Africa
When I was a junior in college I embarked on a service learning trip to three countries in Southern Africa, Zimbabwe, Lesotho and South Africa.
My favorite part was our stay at the Ambuya Nehanda Training Center, an orphanage outside of Harare, Zimbabwe. One young man provided all of the care for about one hundred children. The kids were eager for our attention, were great fun and had the most amazing songs that they freely shared. I enjoyed volunteering at the school. Although there were about 40 students in the classroom, the students treated me with utmost respect and behavior was never an issue, even on the many occasions that the real teacher never showed up and I became the substitute teacher by default.
From Zimbabwe we journeyed to a remote visit in Lesotho where each Warren Wilson student stayed with a different host family. I would have to say that that was the strangest experience of my life! After this our stay in the westernized city of Cape Town, South Africa seemed like a posh vacationand I was ready to return home.