On moving to Tanzania

I arrived with only expectations for myself. Bring passion, patience and resilience. Yet, Tanzania has surprised me with an overwhelming sense of calm.

One month in, and the beauty of Arusha still leaves me standing still. Mount Meru stands tall to the North, rainy season veils it with cloud cover sometimes, but when it’s clear, gosh it’s beautiful. On four occasions Mount Kilimanjaro could be spotted in the distance, it’s white top hardly discernible from the clouds.

Day Zero | Kilimanjaro peeking out to greet me

Outside my front door, a garden dominated by a giant old avocado tree helps me feel grounded every time I step outside. I live at the school (Primary Campus) and work in the business office a mere 20 metres from my room. I wake up to a polyphonic version of Fur Elise, the noise the school buses make when they reverse, and to children playing in the playground outside my bedroom window before the start of the school day.

Every Morning | All hail the great old avocado tree

A quirk of Tanzanian culture is how important greetings are and acknowledging the people around you as present. It’s such a small gesture but starting every day with multiple “hello”s and “How are you”s has made me feel so welcomed into this community.

I feel truly lucky to have entered School of St Jude at this time. The people that I work and live with amaze me with the scope and scale of their previous adventures and with their ability to simultaneously be calm and passionate.

Arusha is so many things, all at once. Noisy with terrible roads but also expansive and green. One of my favourite places so far is the central market, where you can find anything from material to the freshest fruit and vegetables. The smells, noises and colours of the place are all so vibrant. The town itself is full of businesses of all sizes. Mamas selling carrots or grilled corn on the side of the road to multi-story business centres with banks and insurance firms. It appears that small and side businesses are how the majority of Arushans subsist.

I have found Tanzanians to be a welcoming and proud people. Of all the challenges they face, most people openly and regularly smile and I can’t help but smile back.

I truly feel like this is where I am meant to be right now.
I feel at ease.

LB. x

One of our resident hedgehogs (apologies for potato quality)