Suzy

Marissa Lipovsky takes us on a journey from a solo backpacking trip to co-founding the Amani Light World School Hub in Tanzania. After meeting her now-husband William on her very first day in Tanzania, they eventually returned to live in the Kilimanjaro region with their three children to connect them with their family and embrace a slower pace of life. Together, they now run an all-inclusive worldschooling hub that brings global families together for cultural immersion, nature exploration, and communal living.

Don't miss the endearing realization her son shared with her about the power of building a global network of love and connection, proving that you can bring the whole world to your doorstep.

Suzy

Welcome to the Wander World School Podcast. I'm Suzy, a travel-loving money nerd, mom of two, and our family lives between Spain, Colorado, and soon Japan. On this show, we discuss the stories, logistics, and finances of traveling families and the many ways to learn along the way. Today, we get to know Marisa Lipovsky. Please tell me more about you and your family.

Marissa

Thanks. It's so nice to be here. I'm really glad that we're connecting.

I'm originally from the US, and now my husband and I, with our three kids, live in Tanzania, where we host the Amani Light World School Hub in the Kilimanjaro region.

Suzy

I'm so excited to hear more about your opportunity in Tanzania and your life in Tanzania. I always like to go back, though, and get to know a little bit more about you and your travel origin story.

Marissa

Ha!

Yeah.

We didn't travel too much as a kid. What got me started thinking about travel was actually reading the book Siddhartha when I was in like 11th grade.

It wasn't just the story of traveling. It was the story of understanding that everything is connected. We are one, et cetera. And that was the journey that I had always wanted to have—just sort of this journey back to self.

I feel like travel expands that and allows us to see things from a different perspective, so that was what started me off traveling.

Suzy

And what did travel look like when you did get started?

Marissa

A few years after university, I decided to take a solo backpacking trip.

I injured myself right before it, and I was just such a social person living in New York City, going out all the time, and then suddenly I couldn't walk.

For months, I had to be alone while my roommates and my friends were out doing things. It was really difficult to be alone. And yet, here I was wanting to go on a journey alone. So it was good that I had that opportunity, because I was like, "You are going to be face-to-face with just yourself for a really long time."

In hindsight, that injury was a good starting place. I took off with a backpack and my first stop was Tanzania, but I planned a whole year-long trip: some time in Africa—East and South Africa—Southeast Asia, where I wanted to do meditation retreats and yoga and just have time in some contemplative practices. And then the end of that trip was in Europe with my mom, who could bankroll part of the trip.

Suzy

Yes! How did Tanzania end up being your first stop?

Marissa

In college, my roommate was from South Africa. We were all just sitting in our room studying, and my roommate was like, "In three years, we're all going to meet in Africa and we're going to climb Kilimanjaro."

And all the roommates were like, "Okay, sounds good. Like, we'll do that." And then I had to Google, like, "Where is Kilimanjaro?" And then I was like, "That sounds cool. We'll do that."

So I planned this trip with Tanzania as the starting point.

I was the first person to arrive, and then my friends were arriving 24 hours later. And by the time they had arrived, I had already met my husband—who's now my husband. So, yeah, when they got here, they were like, "What have you been doing?" And I'm like, "Just hanging out and da-da-da." And then I was like, "Oh, and there's this guy who wants to take us on a trip to the waterfalls and da-da-da." And they're like, "How do you already know people?" Long story short, I stayed in Tanzania for quite a bit longer on multiple occasions. I did go on my trip, and I told William, "I came here to do this for myself, and I can't not do it, because I know that I'll always regret it." And he was like, "That's okay. You go. If you need to go, you go. I'll be here waiting for you."

Suzy

When did you end up going back to Tanzania after the trip? And when did you decide that this was going to be a place that you were going to be living for... how many years now?

Marissa

Yeah.

Well, we've been living here for eight years. So I went back to Tanzania at the end of my year-long trip to reconnect with William, and then it was like, "This is real. We're going to do this. We want him to meet my family and do all that stuff." And so we tried to get him to the US, which was more difficult than we had originally thought.

