Students of Groningen: ‘first time outside of Tanzania’

Annasai. ‘I’m from Dar es Salaam, the biggest city of Tanzania. Nyausi is from the island of Zanzibar. We got connected by Nuffic that gave us a scholarship to follow a master’s programme at Hanze. I’ll do the European Master in Sustainable Energy Management and Nyausi the European Master in Renewable Energy.’
Nyausi: ‘We are both tutorial assistants at technical institutes. Nuffic, the Dutch organization for internationalization in education, organized a project at our institutes to improve teaching skills.

We both love the cloudy weather, such a relief

‘We arrived at the end of August. I was very nervous. This is the first time I’m outside of Tanzania. But I feel quite happy. The people are very helpful, they show you the way when you’re lost, without you having to ask. And we both love the cloudy weather, such a relief. Tanzania is so hot. I do miss my husband and three kids, though. I won’t see them before June next year.’
Annasai: ‘I have to say Dutch and English are complicated. The language we speak, Swahili, is so much more accessible. You write exactly what you hear and the grammar is easy to learn, also for people outside Africa.’

Annasai Mathew (25) (photo left) and Nyausi Makame (33), Tanzania.