Jocko Willink once said, “There is no growth in the comfort zone”. By embarking on this rural immersion trip, we aimed to implement his sage words in practice. This rural immersion trip was a six days trip to a village in kilad, Gujarat, where we were expected to experience and explore the rural lifestyle and undertake some physical adventures. There were several activities which I explored, such as helping in a bamboo factory, spending time with kids in the local school, performing a skit in the same school, trekking, visiting a local market and even wall painting. All these activities evoked different emotions in me, such as compassion, when I learned that the children in the village had to leave the village after Grade 9 for education as their village has no educational facilities for higher grades. I also felt immense joy when presenting a short moral skit in front of the children, especially when they reacted by laughing and clapping to our skit. This trip held a lot of learnings for me, as discussed using the learning outcomes.
Learning Outcome 1 – Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth
During the rural immersion trip, there were a lot of instances where I realized my various strengths and weaknesses. When drawing the Varli figures on the wall, I realized that wall painting was one of my strengths. Having been a Visual Arts student in IGCSE, I found it relatively easier to draw the Varli figures with chalk on the wall. Not only drawing, but I also realized that being creative with the bamboo craft to make it look aesthetic was also one of my strengths. I tried to make the best craft using the resources that I was provided, even though bamboo craft was a new experience for me. Apart from my creativity, I found out that communication, especially with strangers, was my core strength. I was able to blend in with the locals as I communicated with them, and was able to ask them questions about their rural lifestyle with ease. However, I also realized that physical exertion was one of my weaknesses. When I was a helping hand in the bamboo factory, I was asked to polish the bamboo sticks using an angle grinder, and I found it difficult to clutch the grinder properly and even hold the bamboo in place. Moreover, I also struggled with trekking, especially due to the long distances that we had to walk. I realized I got easily tired, and physical adventure was also one of my weaknesses. Thus, during the Rural Immersion Trip, I realized that while Creativity and Communication was one of my strengths, physical exertion and adventure was one of the areas where I had to develop.
Learning Outcome 2 – Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process
The most challenging aspect of the Rural Immersion Trip was adapting to the rural environment and the routine. The itinerary and the location required me to adapt to various things, such as waking up early, or constant physical exertion and even living with classmates that you rarely interact with on a day-to-day basis. Apart from this, sometimes the food we were provided in the village was local food, such as Ragi Roti(roti made from finger millet), which was something I had never tasted before. Moreover, the accommodations in the village were basic, and having been living with many facilities in the city, it took me a lot of time to adapt to the accommodations. Thus, the food, the accommodation, and the unusual routine were some things that I found difficult to adapt to, and was a challenge for me, but in the end, it gave me more experience on how to deal with change. Adapting to a new environment is one of the essential skills which I enhanced during the trip, and a skill which will also support me in my future endeavors. Therefore, I can say that the exposure to an atypical environment and lifestyle which initially posed a challenge, encouraged me to develop my adaptability skills during the trip.
Learning Outcome 3 – Demonstrate how to Initiate and plan a CAS Experience
On the trip, we were expected to perform a moral skit for the children in the local school, during which time we were assigned in groups to plan the skit and rehearse for the same. I found the planning very difficult, owing to the fact that there were more than 15 students, everyone trying to pitch in their ideas, so it became chaotic. It was a difficult task to listen to everyone’s ideas, and even ensure that everyone collaborated and synergized to make the skit a success. I discovered that I possessed good leadership skills, because I was able to manage my tasks, and make sure that others did the same. I also tried to be patient, even when the group became chaotic and everyone digressed from the main purpose. The planning of this skit also made me pitch in more of my insights, such as what the plot and moral of the skit could be. I also played a role in assigning roles and responsibilities to the group members, assumed the leadership of the group, and this initiative made the planning and execution of the skit even more efficient.
