Mallory Coletta, Volunteer in Tanzania

Mallory Coletta, 23 years old, Volunteer in Tanzania

What did you enjoy most about your Quest experience?

I met some amazing people and made some great friends. My host family was so friendly and accommodating, and by the end of my quest, I felt like I was a member of their family.

Also, the fruit is AMAZING!!! I miss it.

What was most challenging about your Quest experience?

I taught ESL for a beginner's, intermediate and advanced class. I had to come up with all of the material, all of the lesson plans, schedules and time table for the month (for these classes) myself. I had to be VERY creative in coming up with real objects to use in my lessons and I left them with material they can reuse.

It was so challenging and so rewarding.

Tell us how you feel overall about your experience.

Tanzania is another world. That is the best way I can describe it. I had never been in a developing country before and this was one heck of an introduction.

There is practically no infrastructure, the streets are sand or dirt and full of garbage, the houses are a little worse for wear. Tanzanians take a lot of pride in their clothes and appearance, but this does not seem to be reflected in their surroundings. They are also very friendly and helpful people (well, the ones not used to dealing with tourists are).

Having to bathe with a bucket of water and a cup every day was something that took a while to get used to... especially when I was trying to scare away the cockroaches.

The main diet of Tanzanians consists of survival food- lots of rice, beans, potatoes (chips) and ugali. There was very little vegetables.

The fruit, however, was amazing. Every day, I had a fresh mango, papaya, pineapple, water melon or banana with my meal. It was fantastic. I learned very quickly "ninapenda embe," which means "I like mango." My host family tried very hard to ensure I had fruit every day. I was so thankful for this.

There was no air conditioning (obviously) unless you went to a big business or company in the middle of the downtown area (these are the only places that can afford it) and my host family did not have a fan.

I loved my neighborhood. Every day the neighborhood kids and I would play card games that I taught them. I made friends with the boy who lived across from my host family. He speaks very good English. We spent the afternoons talking together and hanging out. I will miss these people so much. It was a nice break from my regular busy "western" life in Canada.

Tanzania was everything I thought it would be and it wasn't at the same time. The people are very poor, but they seem to be happier than the people here in Canada. Maybe it's because they live simpler lives and don't put the same kind of stress on their lives that westerners do. They do struggle with other "life issues" though, but how they deal with these issues and their philosophy on life was something I learned a lot from.

My experience in Tanzania was such an amazing, eye-opening experience. It is something I will carry with me my entire life.