This trip was totally an unexpected experience. While going to this trip everyone had the mindset that it is going to be not so fun a trip as compared to the trips we had had from school and the only thing we will be doing there is cleaning and working. But, it was totally the opposite. This trip was where we had fun, learning, experiences, adventure and what not. From daily using public toilets to not sleeping at night to having dinner in villages and painting walls in local village school, we have experienced every single thing on this trip and it was totally worth going. While going on this trip the only goal was to complete my CAS but while returning I realised that how this trip was equally fun compared to the other ones and how it gave us so many new experiences and taught us so much more compared to the others. If we see these are the things we did during the trip;

• Having dinner with villagers
• Going to trek
• Doing bamboo art
• Cleaning and painting school walls
• Playing with kids
• Preparing and performing a skit in front of the kids
• Star gazing
• Farming
• Packing pickle 
• Learned the making of mango pulp
• Rappelling
• Bathing in river 

Learning Outcome 1 – Identify own strength and develop areas for growth:

While we reached the destination our morale was very down and everyone was very upset with the location we were at. But once the day started and we started with the activities planned my morale started to build and there were such things which surprised me and gave me strength. Those things were, painting the school wall in the village, then doing bamboo art, having dinner with the villagers in their house, planning games for the kids, communicating with the villagers and the kids, playing with the kids in the school and so on. Being part of these things helped me identify my own strengths and develop my areas of growth. It is very important to know your own strengths and areas of growth because it helps you build your own self confidence and helps you maintain that confidence and commitment towards things and succeed in it. 

Learning Outcome 2 – Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process:

The most challenging part of the trip was to cook with the villagers with the limited amount of resources in their house. Their house only had one light bulb, and their food was cooked in “chula”(brick and wooden stove) which was very difficult to handle. The reason being it challenging was because in our homes we have an unlimited amount of light source and a gas stove which can be handled easily, so no such problem occurs but at the same time while cooking at their house with such resources was something challenging. It was something I was experiencing which I never did before. Taking this challenge was a very interesting experience and part of the trip because we have never been to any such strangers house, especially someone who is a villager and has helped them cook and sit together and eat the same. This experience was truly challenging but at the same time was a lot of fun to be with them and communicate to them about their lives. For me as a student it is very important to undertake new challenges so that I can learn and experience more. 

Learning Outcome 4 – Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences:

This activity got difficult when we got next to zero amount of rest time between activities and the whole day we were working on something or the other. The temperature of the place was changing after every 4 hours due to which it got more tiring. At night it was soo cold and in the morning again cold, then in the daytime soo hot and as it started to get dark the number of mosquitoes kept increasing. Due to which it was very difficult to show that commitment but in the end that perseverance was worth it. The only commitment needed to complete this activity was to be part of every bit of the trip and do the best and enjoy whatever I was doing. It is not easy for me to be committed in every situation and nor is it to be persistent in it. Because it all depends on my interest. It is very important to show perseverance and be committed towards things because till the time you don’t build up that skill you will never be successful in your life and keep failing. 

Hence, to conclude the trip was totally worth an experience. It taught a lot of things about how we should be happy with what we have as the people in the village did not have a lot of things from what we had but were still very happy with their life and what they had because they were looking up to their needs and not their wants. At the same time we also learned how hard work and smartwork both are important with commitment and perseverance. Learning was surely a part of the trip but having fun, eating pure delicious food of the village and a lot more was also there. This trip will surely have a separate space in my memory. 

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