I can’t believe the time has come for us to say our goodbyes! It seems like just a few days ago I was running around St. John’s trying to get everything together for my big trip! I remember how excited and nervous I was about coming to Tanzania. Now eight weeks have flashed by and it’s time to leave. It’s going to be so weird to go home. My life in NL has been stagnant for the last eight weeks while everyone else has been living their normal lives. Relationships have changed, people have moved on, and there will certainly be lots to catch up on.

We had our final weekly meeting today, which consisted mostly of debriefing exercises and discussing reverse culture shock. We also got our individual evaluations, which I think were all positive for the most part. After our meeting, we went to Amore Mio for a final dinner together.

We don’t have too much planned for this weekend. We’re going to try to spend most of our time with our homestay family. Tomorrow, we’re taking our brothers (and Naila, if I can convince her) to Mtoni Marine, one of the nearby resort beaches. We’ll probably spend the entire day there soaking up the sun for one last day before we have to leave the white, sandy beaches for the cold snow! I think we’ll be heading to Forodhani tomorrow night for the last time before we leave Zanzibar. We need to say goodbye to Mr. Breakfast and our favorite pizza guy! Sunday will be spent packing, saying goodbye to our family, and relaxing. We leave for Dar (mainland) on Monday morning. We have country debriefing and a goodbye dinner planned. It’s going to be sad to say goodbye to everyone, lots of tears for sure. The boys have sort of become my family over here. We’re had lots of conflicts but, overall, we’ve been there for each other throughout the culture shock, home sickness, and challenges we’ve faced here in Zanzibar. The six of us (Zanzibar and Morogoro volunteers) are already planning our reunion later this year. 

Overall, I’ve had quite the time here in Zanzibar. This has certainly been the trip of a lifetime! Of course, there are some things that I will miss more than others…

Things I’ll miss:
* Getting lost in Stone Town
* Mama’s chi (I have lots to take back to Canada)
* Kids running up to me like I’m some celebrity
* Forodhani
* White, sandy beaches
* Random singing/dancing parties with the YCI staff
* Tyler’s ADD attacks (hahaha!)
* Quoting “shoes” with the boys while walking through Stone Town (it never gets old)
* Crazy dala dala rides
* People yelling MZUNGU every time I leave the house
* Mama, Naila, Ali, and Yahya
* My students

Things I won’t miss:
* Beach boys
* Marriage proposals from strangers
* The smell (fish, garbage burning, etc.)
* Being hassled to buy scarves, CDs, and whatever else the beach boys have stolen
* People asking me for money every few minutes

So that’s the end of my Tanzania adventure! Next stop: Zurich, Switzerland!

All my love,

Stephanie