I try to explain to people what it's like to live here because many of my friends have no concept of Africa. I certainly didn't before I came and nothing could have prepared me for it.

I love the fact that it's so different here to anywhere I've ever been before. The culture and history is so rich, and learning about it is mind-blowing.

The simplest things here are lovely, like greetings. I've talked about greetings before but as time goes on and I learn more about the Tanzanian traditions, I have more appreciation for them. Tonight I learned that in the Meru tribe (Mt Meru is a big mountain, overlooking our school and very close to Kilimanjaro), before men enter a home, they make this coughing sound. This is to alert people indoors that someone is coming, so they can look respectable when that person comes inside. Most tribes have their own language. Language is denoted by the word Ki such as Kiswahili, Kimeru, Kichagga, Kimasai etc. In normal Kiswahili people say "Hodi" before going into someone's house. I told one of our friends that in our world we might say "Yoo hoo" or something like that but apparently that's very offensive here. Mental note not to do that one!

Then there are traditions like washing your hands before you eat. Even in the most basic bar where you might buy chips mayai (chips cooked with egg, a bit like a chip omelette), they will bring you warm water and soap in a jug to wash your hands with, and there will be a bowl underneath to catch the dirty water. Tanzanians wash their hands often to prevent disease from spreading. They are very clean overall in fact. Far cleaner than most people I know, whether they live in a mud hut or a concrete room. It really puts us to shame with our hot showers, endless supply of water and washing machines. Somehow Tanznians always manage to look immaculately clean and well put together. Someone said to me that it is very important to always look your best, no matter how poor you are. "Better to be poor and clean than poor and dirty" as they so accurately explained it.

Tanzanians wash before going to sleep instead of in the morning. And when they wash, they scrub their feet. I didn't really understand why but after having lived here for a while I do now. YOu can't get into bed with dirty feet, nor do you want to spread the dirt around. So now every night, I clean my feet before going to bed. Right now, my feet are as immaculate an any Tanzanians.

One of my favourite Tanzanian traditions/ rituals is the way they put cream or oil on their bodies and faces in the morning. Everyone from a young child to an old man does this. They keep jars of vaseline and various other creams, and lather themselves with it in the morning. From having asked a few people about this, the reason for this, especially in poor families, is to keep the body warm. The oil heats the skin, especially when you rub it in, and closes the pores so that cold doesn't get in. I've seen cool teenages, rub it on their faces, heads, arms, hands and feet before going to school - boys and girls alike. And there is no stigma like we have "creams are only for women and poofters". Not in this world! It would explain why Tanzanians have such beautiful, shiny skin! We could take a leaf from their book!