Suzy

Okay.

Marissa

So we ended up getting a fiancé visa for him to come to the US in 2010. Long story short, we lived in the US for about eight years and had our first two children there, got jobs, and figured out the corporate world and all of that stuff. And it was really good for both of us, but also for William, because he really is coming from this Kilimanjaro region and it's a bit isolated. And so it was good for him to see that he could work in the corporate world, get a job, and that education opportunities were open to him and all of these things.

So it was really wonderful, our years in the US, and our first two kids were born there. But, you know, then you get stuck in your job and you get stuck in your home, and you just get roped into life—sort of a rat race. That is where we found ourselves in 2018.

There was a bit more of a disconnection from Tanzania, which means disconnection from Dad's family, which means disconnection from the language, which means disconnection from half of your roots. And so we did want to give the kids an opportunity to know what that life is like.

Suzy

And so then, as a family, you made your way back to Tanzania. How was that transition for you and for the kids?

Marissa

Yeah.

You know, when William and I were first in Tanzania, it was like you're freshly in love and everything's so great. It doesn't matter how you live; you can have your squatty toilet outside, and you don't have to have running water. We just lived in this two-room little thing, and we just loved it.

And then, coming from New York City, we had acclimated back to that with two kids. So moving back with two children—my oldest was five and our now middle child was two—we were like, "Well, we need a house with the bathroom inside, and we're going to need a car. We also have to figure out jobs, too." But like...

For the kids, the transition was simple. It was just like, "Here we are, there's lots of playmates." They knew the language, because my husband had spoken the language to them since they were born. Just right off the bat, you know, making friends, finding their way, so free and out in nature and all of that stuff.

And even for me and William, we were so excited to come back here that that part was easy, too. I have to say, it's the eight years on where things are sort of like, okay, now sometimes the pole-pole lifestyle—everything's slow, slow, da-da-da—at first, it's not a big deal. But then after some years, you start to say, "Okay, how about we get this process speeded up a little?" Yeah.

Suzy

Absolutely. Sometimes when you're somewhere new, there's magic, and you have a lot more patience for things that don't always go well, but after a while that wears off. How old were your kids when you first went back?

Marissa

Exactly.

So Ubalo was five—he's now 13, crazy! And Niali was two—she's now 10. And then we didn't have Saraya yet; she's four and a half, almost five. Yeah.

Suzy

So cool.

But you touched a little bit on language. Remind me of what the language is that they've been hearing from Dad and learning as they've been growing up.

Marissa

Mm-hmm.

Suzy

I'd also love to hear a little bit more about what education has looked like for you and your family.

Marissa

Yeah, the national language is Swahili. Some people have their local languages or tribal languages that they still speak, so you'll get that.

Also, part of the reason we moved here was so that we could have a little bit more freedom of schooling. In a way, when the kids are younger... like, we were both working full-time in the US, so it was like, "Okay, so we're going to put this rambunctious five-year-old into full, full, full-day kindergarten."

So we did want things—just the early childhood—to go a little slower and be able to homeschool and go at the pace that we wanted.

It depends on the year, but sometimes we homeschool the full year. I was working at the international school for a little bit, so the kids could go to school. They went to school there for a few years. But now we're sort of fully homeschooling because we also are starting to want to travel away a little bit more—either going back to the US or traveling around other places. And so we can take our curriculum on the road, which is awesome for us.

Suzy

Is there any program that you've been using or would like to share about regarding your homeschooling journey?

Marissa

At first, we were just winging it. So we have worked with two different curriculums; they're both Waldorf-based. We found this curriculum on a website called Earthschooling. I think from kindergarten through like eighth or ninth grade, I think they have curriculums. And then the teacher from my son's curriculum has his own learning academy called Enkindle, and they have curriculums, I think, from like fourth through ninth grade. So it's pre-recorded Waldorf lessons for the entire curriculum, and it's been just absolutely fantastic. If you want to go deeper, it gives a lot of really awesome jumping-off points. It's inspiring.

