Harvey Scholar Travels - Kellen in Tanzania

You never know what opportunities will pop up in college. Sometimes you just know when one knocks on your door, and that you would be crazy not to answer it.

At first I was going to go by myself to Tanzania to volunteer and teach English at a nonprofit called Village Schools Tanzania (VST), but once they found out I knew math and science pretty well (arguably better than I do English) they asked if I would teach those instead. We then both agreed it would be an even better idea to bring more Mines students along to teach math and science, since that is what most engineering students enjoy. Before I knew it, the group of Mines students and I were off to a small village in rural Tanzania to teach at a college.

Our goal was to make the science curriculum at the college more fun and hands-on by employing as many demos and experiments as time would allow. Cue things that explode, light on fire, bounce, swing, and spark. There were only 9-13 students, but the number of butterflies that would appear in my stomach every time I stood in front of them and spoke were uncountable. As time went on though, the number of butterflies decreased, along with their shyness to ask us questions about what we were teaching them. 

    

Our goal was to also live like our Tanzanian students. We stayed in the same dorms as they did. We ate the same food at the same times as they did. We learned Swahili from them in the same way they were learning math and science from us. It was an important mutual relationship that was developed through school, playing sports, listening to music (they all loved Justin Bieber), and meal time.

Tanzanians are some of the most kind and welcoming people I have ever met. You could always be sure that the stranger walking towards you on the road would greet you in Swahili, ask how your day was going, and where you were off to. This stemmed from their comparative slowness in their day. I walked through forests for upwards of an hour just to buy oranges or bananas, and everyone there has the mentality that things will get done when they get done, which was refreshing coming from America where we are far more time oriented.

If it wasn’t for the Harvey Scholars Program, I am almost positive Tanzania would not have shown up on my radar for countries I would want to explore. But boy am I glad it did. I would not have wanted to spend those ten weeks of my summer anywhere else.

On the plane ride home from Dar Es Salaam, there was a Rwandan flautist who told us a Rwandan proverb that I think sums up how you feel after visiting another country and meeting new people: “We go to sleep in different places, but we dream the same dreams.”