Over winter intersession, I traveled to Zambia, a landlocked nation in southern Africa, with 17 fellow Ohio University journalism and communication students as a part of a study abroad program offered by the Scripps school's Institute for International Journalism.
The program lasted for just under one month, but that was long enough to leave an impact on each student involved.
The group of 15 journalism majors and three communications and media studies majors was led by assistant professor Yusuf Kalyango, director of the Institute for International Journalism.
Aside from two classes, as a part of the program we were able to complete an internship with a media organization of our choosing.
Being an online journalism major, I chose to work with a government-owned newspaper, The Zambia Daily Mail. (English is Zambia's official language.)
Despite the lure of working with a non-governmental organization such as Chickumbuso or SOS Children's Village, I am glad that I stayed my course at the newspaper.
Getting to see and participate in the inner workings of a developing media was an entirely new experience.
The differences were vast: from long-form style leads to chaotic layouts, we both had much to learn from each other.
Being thrown into a work environment helped both to immerse our OU group members in the culture and hone our skills in our chosen field.
One of the most important experiences that I will take away from the trip was being able to interact with people in small Zambian villages.
It was not in the classroom or the newsroom that I learned the most about Zambia, but out in the villages where even the stark differences from American culture couldn't make the world feel that big. The people were unbelievably generous and hospitable. I have never met so many genuine people.
Even though they knew that as Americans we had more than enough, they welcomed us into their homes and constantly offered up food and gifts.
The excitement and smiles of the children is another image that will stay with me.
They focus on the little things that bring joy such as a toy car made of soda cans and wire or a simple "hello" from a stranger.
One student, Tom Ginley, said that he saw that in a child at the Soweto Market.
"When we were walking through the market, I saw a boy covered in mud and grime, but he was so excited to see a white person that his bright smile shined through," Ginley said.
As a group, we also traveled to two cities outside of our home base, the capital city of Lusaka.
We went to Kitwe in the Copperbelt region to see the heart of the Zambian economy for one weekend.
Touring two mines, we observed the process in which both copper and cobalt are produced from raw materials. The sales are used to sustain Zambia's place as the seventh-largest exporter of copper and second largest of cobalt, according to Zambia's Ministry of Mining and Minerals Development.
In Livingstone, we stepped into the tourist role and were able to unwind with the end of the trip approaching.
We were lucky enough to experience a lion and cheetah encounter and ride an elephant.
Since I'm an animal lover (and volunteer at the Athens County Dog Shelter), this was an amazing opportunity. I'm pretty sure I'll never have another opportunity to lie on the ground with a cheetah licking my face.
It was difficult to see the cats as wild animals because they were acting like domesticated dogs.
Another once-in-a-lifetime opportunity I had in Livingstone was going to the Devil's Pool at Victoria Falls, one of the seven natural wonders of the world.
Only four of us chose to go to the Devil's Pool, but wading in a naturally formed pool on the edge of the falls was an utterly breathtaking experience.
It was both nerve-wracking and beautiful all at once.
It's no wonder that Victoria Falls is a major attraction;, there is something about what the natives call "The Smoke that Thunders" that is overwhelming.
The only problem I had with the program was that it was too short of a time.
Just as we started to feel at home, it was time to say goodbye to all the things we fell in love with.
I don't think any amount of time would make it easier to leave, but at least we would be able to see a little bit more and take away even more memories than we already had.
