Valuable life lesson from Tanzania – the wonderful culture of humanity

Tanzania is a unique country with a unique culture. That’s what I learned during my six-month stay in 2016. In this short blog post, I want you to experience the Tanzanian culture through my story. And hopefully it will inspire you to go there yourself.

It was around noontime and I just left Paje to go to Stonetown and further to Nungwi. I took the local bus – the Dalladalla. Dalladallas are usually VW-sized buses that transport passengers. There are no timetables and the bus stop is wherever it needs to stop. This is a good description of Tanzanian culture. There are bus stops, but the bus also stops at other, none marked stops. The bus I took was bigger, more comfortable, and faster compared to the other Dalladallas.

It was my second time in Tanzania. In 2016, I spent six months in this incredible country. Of course, I had a culture shock when I arrived and when I got back to a developed nation. I, on the other hand, describe the reverse culture shock as more serious. So I was already introduced to the Tanzanian way of life, behavior, and cultural values. Once again, I was amazed by the social closeness, the ease of making new friends, and the joy of life. Something I missed in the developed countries.

The Dalla Dalla was driving over some street bumps. After a while driving, I became aware of the truck driving in front of us. It is customary in Tanzania that people stand or sit in the loading area of trucks. It is so cool and unusual since it is not allowed in Austria. Back in 2016, I also got a ride where I could stand on the loading platform of a car. It was uncomfortable but fun.

Also, the truck in front of us had two guys in the loading space. The young men were facing the travel direction and leaning at the driver’s cab. The guy on the right was screaming, raising on hand before hitting it against the driver’s cab. “Wuuhuu” – Bumm – Bumm – “Yeaaaah”- Bumm – Bumm.

His body movement also showed that he was in a celebration mood. I wasn’t exactly sure why he was doing it. Maybe he wanted to put the driver under stress. Although the truck was already driving fast, or maybe, he was simply celebrating life. Whatever it was, I smiled as I watched him celebrate in the back of the truck. Exactly this is what I love about Tanzania. It is loud, messy, colorful, and full of smiles.

The life lesson from Tanzanian culture & lifestyle

Tanzania taught me that the most important thing in life is the people. Human connection is so important and often I get carried away by endless To-Do lists that I forget to have quality time with my loved ones. Probably this contributed also to my approach to minimalism. The less stuff you have, the less you need to care and maintain your stuff and you have more time to spend with people, instead of stuff.

The second learning is to let go of worries, be present, celebrate life daily, smile and enjoy! And this incident of the celebrating Tanzanian reminded me again to do so. Even though it is a developing country and many things need to be improved, they have something that I miss so much in Europe – the joy of life and the willingness to look out for each other.
Let’s celebrate life with joy and smiles every day! And let’s set the obligations aside to truly care about our fellow human beings.

If you want to experience Tanzanian culture for yourself, but know that travelling abroad can be challenging. But don’t worry, here you can get lot’s of helpful informations about getting a visa for Tanzania.