Learning Outcome 4 – Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences
During the trip, there were instances where I had to show perseverance and commitment in order to do the task. I was asked to use the hoe to remove weeds growing near the mango plant, which required a lot of physical effort, since weeding with a hoe was not something that I was accustomed to. Moreover, we were asked to do this in the afternoon, which made the activity even more energy draining. So, in order to complete the task, I had to persevere, especially because physical exertion was not my forte. And since I was committed to learning some new processes in farming, and making the best use of the exposure to the rural environment, I had to ensure that I did all the activities to the best of my ability. Furthermore, since I dislike physical activity, and trekking was a mandatory activity in the itinerary, and as I was committed to try new things and step out of my comfort zone, I was required to participate in the trek. Not only this, but I usually don’t participate or do any physical activities in my day-to-day routine, which is why I found that I constantly needed someone’s support during the trek. This was one of the greatest challenges that I faced, and I had to persevere through the same, owing to the lack of frequent physical activity, just to complete the trek.
Learning Outcome 5 – Demonstrate the skills and recognize the benefits of working collaboratively
In the course of the trip, there were some instances where I had to work collaboratively with others to complete a given task. One such case was wall painting, where there were some of us who were asked to select certain Varli artworks, and create them on the wall. This required us to work as a group, and divide roles among ourselves to create an aesthetic wall art. This helped in improving the efficiency of the process, because it took relatively less time to create the Varli figures and paint on them. Additionally, we were also asked to prepare a skit that teaches a moral lesson for the students studying at a local school in the village, and this required us to work collaboratively to decide the skit, prepare a rough script, and enact our characters properly on the stage. Due to there being so many people, it often became chaotic to work in a group, but as we were determined to make our skit a success, the insightful suggestions of many people in the group helped prepare a skit and perform it for the students.
Learning Outcome 6 – Demonstrate engagement with issues of global significance
During the trip, the accommodations and the lifestyle that I adopted were eco-friendly, and it was similar to the rural lifestyle. By doing this, I engaged with the issue of sustainability in the context of lifestyle. In urban settlements, it can often be seen that the activities and even accommodations are not environmentally favorable, because urban activities are often a result of deforestation, and cause water and soil pollution, air pollution, which lead to diseases and health problems that plague urban dwellers. By adopting the rural lifestyle, I tried to take a step back from my urban lifestyle, and instead try to engage with an environmentally friendly lifestyle, and understand the implications that urban activities have on the environment.
Learning Outcome 7 – Recognize and consider the ethics of choices and actions
Since we were expected to interact with the locals and learn more about their livelihood and lifestyle, and as it differed a lot from my own lifestyle, I had to be more open-minded and respectful towards the local community, even though we might have had different opinions on something. This made me realize that a certain behavior based on the society we were in, was one of the moral principles that drove my interaction with the locals, and made me apply an ethical principle in real-life. Moreover, on the trip, we visited some of the villagers and they introduced us to the lifestyle of the village. We also learned their views on urban lifestyle, and that is where we learned that there were urban dwellers who often bought lands in the village for a farmhouse at high prices, which made the land’s price, initially cheap, boost to a higher amount, that often posed a threat to the villagers and the indigenous community who could not afford to buy the land because of the high prices. This made me consider how my actions, and the collective actions of the urban people affect or tamper with the lifestyle of the rural dwellers.
This trip also gave me a chance to develop one of the learner profile attributes, “Caring”. I demonstrated “Caring” when I engaged in meaningful service towards the rural community, especially when I played with the children, and when I contributed to painting the gates of their school. Thus, by showing compassion towards the children, and by trying to make a positive difference in their lives, I demonstrated the learner profile “Caring”.
Reflection
In conclusion, the experience was truly enlightening and extraordinary. This trip made me overcome my prejudices against the rural community and lifestyle, and even helped me model compassion and respect for the rural community. Before the trip, I was under the impression that the rural dwellers often desired urban lifestyle, and that urban lifestyle had all the luxuries and opportunities one could want, and that it was the dream life. However, after interacting with the rural people, I realized that they are content in their simple lifestyle, stay connected with nature and this even contributes to their good health. This gave me a fresh perspective on the rural lifestyle, and helped me be more open-minded towards them.
