As an IB student, I had many experiential learning opportunities, including a rural immersion trip to Ambapani. On this trip, I expected to contribute to the community, but I did not know how deeply it would impact my personal life. Over this trip, I engaged in various activities that challenged my perspectives and pushed me out of my comfort zone. One of the activities I performed was mud lippin, this is a traditional method of plastering a wall using cow dunk and mud. I also performed different adventure activities which contributed to my personal growth and development.
LO 1 – Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth
During this trip, I recognized my strengths and the areas where I needed improvement. One of my strengths was the ability to adapt to a new environment and work collaboratively with my peers. This strength helped me improve social skills by spending time with my peers and the citizens of ambapani during all of the activities and even in the rest breaks. However, I also realized that I need to come out of my comfort zone as mud lippin was one of the most challenging yet fun experiences. This activity was never performed by me before, it was challenging as the cow dunk was stinking and it was hard to survive inside that environment. Even though it was challenging, it was fun to be with my peers and complete this challenging activity together. It helped me bond with my peers and citizens of ambapani more.
LO 2 – Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process
I experienced several challenges, both physically and mentally. Especially for the mud lippin activity, I had to improve my mentality and complete the task even though the cow dunk was stinking and it was hard to survive in that environment. Another challenge was to survive in the rural lifestyle which was never experienced before, where resources were limited, and daily routines were different and difficult. Additionally, physical activities such as trekking tested my physical strength and endurance. Through these experiences, I developed new skills, including patience and teamwork which I believe would help me in the future.
LO 3 – Demonstrate how to initiate and plan a CAS experience
Even though this was a trip organised by the school, at some places we had to divide roles in order to stay organised and at some point complete different tasks faster. One of the times was while cleaning up. We had to divide different areas and tasks into groups of people so that we could complete the work efficiently and faster. During the mud lipping activity, we had to divide ourselves into groups so that we provide efficient results. The groups were divided into different tasks such as mixing up the mud and cow dung to create the lipping, paste it on the wall and floors, watering the substance, etc. All of these activities required planning, coordination and organization amongst the group or team members to provide efficient and accurate results.
LO 4 – Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences
This rural immersion trip required a lot of dedication and continuous hard work, particularly in the activities like cleaning up trash and adventure activities. At first these tasks seemed very difficult to complete but with the contribution of all the team members we completed all of the activities successfully and enjoyed each other a lot. During these activities we developed social skills by socializing with each other more while having fun to complete the tasks. The task of cleaning trash despite the hot weather conditions helped me understand the importance of resilience and the impact of small but consistent efforts to bring positive changes.
LO 5 – Demonstrate the skills and recognize the benefits of working collaboratively
Most of the activities in the trip required collaboration and teamwork, for me working with others is generally easy as we can divide roles as per strengths and weaknesses of an individual to provide more efficient results. By completing all of the activities and tasks, I understood the importance and significance of coordination and cooperation in community service in everyday life.
LO 6 – Demonstrate engagement with issues of global significance
This trip also allowed me to engage in global issues such as environmental sustainability. I engaged in sustainable development as we completed an activity to clean the roads of ambapani and clear up the trash. Cleaning up the waste and trash made me realize the importance of proper waste management and how littering affects both the environment and local communities. Mud lippin activity introduced me to an eco-friendly construction technique that uses sustainable materials, which proves the idea that traditional techniques can contribute to a more sustainable world. These activities deepen my understanding of sustainability and how pollution impacts on a global scale.
LO 7 – Recognize and consider the ethics of choices and actions
While engaging in community service such as providing food to the children or pasting the mud lippin on the wall, I made sure to respect the local traditions and work with the villagers instead of working with our own comfort and method. The experience of helping the villagers in their work made me reflect on my personal life and my own habits and the importance of reducing waste. Through this experience, I gained a new perspective on ethical responsibilities and sustainable living.
To conclude, the rural immersion trip to Ambapani was a good learning experience which made me experience the lifestyle of villagers and what could be the possible challenges if we had that lifestyle. This trip also helped me work upon various different skills such as communication skills which helped me communicate and understand the lifestyle of the villagers, social skills as I socialized with different people as well as the teachers and teammates, etc. This experience helped me understand my strengths and weaknesses which would help me in the future, hence it was a great experience.
