The Orientation week in April from 1^st to the 5^th of April saw 14 International volunteers. Among these 14, were 7 volunteers from AFS Germany, namely: Franziska Nathalie Aß, Jule Böhm, Katharina Huelscher, Niklas Veltmann, Christian Ronny Singer, Magda Below and Marle Kraft for a duration of 11 Months. These volunteers came on a sponsored program by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany.  The other participants in this orientation were : Cees Zweistra, from SIW The Netherlands, Louise Aronsson from SI Sweden, Elise DUQUENNE and Clarisse TAUPIN from SVI, Belgium, Caroline MAINARD and Guillaume Alain from JR France and finally Eva Seidl from Grenzenlos, Austria.

As all our regular orientations, the common sessions were: Kannada and Tamil Language, Introduction about FSL India, project introduction and reporting, project visit, voluntarism and roles & responsibilities of all the stakeholders of LTV program, setting up aims, conflict management, Indian Pedagogy and different indicators of culture.

Apart from these the important events during the Orientation were: A Bollywood cinema evening, where the participants had a great time watching Taare Zameen Par, they also enjoyed the Mehendi session when their hands were painted with different designs. The country presentation by the volunteers was also very memorable, through drawings, pictures and snacks and sweets that they bought from their respective countries. Also, during the Bull Temple visit the volunteers got an insight to the rituals in Indian Temples and the importance of religion in the daily lives of Indians.

After a week of learning, exposure, sharing and fun, the volunteers were excited and felt well prepared to start their voluntary service. They appreciated the atmosphere created during the Orientation week, the  approach of the FSL India staff and the sessions which helped them to understand the culture better and avoid culture shocks.