Tanzania is a country in Africa. I was born in Canada. My parents are from Tanzania. I was baptized in Tanzania. The first time I went to Tanzania was in 2007 and I was 6 months old. The second time I went to Tanzania was in 2012 when I was 6 years old.

Popular foods in Tanzania that I know include wali which means rice in English, Chapati which is a type of bread, and nyama choma which means grilled meat. My favourite food is chapati then nyama choma then wali. I especially like chapati with chicken soup.

The most popular tourist sites in Tanzania are Mount Kilimanjaro and the Serengeti. Mount Kilimanjaro is the tallest free standing mountain in the world. Did you know Mount Kilimanjaro is a volcano that doesn’t erupt? The Serengeti is a National Park where you get to see animals. I went there in 2012. There is a dirt road and you ride in jeeps. I remember a lion came close to our jeep. I was scared but luckily nothing happened.

Tanzania’s most popular sport is soccer. Tanzania has its own soccer team. I also know that they play soccer a lot. Twice a year, Tanzanians in Ontario have a soccer game between Simba and Yanga. My dad is on team Simba. Simba means lion in Swahili. I like soccer and play soccer.

For entertainment they like dancing. When my family goes to a party or if we have a party at home we do a lot of dancing to African music. I also see people dancing in traditional clothing.

Popular animals in Tanzania are lions, giraffes, elephants, hippos, zebras, cheetahs, rhinos and more. I saw these animals at the Serengeti Park. I saw a lot of zebras because there were herds of them. I am happy I did not see a lion eating a zebra because that would be gross and zebras are my favourite animal.

The capital city of Tanzania is Dodoma. It used to be Dar es Salaam. The government wanted the capital to be closer to the middle of Tanzania. My mom is from Dar es Salaam and my Bibi and Babu (that mean’s grandma and grandpa) live there as well. In Dar es Salaam it is really hot and it rains a lot. Most of the houses in Dar es Salaam are bungalows. My grandparents have two bungalows, one is for guests.

I hope you learned a lot about Tanzania. I hope you can visit sometime. I am going back to visit Tanzania this December. This will be my third time visiting Tanzania. I am looking forward to going there.

Danica Mutasingwa