“Okay, but are you getting paid?”

Was one of the first (or easily top 5) questions that were fired at me upon learning that I am volunteering for a year. And for good reason. Coming from a country that often encourages competition and clarity in spheres of education and jobs, climbing up the career ladder seems to take the forefront. That’s why I found it difficult to explain my cloudy, but intuitive choices.

But the truth is, yes, I do get “paid”. Not just in terms of the humble-but-sufficient monetary renumeration I receive, but also wealth through growth and learning. I currently work in an organisation called IJGD. The 42 volunteers of IJGD for the year 2019-20 are nothing less than a kaleidoscope, in every sense. We’ve come from all over – Asia, Africa and Latin America.  The richness of cultural diversity is almost palpable when you enter the seminar rooms or even meet up casually on a Friday night!

Our conversations range from bizarre anecdotes like “Oh, you know, when someone calls you “fat” in my country, they imply that you are wealthy” to more insightful probing like “What does it mean to be queer back home?” and it is simply humbling to discover the entire world within that one room.

We’ve already had Indian cooking night, games night, climate change poster-making and other riveting meet-ups. Through these gatherings, you end-up learning things you never intended to. Although, I can’t quantify my progress, I’d like to say I’m far more aware of my pre-conceived notions, biases and  just myself in general, than I ever had been before.

My cultural immersion doesn’t stop there. I live with a wonderful German host family who treat me like their own daughter. My “mom” and “dad” sit down with me, sharp at 8:30 am, with the classic bread and cheese breakfast, every single day. They tell me about their lives, the effect war had on their families and above all, accept me whole-heartedly. It’s just been 3 months and I’m already attached to them to an extent that I didn’t think was possible! We sometimes garden together, watch ballet or simply banter over tea and cake!

I have 9 months to go and I’m eager to see where this journey will take me. So now, for every “Are you getting paid?” that pops up, there’s an “Are you out of the rat race?” to follow.