My name is Johann. I have been in India for about 3 months. And during this time, I got to know the Indian culture a little bit and got an experience how my everyday volunteering life is like, doing agriculture work. Since this place (Alangar, Moodbidri) is so different from the place I live in Germany, I had the idea that my parents Max and Sigrid could visit me here to first take some vacation together by visiting other places but also to show them my living and working place.

Their stay in India took about 20 days from 14th of December until 5th of January. Since I am living in a Catholic Community, it was exciting to celebrate Christmas, together with my parents and the sisters.

But at first, we went to Mysore for a day to visit the palace and for them to get a first impression of Indian life. A day later, we made our way to Wayanad, Kerala where we stayed a few days to see nature, animals, tea plantations and other stuff. Unfortunately, after only having been in Kerala for about 2 days I got very sick: headaches, vomiting, diarrhea, no appetite…

We went to a nearby hospital where I got an infusion since I was very dehydrated. Though, a day later, after the visit, we realized that I was still not getting better so we decided to drive all the way back to Moodbidri to go to Mount Rosary Hospital which is nearby to where I am living so I can get proper treatment. Later we found out that an infection caused my sickness. After 3 days, one day before Christmas I got out of hospital. For the next few days, I was advised to eat mostly rice and to stay vegetarian for the next 7 days. Furthermore, I had to take 12 pills a day for me to recover and get fully healthy again.

At least, we were able to properly celebrate Christmas and attend many local feasts of the community. For the New Year, we made a trip to Pudabidri and Mangalore. For the last two days, my parents helped me with my work which included cutting grass with a sickle, collecting areca nuts and putting manure around small trees. For the last 3 days, I will have to continue working again while they will be able to enjoy their last moments in India.