By Aanya Jain
On June 27th at 7:30 am, eight students faced a decision: should they embark on a 20-hour flight with Emirates Airlines to finally meet their Zambian friends, whom they had only seen through Zoom over the past few years? Despite some students having never traveled internationally, or even flown at all, everyone submitted their forms without hesitation. I, Aanya Jain, can safely say that the decision we made prior to our flights was a good one, which was evident in the friendly, yet overly excited eyes of the eight DMV students at Dulles Airport.
The moment we set foot in Zambia, I knew I wouldn’t regret spending 14 days with these sweet, smart, and extremely funny people. Even though it was my first time traveling to Africa, and without my parents, meeting the Zambian students I had avidly talked to during the 2024 LearnServe Incubator program made any homesickness I felt dissipate. Despite the mild jetlag, the bus ride with both the Zambian and D.C. LearnServe students exceeded my expectations. Not only did we play icebreakers, but we also enjoyed wonderful views during the one-hour bus ride (especially for those lucky enough to have a window seat). From the clear skies to the abundance of trees, it was a refreshing change from the crowded DMV area.
Once we arrived at the hotel, the Zambian students’ hospitality shone through as they offered to help with our bags up to the second floor. However, upon arriving, the reality of Zambia’s power outages hit us. Honestly, I was a bit overwhelmed when the light switch didn’t work and the sink didn’t dispense water, but I used the extra time to settle into the twin bed room. After sitting for 20 hours on the flight, I was eager to move around. Suddenly, I heard laughter coming from room 11 and couldn’t resist investigating. When I stepped out, I saw about 10 Zambian students playing a card game. Despite my limited experience with card games, I was curious and interrupted their game. Ngtho, one of the girls from the bus, smiled and invited me to join. She taught me the rules of Kips, the card game they were playing, and we partnered up. From an unbiased perspective, I can say we made a great team.
After about 30 minutes of playing Kips, we were all called to the parking lot to board the bus again for dinner at a mystery restaurant. The airplane meals from Emirates weren’t the best, so I was more than ready for a good meal. We took our seats at a large, cold table outside the restaurant. It hit me then that I had severely underpacked in terms of jackets and layers. Minutes later, Felix, one of the Zambian cohort leads, asked us to stand and led us to a quiet area near our table. We stood in a circle and participated in various clapping and dancing activities. Although it was outside my comfort zone, these activities solidified the friendship between the Zambian and D.C. students. By the end, we didn’t even want to return to the table. The Indian butter chicken, naan, rice, and masala chicken were a perfect end to the first night. But even better was meeting incredible people with diverse personalities, all united by one goal — to change the world.
