First-time international traveler and University of Alabama student Sarah Jackson has had an eye-opening experience on DIRECT Greece while facing a new culture. Read below on the powerful moments of her LeadAbroad program:
Going on LeadAbroad, you automatically assume you’re going to learn and branch out. Taking a leap to another country is a learning process by itself. However, it goes way beyond that. With it being my first time out of the country, I didn’t expect not only the experience and knowledge I did, but the love I received as well. By going to Greece with some of the most amazing people I have ever met, stepping yourself outside of your comfort zone and taking that leap was all worth the rush. After being in Athens and learning about their customs and traditions, the worries left and I started to really take in what I should’ve already known. Before coming on this program, I did not realize the problems going on with humanity–the life I took for granted. I became educated on sex trafficking; refugees forced to leave their country; families living in abandon airports not being able to feed their children; children learning to play instruments to try to earn money in the streets. The dreams of children seeming unrealistic, education was without reach. LeadAbroad not only educated me on these issues but set aside time to help impact these peoples lives even if only a little at a time. My heart has been changed forever, my eyes opened more than ever. The knowledge you receive by going LeadAbroad is amazingly overwhelming and inspiring. Every penny spent, every challenge taken, has opened not only myself but my friends around me for the better, LeadAbroad has gone above & beyond in my life; let it do the same for you.
