Menlo Abroad- Tanzania 2024

We met at school at 7:30 today, most students walking in clusters with those who lived around them. Once all of us had arrived, the Banjika school held a general assembly. They started off by singing their school song, and then the head of school and each teacher all welcomed us to their community. We then introduced ourselves to the entire school by stating our name and then our grade. We also sang the national anthem as our “school song” since we don’t really have one. After the assembly we had a long morning check in with only Menlo just talking about our experiences so far in the homestay, and any needs or questions needing answered. Once everyone finished sharing, we had a tea and snack break with everyone. After this snack break we went into a classroom where Nolan taught us some key Swahili phrases to use at homestay. Then our homestay siblings came to teach us correct pronunciation, and answer any questions we had. Then we had lunch, and had some team building exercises to get ...

We began our first morning of homestays quite early, as many of us were awakened at 4 am by a rooster's call not 10 yards outside our window.  Many hosts not only raise chickens but have cows and a variety of crops, such as corn, sunflowers, bananas, sweet potatoes, avocado trees, tomatoes, and onions.  After breakfast, several of us went to church with our host families. I attended with my host, the principal, Madam Rita.  She is Pentecostal and her church had a live band with groups young and old dancing and singing.  I was introduced to the congregation by my host and asked to say a few words. After being introduced, the pastor gave a sermon and an elder volunteered to translate each line of the pastor's just so I could understand. Another group: Roya, Aidan, Liliana, Ella, Amina, and Joshua had exactly the same experience at their church, and joined in the dancing and singing: In the afternoon, some students were able to wash clothes, while others played soccer, ...

Our day began with an orientation to homestays, given by Tim Mdinka, discussing what to expect with limited bathroom facilities, showers with buckets, and other aspects of the typical homestay accommodations. We also discussed different ways to communicate with our partner hosts and offer assistance as guests.   With our arrival, Randall had us all doing fun games to learn names with tag and discuss cultural connection and exchange. A great first meeting for both Menlo students and their Banjika partner students. Afterwards we had lunch together. Once we finished lunch, students were told who specifically would be their homestay partner. As a final activity, we all traveled to a nearby farmers' market, which only happens twice a month. Students and their partners walked around together for an hour and them we returned to the school to walk to our homestays. As we waited to go to our homestays, the Banjika students taught Menlo students a fun foot tapping game-- a Tanzania favo...

Hi everyone! It's Lily and Liliana. We had a very relaxing day to regroup before breaking for our homestays tomorrow!  We started off with a late breakfast, followed by some team building games. We talked about the three levels of comfort (our comfort zone, stretch zone, and panic zones), as well as how to handle situations that we may encounter during our homestays. We also played some games to practice different levels of challenging ourselves to practice getting out of our comfort zones. After, we had some time to chill out in our rooms, before heading across the street for lunch. We were all very excited to have some food that reminded us of home: fried chicken, french fries, and pizza!  Then we walked down the street to a store to buy postcards, and after to the post office to send them home. We have no idea if they'll make it back before we do, but keep an eye on your mailboxes anyway! Next we split into two groups--where Roya quickly became the 4th victim of the Tanzani...

      We started the day by visiting the Maasai tribe, one that continues to practice traditional culture and ways of life. When we first arrived, they performed a song and dance for us, the dance consisting of jumping up and down (until our legs gave out). Soon after, we joined in with the dancing, as well.  Afterwards, we went to see the gravesite of  Meshuko Mapi Laizer, the founder of that Maasai region who was greatly respected for his revolutionary medicine techniques.  From there we drove to a banana plantation in Mto Wa Mbu (meaning river of mosquitos 😬) for lunch, where we had traditional Tanzanian food (including plantains, beef stew, polenta, and RED BANANAS!!, which were actually orange). After lunch we had a tour of the banana plantation, where we learned about how bananas are grown and harvested. We then visited a local tribe's wood carving factory and got to see some incredibly detailed wooden crafts. Some students even got the chance to chi...