Jabari and I were classmates and roommates during our bachelor program back in Beijing and Dar es Salaam from 2011 until 2015. He then continued his studies and did his master degree in African Literature in Peking University. Currently he is doing his PhD project on Translation Studies (Swahili and English) in SOAS University of London. He was doing his field study in Dar es Salaam when I was hesitating about going back to academia and applying for Leiden University until the breakout of Covid-19. As one of the important inspirations for me to continue my education related to Africa, Jabari was very nice and helpful to share some of his stories during his recent field study in Tanzania.