in Tanzania. A big aspect I'm sure we will all take home with us is the 'pole pole'(slowly slowly) attitude we have become accustomed to. Another lesson that specifically came from Eliphas (one of our leaders) is just to be happy; "Although at times it can be hard, you live life to the fullest when your happy." whilst we are excited to see our families or to begin our next adventure, living in Mwambani has been such an experience words cannot describe. Over our time here we have shared laughs, discussions, tears and memories. But most of all we share a special place in our hearts for Mwambani village, Tanga, Tanzania. NAPENDA TANZANIA! Camp Tanzania 2011.
Want to find out more about your chance to volunteer in Tanzania? Antipodeans Abroad specialises in gap year ideas for Australian and New Zealand students. Find out more at www.antipodeans.com.au.
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