This March break, 10 students and three faculty members are traveling to Tanzania to learn about sustainable development and educational opportunities in rural Tanzania. Please enjoy the blog post below from Hannah ’25 on the group’s journey to Tanzania and the warm, enthusiastic welcome at Mainsprings.
Prior to departure, seasoned faculty members and friends who had made the voyage to Tanzania in years prior debriefed me on the thirty-six-hour trek across the Atlantic. Despite my mental preparation, my fortitude waned, with each layover, occasional turbulence, and security lines along the way. When we finally touched down in Mwanza and piled into the van bound for Kitongo, exhaustion set in. Bugs gathered around the only illuminated light in the car, my eyelids felt heavy, and my neck felt cramped from trying and failing to sleep comfortably sitting upright. In that moment, I was too tired to fully remember the anecdotes packed with joy and learning that my best friend, Sophie, who had done the trip last year had recounted to me.
After another hour-long car ride, we finally pulled into Mainsprings, and the greeting we received dispelled my lingering reservations. A chorus of screams erupted around the van and swept us into the arms of nearly twenty teenage girls. Everyone wanted to know my name, how I felt after the plane, and was excited to see me tomorrow. I don’t think I’ve ever received so many hugs. It took me a few enthusiastic greetings to match the girls’ warm demeanor. Could this be real? At Deerfield, we also infamously scream to indicate excitement, but expressions of affection with acquaintances or strangers typically comprise a high-five or cool nod and a smile. One girl named Jennifer pitched her voice even louder when I told her my name.
“You’re Hannah? I have so much to tell you, I’ve been waiting for you.” She took me by the arm and walked me around the bus, insisting that I must remember her for tomorrow so that we could talk.
In our pre-trip reading, “How to Write About Africa,” Binyavanga Wainaina satirically informs western writers that “Africa is to be pitied, worshipped, or dominated.” As someone who has only left the United States once, and who has never been to any country in the continent of Africa, I found this line to be particularly intriguing. I wondered if I too would fall prey to one of these incomplete and all-encompassing visions of Mainsprings.
So far, I haven’t been tempted by any of the above pitfalls.
Instead of “pitying” them, I find myself inspired by the Mainspring staff’s easy smiles. Rather than “worshipping” the girls, I worship with the girls through sung prayers. As opposed to “dominating” the existing Mainsprings community, I am humbled stumbling over the occasional barrier as I learned that eleven-year-old Agnes wants to be an English and Math teacher, loves the color blue (like the sky not the water in Lake Victoria), and has a penchant for pizza.
I’m twenty-four hours beyond doubting if I should have signed up for this trip, yet my hesitation feels like a lifetime away. Over the next eight days, I want to cherish every word misunderstood in Swahili, every game played with Agnes and song sung with Jennifer, and I definitely need to get the recipe for the cabbage (who knew it could be so good??) chef Jackson makes at Papa’s Café.
