Day One - Sunday 21st October 2012

“Today we arrived in Dar Es Salaam, capital of Tanzania.  Our flight left at 7.20 pm from Heathrow on Saturday evening.  Although I spent the entire length of the flight sleeping because I have the flu, many of the others stayed up and watched movies.

We landed at around 6.35 a.m. local time.  Immigration was not a problem and we found our bags successfully.  But as soon as we left the airport, the heat hit us like a tidal wave.  On average at this time of year in Tanzania, the temperature peaks at around 30 degrees centigrade at midday, roughly double the temperature in the UK now.” Annette

As we left the arrivals hall, at about 7.30am, we were greeted with a sea of smiles as many people were at the airport to greet us.  Students and staff welcomed us with the Kiswahili word 'Karbiu', meaning warm welcome.  After quick words of welcome we boarded cars and went to our hosts family for some rest and refreshment. 

Mass at Loyola High School
We met up again for a welcome Mass.  Excellent music enabled us to reflect prayerfully, as we prayed for each other's schools and the success of the exchange.  Miss Bacon did a reading, and Mr Dell thanked the Tanzanians for their kind welcome.

After Mass we have a supper in the school and two Loyola students, entertained us with song and music.
A great start to the week!

More to follow

The Journey Out - Saturday 20th October 2012

We all met at Terminal 5, Heathrow at 5.20pm, and after checking in, Mr Dell won the award for the heaviest suitcase (29kg).  Some of us rushed around getting last minute presents for the families we are staying with, while others browsed the duty free shops.  Very soon we board our 9hour 35 minute flight to Dar es Salaam.  It was a night flight, so we lifted off in the dark and arrive in Dar es Salaam as the sun was rising. 

Welcome to blog

Welcome to the St Paul's Blog  - Below is a summary of the first part of the exchange:

Tanzanians spend week at St Paul’s - March 2012
We welcomed Fr Binamungu, (Headteacher), Madame Harriet (Geography Teacher) and 4 students from Loyola High School as part of a British Council funded exchange programme.  They spent a total of 9 days in the UK.  The students and staff attended most assemblies and met with many people at St Paul’s.  The staff worked on further developing various curriculum projects: the Geography project on sustainability; the English project; the RE project ‘Make Poverty History’.  The Loyola students also got to know the English school system, taking part in a variety of lessons.

Classroom Contact

Every class in Year 7 had a special lesson during which the Tanzanian students spoke about themselves and our students asked them questions about what life is like in Tanzanian as well as what it is like to go to Loyola High School.  Many of our students really enjoyed these sessions as it provided a chance to speak directly to someone from Africa in a frank and honest way.  The Tanzanians also got to ask our students their views and found out many interesting facts about life in the UK.

Social and Cultural Opportunities

During the 9 days, there were many opportunities for the students from Tanzanian to get to know their partners; time to develop friendship.  There was a tour of Guildford that included: visiting Guildford Cathedral; using the shopping facilities; going Ice Skating at Guildford Spectrum

London

A walking tour of London was a highlight of the week for many: standing outside Buckingham Palace; going around the Eye; hearing Big Ben chime; visiting the Catholic Westminster Cathedral; even going on a tube was a new experience for some. 

 

Time for departure
The last day in the UK involved a tour of Windsor and some for last minute shopping!  Then back to school for final farewells (some tears!) and on to Terminal 5 at Heathrow.  As the Tanzanians left it was ‘goodbye for now, see you all later’; St Paul’s students and staff will complete the second leg of the exchange in October 2012. 

Thank you

Thank you to all the families who hosted the exchange students from Tanzania, especially for the staff who helped out with various visits; Mrs Gilbert and Miss Thomson.  And a big thank you to all the students and staff of St Paul for welcoming the Loyola High staff and students, they had a great time.  Mr Dell.