Suzy

And what has travel looked like in Tanzania? Have you been able to do some family travels around Tanzania or beyond?

Marissa

Mm-hmm. We've taken a few trips from here. We love going on safari, so that's always fun. When COVID hit and we were here and everything was shut down, all the prices were just almost nothing. So we took this epic safari for like 10 days, and we paid almost nothing. It was so fantastic and such a great way to see this country.

So we do try to travel around the country a little bit. Sometimes we'll go to the coast; we go to Dar. We go to Dar es Salaam when we have to get somebody's passport renewed. It's a travel of necessity, but there's the beach, and it's just a different vibe and we have some friends there. So we like to do that. And then so far, our travel has been back to the US to see family, because that becomes very important when you're away for so long.

Suzy

Absolutely. I have two travel questions. Did you ever make it up Mount Kilimanjaro?

Marissa

Yes, I did. I climbed the mountain. It was part of the original plan. Yeah.

Suzy

Okay, so that was part of the original plan. Okay.

Then about safaris—I went on one when I visited my cousin when she was working in Zambia, and it was magical. I probably took thousands of photos. But when it comes to kids on safaris, I believe there's a level of...

Marissa

Mm.

Suzy

...patience required, and they need to be able to follow instructions. I have yet to decide what age for kids would be the best age for a safari. I'm curious if you have any insights on that. Of course, it's going to depend on the kids and their demeanor and maybe how interested they are in it.

Marissa

Mmm.

Suzy

But any advice for families that are thinking a safari could be part of their travel plans?

Marissa

I think the short answer is it depends, because you're right. And actually, the first time I went on safari, I was like, "Okay, we've seen enough of the zebras, and I don't need another wildebeest." The people that were with us were birders, and I was like, "A bird? What are we doing here?"

So even for me, when I was in my 20s, there could be times when it felt like it dragged on. You're driving long distances, you're in the car, and there are bumpy roads. I like it more now. I've done all of my meditation and mindfulness and everything, and now it's like, "Okay, now I like the color of the birds." Maybe that's just something that happens in your 40s, I don't know.

I think there's a meme about that, where you like the birds all of a sudden. But kids can be just as interested in that stuff, and sometimes more so, where the 500th zebra doesn't phase them at all. It's just as amazing as the first one. For kids, yeah, there is a lot of waiting. You're supposed to be quiet when there are animals, so...

Suzy

I think so, too.

Marissa

You have to be flexible, like everything we do as parents. If you're waiting around and there are bugs in the car and your kids are ready for a nap and they can't get out, you know, sometimes you have to say, "Well, we'll go back to the lodge and we'll try it again tomorrow."

So we took Ubalo on his first safari when we came back here. He was one and a half. We just took a little day trip, and he loved it. You know, he loved seeing all the animals. We took them again during COVID time; they were like seven and four. And again, they liked it. They were loud, though. So, like, if you are around a lot of other people, you might be disturbing them, but adults can be loud, too.

Suzy

Absolutely.

Marissa

This would be my tip for a safari: plan in rest days, or do your game drive in the morning. Find a decent place that has a little pool, and you can go back and everyone can have a meal. The kids can swim in the pool, and then you go out again the next day, as opposed to safari, safari, safari—just a dusty, bumpy safari. So that, I think, is kind of the best way to do it.

And there's so many nice places now that people can stay in Tanzania—so many amazing lodges and stuff.

Suzy

That's a great tip.

I'd like to touch on Tanzania and the cost of living there. What could a family anticipate in terms of expenses, like on a monthly basis, if they're slow traveling and they want to spend an extended period of time?

Marissa

Mm-hmm.

I'm going to leave out the safari because that's its own price tag. It depends where you want to live. In a lot of places, there are so many short-term rentals now, but they're expensive. So if you're only staying for a month, then you're paying upwards at least of $100 a night, probably more. A lot of landlords won't do less than a three-month lease.

