Travelling is such a rewarding and gratifying experience. It allows you to experience something new, learn about a new culture, and discover things about yourself. It’s also an important opportunity to push yourself outside of your comfort zone and experience personal growth. Also, nothing can beat the long-lasting memories you gain from travelling. This past summer, I had the opportunity to go to Peru and participate in a unique form of travel called Service Learning.
What is Service Learning?
Service Learning is a unique way of travelling that involves learning and community service experiences. When you take a service learning trip, you get to learn about real-life issues that impact the communities you visit. Before going to Peru, I took a class that talked about Peru’s political, economic, and social climate. As a group, we learned about Café Feminino — a coffee company that’s committed to empowering women and addressing gender inequality issues in Peru. We spent months reading and learning about the coffee initiative, and when we finally travelled to Peru, it was surreal to experience the company’s practices first-hand. Service Learning is about being involved in community experiences, gaining immense knowledge about a new place, and participating in a more mindful and educational form of travel.
Why Should I Take a Service Learning Trip?
Caution: upcoming cheesy dialogue*
Travelling to Peru was truly a life-changing experience for me. I learned so much from taking a trip like this. Not only do I feel more educated about Peruvian culture, but I also learned so much about myself. It was a challenging trip for me to take (for a multitude of reasons) but it’s one that I’m so glad I participated in.
Okay, I’m done being sappy. Here’s why you should take a Service Learning Trip:
- Cultural Understanding
When you’re exposed to one way of thinking and living, it’s easy to assume that’s the “best” way of living. We adopt a fixed mindset that disregards the way of life in other regions. Learning and experiencing other cultures allows for greater appreciation and understanding. It also reduces or eliminates the inherent prejudices and assumptions you may have about the culture. It’s a great way to broaden your perspective and understanding of the world by seeing it from different angles. I came out of my trip with the realization that as humans, we are all the same — the only thing that separates us is geographical distance.Â
- Hands-On Learning
I’m a strong believer that you can’t learn and truly engage with content if you’re confined to a classroom. Participating in Service Learning gives you the opportunity to combine classroom learning with real-life experience. During the months leading up to the trip, we participated in several modules that covered information about the political and social justice issues in Peru and CafĂ© Feminino (the coffee company that works to address various social justice issues). When we finally travelled to Peru, we visited the head offices of the company and their processing plant. We worked to harvest coffee and learned about the exact process that’s conducted when creating their product. Witnessing this after months of build-up was a surreal experience that really solidified the knowledge we learned about in the classroom.Â
- Personal Growth
Travelling isn’t easy for a lot of people. It involves a change in environment, lack of routine, long days, and countless uncomfortable situations. However, when you’re forced to be in uncomfortable situations, you learn to adapt to your surroundings and problem-solve. It’s important to challenge your limits and embrace new experiences. By doing this, you can learn so much about yourself. Also, think about how cool it would be to show your kids pictures of all the cool stuff you did in your twenties.
- Lifelong Impact
During a Service Learning experience, you learn, see things and make memories that you will remember for a lifetime. Travelling with a group allows you to bond with strangers in a unique and meaningful way. There’s often a sense of comradery within the group and during your travel experience; you can build some strong friendships. It also allows for more conscious living. When I came back from Peru, I carried the knowledge I gained as I returned to my everyday routines. The perspective shift I experienced was a strong and long-lasting one.Â
- Inspiration
In general, travelling is a great source of inspiration. Service Learning in particular can provide inspiration to try to make efforts towards social change. After returning from Peru, I researched about and found service commitments I could take part in to address the issues occurring right in my backyard. Travel can also provide inspiration to dive back into your hobbies, create a new routine, or get out of your comfort zone more often.
I hope you feel inspired to seek out the Service Learning Opportunities available to you. Travelling to Peru was a truly life-changing experience for me. It’s so important to prioritize personal growth and make memories — especially while you’re young.