I still vividly remember the day I came to India. Nine months ago, packed with mixed emotions, sadness to leave everything and everyone that felt like home behind, but also with a lot of excitement, curiosity, some fears, and some hopes about what was to come.

The arrival camp in Kundapur was an important step between landing in India and starting to work at my project place. Besides, learning the absolute basics of the language and getting some helpful information, I encountered people who felt the same, whom I could share my feelings with and relate to. 

It was a space I felt safe to be in because I could get to know all those new things while being with people who shared the same language and situation with me. It still had some home to it.

The true challenge began when I arrived at my place of work which also was my home, an orphanage of around 100 children near Mangalore. I didn’t know what to expect since I hadn’t used the time at the camp to read through all the many pages of information, I received about it.

I remember that I used to feel overwhelmed a lot of times asking myself what I was supposed to do with all those children, let alone learn all their names…

I didn’t get many instructions, which is not necessarily bad because it gives you a lot of freedom to decide what to do. But that time I felt like I didn’t know where to start and I was only trying to do things people would probably expect me to do. Finding the initiative to do some cool things with the children, keeping the commitment up and just the whole process of adapting and finding my place in this new environment was not always easy and fun. But I can say that it was always instructive. I could always learn something, either about the people around me, the country’s ways, or myself.

India is a country rich in culture and customs and there is a lot to explore. Things might seem strange to you at first, but soon you will be glad to be part of them, experience all of it up close, eventually expand your horizon by interacting with many different people of different mindsets, and become more flexible and chill.

Bit by bit I started to figure out what my chores were, how to participate actively in the daily life of the orphanage and what works best for me.

My weekly tasks now are things like helping the children complete their homework in English and Maths, learning with them, bathing the small ones and keeping an eye on their hygiene, gardening works, helping in the kitchen from time to time, cleaning, crafting, and stitching clothes.

When I think back to the beginning, I get shocked at how fast the time has passed, while it still feels like it has been a whole lifetime. 

By working and living at this place and spending so much time with the children, I’ve grown close to them and they surely have won my heart. Even if they could be loud and annoying, I know that I will miss them a lot and I get very sad at the thought of leaving them soon. I learned a lot about their needs and I am glad that even if I could not do only fun things with them, I could in any moment be there, listen to what they had to say and pay attention to them.

Gaining their trust and seeing how freely they would behave around me and other volunteers were some of my biggest achievements and made me realize how far I have come.

Seeing that not only I could teach them something but that I could just as well learn something from them. Their fascination about the little things and how they cherish them, their brightness and lots of Kannada! If you ever think about volunteering, IJ can only say: Do it!

It will be an experience of a lifetime and by stepping out of your comfort zone from time to time you will develop a more flexible mindset and improve the ability to confront changes.

I learned about how you need to give yourself time, nothing will be perfect from start on. Developing a greater tolerance towards different cultural representations around the world comes along with living abroad as well and even though life would feel like a rollercoaster ride of emotions in the beginning, eventually you will settle down into a comfortable rhythm and suddenly you realize that this new place does not feel so unknown anymore.

Greetings!

Naima