So I'd say that that can be a little bit tricky. That's part of the reason that at our hub, people stay on-site with us, right? Because then you don't have to look around for a place.

And then this is the other thing: if you're really living like a local here—maybe taking public transportation everywhere, not going very far, just sort of living your day-to-day life here—you can do it pretty cheap.

But once you want to start moving around and maybe not taking public transportation everywhere—like if you want a car—then these things start to add up. When William and I first lived here, we walked miles and then took the public bus, and I loved it. I still enjoy it, but like, I rarely have the time to actually do that.

So, you know, you can get around on public transportation, but then the question is, do you want to do it with your kids, who might get hot and cranky and blah-blah-blah? It's part of traveling; it's awesome. And then again, if you're making your food at home and cooking it yourself, then food is relatively inexpensive, especially if you're eating what...

Suzy

Yes, absolutely.

Marissa

...local people eat, like ugali and mchicha, and fresh fruit and vegetables. But like, say you want a piece of cheese—it's a whole different ball game. We try to strike a balance between those things.

Suzy

I think that's a good tip: the more you're willing to adapt to what the local foods are, the local way of getting around, and the local rhythms of life, you're probably going to find that it's not as astronomical of a price as it could be if we want to bring some of those comforts from what we're used to to a location that may not always have those easily accessible. So striking that balance is a good way of sustaining a lifestyle in a location. Especially with kids, we have to be aware of what their needs are. But with your hub, families get to stay at the location, which does help with figuring out the accommodation side of travel.

So let's talk about Amani Light Wellness. Tell me more about your hub, the location, and what families can expect.

Marissa

In our dreaming up this hub, we sort of brought together a lot of my own experiences from being a teacher. I also taught yoga and mindfulness to children for many years, and these heart skills are where it's at, I think, moving forward in this world. We bring that into our hub, and then we also bring the fact that we are here in this amazing place surrounded by incredible nature, wildlife, and beautiful people and culture. And so we sort of meld that into one.

And then also, you know, we're a family living here. We're parents with children, and parenting is difficult no matter where you are in the world. I just feel like sometimes it's easier when there's a community around, when there's a village, when we can share in the joys and the sorrows and the difficult things and the amazing things about being parents and raising children. So we bring that all together into our hub. Being in Tanzania, logistically, is difficult.

I think some people might have an idea of Africa—like, or Sub-Saharan Africa—like, "No, it's just too much. It's too wild. It's too whatever." It's a bit of a turnoff because it can be overwhelming. Where do you stay? Where do you go? How much does it really cost?

So another thing about our hub is we do actually just sort of include everything. It's like, we're going to pick you up from the airport. You don't have to worry about even getting a taxi. One of us will be there to pick you up and bring you to our hub, and you're with us the entire time. Some people might not want that because they might want to be able to go off and explore. We explore; we go and we do things, but we're doing them together. We're all paying for the transportation together, instead of this family taking that transportation and that family taking that transportation. So we are immersing ourselves in a lot of awesome activities that are not just for kids, but for the parents as well.

Suzy

This is a chance for families to be together—kids with the families. It's ideal for kids five and up, but of course, younger siblings can participate as well. What does a typical day look like for a family when they're participating in the hub?

Marissa

Correct.

So our hub runs for three weeks of activities, and then the fourth week is an optional safari, because like I said, that's another price ticket, and every family wants to do something different on safari.

Suzy

Mm-hmm.

Marissa

Everyone stays on-site. We have six different family cabins, basically, that are self-contained, and so everyone has their own room and their own space. But generally, what happens every morning is kids are waking up and going to run outside while their parents are still able to have some time slumbering.

They just get up to whatever. There's always some... it's either like a game, or they wake up and they're meeting up and they're playing. "Let's do our bows and arrows this morning," or "Let's get back to that chess game that we were playing yesterday," or whatever it is that they were doing. We also have, for parents who are also up, we have yoga every morning for parents and any kids who want it as well. And then we have breakfast together.

