An amazing perspective.

I worked at an orphanage for two months in the city of Dar es Salaam. I had no real experience but was able to really make an impact and I took away so many life lessons. Watching these happy children play and grow, despite their hardships and disadvantages was an incredible thing to see. Everyday I would go to the orphanage. Sometimes I would observe a teacher in a decrepit classroom, teaching the children the ABCs for the 2nd month in a row. Sometimes I would get the opportunity to teach them when the teacher had run out of material. As a kid, I remember being happy when the lesson was over. That meant I could go outside and run around. In this orphanage, the kids wait patiently sitting on the floor. They wait because they don't want to leave. They want to learn. Anything. At the end of the day I would help the teacher with his English. He would teach me Swahili. I can't accurately put into words how amazing this cultural exchange is. To be in a classroom in Africa, learning so much from the teacher and from the children, all the while remembering that your purpose for being there is to help THEM. On the plane ride home I thought for sure, they had helped me much more.