Our volunteer Elise Duquenne writes about her experience in India, volunteering for women’s empowerment in Chetpet town, Tiruvannamalai District, State of Tamil Nadu.

Dear readers,

You surely have this question in your mind, what to expect of volunteering in India within FSL India?

At first, when you arrive in India, you still wonder whether you did the right choice, everything is so different: the landscape, the language, the food, the religion, the body language… You just can not grasp onto everything yet, but you already know it is a matter of time.

You will meet wonderful people at your project place, and you keep wondering how it is possible to be so kind hearted with someone they don’t even know. Yet.

They will help you to feel welcome and at home. It is at this precise moment you know you did the right choice by coming to India as a volunteer.

Also, you will have the chance to meet people volunteering from all around the world, from 18 to 60 years old! Quickly, you will get new friends you know you will remember all your life.

Your project will give you the chance to interact with Indians, to get to know their habits, their way of living, their personnality. You will also learn to be flexible, as India is always full of surprises, whether good or bad ones, but with time you will realize that you experienced a new challenge and that you went through it!

During your stay in India, you will enjoy greatly all the travels, the Get Together FSL India organizes every month, the work in your project, and the time you spend in your host family.

Getting as much of India as you can, you know your time here is almost finished, and you try to enjoy it even more as you already feel nostalgic. But you are certain that this period of time in India will stay in your memory forever and you hope to return soon to visit your host family and project!