Author: Haven Jackson | Major: Anthropology | Semester: Summer 2025
Serengeti sunset
The Tanzania-Zanzibar program is a combined anthropology and ecology program. I’ve always been interested in the intersections of culture, environment, and human origins, and four years of anthropology courses have taught me East Africa is the place where all of those threads come together. One week of on-campus lectures introduced us to the curriculum and prepared us for what we’d experience once we left. We spent 17 days traveling across Tanzania, moving between national parks, villages, and research sites. The program balances lecture material with hands-on experience: featured here, hunting with Hadza guides and visiting Datooga blacksmiths, and learning about conservation efforts around Gombe. Some moments stand out more sharply than others—the quiet pride of introducing myself in Hadzabi, the quiet intensity of watching an arrowhead take shape, the restless feeling I felt while tracking chimpanzees that helped me understand what actually excites me about research. These experiences weren’t just memorable because of where they happened, but because they made the classroom material real and alive, even when my reactions surprised me. The following are my favorite journal entries I wrote during my trip. On these days, I was introspective. I made new understandings of myself. I accepted difficult or confusing emotions. I took the time to commend myself for my patience and my willingness to try new things. I went into this program with an intentional mindset: I wanted to remain positive and receptive. I wanted to learn something about myself while I learned the topics and lessons of the program’s curriculum. I had a lot of fun, of course. But after returning home, I found myself most impressed with these entries, and what they say about the person I am—and the person I have the potential to be in the future.
Day 1: KLM to Arusha to Tarangire
“The drive into town reminded me a lot of my parents’ hometown. Based on stories they tell, I imagine the daily life and activity felt similar to the view outside the bus window. I thought about the ways people gather and co-exist and interact with each other instinctually—how, after 400+ years, thousands of miles, a continent or so of distance, I could get on a plane to Tanzania and still see things I recognize.” (After the fact: This strange familiar feeling got more comfortable as the trip went on, but I really don’t know how to describe what I was feeling here. Maybe bittersweet? I don’t think it was jealousy. Definitely some “stolen peoples, what could have been” kind of stuff…)
Day 2: The Hadza “[Mess] with the Hadza big, big time.
I was worried about my back going into the hunt, but it wasn’t bad at all, actually. Definitely wish we’d gone into it quieter. I tried my best not to crash out. I was nicer than I wanted to be. Yay, self-control“‘Onoku akanabe hazane Haven.’ (My name is Haven in Hadzabi. We introduced ourselves to the Hadza people who would be showing us some of their daily activities.) I went first, and I remembered all of the words without help. Very proud of myself. I really like learning foreign languages. “I haven’t taken off my bracelets from the blacksmiths yet. I really wish I’d bought more than two. I watched the man with the arrowheads from start to finish, and the fact of the final product still blows my mind. “Big shouts to the Datooga pastoralists. Fifteen cows kind of bigged my head up, I won’t lie. I think the Universe is a little funny, though. My group chat at home has had a running sister-wife joke all semester. I got to joke with them about the 5th wife’s son. I also love—with a capital L— cows. I could so be a pastoralist… maybe in another life. “Konyagi is disgusting, but she’s a fantastic(!) drunk. 9.3 out of 10.”
Day 10: Chimp Tracking, Day 2 (Dr. Ungar, don’t be mad at me)
“I like people, and I like bones. Actually, I love people (conceptually), and I love(eee) bones. Chimps are cool and all, but they aren’t people. And while they’re alive running up and down Gombe, they are not bones. I wasn’t all that interested in Day 2, and the longer we waited to leave (we were delayed this day) the less I wanted to go. Two days of chimp tracking is cool for bragging rights, I suppose, but I think ‘once in a lifetime’ was enough for me. “I’m learning about myself, though. I said ‘conceptually’ up there. I could have followed the Hadza around for days and been interested and focused the whole time. Knowing people personally, interpersonally, though? Different story. I’m really appreciative of humanity in that we are so diverse and so innovative. When I have the means to relocate, I’m confident that, wherever I go, I’ll find good people with practices and standards worth learning and adjusting to. “The people who have dedicated their lives to the ecological well-being of Gombe and the region broadly are inspiring—spirit-settling. People still live modestly, working toward real, tangible goals. I’m somewhat surprised, but not disappointed, that I wasn’t all that interested in the chimps. But I am relieved—difficult to put into words relieved—that growing up in the United States hasn’t stolen my ability to appreciate different, unfamiliar values, motivations, and ways of life.”