South Africa: Youth Leadership in Peace, Politics & Human Rights

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.