For those of you who enjoyed reading my blog posts from my time in Europe last year, I have decided to resurrect Sarah's Suitcase for another adventure. I really enjoyed writing my blog last year and received lots of great feedback so I decided I should do it again. I cannot promise that my blog posts will be frequent but I will try my best to post here and there and also upload some photos.
So where am I off to next? I am on my way to Bangalore, India! You might be shocked to hear this given my latest adventure in Europe was not nearly as exotic. This is true - and I'm sure that India will be like no place I have ever experienced before. However, traveling in Europe gave me a great sense of independence, maturity, cultural curiosity and travel awareness that I think will help me along the way. You may be asking why I chose India in the first place. This started back in January when I found out I had been accepted to do my Masters in Clinical Psychology. Given that I knew I was absolutely going to attend, I reminded myself that this summer could be one of my last free summers. While I'm certain that graduate school will allot some time off (I look forward to the continuing 3-week Christmas breaks), I know that it will be difficult to take extended trips where I won't be needed for reading or editing or writing or marking or analyzing. Add this to the fact that I, quite frankly, felt like I needed to do some sort of trip after graduating. Last fall was a very tumultuous time, I was preparing my Honours thesis, had written not one, but two Graduate Record Exams, had applied to a pile of grad schools and was trying to maintain a successful academic and social term. I have also always worked full time each summer or term off and it seemed appropriate to use some of my earnings to do something interesting and exciting. I didn't know of any friends who were in the same fortunate situation as me who would want to travel around, so I figured volunteering would be a good opportunity to see a new place but also to commit to something enriching and worthwhile.
So, I began reading around about volunteering abroad. One thing that continued to pop up in blogs and websites about volunteering abroad was "volontourism". While this word sort of sounds like a good thing, there are dangers of volunteering abroad with certain organizations. In particular, shipping privileged young people like myself to work on projects they are not qualified for (i.e. I would not feel confident in my house-building abilities), and/or creating volunteer projects that are designed to benefit the privileged volunteer rather than the community that is supposed to be helped - were major concerns for me. I also garnered concerns about large, often very inexpensive, volunteering organizations that ship students around the world with little detail on what/who exactly they would be volunteering with and/or little staff to extend a hand when needed (e.g., emergency contact, travel help, etc). SO, this limited my search a little bit. I finally came upon an organization called Leave UR Mark that is a small organization based only out of Bangalore, India. Upon inquiring about their projects, I was met with warm and informative greetings. After a few weeks of talking and Skyping back and forth, I decided this was the organization I should go with. They only take about 10 volunteers at a time so I went through an interview process and was told that I was accepted. As for projects, it seemed appropriate to contribute to an area that I have strong skills in. Having worked on numerous research projects with children and youth and with an interest in intervention initiatives for children/youth at risk for mental health and/or other complications (e.g., poverty, crime, etc), I decided to volunteer in a school. The school I will be working in is a not-for profit charitable school that educates children in ranging ages whose parents make less than $50 USD/week and who are thus, at risk for becoming street children. The school runs all school year with Indian employees and occasionally has volunteers in for extra help. Some of the areas I have been told I can help out in will be building English phonics skills, aiding in recreation (sports, crafts, theatre) and potentially counseling some of the kids. You can learn more about the school here (their website is a bit outdated though): http://www.sukrupa.org/activities/
It sounds like I will be the only Leave UR Mark volunteer working in this school but I will be living with the 9 or so other volunteers/interns in an apartment. We have breakfast and dinner prepared for us and will be attending our placements Monday though Friday like normal work weeks. In addition to this, I am told we have a contact person living with us who often organizes evening or weekend excursions so that we can profit from the city and other Indian destinations. I am really glad that I decided to go with this organization as it sounds as though the school will be a good match for me and I am happy I will have the opportunity to meet other volunteers like me.
At this point in my pre-departure, I leave in approximately six days. Over the last month, I have acquired an Indian visa and have been vaccinated against the many maladies that one can contract in India. I am almost packed and am just trying to enjoy my down-time, reading over my guide book for last minute information. I don't have a lot of friends who are home for the summer so have been spending some time alone - which I am telling myself is good in preparation for heading to one of the world's most populous nations!
Stay tuned for my next update - thanks for reading.
Sarah
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