Advice

To the next participants in this program, get into it! As you will see soon enough, Zambia is a captivating place; the whole county is filled to the brim with life, enthusiasm and hospitality. Don’t let yourself take for granted or become accustomed to the remarkable fact that you are in such a place. The perspective I have now, looking from America back across the Atlantic towards Africa, makes me all the more confident in telling you just how stark this contrast can be. Being in Zambia is not like the travel some of you may have done to say, Europe, or other more developed countries. It really is a different world over there, and this creates an immense opportunity for you.

On a different note, don’t underestimate the potential of this type of experience to spark personal growth. Beyond the obvious ways in which this program will help you grow and develop as a student, something about immersing yourself in a place like Zambia really opens up the opportunity to grow as a person too.  As for a place to start with this, my best advice would be to be as reflective as possible. That could mean a lot of different things for different people, but whether it is journaling, talking it over with someone, or just taking some time to think, make an effort to stop, look back, evaluate, and learn from your experiences. You’ll be surprised at some of the realizations you make, and how these realizations can manifest themselves in your life.

There is nothing like seeing a different way of living to be able to look critically at your own way of living. I have been out of Africa for just a day now, but already I can see the truth in that statement. So soak it all in, because the experience of being in Zambia for the summer really doesn’t end when you fly home. If you put a little effort in, this really can be life changing.