Life Back in Canada, Our Unconventional Experience Abroad

Now, 2020 has been quite the wild ride when it comes to international experience. The end of 2019 included, as we were preparing to live and intern in Dar es Salaam for three months, planning additional travels afterwards, finishing our semesters, and working. It felt like a lot to organize in such little time.  Nevertheless, …

Time To Go ‘Home’

After settling into the first week in Tanzania, a whirlwind of new sights and information had been thrown in our direction. Not only was there a different way of life here, but the heat inflicted an almost instant production of perpetual sweat. Nevertheless, there were an array of hurdles to overcome but with determination to …

First Week in Tanzania

Tianna and I arrived in Dar es Salaam in the middle of the night on a Sunday. Immediately walking out of the airport, we felt the humidity and saw a couple people sprawled out across ground. It was dark, so sadly we did not get a clear view of the city but there were immediate …

Climate Change in Dar es Salaam

As more and more citizens migrate from rural areas, Tanzania’s urban centers are expanding rapidly. Already more than half the world’s population lives in cities, and the forecast according to the United Nations, is only said to rise to 66 percent by 2050, with close to 90 percent of the increase taking place in urban …

Help From an Unknown Angel

Many people may have heard that being connected to your family and community in Sub-Saharan Africa is a very important aspect of a person’s life. It also applies when helping a person in need. Authors, Richmond and Gestrin state in their book Into Africa that... “In terms of African thought, life can be meaningful only …

Flash floods, mosquitoes, endless mud and so much more!

Karibu Rafikis (Welcome friends), Life in the beautiful city of Dar es Salaam is never boring. There is always something happening; whether it would be new sustainable strategic planning initiatives through ongoing community forums and academic global development conferences or through an actual flash flood that wipe out the road infrastructures, people’s homes, gardens/farms, livestock, …

Open Eyes and Hearts

Travel with open eyes and you will become a scholar–        Swahili Proverb *Dear readers:  I must highlight that there are many other factors that play a part of in this topic, such as privilege and the pedestal outsiders can be put on, but such topics are for another time. And by no means am I …

An internship in food systems & empathy

Here in Tanzania this semester we are a team of six women, all in our 20's, all studying in different fields, all with varying amounts of international experience, research experience, work experience, and all with different personalities, triggers, annoyances, likes and dislikes. Prior to leaving, our advisors tried to explain to us how it might …

The Kariakoo Market

Mambo... We are well into week three of our time in Tanzania, and getting acquainted with the culture of Dar es Salaam is of utmost importance as we begin our research. To really get a feel for the city, all six of us interns in Dar went to the Kariakoo Market downtown last weekend. For …

Week 1–Presuppositions and Economic Expression–A Reflection