Art in Tanzania internship program

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I met Calum at the Dar es Salaam Airport on the day we arrived in Tanzania. His flight arrived after mine and I had to wait for him to arrive so the driver could take us to the volunteer house together.  From the moment we met, he was so friendly. He let me put my camera in his face and film him barely 10 minutes after we met. He has just been an absolute delight. Last week, when Britain chose to leave the EU, as a Brit, he kept the conversation alive and educated us all on the implications of Britain leaving. He is a great conversationalist and an even better person and it is my absolute pleasure to have met him. He gave me the opportunity to interview him on his time here, in Tanzania and this is the conversation we had.

This interview took place on 28th June, 2016.

Dolly: What is your name?

Calum: Calum Dear

D: Where are you from?

C: I’m from the United Kingdom. Bristol, to be exact.

D: How long have you been here?

C: Probably about a week and a half now.

D: How much longer are you staying?

C: Another week and a half

D: So that’s three weeks in total?

C: Three weeks in total…yeah

D: What project are you handling?

C: I’m just teaching. So, in the mornings I do primary school teaching at the local nursery cause a lot of students come over for extra help and in the afternoons, I have about five, six secondary school students that come along. I help with Physics, Maths and Chemistry.

D: Has this project met your expectations?

C: Oh yeah! Definitely. I mean, I wasn’t expecting amazing sort of facilities and it’s definitely a lot better than I anticipated. Everyone is just so nice. The facilities are…well…they’re here. That’s one thing and the children at school are lovely. I mean, everything has just been perfect to be honest.

D: What made you decide to come to Tanzania?

C: In all fairness, actually, I am going to climb Kilimanjaro. So, I thought the trip in itself is only eight days long so I can’t be coming all the way to Tanzania just for eight days so, I thought, you know, it was moderately cheap and it could mean I’m out there for lot more so, volunteering was the thing I went straight to and I mean, give something back. I mean, I have been travelling the world for a while now and I haven’t actually been helping anyone so, I thought it’s about time I start giving something back to the community instead of them working for me.

D: How do you find living in the volunteer house?

C: Oh my God! It’s incredible. Everyone is just so strong together. It’s so funny. The banter is amazing. Everyone is also there for each other like, there would always be offering up things to help like, I’ve been switching lenses with another guy that is a volunteer like, we sort of try each other’s kit out. So, everyone is just so happy to help and friendly. It’s amazing.

D: Do you feel like you’re more exposed with this trip? Do you feel like this trip has exposed you more to the world?

C: Oh God, Yes! I mean, you can travel the world and go to any country but when you actually start working with the locals and actually seeing how their life is and knowing their opinions on the world especially, in the adult debate class in the evenings, you’ll be seeing what Tanzanians think of the world and not everyone thinks the same way as Western countries do. This is seriously a big eye-opener for me so, definitely.

D: Would you recommend this to anyone?

C: Anyone who is anyone should be doing this. I mean, it’s such a personality builder and it just makes you not only appreciate what we’ve got back home, but it just makes you a better person just to see the world more and to understand what other people think. There is no reason why you shouldn’t do it. Everyone needs to just expand what they know

D: Thank you very much, Calum

C: You’re very welcome.

 

 

 

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