South Africa & Mozambique: Peace, Politics & Human Rights

From learning the history that's shaped the current state of politics in the country, to meeting youth my age and getting their perspectives on personal and national issues, the Leadership Institute South Africa definitely impacted my life. My homestay families were extremely welcoming, and I now text my homestay sister daily. The in-country program coordinators were (and are) some of my favorite people and enhanced my over all experience. My 14 fellow programmers provided a varied viewpoint on every situation, organization and experience we encountered. All of these relationships and interactions accumulated to create a trip of a lifetime, one that I will be forever grateful for.

I had the opportunity to study with the Experiment in International Living: Leadership Institute this past summer. The program was 6 weeks long, and dealt with issues such as human rights and community development. The program began with a week in DC, where we visited several organizations and site visits, all in the context of advocacy and social change. We got to see firsthand how individuals, no different from ourselves, are using the resources they have on-hand to truly make a difference within their communities. It was an enlightening experience and truly opened my eyes to an entirely new side of Washington D.C. Following this portion of the program, we embarked on our journey to South Africa, where we spent 4 weeks studying peace, politics, and human rights, centered around apartheid and the country's history/political climate. We had the chance to travel all throughout the country in studying these themes, and thus got to see firsthand how an individual's background impacts the way he/she views the world. Not only that, but we were also truly able to get a glimpse at all that makes up South Africa. It is a land unbelievably rich in culture and natural beauty, and whether we were staying in the cities, the mountains, or along the coast, this was always evident to us. After returning back to the United States from South Africa, we spent a week in Vermont, where we brainstormed our post-trip projects. The idea behind the program is that once we return, we should take what we've learned to implement a project addressing an issue within our own communities. Vermont was characterized by the brainstorming of these projects. However, we also got the chance to partake in activities such as hiking and berry-picking, which gave us the opportunity to experience yet another place's culture. Through this program, my eyes to the world were opened. I can't overstate all that I learned throughout those 6 weeks, nor the value I gained from the Experiment in International Living: Leadership Institute.

I relentlessly worked on finishing my application hoping my dreams to go abroad would come true. After a month or two of waiting for a response, I finally received the email. I was in. I was overjoyed in the moment, but I was unaware of all that this experience entailed. My first day with other leaders had already informed me of so much because of the diversity in perspectives and background. I had been around intelligent young people before, but I had never been in a room full of intelligent young minds that were so similar and different from myself. Immediately, I started bonding with these once strangers- some bonds were even stronger than those with the friends I had at home. The strength of these bonds made challenges easier. With this family we created, my group and I had experienced and learned an abundance of things through each other and immersion. One of the many aspects of this program that I loved was being able to learn from the South African people. Through a series of workshops, visits with NGOs, visits to schools, and two homestays I had immersed myself in South African culture, and I was able to evaluate the true ethos of South Africa. Not to mention the leadership workshops that took place in D.C., were used throughout my stay in South Africa, and were strengthened in Vermont. These workshops prepared me for not only South Africa, but for returning to my home community. Because of this experience, I will only continue to advocate- even more than before. Additionally, each day I still utilize what I learned on my journey to approach a wide range of problems including personal, interpersonal, emotional, and even physical. My family noticed a change in me right away as joy was now more of a priority than perfectionism. Who knew a flower could grow so much in 6-weeks?

I was changed all the way from my perspectives, to how I act around others. I learned the importance of having an open mind and respecting other people's opinions. I learned that this world is not perfect but that we have the power to make it better. I learned what it means to be a leader and what I can do to help my home community. For all this, I want to thank South Africa and this Program. An experience of a lifetime.

My Experiment to South Africa gave me tools that I now use in every day life. I met incredible people, saw beautiful landscapes and animals, and now can speak a little Zulu!

The experiences I had were simply to great to try and express here. I have only been back for 3 weeks and am already recognizing real, deep changes in myself and my perception. This experience opened my eyes.

Overall, I gained so much from my trip and have no regrets. I have been telling everyone I encounter to either apply themselves or get their kids to apply.

