The purpose: research on international volunteering organizations and experience abroad.
The reason: who is international volunteering benefiting more, communities or volunteers?
The mission: contract as little foreign diseases as possible, see, experience, taste another culture. The challenge: remain sane enough to call home, gather information and enjoy myself.
I fly out May 14th, and arrive in New Delhi Saturday May 15th. I will stay one week in New Delhi getting myself orientated to India with the volunteer group I am traveling with. After that, I will travel to Dharamsala, located in Himachal Praddesh, Northern India, at the base of the Himalayas. I will stay here for two weeks working on my volunteering project and research. After that, I will have a week and a couple of days yet to be determined before I fly home on June 15th.
The big concerns right now include transportation, communication and that week on my own. I have been alternately reassured that the week will be fine, and warned that traveling in India is incredibly challenging.
Some mornings I wake up excited, others terrified. Armed with only my basic knowledge of Indian religion, culture and history gathered through very useful courses at MSU, I am nervous of what I shall find. .As we all know, prior knowledge means little in the face of reality, and can at times even hinder the experience. I suppose I can only wait to see what happens.
In the meantime, here are some useful links:
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