Going Home

Holy crap. We're going home. I know I started the last post similarly to this, but it really was a strange feeling knowing that this whole experience was finally coming to an end and home was just on the horizon.

I woke up nice and early to be able to get to VETA for 6am. Unfortunately there wasn't any breakfast for us, so that was a bit of a bummer to start off the day (I like food), so I used that time to make a quick video of the house. I didn't get film the toilet-come-shower-plug, so there's no real evidence of that, but it would be a bit weird for me to have done. Our normal bajaji driver turned up, so Charles and I put our suitcases into the back. I was about to squeeze myself into the bajaji, but before I could, the neighbour's eldest daughter came running out to give me one last hug goodbye.

We got to VETA and paid the bajaji driver the last ever 2000 shillings we'd give him (everything becomes nostalgic on your last day) and sat around with the others as we waited for the coach that would take us on the 10 hour journey to Dar Es Salaam. When we got there, I checked to see if this little store was open so I could buy breakfast, but no luck, so I sent a message to some people in the Lindi group to see if they could take some breakfast for me and I'd pay them. Also no luck, so I just moaned about how hungry I was whilst taking pictures of the office.

About 10 minutes later, The bajaji came back with Maria and Eva, so I took a quick picture with the driver just before I had to jump on to the coach. I've got to admit, the coach was surprisingly nice - there was even a "first class" section, but I was too late to get snuggled up in that luxury. The coach set off as we all waved to the Team Leaders (who had to stay for another week - despite our protests) who I had stupidly forgotten to say goodbye to, assuming they'd be coming with us. It wasn't too bad in the end because Louise gave me some honey roasted nuts (my new favourite snack) and Maria Wright gave me some gummy worms.

A weird film later and we arrived in Lindi where we stopped to pick up the other team. Thank the lord, there were a bunch of people with baskets who wanted to sell food and drink, so I managed to buy myself some Fanta and a box of biscuits to keep myself going (there never seems to be anything healthy to buy). We soon drove off and apparently Louis (other Team Leader) started crying when the coach left the station.

I can't really say much about the rest of the journey because I slept for most of it. We had lunch at the same stop we'd gone to on the way to Mtwara, but I just had to grab this weird fish and egg bake thingy-ma-bob (possibly the most risky food to get on a long coach journey in Tanzania), some more biscuits and a different flavour of Fanta and eat them on the coach so they wouldn't leave me. A total of 10 hours later and we arrived in the same hostel we'd stayed at in the first week of arriving in Tanzania. If felt like another 10 hours that the driver spent trying to turn the coach round, instead of just letting us get off first, but eventually we managed to get out.

I found the room that I would be sharing with Santus and this guy who I'd never talked to before - he was even more quiet than Charles had been. It didn't really matter who I was with though, because I ended up helping a couple of women from my group with their suitcases, going to the bar to grab a beer and then meeting people at the hut that we used to hang out at. We relaxed there for a while and then went to the canteen for dinner at 7pm. Well it was meant to be 7pm, it was more like 7:30pm, which is about 15 minutes early for TZ.

After dinner, I took some bits and bobs back to my room that I didn't want to keep with me and then met people at the bar. I quickly got to work making sure I wouldn't have any excess Tanzanian shillings and we all had a laugh together, just dancing and chatting away. We eventually moved up to Jess and Amber's room because they had been lucky with a mansion for a room with a living room and everything.

After a while, Mike and I headed down to the bar to get some more mixer *ahem* Fanta and Coke, as well as to find a cat wanting our attention. We relaxed there for a bit and then marched ourselves back to the room, only to be kicked out by a tired Amber. The rest of us still awake headed down to a public room until we decided we were bored and headed off to the bar again (we really wanted to have the Fanta Pineapple and Passion Fruit because those flavours don't exist in the UK - hence the bar trips). Soon enough, it became clear that I needed to go to bed and so ended my last night in Tanzania.

