{"id":46803,"date":"2025-05-14T20:34:43","date_gmt":"2025-05-14T18:34:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/test.steinmuehle.de\/blog\/2025\/05\/14\/even-when-we-didnt-have-much-we-had-each-other\/"},"modified":"2026-06-19T07:21:35","modified_gmt":"2026-06-19T05:21:35","slug":"even-when-we-didnt-have-much-we-had-each-other","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/steinmuehle.de\/en\/blog\/2025\/05\/14\/even-when-we-didnt-have-much-we-had-each-other\/","title":{"rendered":"“Even when we didn’t have much, we had each other”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Learning to make do with little, to live simply, and to do without Central European comforts for a while\u2014that\u2019s what a stay in Tanzania is all about. It\u2019s about looking beyond one\u2019s own horizons, getting to know everyday life on another continent, redefining one\u2019s standards, and appreciating the value of community. – For the second time, students from Steinm\u00fchle visited their partner school in Africa, the One World Secondary School Kilimanjaro in Kisangara. Their conclusion: We\u2019re going back. Despite some inconveniences and a lack of comforts. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“We’ve rediscovered a lot of things”<\/strong><\/p>\n

There were three of them\u2014and that was a good thing: Paul Schicha, Matteo Deja, and Ida Kraft. \u201cWhen we didn\u2019t have something, we had each other.\u201d Impressive words from tenth-graders who tell their story without drama or sugarcoating. <\/p>\n

Getting used to the cell phone-free time\u2014exactly twenty-three and a half hours a day for six weeks\u2014went faster than we expected. “We discovered many things we would otherwise hardly have access to.” <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Work, relax, philosophize<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s true\u2014you can survive without a cell phone. The interns\u2019 projects, always taking place on-site, invited everyone to join in: painting workshops, sports days with soccer and basketball on Wednesdays and Saturdays. People made music, and the German classroom was painted in a yin-and-yang pattern. <\/p>\n

Work, but also relaxation, were part of the routine in an environment where nature and the circumstances were accepted as they were\u2014with a touch of homesickness at first, and, once I had settled in, the question of whether money really does bring happiness.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

When questions arose, solutions were found<\/strong><\/p>\n

The One World Secondary School Kilimanjaro, founded by the German couple Swantje and Dr. Karl-Heinz K\u00f6hler, is a German-Tanzanian project. Schoolchildren are not beaten here\u2014an absolute exception in Tanzania. School uniforms are part of everyday life at the One World School. The school\u2019s in-house tailor lives and works on site, making pants, polo shirts, and long-sleeved shirts. Prolonged exposure to the sun is not recommended. <\/p>\n

For the most part, the Tanzanian students\u2019 schedule was the same as that of the guests from Marburg. They had a bit of a hard time with the food\u2014it was very simple and very monotonous\u2014but they found ways to cope. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A safari and three days on the Indian Ocean<\/strong><\/p>\n

And there were many things that enriched the stay of the Steinm\u00fchlen Trio from Class 10a. Jogging during the cooler part of the day, a hike, a visit to a restaurant. Among the highlights was the trip to Moshi, Marburg\u2019s sister city, which, with its 220,000 residents, is the cleanest city in Tanzania. A visit to the market, three days at a beach hotel on the Indian Ocean, and a five-day safari trip made up for the bean-heavy menu, which\u2014after consulting with the \u201cfood leader\u201d\u2014was revised to include spaghetti, rice with tomato sauce, and fruit. <\/p>\n

“We could talk about anything and always find a solution,” Matteo says.<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

A Cow for the School Festival<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dr. Beatrix Freibert, a teacher at Steinm\u00fchle and a mentor during the African \u201cintroductory phase,\u201d confirms this. The somewhat different way of evaluating students, the different way of showing respect\u2014she, too, remains fondly remembered, just like the cow, a gift from a student\u2019s father for the school festival. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Visit to the Art School and the Maasai Museum<\/strong><\/p>\n

To see and learn as much as possible, the students from Steinm\u00fchle were introduced to many local aspects. They visited the sisal factory, which exports its products to Saudi Arabia; stopped by the salt factory and the art school; and made a brief visit to Bagamoyo, the \u201cGerman capital,\u201d which also features Indian and Arab influences. Also inspiring were Arusha, the second-largest city; the national park; the snake park; and the Maasai Museum. <\/p>\n

The school itself, run by Steinm\u00fchle, is a boarding school that houses about 150 young people aged 11\u201324. They study English, German, and Swahili. Dr. Beatrix Freibert noted: \u201cCommunity is valued even more highly here than it is back home. Everyone takes a great deal of responsibility for themselves and is an active part of the community. People help one another there\u2014they have no other choice.\u201d <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I’ve come to appreciate the standard at home: “It brought tears to my eyes”<\/strong><\/p>\n

Paul, Matteo, and Ida confirm this; they\u2019ve gotten to know practically all the students. \u201cEveryone was very friendly.\u201d The fact that two other students slept in Paul and Matteo\u2019s room\u2014well, that\u2019s just how it is. <\/p>\n

“We’ve come to appreciate the Standard at home.”<\/p>\n

Paul remembers. With the harsh conditions in Tanzania still fresh in his mind, he returned home and opened the refrigerator. He recounts that moment as if he were still deeply moved. \u201cIt brought tears to my eyes.\u201d <\/p>\n

Angela Heinemann<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Learning to make do with little, to live simply, and to do without Central European comforts for a while\u2014that\u2019s what a stay in Tanzania is all about. It\u2019s about looking beyond one\u2019s own horizons, getting to know everyday life on another continent, redefining one\u2019s standards, and appreciating the value of community. – For the second […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":46808,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"give_campaign_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[103,85,108,97],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-46803","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-languages-international-affairs","category-news","category-social-engagement","category-steinmuehle-on-the-road"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/steinmuehle.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46803","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/steinmuehle.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/steinmuehle.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/steinmuehle.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/steinmuehle.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46803"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/steinmuehle.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46803\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":51479,"href":"https:\/\/steinmuehle.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46803\/revisions\/51479"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/steinmuehle.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46808"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/steinmuehle.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46803"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/steinmuehle.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46803"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/steinmuehle.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46803"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}