“Be Open and Receptive to Everything Around You”

Lily Grebe is eighteen and wrapping up her first semester at University of Minnesota. She enjoys traveling, and has family in Europe and New Zealand, but had yet to embark on a trip to Africa—until now. “I just wanted to experience something new, and I’m going to university in the fall so I wanted to do something completely different before I had a big change in my life,” she told us. So she did just that. She packed her bags and flew to Tanzania where she volunteered with United Planet for 4 weeks this summer at an education center assisting with nursery classes. Here’s what she had to say about her Quest.

To begin with, can you describe your volunteer work experience?

“It was amazing. At first I felt like I wasn’t doing a whole lot but then I realized that what I was doing was really what they needed.”

So, that being said, can you offer a sense of your daily work routine during your trip? Did the routine change at all throughout your stay?

“A usual day would be me and my roommate, we would get up at about 8 and eat breakfast and then we’d walk over to the center and hang out for about a half hour. Then at 9:30 we’d have our nursery class where they would usually pick one subject, math, science or english, and we would help teach that and we’d do some class work; then they’d do some written class work and then they’d have break time—play with them for about an hour or so—and then they’d go back and we’d hand out homework and backpacks; and then they would say goodbye to the teacher and then it was probably about 12 when we were done.

Then the rest of the day would be depending on what they needed us to do. A lot of the time it would be just hanging out with the kids that were there, and the ones that came back from school. Other times we would help out with maybe the garden. At about 5 we would head back to our host family and then there was whatever we did in the evening. It did change in some places because a couple days we went on a safari and then we went into the city. And then the weekends were free.”

What did you enjoy most about your Quest experience? 

“I really enjoyed the kids. I taught a nursery class in the morning and the kids are just wonderful; they’re all so full of energy, so full of life. The people in general there were awesome and it was really cool to work with these people.”

What was the best part of the day for you—the most rewarding or the most challenging?

“It was challenging to communicate but by the end of it, we were pretty good at it. That was a little challenging. But it was also that they were just so full of life when they have nothing, and their families were just so great. Their parents would invite us, they speak no English, and their parents would invite us to their house to feed us and show us pictures of their family.”

Since you mention communication being one of the more challenging aspects, would you say that was the hardest part of the trip for you?

“I think, originally, the most difficult thing was the language barrier. What I felt like by the end of it was people were very comfortable with physical contact, and it just made me realize how welcoming everyone was and that was difficult to leave. I’m going to go back to somewhere where there’s a mall in every town, but here there’s one mall in the entire country, yet they’re still so happy. It was difficult to leave because I really didn’t want to.”

You mentioned before that the students’ parents would invite you into their homes. Can you share a personal anecdote or a story about that?

“What I really liked was that we were invited by a student’s mom, and she invited us to her home that was nearby. And she fed us lunch and showed us pictures of her family and she just totally welcomed us into her home. She speaks no English but she’d sit there and smile with us and try to understand if we were trying to tell her something.”

“ It kind of blew our minds how nice and welcoming she was. And that just really stuck with us…and it happened with me at least three times. It was just amazing how nice and inviting they were; they wanted to welcome us to their country, to their life.”

That’s so wonderful to hear. And since returning home, have you done anything to follow-up the work you did during your Quest? Or have your life plans changed?

“I think I’ll definitely plan on coming back next summer to visit. And I was hoping to learn what I may want to do with my life at university, so I feel like I want to do something with children and I’m now thinking of majoring in child psychology. I get along really well with children, and you guys helped me figure it out.”

And we’re glad we could help! Do you think you would do this trip or another similar trip again?

“I would definitely do another trip like that. It was so rewarding and great and I got so much more out of it than I thought I would. And no matter how long you stay, bonds form. My entire nursery class started crying when they learned I was leaving!”

To wrap things up, do you have any advice for people thinking about volunteering—what to expect or words of wisdom?

“Just be really open if it’s going to be a major cultural change. Just be really open to everything and listen to the people that live there and what they’re telling you because they know. Be open and receptive to everything around you.”

Finally, overall, what has struck with you as the most profound part of your trip? Do you feel as though your trip shaped who you want to become, or what is important to you?

“I think it really opened my eyes to focusing more on what you have and the people in your life than always on the consumerism that America is all about.”

A lot of people there have nothing but they were so happy and giving; that was just eye-opening to realize that, coming from somewhere where people have everything but they’re still not happy. So, I think it just really opened my eyes to being grateful for what I have and the people in my life.”

Thank you Lily for taking the time to talk with us! We enjoyed hearing about your Quest experience from you, and we hope it will inspire others to volunteer as well. We wish you the best of luck in your studies and we hope your volunteer experience helped in determining your major!