My name is Carmen Vangalis and I am from Chicago, IL. I like to hike, kayak, travel, and bike in my free time. I have two sisters (one is my twin). My house is a bit like a zoo, as we have a dog, two cats, a fish tank, and two guinea pigs!
I have been working at a nursing home and graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, this past December. I have also been applying to graduate school, so life has been pretty crazy! I am applying to be a nurse practitioner, but am completing a bridge program, to obtain both my BSN and MSN. I have been accepted into two so far!
I visited Zimbabwe in the summer of 2019. I went on a study abroad trip with the University of Illinois. The program was called “Service Learning, Healthcare, and Animal Rescue in Zimbabwe”. We were there for 3 weeks.
I wanted to experience healthcare in another country and truly immerse myself in a new culture. I never imagined that I would have the chance to visit Zimbabwe, so when I saw what was in the program; I jumped at the opportunity! Plus, I heard about all of the wildlife and history and it influenced my decision quite a bit!
My experience was truly magical! I met so many warm and welcoming people. On our first day in Harare, everyone in the streets would say hello to us and it felt amazing! I also loved all of the healthcare experience! We got to tour so many healthcare facilities and shadow some amazing people! We saw many births and saw snake bites, malaria, and other conditions not common to the U.S. I loved the wildlife! We went camping at Lake Kariba and saw elephants walking through the camp in the early hours! In addition, we did a sunrise safari and that was stunning, we even got to do tricks with the elephants! Lastly, being able to see Victoria Falls was amazing! It is a “Natural Wonder of the World”, so it was great to be able to see it!
While there were a lot of funny moments, there were two that stand out to me! For one, I brought over “Cards Against Humanity”, which is a card game that is quite popular in the U.S. It was hilarious when we played with Wesley, Tiff, and Solomon, who had never played the game before! Another funny time was whenever we tried to haggle. In America, most of the shops have fixed prices. In Zimbabwe, most of the shops allow you to haggle. It was pretty funny to watch us try to bargain for the best prices!
It was absolutely easy to get along with everyone! All of the hospital staff was so knowledgeable and welcoming! Walking down the streets, everyone would welcome us! In Chidamoyo, we were walking through a small village and one of the workers and his wife asked us to come back for sadza the next day! We had to leave the following day, so we politely declined. We would also play hopscotch and other games with the local kids and it was very amazing! On top of this, we visited a small village outside of Harare, where the PTs would give therapy to children with cerebral palsy. There was one instance where we were doing this outside a school. I grabbed a ball and we were playing catch. Around 3 kids came up and asked if they could join. That small group grew to at least 50 kids playing catch with me! It was truly memorable! In conclusion, I felt more welcomed in Zimbabwe then I have anywhere else in my life!
My favorite Shona word is “Makadii”! It took us forever to be able to pronounce any words, but “Makadii” was much easier to remember! I would recite all of our sayings every morning and usually said them with a pretty bad accent!
Chef Kundi made us a traditional Zimbabwean meal. It was incredible to try oxtail, sadza, collard greens with peanut butter, and even the Mopani worm. I personally didn’t like the flavor of the worm, but I tried it anyway!
Yes, we visited Victoria Falls, Karoi, the Chinhoyi Caves, and Lake Kariba.
They were wonderful! Victoria Falls was a bit more modern than I expected! I loved seeing the falls and exploring the shops around it. The river cruise on the Zambezi was gorgeous at sunset! I also liked taking bikes outside of the city and seeing elephants all over! However, the baboons were slightly terrifying to me!
Chidamoyo was really amazing to me too! I got to meet some amazing staff and locals. I also enjoyed walking through the outside villages and just wandering the roads and seeing the rural parts of Zimbabwe! I have never seen such beautiful stars as those at Chidamoyo!
The Chinhoyi caves was a stop on our way to Lake Kariba. That was pretty amazing! The water in those caves was so blue! However, I will also never forget how large those spiders were!
Imire reserve was a breathtaking wildlife park and was stunning! We got to take a safari through the land and saw so many different animals. The staff was very knowledgeable, and the facilities were beautiful. I loved meeting “Mak”, a very large elephant!
Lake Kariba was another place we visited. We camped right near the watering hole and got to see so many animals when we went on a lake cruise. I loved sleeping in the tents but was a little worried about the animals. However, they paid no mind to us!
I took home the knowledge from the hospital staff, warmness from the locals, and the longing to go back! I also have my room full of little trinkets from my time in Zimbabwe! I will carry these memories with me always and think fondly of my time in Zimbabwe!
It was truly life-changing and eye-opening! I never expected I would get the chance to visit Zimbabwe, so I feel very humbled and lucky that I could experience this amazing place! I will always remember the beautiful drives, kind locals, and connections I made on the trip!
YES! I feel that most people don’t automatically think of Zimbabwe as the top place to travel. However, to me, it is the best destination! I loved every second and cannot say enough good things about my experience!
I felt so welcomed by Wesley and Tiritose! Solomon and Tiff were very helpful and really easy to connect with! They prepared us before the trip and were always available to us during the trip! It was very hard to say goodbye to everyone! I hope that I am able to return and see them again or have them visit me! Maita basa!
– Carmen Vangalis
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