I woke up the next morning nice and early for breakfast at 7:30am and I was surprisingly with it. We ate, relaxed and then packed. I said goodbye to Charles because he "had to leave" and a bit later on it was time for lunch, which was, you guessed it, late. We ended up getting on the coach 30 minutes late because of that, but ICS had given us a lot of spare time to get to the airport, but that meant I could write some more of my blog post.

When we arrived, we were greeted by the team from Zanzibar. It was cool to catch up with Ashley Boland, but the focus was on taking a bunch of pictures with all of the Tanzanian volunteers, some of whom had come along to say goodbye to us. The best part of all that from my perspective was getting a video of Frank and me doing our little foot dance at about 30mph (I was very proud at being able to keep up). That was overshadowed by the cuteness of Stella and Albany swapping friendship bracelets (the ones Robert had given us) and the crying from a few of the girls that ensued.

Eventually we had to say our goodbyes and go through the joys of the Tanzanian airport. There was crap security, but we did have to fill out these arrival forms as we were leaving... I don't know either - I filled out mostly crap. The area past security was nice enough, but a chocolate bar was $11 and as much I was hungry and missed chocolate bars, I wasn't going to spend $11, so I just sat in the café with a water and some tic tacs that I could hardly afford.

I can't really say much about the flight. It's not that I slept, just that THERE WAS NO TV. The amount that not having a personal cinema on a plane made me realise how ready I was for first world problems. At least I wasn't as bed as the person sitting in my row that said "I swear to God, if my mum has not bought me granary bread." After 7 hours and some surprisingly good meals, we arrived in Doha airport at 11pm in preparation for the transfer flight.

Mike told me that there was a Burger King in this airport, so we walked to that as fast as we could. Luckily for me, this spot let you pay by card in British Sterling, so I got myself a Steakhouse burger. Oh. My. God. Best £8 I have ever spent and I wasn't even that hungry. There was bacon and everything.

By this point it was midnight, so the next day started off with a trek to the boarding gate. When I got there, I got a tap on the shoulder. I turn around and it's Emily Gaul from my Pre-Placement Training Weekend! She'd been in Kenya, but we were all getting the same connecting flight, so we had a chat about the placement and she seemed to have had a fantastic time, which is obviously great. I also spotter Dylan, another person from PPT, so I said hi to him quickly before jumping on to a group of volunteers who were lying on the ground.

We got onto the plane soon enough. This was one was much bigger - it had two levels! Pretty sure that was the first time I've ever seen that, but unfortunately it was first class and business class upstairs and the charity sector can't afford those seats. It was still really comfortable in economy and this time we had a TV (woop woop), so I got to watch a couple of films including Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (it's a meh film) and had a little kip at one point too.

7 hours later and I was back in the UK... I got pretty excited at this point. I don't usually miss people, but after all this time away, I was so excited to see my friends and family. We waited for the bags to arrive and some people had to rush, so we all decided we'd take a UK volunteer group picture when we all met up in Reading for our Return Volunteer Weekend in a few weeks (which I'll talk about in a future post)

I said my goodbyes to those of us that were left and then headed out to see my parents waiting for me! I woddled over as fast as I could and gave them a nice big hug. My dad then made a comment about getting a picture of me with mum outside and he said he'd seen a nice spot on the road crossing. I thought this was a bit strange, but ignored it knowing that it was from my dad. Just as I go over the crossing and I stop for a picture with dad, someone tells me I dropped something. I turn around and there's my brother who has come all the way over from Exeter for the weekend just to be there for when I arrived!

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the end of my time in Tanzania. If you're thinking of doing an ICS placement, then be sure to go - it's fun, a great learning experience and, most importantly, you get to help people who are asking for your help. Anyhow, make sure to stay tuned for one or two more posts about ICS, along with a gallery of pictures and then click that subscribe button so you can follow me on my trip to South East Asia!