We always have a morning circle, so we always meet together. Parents can join. It's, you know, geared towards kids, because we will have our adult yoga session before. And then it's sort of kids' time to play around. We sing some songs, we get connected to ourselves, we connect with one another through different cooperative games, and then we talk about what's going to happen for the day, depending on the theme of the week.

And then we go off for our activity. Like, I'll just take the culture week. If it's the second Monday of the hub, we go off to the cooking class. We would drive to the local market where we take a tour of the market, see the foods, and get to try some different fruits and vegetables that maybe we've never tried before.

And then we go to actually my mother-in-law's house, and the kids participate in a local cooking class. So they learn to make the local food—so ugali, a banana stew, a curry that we eat—and just try a bunch of different things. It's really wonderful. And again, the kids are cooking 50% of the time, and the kids are playing with the other kids in the village the other 50% of the time. They come up with some game. They don't speak the same language, maybe, but they're still interacting with the children that are all around. And so that's amazing. And then the parents usually end up finishing the cooking. But honestly, that's cool for the parents, too, because they want to learn how we could do this, how we could make it. "Maybe we can make ugali and banana stew at home for the kids and remind them of Tanzania." And then when that is over, we all go back to the hub—I guess, like the camp. If families are homeschooling—like if they have a curriculum—that would sort of be the time of the day when kids could do their schooling.

Then we have dinner, and we always sit by the fire after dinner and look at the stars and tell stories, and kids fall asleep in our arms. And it's amazing. Yeah.

Suzy

That sounds like a lovely day together, getting to do so many different cultural and really cool activities. And you have hubs coming up—one next month in June, also July 13th, and starting September 14th. What does the end of 2026 or 2027 look like?

Marissa

Yeah.

This year we are doing a December hub. So after September, we'll start December 7th. Then we start another hub; it's basically the month of February.

And that's our yearly schedule, because March, April, and May are rainy season, and it's not the best time for people to come and travel here. So we start again June, July, September, and then February.

Suzy

Like you said, if going to Tanzania is a little intimidating for someone just because there is a lot to figure out—where to stay, what to do—you've created this opportunity where families can slow down and spend three or four weeks together, learning through all the different activities and including your family. That's so cool, I love that. So I will make sure to link all the information so that people can check out the upcoming hubs if they're interested and reach out to you to coordinate for future opportunities. I also like to touch on the challenges and the wins.

Marissa

Yeah. Yeah.

Patience is the big word for what you learn here. I'm a pretty patient person, but then being here, you realize how patient you really, really have to be. It's a struggle, because I'm like, "Why didn't it happen yesterday?"

And my husband just keeps reminding me, like, "That's not how it works here." We're building... you know, we're like literally building buildings for people to stay in, right? And we might have a time constraint of when something's starting, and it could go like, right down to the last minute for whatever reason. Everything that's a holdup is generally excusable because of how life works here. And so then you have to pause and breathe and just come back to the understanding that there's so much other stuff that matters more, and being grateful for what you have. Like every day, I'm just like, "I'm so glad we have X, Y, and Z." Like when it rains and it's pouring down rain, all I'm thinking is, "I'm so grateful that we have a very strong roof over our head," because this rain—it's torrential rain—could destroy a home. And I'm so glad that we have a strong roof. These types of things. So, yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Suzy

Mindset is really important to taking on the challenges. But what about some of the wins that you've experienced living in Tanzania?

Marissa

When I see my kids just like loving other kids regardless of circumstance, it just makes me feel so good.

We're here... like, we live in this village and there's only compassion. And I just think it's such... it's a win for humanity, really, to be able to see your kids just like loving other people because they deserve to be loved.

Suzy

Beautiful. You also shared that you went back to the US recently and you reconnected with some families that had been with the hub. I'm curious if you could share that story.

