Experience of a lifetime: educational, fun, satisfying, fulfilling January 22, 2025

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

This program is extremely intense, not only the time commitment but it is long hours during the hot tropical days. Some will appreciate the academic rigor in this program, but if you're looking for a vacation (despite it being in one of the most beautiful vacation spots in the world!) this program might not be for you. That being said, anyone doing this program will get the absolute most out of it. The academics were interactive, field based, usually based on doing hands on research that you're physically doing, then writing reports, having discussions, presenting, and doing analysis with the data. You learn through field trips, snorkeling, learning swahili interactively, working with animals, people, doing interviews, and all the while you don't even know how much everything has built up piece by piece so that you can finally do a month long research project, speaking a language you didn't know when starting the program: A project that means something to the people of Zanzibar. And you can walk away knowing that you can ask better questions, you can know what its really like doing a field based research project and what's not included in every scientific methods section, how ingenuitive people in the developing world when managing resources with little economic means to do so can be, as well as doing it through an amazing cultural learning process in one of the most beautiful countries on Earth.

On-site administration of your program

Nearly everything is run by Richard Walz, the Academic Director and he is unbelievable. Helpful, knowledgable about every possible topic in the Zanzibar Archipelago, and willing to go the extra mile so that everyone succeeds. The same can be said about the entire SIT staff who work tirelessly for the students and are absolutely wonderful people. Could not have been better staff.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

Housing is primarily homestays in Zanzibar with an upper class Stone-Town family, and it will obviously not be as nice as living in the United States as it is a developing country where economic resources are minimal. One might have to overcome challenges in housing, but that experience of overcoming that what might have been initially gross to you is a profound realization for your own betterment. Some of the basic necessities we find obvious may not always be present in Zanzibar. You might have to overcome washing your clothes by hand, having insects in your house (after all, it is the tropics and that is unavoidable), having to use bucket showers instead of a showerhead, or not having toilet paper and instead using a bidet. Many of the housing issues are either economic or cultural and thus you might just have to overcome them, though if something more major occurs the staff will 100% help you in that. When not in home stays, it is usually a hostel-like hotel in Stone Town or a fairly nice hotel in Dar es Salaam where one will have the basic amenities that one might expect in the US (apart from AC, some of the time).

The food was amazing. They don't call it the spice islands for nothing. Fresh spices in everything, food always made by the homestay family and lunches you receive a small stipend which should be enough to cover lunch at a reasonable priced restaurant, of which there are many in Zanzibar. At times some of the food might get a bit repetitive, like there's a lot of rice at some homestays, or some homestays serve ugali, which is kind of a bland stiff porridge, but other than that the food is some of the best I've ever had and I think anybody would be happy with the options to eat in town.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

Completely and unequivocally integrated into the culture. You'll make friend with Zanzibari's in town. Certainly your two host families. The local shopkeep. The tailor. The group of taxi drivers that you pass every day. The owner of some of your favorite restaurants. Maybe just the guy that you see at his or her corner shop every day walking to the office building. But you'll get to know them, and they'll get to know you, especially as you get better at Swahili and talk to them in their native language so that they'll know you're not just another tourist. You'll wear their kind of clothing, dress how they dress, speak how they speak, and live where they live. You'll shop where they shop (much cheaper than the tourist shops!) and often eat where they eat, though you can always find basically any food from any culture in Stone Town if you want to spend the money (still cheaper than the U.S.)

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

For one, almost everyone will need to visit the hospital at some point while in Zanzibar--and not to fear. The Academic Director's first priority is your health and if something comes up he want's to know about it right away. There are hospitals in town and clinics which are in town and a bit cheaper. Even rural towns which we visit will usually have a clinic. While they may have slightly fewer resources than an American health clinic, they will treat you with the same care and for much (much!) cheaper than an American hospital. On the second week of the program I had a bacterial infection (essentially food poisoning) which made me get pretty severe dehydration so I got an IV drip which is very common and is not much different culturally from taking an aspirin. I got blood tests done and once i got a stool sample done when i had traveler's diarrhea which is also pretty common. You do need to take malaria pills while in country, though the rate of malaria in Zanzibar is almost 0. You don't necessarily need the yellow fever vaccine but it is recommended. Same with rabies, thoguht this vaccine is very expensive and you will never be far from a hospital if you do happen to get bit by a stray cat or dog. Stray cats are very common in Stone town, but very few have rabies. There are almost no stray dogs except in rural areas, and some of those do have rabies, so while its definitely not necessary, i think most doctors will recommend getting the rabies shot. Cholera, polio, and Tdap were recommended to me but probably not necessarily. Cholera is present in stone town in outbursts at times, though it is only spread through produce at Forodhani market which you are explicitly told never to buy street food there (or anywhere for that matter), only at places known to the program to be safe. Seriously the only medical concerns are travellers diarrhea which is very common but not dangerous, easily solved with rehydration salts, occasionally with an IV drip, or in severe circumstances with antibiotics.

Incredibly safe. Safer than the US. Crime is almost non-existent in Zanzibar because of the cultural consequences of crime in muslim culture (being disowned by your family).

I could not conceive of a better program for me. it was all i was looking for out of an abroad program and I got so much out of it.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

Food should be covered by the program as you receive a stipend (although if you want to eat at a tourist restaurant it might be slightly over budget, but still much cheaper than America), though there was a 5 day independent travel time not covered by the program which was expensive as we chose to do a 5 day safari

0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language

You had to (and want to) use your swahili any chance you get because you will be treated like a tourist if you use english, you will be treated as a guest, a friend, a resident if you use or try to use swahili.

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• Host Family
• Hotel
• Hostel

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• Americans
• Host Family

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• Americans

• The hands on research and experiencing everything. The challenges zanzibar faces and the resilience of people
• the cultural immersion
• the abundance of rare and interesting species we got to see all the time--including up close and person. Lions, dolphins, sea turtles, sharks--you name it we probably saw it.

• The advertising for it to get more students into the program
• communication and coordination with in country advisors
• the stipend received for your independent research project is pretty small, so it is likely you have to jump through hoops to stay within budget (most of the time)

The Nearly Native or Trail Blazer