Final thoughts

So today is my first full day back in Canada, and I thought I'd share some final thoughts about this whole experience, although I'm sure it will take more time before I've processed it all.

This has been THE most incredible experience of my whole life. I would not trade it in for anything. I've been fortunate enough to travel quite a bit in the past, but no place has gotten under my skin quite like Tanzania. It has such a rich and beautiful culture, gorgeous landscapes, and the people are incredible. There were definitely things that took some getting used to, we all experienced quite a bit of culture shock and had many frustrations along the way, but in the end, after all the hard work we've put in all year, and all the setbacks we've had to overcome, what I've gotten out of this experience is so much more than I ever could have put in.

The best part of the experience for me was hanging out with the CCF boys in Arusha. These boys have grown up largely without guidance from parents or other authority figures, and have relied on each other to survive. Currently, they live in a building with no running electricity, their doors are pieces of fabric hung over door frames, their windows are holes punched out of the concrete walls, and they sleep on pieces of foam on the ground. Their kitchen is a sink in an open courtyard shared between the neighbours. They each own just a few pieces of clothing, but their clothes are always clean and their shoes much cleaner than ours, as they take good care of the few things they have (I should have gotten a few pointers before I left, as my previously white shoes are currently a very dirty shade of brown!). Despite this, they are among the happiest, most good natured people I have met. Most are in high school, and some are even in, or have finished, forms 5 and 6, which are two years you can do after graduating from high school, and are required for entry into University... and some are planning on going to University. And they have many other talents as well. When I think of all the support from my family that has gotten me to where I am today, and I think of these boys that are on their own, I am in absolute awe that they have made it this far despite all their obstacles, and I am sure they will go far in life. One song that we heard played everywhere this summer reminds me of them every time I hear it now: "When I get older, I will be stronger, they'll call me freedom, just like a waving flag..." They're so supportive of each other, and are a family in every sense of the word. And they took us in as part of this family. Spending time with them would always brighten my day, and I was always in a great mood after seeing them.

Dr. Mhando and his family were so welcoming to us, and were wonderful to spend time with! MedOutreach is a family event for them, as they have been doing it for 16 years now. Dr. Mhando is an excellent clinician and we were fortunate that he was able to take some time to teach us about medicine in Tanzania. Dr. Julius in Nkoaranga was an excellent teacher, and we learned a lot from him. Medically speaking, we saw things we would have never had the opportunity to see in Canada, and saw how medicine is practiced in a low resource setting, and how healthcare workers make do with what they have and treat patients given resource limitations. It also made me really, really appreciate the healthcare system in Canada!! Actually it made me appreciate everything I have here in Canada, and made me realize that even if I don't have all these luxuries that I am used to (sitting toilets, toilet paper, warm water), it's okay, I can handle it. I can be dirty and share my room with rats and my sleeping bag with crickets, and my campsite with warthogs, and share a minibus (daladala) with 40 people with body odor in hot weather... and it's okay. I can wait three hours for something that should take 20 minutes, I can wait in line for an hour to use an ATM that doesn't work, and I can still get on with my life. And in fact, I'm lucky that I have a room, that I can take a daladala rather than walk, that I can afford to go camping in the Serengeti with warthogs, and that I have an ATM card, and above all, I'm incredibly lucky that I was able to have this experience in Tanzania.


Thank you so much to all of you who followed our blog, and who supported us in any way, in Canada or in Tanzania. Asanteni na kwa herini!

xoxo Kasia