In the month of October the LTV orientation has been held in FSL India’s head office for five days from 1^st to 5^th December 2014, in Bangalore. FSL India has received 3 short Term Volunteers from 3 different parts of countries (Switzerland, France, and Netherland).

On the first day of orientation we welcomed our new batch of volunteers with great excitement. This new group of volunteers showed lot of enthusiasm in knowing our culture, our lifestyle and our food habits. During the orientation the each day evening we have organized different events for the exchange of ICL (Inter Cultural Learning). First day evening was all the volunteers had chance to have Henna, then they had another chance to present and speak about their country in a project called “Sparsha” which is working for orphan children in Bangalore. And also both volunteers and coordinators got time to get to know each other in FSL guest house where all volunteer and staffs slept together. The entire team enjoyed a lot by exchanging ICL with each other like performing dance, singing songs and wearing and exchanging traditional clothes etc..,

Sessions have been conducted in the orientation: Indian Welcome, self-introduction, Schedule introduction, FSL Introduction, Expectation and Fears, Practical information – Travel system, washing clothes, dishes, Henna, Knowing India and Social Concerns – bureaucracy, working style of govt. and public sector, Project introduction, Indian pedagogy, Letter to yourself, Preparation for activities in project, Country presentation, Language class (Kanada and Tamil), Documentation, Reporting, Project Administration, Yoga, Cultural Program, Understanding Peace-reflect on Peace, draw picture, Volunteerism – Roles and Responsibility, do’s and don’ts guidelines, tourist v/s volunteers, India and Indian life style, Safety – Health, women safety, travel guidelines, accidents, theft, rape, emergency reactions, Hosting procedures/ Host Family tea party, International cooking, Hindu philosophy, Horse’s mouth, Final Talk/Review Expectations & Fears Comments.

Some of the comments expressed by our volunteers:

• The group consisted of only 3 volunteers. On the one hand it would have been nice to meet some more people in the first week, but on the other hand this created a really relaxed atmosphere and I really got to know the other volunteers really well.

• The group atmosphere was good, especially at the end.
• The orientation week will definitely help me for my stay in India. On the first place it’s nice to spend the first time in a comfortable, relaxed and safe environment together with the FSL staff. The sessions helped me both to understand the life here a bit better both in detail and the bigger picture. I believe I will encounter situations throughout my stay in which I can use information given in the introduction week.
• Yes you give us precious information, but it can be shorter.