‘Zanzibar is paradise, it is a privilege to have lived here’

[ Picturing the Irish Diaspora interactive gallery. ]

Aoife Spengeman, Tanzania

I came to Zanzibar, an archipelago of islands of the the coast of mainland Tanzania, in 2015 for a placement as a United Nations Volunteer.

Zanzibar is a total paradise and it has been such a privilege to have gotten the chance to live there. Not only can you find some of the best beaches in the world there but it’s main town, Stone Town, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and I was lucky enough to be living there.

I am now in the main city Dar Es Salaam, which is a big, bustling city. The people of Tanzania are so warm and friendly, and also very proud of their national language, Swahili, and so I was quick to learn it and speak it every day - a great gift.

The heat can get a bit overwhelming at times as Tanzania is close to the equator, and so it is actually nice to visit home and feel the cold. I never thought I’d say that.

[ irishtimes.com/picturing-the-irish-diaspora. ]