I am in the orphanage project now since almost three months. There are 78 children and for two months there is a short- term volunteer. At the beginning, when I was alone, it was really hard to get the attention of the kids and it was actually impossible to really organize some activities for the children, but since we are two we can help each other.

One is explaining while the other one is watching over the children. I am really happy that I am not alone anymore because it is just too much for only one volunteer. There is always a lot of work in an orphanage. At the beginning it seemed that there is not so much to do but there is. And, it can be very exhausting especially on the weekend when there is free-time for volunteers because if I don’t leave the project I cannot really relax. If I don’t leave the project I usually work also on the weekend. Maybe not that much, but I work. Anyway it is really hard to relax and take a timeout while 78 children are running around outside.

Now, after three months, I am finally used to most of the things of everyday life in India. I love the spicy food, I like to bargain, I am learning Kannada and I think I learned a lot about the Indian way of communication. The Indian culture is not easy and I feel that one needs to be very sensible and attentive to understand “what is the matter”. But not only sensible, being patient is very important as well. Some things need so much time and are very complicated, for example purchasing a sim card or to extend a visa. The longer I am here I can see how I am adapting to the Indian communication and Indian “rules”. Actually I am really excited to come back to Germany and confuse everybody with my Indian way of communication. I am here since last three months and sometimes India drives me crazy, for example when there is no balance on my Internet stick even if I recharged one day ago, or when I am in the hospital with children and I have to wait so long for a doctor, but anyway, I love India with its various facets and I am very happy to be here.