Goodbye Tanzania!
On 23rd August, I left Membe and a part of me remained there as well. During the last day of the afternoon class, some children said that I had taught them well. Moreni, a student from standard six, said that she believes that one day she will come to Egypt and meet me there. I don’t know why she said that but this touched my heart and I hope her dream comes true.
Adolf asked me to say something to the children. I just turned around to the blackboard and started crying and every time I tried to look at the kids and talk I couldn’t hold back my tears. In return, they were also sad and some of them cried.
The day before I left, the children came to my room to say goodbye. Some of them brought me biscuits, bananas, peanuts and pumpkin. It meant a lot to me, it was so touching. We took many photos together and I shared the papaya I had with them.
I hope my simple contribution will make a positive difference in their life as it has made in mine. Every now and then, I look at their photos and wonder how they will look in a few years? Will they keep remembering me? Will I be able to visit them again?
My plan for now is to save some money to send to SAFAAD, the organization which Adolf is responsible for and it helps children there.
After leaving Membe, I spent two days in Dar es Salaam then I went on a trip to Mikumi National Park and the Udzungwa Waterfall. My plan was to go to Zanzibar but when I went to book a ferry ticket from Dar to Zanzibar, the man in the booking office offered me a good deal to Mikumi so I couldn’t say no. The prices I found to go to Mikumi earlier were no less than $400 which was too expensive for me. However the office man offered me a Mikumi trip for 310, I told him all I had was 250. After some discussion, he accepted it which was great for me. The trip included Mikumi safari and climbing the Udzungwa Waterfall, accommodation, meals and transfer. The group consisted of only two men, an Egyptian and an American, and me, which was another advantage of the trip.
On 29th August, I departed. The plane from Dar to Addis Ababa was late, so when I arrived at Addis airport, the plane to Cairo had left. What came to my mind then was that bad luck kept following me even when I was outside of Egypt. As a result, I had to spend the night in Addis. Thankfully, the airline covered the whole cost of visa, hotel, meals, charter. The good thing about it was that I had more stamps on my passport from a different country. Yes, I didn’t actually visit any places there but at least I met with some Ethiopians. Two of the hotel’s staff commented on my skin color and said that I look like an Ethiopian. That made me feel proud that I look like an African. On the other hand in Membe, Tanzania, whenever I walked around, children used to call me “mzungu” which means a white person. I told Adolf that I’m not white and I’m as African as them but when he realized I didn’t like the word he started calling me “mzungu”. The following evening was my flight to Cairo. This was the end of my memorable Tanzanian experience. I’m not sure when I will be able to travel abroad again but I will do my best to have more adventures sooner or later.
After leaving Membe, I spent two days in Dar es Salaam then I went on a trip to Mikumi National Park and the Udzungwa Waterfall. My plan was to go to Zanzibar but when I went to book a ferry ticket from Dar to Zanzibar, the man in the booking office offered me a good deal to Mikumi so I couldn’t say no. The prices I found to go to Mikumi earlier were no less than $400 which was too expensive for me. However the office man offered me a Mikumi trip for 310, I told him all I had was 250. After some discussion, he accepted it which was great for me. The trip included Mikumi safari and climbing the Udzungwa Waterfall, accommodation, meals and transfer. The group consisted of only two men, an Egyptian and an American, and me, which was another advantage of the trip.
On 29th August, I departed. The plane from Dar to Addis Ababa was late, so when I arrived at Addis airport, the plane to Cairo had left. What came to my mind then was that bad luck kept following me even when I was outside of Egypt. As a result, I had to spend the night in Addis. Thankfully, the airline covered the whole cost of visa, hotel, meals, charter. The good thing about it was that I had more stamps on my passport from a different country. Yes, I didn’t actually visit any places there but at least I met with some Ethiopians. Two of the hotel’s staff commented on my skin color and said that I look like an Ethiopian. That made me feel proud that I look like an African. On the other hand in Membe, Tanzania, whenever I walked around, children used to call me “mzungu” which means a white person. I told Adolf that I’m not white and I’m as African as them but when he realized I didn’t like the word he started calling me “mzungu”. The following evening was my flight to Cairo. This was the end of my memorable Tanzanian experience. I’m not sure when I will be able to travel abroad again but I will do my best to have more adventures sooner or later.
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