Work hard and play hard in Tanzania

COUNTRY: Tanzania
PROGRAM: GapBreak
PROJECT: Building, renovation & conservation
WRITTEN BY: Tanzania Gappers 2012

We love our gap program!

The first night we spent in a hotel near Kilimanjaro airport. We all met up the next day and started our long drive down to Tanga. The views on the journey were amazing but a good few hours were spent sleeping. We got to camp bleary eyed 8 hours later and were warmly welcomed by Anderson and the SDX group. Early nights all round!

Week 1

Jambo! After our first week I think it’s fair to say it hasn’t been easy, but it has been rewarding. We started off digging to gather sand in order to make mud for 2 houses, which we hope to complete by the end of our placement. After 5 days of shoveling, bagging sand, pick axing and using a machete to clear the foliage we’re now ready to start turning sand into mud, ready to make the outer layer of the first house. We had to use what the locals call a wheelbarrow (basically a pickup truck with no engine) which ran over Laura’s foot and Kaitlyn was hit with a fish (?!).

We’ve also been running a teaching program in the afternoons, helping to develop the English skills of some of the local villagers. They are all eager to learn, testing the knowledge of the teachers!!

It hasn’t all been hard work; the campsite is located on the coast line giving us one of the most extraordinary views of the ocean, visible from the first step out of the tents. Our camp cook, Donald, is now our best friend; his cooking skills are amazing, especially cooking for twenty people, three times a day. We had our first African clubbing experience Saturday night; we got home at 3am in very jolly spirits!

Every weekend we venture into town to walk around the markets and try our hands at haggling with the locals – we probably need a bit more practice though. Lizzie was chased by a cow. We’re all slowly becoming fluent in Kiswahili, and have learnt a few cheeky words, thanks to the locals.

We’re excited to be blogging here from camp and will keep you all posted, with photos to follow! For now though it’s our bedtime as we have to be up bright and early for work tomorrow!

Lala Saalama! (Sleep tight!)

Week 2

After collecting the sand we used it to make matope (mud)! We did this by making a crater in the middle of the pile, adding water and then stomping around in it to mix it up – who needs a cement mixer when you have 12 pairs of feet! Josie has been the camp jukebox, she has quite a cheesy taste in tunes! Matty and Rose (aka the Dutchies) are human machines – we couldn’t do it without them. The rest of the week was spent throwing mud at the walls of the house.

After a stress ridden week with no clothes, Chloe’s luggage finally arrived on Monday! She now how has clean underwear YAY!

Tuesday night was quiz night and two groups went head to head, with Lizzie and Davina acting as the buzzers. It was great fun but it wasn’t your usual pub quiz and the general knowledge round had everyone stumped.

Thursday afternoon we took the time off work and went down to the local school to play a game of volleyball against the SDX group – it was their last week and the sports day they had all been working towards. WE WONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!! Good hustle guys! D+J were born.

Friday night was a ‘bad taste’ themed fancy dress party for the SDX’s last night! We had fun rummaging around the local market to find some hideous dresses! On the night we had a fashion catwalk – Kaitlyn in her Christmas themed waistcoat came 3rd and a cross dressing Steven came 2nd! Hugh made a memorable appearance in his Little Miss Giggles undies!!

We went to the local resort on Sunday for an afternoon’s relaxation and a swim in the river. It was deeper than we all thought and Josie ended up spluttering around due to Davina jumping on her back!