How does tourism affect the places we all visit and harm us without even realizing it? The culture throughout East Africa shares many similarities, but from village to village, traditions and language may vary slightly. Communities are made up of families who have lived there for generations, like my host family who are the fourth generation and earn their living. With over 80% of the working population engaged in food production and being the country's main source of income in Tanzania, much of the culture revolves around the agricultural industry. My host village consisted of many small houses isolated from each other with fields of crops between them. People in villages rely on each other to look after each other, their crops and their households. They live by the credo “Love thy neighbor.” The people living in these countries are some of the hardest workers I have seen, the day starts with sunrise and they work all day in the intense heat until the sun begins to set, but when they go home, they take this time. to relax and be with family. One of the main reasons for this is that when they lose daylight and have nothing to work with, a family usually has kerosene or a solar lamp for cooking, but nothing more. With it getting dark and relaxing, we sat in silence on the couch drinking our tea. Our stay in the host village opened my eyes to what life in a Tanzanian village is really like. People work hard from the start and relax when all is said and done. Life is simple but every day my family woke up with a smile on their faces. One day during my homestay, I offered my family to work in the field for them, and after being very persistent, they gave me a...... middle of paper ... ...the impact we can have even with the best intentions in the world. I believe that tourism can have a negative effect on local communities. That being said, I have been given the tools to be able to see and process what I am doing and know what will have a positive impact and what will have a negative impact. Through tourism you can learn so much about the world and the people in it, you just need to stay aware of the impact you are making. Is it positive or negative? Works Cited “East Africa Living Encyclopedia”. Living Encyclopedia of East Africa. Np, and Web. January 19, 2014. Sogyal Rinpoche, The Tibetan Book of Life and Death (Harperone, 2002), 23 “Batwa History”. The Batwa experience. Np, and Web. January 19, 2014. “Trees or oil.” The economist. Np, July 2, 2009. Web. “Zanzibar Islands ban plastic bags. » BBC News. BBC, October 11, 2006. Web. January 15. 2014.