I spent fall term of 1999 living and working at the St. Brendan's school in the Northern Province of South Africa. St. Brendan's is a high school that was founded during the era of apartheid and has continued to teach children of African descent. Thanks to the Tucker Foundation, I was able to make a trip I had dreamed of making for years, and really experience another way of life. Life at St. Brendan's was definitely rustic compared to the blitz-powered ten week sprints of learning we have here at Dartmouth. However, it was not a hard life, and I left the school wondering if I would ever again find the peace that I felt on many warm evenings at St. Brendan's.

An average day began at 7:00 am in the volunteer's house. We usually had to be at school around 8:00, and I would spend the day wearing several different hats. I spent most of my time in the school library, helping the children pick out books and training the librarian how to use the brand new computer system that had been donated. Four periods a day, I would tutor an Angolan refugee in English. She had arrived at the school a week after I had, speaking no English. Though there was a communication barrier, she became one of my best friends at the school. At other parts of the day, I would substitute teach, proctor exams or help out in the office. During study time, which was in the early evening, I would tutor a group of grade-twelve learners in preparation for government standardized tests at the end of the school year.

I believe that I gained much more than I was able to give to the school. The students truly taught me how to appreciate the smaller things in life. The examples of friendship and loyalty I saw between them were truly beautiful. I was also able to travel in the country as well as in Zimbabwe when the school was on break. I saw some of the worst poverty I have ever seen. The scars left by years of apartheid were especially evident in the rural area I was in. However, I was accepted by the people and my fellow South African teachers and made to feel at home. I now love South Africa very much.

The experience has changed my life forever, and I realize now that the key to really making a difference is humility. I arrived in Johannesburg feeling like a superwoman, and left feeling very small. However, I felt very in touch with the people I had been working with. I would urge everyone at Dartmouth to think about the world on a broader scale than Hanover, even outside America. It amazing how much a change of scenery can show you about yourself.