In my previous blog post I talked about Habitat for Humanity and what the organization is about, this post will be focused on my personal growth and learning experience during the trip. This experience was both physically and mentally challenging for me. Physically challenging because we were building each day, all day. Some things the Centennial team accomplished on the house; roofing, framing, insolation, and much more! My body was very sore (and bitten thanks to the mosquitos) and the work environment was nonstop. Remembering why the house was being built was excellent motivation to keep going each day. The mental challenge came from working with different people, this trip taught me patience, communication and teamwork. It can be overwhelming to be with the same people day in and day out for seven days straight however I learned a lot about the other student’s cultures and backgrounds and I’m happy to say I gained a new group of friends. I think there are many different types of people in this world and it says a lot about someone’s character whether they can adjust to different environments and people.
Although this GCELE was still within Canada, there were still some culture differences. As we we’re landing the two first things everyone was pointing out were the red soil as well as how much distance there was in-between houses. The population of the whole province of PEI is just over 145,000 people, which seems small in comparison to living in the city of Toronto. I enjoyed experiencing a more laid back environment on our free day in Charlottetown. This trip inspired me to want to explore more Canadian culture as well as work more with Habitat for Humanity.
I would like to thank Centennial College and Habitat for Humanity for this wonderful experience!
Kate Perkins
Bachelor of Public Relations Student
GCELE PEI Team 1
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