This was hands down the best experience I've had in my entire life. I met so many amazing lifelong friends and learned so much not only about the country and leadership but about myself as well. The homestay was wonderful, and my host family was so loving and taught me so much about the food and culture and about the neighborhood we were in and the history behind it. The other experimenters though, were the best part of the entire experience. They pushed me out of my comfort zone and asked questions I didn't even know I needed the answers to. They became much more than just friends but more like a second family.

My experience on this program could not be matched anywhere else, and I owe that completely to the staff, program itineraries, and students of The Experiment. This organization selected the best group of change-making teens I could have ever imagined, and I learned not only from the site visits and lecturers but in my everyday interactions with my peers and leaders. My closest friends are those I spent this summer in South Africa with, and I still feel I can go to my supportive and extremely accomplished leaders with anything, even now that I'm back home. I felt safe, valued, and as though my experience and growth were of the utmost importance the entirety of the program. Such an emotionally and intellectually challenging environment isn't void of tiredness or conflict, but I constantly felt that being challenged and rethinking myself in ways I didn't know possible were for my overall benefit. Now that I'm home, I can say with a surety that I'm a significantly more educated, more understanding, and more understood person than I was before having this experience.

From start to finish, this summer truly was an incredible experience! The program itself is incredible and the people who do the program are even more wonderful, you are guaranteed to meet amazingly intelligent and diverse people who you will become close with over the course of the summer. Beginning with the week in D.C. I was already learning so much about leadership, global change, and myself. It was incredible to hear from organizations that are making global change and then discuss it with people who are similarly passionate about these topics. Then, the month in South Africa was even more wonderful, learning about social change and culture in an entirely new context; I learned so much by speaking to not only leaders in issues of social change and politics but also from the different perspectives of everyone I met. The final week in Vermont was again great, gaining knowledge of leadership and meeting students who were on the SIT Campus doing similar leadership programs from all over the world. I remember being told that this experience would be life-changing and being confused of how that would be; today I see this change in myself as a person with an entirely different perspective. I would recommend this program to anyone who would like to challenge themselves to learn, grow, and create change.

Throughout my six weeks in this program I have changed in more ways than what I expected. Everything about this program made me realize that I am much more privileged than what I thought (especially in the rural homestay). I have met people that have motivated and continue to motivate me and, with them, I discussed issues that affect both me and the world. Throughout the course of this program, I have learned more about myself, the country of South Africa, and my own world in ways that opened my eyes. I have learned from many topics ranging from international relations to grassroots movements and from youth leadership to South African politics. I am very appreciative of everything the Experiment in International Living has done in terms of bringing a passionate group together and giving us the opportunity to be leaders. I have felt so impacted by the beautiful diversity of our student group and, as a result, this program has given me an opportunity to be more comfortable in my own skin. EIL chose the perfect location to study peace, politics, and human rights since South Africa has a lot of interesting history surrounding these topics. My summer with EIL's Leadership Institute is one that I will always remember! Overall I would HIGHLY recommend this program to anyone who wants to commit in creating change and to anyone who wants to learn more about social justice!!!

I chose to go on an Experiment trip to learn about the world, but in the process, learned more about my country and myself than I would have ever imagined. I first became interested in the Experiment because of the immersive learning the program championed, and I wasn't let down. My experience in South Africa as a part of the Leadership Institute studying, "Peace, Politics, and Human Rights," was transformative because of the engagement in community, both within my group, and within the country. I would strongly recommend the Experiment to any prospective student because of the way the program is designed for learning through interpersonal relationships, something I believe is unique to World Learning. The diversity among the experimenters in my group also contributed to this life shaping experience in the way that it allowed difficult conversations, deep discussions, and fantastic relationships to develop in a very natural manner. My summer abroad was one to remember and I would encourage any high schooler considering the Experiment to apply.

One moment during the trip, a random native resident respectfully approached me. He could tell that I wasn't from his country and began to ask questions about where I'm from and similar and different it is from South Africa. It was a new experience being face to face with someone from a different country while listening to his opinions of America and also being interested enough to listen to my personal compared to his.