Zanzibar – the people

I've never really thought of myself as a social dynamo. I tend to be quiet, let others do most of the talking, and settle for being tolerably friendly without trying too hard to impress. If there's one thing I've learned about myself this trip, though, it's that I can be a lot more sociable than I give myself credit.

And one place where sociability is key to the enjoyment of one's experience – in my mind at least – is most certainly Zanzibar. Unlike the bustling, heaving Arusha or the crowded, rushed Dar Es Salaam, Zanzibar is a place for relaxation, friendliness, and general laidbackness. “Hakuna matata”, if you will.

Walking down the myriad alleyways that form spider-web mazes through the entirety of Stone Town, you'd be forgiven for assuming that the things you'd pay most attention to are the beautiful stonework, the handcrafted doorways, and the decaying beauty of 17th century architecture. In fact, what really makes Stone Town special is its very friendly people.

It's in this regard that I give myself some credit for my social skills. Specifically, the skills granted to me because of my efforts to learn the peoples' native language – Swahili.

Walking down the streets or alleyways of Zanzibar, I was able to converse with shopkeepers, kids and general walk-abouters throughout my days there. Most people were surprised that I was even able to speak Swahili – as typical whiteys like myself on the island apparently don't really bother trying. Thanks to my time spent learning the language in Arusha and Tengeru, I was able to have a much more social – and therefore rewarding – experience on the island than other Westerners I met along the way. Whether it was discussing Tanzanian soccer, Canadian weather or prattling on about any old nonsense, I made a point of making conversation with any local who said hello to me. With the wealth of friendly, talkative people about, this was a simple task. I even explained to one person what the term "prosecution" meant. He had it written down on a tiny piece of paper, and was saving that piece of paper for the mzungu that might talk to him that day.

“The Real Africa” is a strange term that's often tossed about by travellers to the continent. Is it the nature, the food, the cities, the air, or a mixture of everything? If there's one qualification that could possibly make the cut – in my opinion – it's that you haven't experienced Africa unless you've (properly) interacted with its people.

The same really goes for any culture. So – if you come to Tanzania and your only interactions with its native people are when you order wine and lobster in English, or ask your safari guide how long the gestation period of the black rhino is, then you haven't experienced “The Real Africa”. And trust me, this is the case for some tourists. There, I've made it official.

I therefore feel, perhaps immodestly, that I've experienced a more “genuine” trip than other travellers might have. One friend I made in Zanzibar, Aleem, a nice Scottish lad from Manchester University, had been on the island for over a month and only seemed to know one phrase – “mambo poa” – which he was using incorrectly. Like the townfolk, he was equally surprised by the fact that I could string a brief conversation together with passerbys. Knowing how to speak the language also made it far easier to get good prices for souvenirs in the plethora of street shops in Stone Town's alley ways. I could almost halve some of the original asking prices.

All of this isn't to say that I'm blessed with some incredible capacity for learning languages: I really only know a smidgeon of Swahili, and can understand it far better than I can speak it. What's more, most of my conversations with people turned into a cocktail of English and Swahili, both parties trying to throw out words and phrases that the other might recognise.

But a smidgeon is all one really needs to engage in simple conversation with locals – and thus to get a qualified certificate of having experienced “The Real Africa”. I'll have to buy the t-shirt now.

Next: What I actually done did in Zanzibar