Study Abroad in Tanzania with Arcadia University

Arcadia in Tanzania
Pre-Departure Sessions

  • For most students, their time abroad with Arcadia will be their first experience in East Africa.

  • Because of this, we require participants on undergraduate semester programs in Tanzania to complete assigned pre-readings and participate in online discussions aimed at helping them to understand a bit more about East African culture and society before they go.

  • Each term’s book and/or articles will be announced to accepted students once the application cycle is complete, and participants will be invited to join Arcadia’s Student Network for online discussions.

  • Once in-country, students will participate in a pre-designated activity related to the book.

 

Book Selection
The Worlds of a Maasai Warrior by Tepilit Ole Saitoti

The Worlds of a Maasai Warrior “College was similar to treading the rigorous path of achieving manhood in Maasailand.  I compared where I was to where I had come from.  I had underestimated the loneliness of one who leaves behind his home, his people, and culture.  I had left home many times before, but never for such a long time, and never to go so far away.  Would my prolonged stay in America influence me to such a degree that I would not be able to fit in at home when I returned?  If I could master Western ways, would that make me forget Maasailand?  Would I want to?”

In The Worlds of a Maasai Warrior, Tepilit Ole Saitoti paints a picture of his life from childhood in rural Tanzania through his college years in the United States.  He provides both a window into daily life as a Maasai, the semi-nomadic people who live in northern Tanzania near Arusha, and a description of what it is like to leave the world in which one grows up only to end up in an utterly foreign culture.  Through his poignant and often amusing comments on Maasai life and his experiences in Europe and the U.S., I hope that students reading this book will not only learn about a different culture, but also begin to think about what their own experience traveling to a different continent will be like, and what challenges they may face.

-Margaret Walter, Program Manager