Marissa

It's a win. That's a big win.

We've had so many amazing families come through our hub, and we do stay in touch with almost everyone. And if we are in a place where they happen to be, we, of course, let them know. This happened to be a family that came to our hub who was from New Jersey, and we're from New York.

And so we, of course, reached out and said, "Hey, like, can we get together?" And so we met them in the city for an amazing day. We went to a film festival, and we were like eating pizza, just catching dim sum and catching up. We were like, "This is a long way from where we were like six months ago in Tanzania." So we got to reminisce together, and we had just such a wonderful time. And as we were walking home, Ubalo said, "I get it now. I understand why we do the hub, because if we didn't have the hub, we wouldn't know these people, and then we wouldn't be able to meet them here and have such an awesome day with really cool people who we love because they came to our hub." And I was like, "Yes, that's exactly the deal." Because sometimes he can get a little like, "We're always here." And I'm like, "Yes, we are, but we're also building this connection. Like, you now have a network of people who you are in touch with all over the world. You could call them up and be like, 'Hey, I'm coming through,' and you'd have just like a reciprocal love that would be shared with you, too."

Suzy

I love that you can create those connections as a traveling family going to locations around the world. But if the season of life or where you're at involves being in one place longer, you've had this chance to open up and bring the world to your doorstep. And that's a beautiful way to still build these global connections as well.

Marissa

Yeah.

Suzy

Let's wrap up with the lightning round with just a few fun questions to get to know you better. What is your favorite memorable sunrise or sunset?

Marissa

Okay.

A sunrise in the Serengeti is just incredible. If you can wake up in the Serengeti, it is highly recommended, because there's just this beautiful landscape and the sun comes up like... like the National Geographic sun when you're watching it. It's like this huge red sun, and it's incredible.

I have to say, the most amazing sunset is at our hub, because we're up on this hill, and it's the time when, like, everyone's having their showers and the kids are like winding down and parents are sitting on their porch, and the sun is setting over Mount Meru, which is the view that we have from the hub. And it's just this huge expanse, and you feel like it's the end of the day and you're out in nature. It's incredible.

Suzy

What is the most ridiculous souvenir that you've ever bought?

Marissa

This was kind of like a "How I Met Your Mother" story.

When I met William, he was working at one of these souvenir shops, and he was like, "I'll take you to my souvenir shop." I said, "Okay." And then as soon as you eye something that you think is nice and you let your eyes linger on it for too long—I'm sure everyone has this story of like souvenir shopping in some other country that they're not familiar with—they're like, "You want this, you must have it." So then they like take it down. I'm like, "I don't necessarily really want it, but like, this guy who I just met brought me here, so like, should I negotiate for it?" So anyway, I like negotiated for this skirt, and I was like, "I'm not going to buy it today, but I'm telling you that I'll give you 15,000 shillings for it." And then William was like, "Let's get out of here."

But then these guys like found us the next day, and they were like, "You said you're going to buy the skirt." And I was like, "Okay, I will, because I did kind of commit to paying you the money for the skirt yesterday." That was like one of my first souvenirs in Tanzania, and I think William's little sister has it now, which is cute.

Suzy

That's a great story. If people want to learn more about Amani Light Wellness Hub and all the different resources that you offer in Tanzania, where can they find out more about you and your opportunities?

Marissa

So our website, AmaniLite.com, where you can look and see all of our upcoming hubs. I think there's a button there somewhere where you can book a call, which I really like to do—to speak with people before any money changes hands. It just feels better for me; I think it should feel better for other people. So I think booking a call is actually a great way that we can talk, and people can ask questions.

But you can also email me as well. We have a Facebook page; it's called World School Tanzania, so you can join the group there.

Suzy

I'll make sure to link your social media and the website, and it's been lovely to hear more about Tanzania and your opportunities there. So thank you.

Marissa

Thank you, Suzy. I'm so happy that we connected, and I love your podcast and all you do to create this amazing global community.