By Mwansa Sunga, LearnServe Zambia, Global Zambia Cohort ’24
During the LearnServe trip, our cultural exchange with the American Incubator students was great. At first, I thought they would not accept our Zambian culture, but to my surprise, they were so interested in it that they even bought traditional materials such as bracelets and wrappers. They also cooked Zambian dishes! We really had fun together as they explained their culture, and it was an amazing experience. I even started having an interest in going to America because of my American Incubator friends.
Even though Zambia is not as developed, none of our American friends complained about our country. They all spoke well about Zambia and were interested in visiting many places – which we did. We visited wonderful sites in Zambia like the Kalimba Farm, Victoria Falls, Livingstone Museum, and many more. We had so much fun!
Our trip was filled with joy and laughter as we played games together like Uno, cards, and dancing games. We really enjoyed the company of our great leaders, namely Chris, Latrina, and Japhet, as well as the other leaders from Zambia, for they looked after us and made sure each program was a success. Our wonderful leaders even went the extra mile, losing sleep, because they cared to check up on each one of us.
The trip really helped me develop my public speaking skills, for we had activities that required us to speak out our thoughts, like sharing our reflections. We shared our reflections each morning before we went to our various activities, and hearing different people share their reflections was amazing. It showed how everyone was enjoying the trip.
The trip really helped me develop my public speaking skills, for we had activities that required us to speak out our thoughts, like sharing our reflections.
My favorite part of the trip was when we visited the Victoria Falls in Livingstone. This was my first time visiting the falls, and it was more special because everyone was there with me. We cried and laughed together. It became even more fun when we put on a talent show – it was amazing seeing everyone showcase their talents! It was the best thing that ever happened to my life.
The end of the trip was so emotional; we didn’t expect it to end so fast because we were having too much fun together as a LearnServe family. Nevertheless, we escorted them to the airport, where everyone was crying because we were going to be driven apart from our American Incubator family. Everything ended well, and our friends arrived safely in the U.S.
This trip was really helpful, and we got to connect with our fellow students. It felt like the Zoom meetings the months prior were not enough; we needed to see our fellow students in person, which we did thanks to LearnServe International. You really made our dreams come true, and we highly appreciate all your efforts. We would like for the other Incubator students to have the same experience as we did – that is my only plea, for it will help them connect with each other.