CIEE Community Development, Language + Culture in Iringa, Tanzania

If you want a true study-abroad experience, then look no further than CIEE Tanzania. As other reviewers have mentioned, there are definitely unique challenges to living in the developing world, but there are challenges to any study abroad experience. (That's part of the adventure!). CIEE Tanzania is led by Justin and Paulo, two incredibly dedicated and talented teachers. They strive to make this program the best it can be and incorporate student feedback after every session (it's been cool to watch the program grow and change since I did it!) As other reviewers have mentioned, Paulo is THE BEST Swahili teacher--he gets you to a functional level in Swahili really quickly. Iringa is the perfect town to study abroad in--small enough to navigate easily, the weather here rarely changes. Most days are sunny, with temperatures in the 70s-80s.

Tanzanians, for the most part, are incredibly kind, generous, and patient hosts. They are proud of their nation and love to show students their culture and home. I would strongly recommend this program to anyone who has an interest in the developing world, Africa, or just a unique study abroad experience. You won't regret it!

I absolutely loved my time spent in Iringa, I wish I could have stayed longer! I loved the people that I met through the program as well. The month long homestay was an amazing experience that helped me to gain a better understanding of how many Tanzanian people live. I learned so much about the local culture and history through my classes. The weekend excursions were so fun! From hiking to cooking, each of them added significantly to my experience. I would recommend this program to students who are looking for a fun challenge and an incredibly unique study abroad experience!

I enjoyed my time spent abroad with the CIEE program. The coordinators are very helpful and supportive during the experience. Mwalimu Paulo is the BEST Swahili teacher. I definitely got hundreds of opportunities to improve my Swahili and Paulo is very dedicated to his students and really pushed me to challenge myself. I would encourage future participants to research the country and really prepare themselves to embark on this journey. There is not a very rigid schedule during the day so be prepared to find your own fun and make friends on your own. I made tons of friends that I am still in contact with to this day. Overall I would recommend this program to anyone who is interested in learning about East Africa.

It’s hard to summarize four months into just a few lines. In fact, I would say it’s almost impossible to encapsulate the CIEE Iringa program in only words, and believe me I’ve tried. My family and friends are probably tired of hearing story after story about my time in Tanzania, but these are stories that I think I’ll be telling for years to come. I gained so much through this experience: new perspectives, knowledge, relationships, and families. Living in a developing country has its own sets of challenges but every step of the way Justin and Paulo, our fabulous program directors, were there to help. They were receptive and really wanted the most positive experience for us. They truly welcomed us as if we were family. But, they manage to hit the perfective balance of guidance without being overbearing. I got to build relationships with Tanzanians: the nuns in the cafeteria, my roommates, my host family, and research assistant, who helped make my experience unique and culturally authentic. Learning Swahili, living with a host-family, and just soaking up the culture of the Iringa region made the program so powerful. Hands-on learning works best for me and so this program was the perfect fit. Time in the classroom was important but the excursions, research project, and daily adventures of navigating a new place were really the highlights for me. The support and friendships of my fellow US students were irreplaceable. I fell in love with Tanzania and couldn’t be more grateful for this program.

Other people tell me about how "crazy" their study abroad experiences were. They went somewhere in Europe. They drank beer and sat on a beach and partied for four months. When asked about their classes, they laugh. If that's the study abroad experience you're looking for (no shame), Tanzania is not for you. If you're looking for something more boundary-pushing, CIEE Iringa might be it. It's four months of adjusting to a completely different culture, floundering through a new language, and using every ounce of resourcefulness and flexibility in your body. I won't sugarcoat it; CIEE Iringa is hard. Living so fully in a new culture, with Tanzanian roommates and then a rural Tanzanian host family, is really hard. But I have never had another experience that fulfilling in my life, and I shaved my head on a Buddhist monastery. It had been my dream for years to go to Tanzania after a summer Swahili intensive in high school, and CIEE exceeded my expectations. Anyone can tell you how much I changed when I was there - I came back more confident and capable in a crisis. And I got to lead my very own Passover seder and #exposethepriest and slaughter (read: be slaughtered) in a soccer game against Tanzanian. Plus, Paolo and Justin, our program leaders, are the greatest. No better people to have in your corner when the going gets tough. If you hypothetically go on an unsanctioned trip to a city two hours away with your host father and hypothetically get in trouble with immigration, they will hypothetically save you. Hypothetically of course.

TL;DR CIEE Tanzania is a fantabulous program 10/10 please go but only if you can handle the pressures of such a different environment and plumbing.

If you are looking to make memories, meet people that are interesting and amazing, have some of the best instructors and professors out there, this program is for you. With a strong immersion into local culture in the Iringa Region, you will feel as if you have found a second home in Tanzania. Phenomenal staffing that care about you as a student and as a person, be ready to make memories that will last a lifetime. I'll be honest, it was kind of scary at first to come to Tanzania with very limited knowledge of Swahili and almost not knowing anybody else in my class or at the school. But at the end of the day, I found myself having to be dragged back onto the plane to come home. You will get a strong academic program from the classes that work both in the classroom as well as have you out in the community. The classes are extraordinarily interesting, and the Research Seminar was a strong way to prepare me for capstone and term papers, as well as taught me how to properly and ethically deal with human research. If you are concerned about safety, homesickness, or any health concerns, don't worry. Every member of the program, even other students, are there to help support you and support each other along the way. Keep this program strong, because there are very little study abroad programs like this! If you go, I look forward to hearing about your phenomenal experiences. Safari Njema!!

I remember my very first night moving into my dorm room. I was assigned to room 18 where I had one American roommate and two Tanzanian roommates. The room was tiny, barely enough room for all four of us at once. I remember feeling as if I had brought way too much luggage. My Tanzanian roommates were friendly but didn't speak much english and we didn't speak much Swahili. My roommate and I both needed to shower so we gathered our showering supplies (bucket, scooper, shampoo, and soap) and headed on our first of many new experiences, taking a shower out of a bucket. Our water was freezing! We both got back to our room and we both hysterically laughed and cried together. I remember asking myself what I had gotten myself into and feeling like I would never adjust to my new environment. After a few weeks went by though I became so close to my Tanzanian roommates who began to teach me how to live a more comfortable life. For example they would let me borrow their tea kettle so I could heat up my water before my shower so it would be warm. They also helped us to set up our mosquito nets, organize our things, and to learn the language. When I moved out of the dorms to head home I felt so sad to leave the place that I had made my home. Journeying to Tanzania will be full of challenges but it will become one of the hardest experiences you'll love.

While participating in this program, I was able to do an internship at a school. The school was one room and had nearly 100 students. My classmate and I worked in the school 2 days out of the week for 6 months and formed some incredible bonds with both the teachers and the students. Every day we split up to eat, the men in one room and the women in another. We would eat out of one communal bowl with our hands. We were able to help with some grant writing on the side and get the school enough money to build a new roof. It was a great way to develop skills and work with people. The coolest thing was at the end of the year we attend the graduation, which ended in a big dance party with the students and the mothers.

There are way too many memories, way too many amazing things, to even consider writing them all down. So I'm going to cheat and say "check out my totally unironic and super interesting blog"! Yes, I hate those annoying self-promoting bloggers too. For real though, Tanzania is great, CIEE is great, everything is great. Don't let the words "Africa, malaria, developing country, etc." scare you.