With monsoon in its full bloom especially in the coastal region of Kundapur, when everybody confines to their rooms, hesitant to go outside, FSL India was bursting with energy and enthusiasm for the Orientation week for the August arrivals.

51 Participants – 43 Germans, 4 French, 1 Finnish, Swedish, Irish and an Austrian altogether along with the 15 staffs from FSL India’s Bangalore and Kundapur office, made this Orientation, the best ever.  Among these 51 Participants – 37 Participants were Weltwärts and IJFD volunteers, sponsored by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.

The Orientation from 05^th to 10^th of August, was held at the picturesque location of St. Joseph resort Anagally, Kundapur, located right near the backwaters there could not have been a perfect place. It was exhilarating to see the motivation of all the staffs and the participants, despite the constant downpours.

Based on the feedback of the previous Weltwärts, IJFD and Regular LTV volunteers a lot of new sessions like Town Tour, Cultural evening in an Orphanage, Classical music Evening, Activities in a Project, Host Family Tea Party etc. were included in this Orientation along with the regulars – Kannada & Tamil language, Introduction about FSL India, Safety, Indian Pedagogy, Travelling in India, Country presentation, Project introduction and reporting, Activities in project, Indian life style, Hindu philosophy, voluntarism and roles & responsibilities, Horses mouth, setting up aims, conflict management, and different indicators of culture, Henna and Bollywood Cinema.

It was very interesting to see the participation and motivation of all the volunteers during the sessions. Also, it was very surprising to see that most of them already knew a lot of things about India, its culture and lifestyle, especially the participants from AFS Germany. The credit therefore would go to the sending organizations for excellent Pre-departure Orientation of the participants.

The feedback collected from all the volunteers at the end of the Orientation session revealed that they not only enjoyed the Orientation week but learnt a lot from it too, which of course will help them during their stay in India. Specially, the Weltwärts and IJFD volunteers from AFS Germany, who are here for 11 Months benefited a lot.

All in all this Orientation, being the biggest LTV group till date was an excellent week of Learning, Sharing, Fun and Happiness.