On the 16^th of June, 2019 I flew to France, to the Western world.

It was the first time for me – flying to Europe. I was very excited to go and also, a little bit worried. Indeed, I wanted to plan everything in advance like the train ticket, and the food availability there, and I also brought with me the chilli powder, because I knew I would have missed it a lot.

My journey started from Bangalore airport on the international flight to Paris. Once there, I met a friend from the CCIVIS previous meeting, who helped me to reach the train station and to not get panicky. I suddenly noticed the different surroundings – the driving on the right side, the amazing clean environment and the cool weather. I just suddenly wore all the clothes I brought with me!

I reached Fouras, an amazing small city on the Atlantic shoreline, where a lot of forts and castles were built to protect the country from the English invasion.

I also met the 12 volunteers who were going to work with me for the next 3 weeks – 2 of them from Italy, 2 from Ukraine, 2 from Germany, 2 from Belgium, 2 from Norway and 4 from France. A nice atmosphere was suddenly created.

The best and curious part was the shelter. We were all sleeping in tents at a camping site. It was a really amazing experience.

We started working on the renovation of a 16^th Century fort, cleaning the walls and applying cement on it. We did a great and fast job, as we finished before the expected time.

We also had a lot of time to exchange and share about our culture. We attended many intercultural stunning dinners, where I could prepare Vegetable Biryani and make them appreciate Indian masalas also!

I really had a nice time with the people and I really liked the sightseeing around the place.

Finally, my dream came true – I visited the Eiffel Tower. And even if I could not reach the top because of the wind, I could admire the beauty of the city of Paris.

Thank you, FSL-India and Solidarite’ Jeunesse, for giving me this wonderful opportunity.