Coming to India has made me realize my strong points, but more importantly my weaker ones. Until now, I hadn’t realized that my fears have held me back from experiencing things that make me stronger in life. When you let your fear consume you, you can become paralyzed. It will only continue to poke at you until you give in and face what it has to offer. When you give in, and just let things happen, you learn to accept it – and maybe it wasn’t worth fretting over in the first place.
“If your given a chance, take it. If it changes your life, let it. No one said it would be easy, they just promised it would be worth it.” I remember the first time I found this quote, it was written in pencil on my desk in Chem class my junior year. I never really thought anything of it, other than it was nicely put and something to keep in the back of my mind. The whole idea of “everything happens for a reason,” has never run through my mind more than it has in India. Teaching at the school, has been anything but easy, but in the end, it turned out being the most rewarding and life changing experience of my life. 
I had NO idea what to expect when I was first introduced to the idea of “voluntourism” by our friend Sanjay Saxena at Destination Himalaya last year. I know I was filled with anxiety about the trip I could not explain, even to myself. I think it was the unknown and unfamiliar that was so frightening. It was that first day at G.W.U.P.S Kareemadom School, when I was thrown into a classroom with 15 kids, looking at me and expecting something, that I realized my fears. I was still weary from the 5 mile bike ride that consisted of unpaved dirt roads, bridges ready to collapse, and riding through a place so foreign to me that I thought my fears couldn’t be any more real. But life continues to surprise me. As I said in one of the earlier blogs, teaching is THE LAST profession I would even think to consider – but there was something about these kids that made me keep coming back. They are all so much less fortunate than we are in almost every way. School, for them is a privilege - compared to many of us where school is a burden. It makes you wonder, if we were less fortunate, would we take advantage of school as a privilege? Or just wish for what things we don’t have, what cars we don’t own, or what salary we don’t make? Its just hard to see these kids, and the potential they have, and realize they may not be given the opportunity to achieve their dreams.
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| The dedicated teaching staff |
Its amazing how intrigued they are in us, (obviously the blonde, red hair and fair skin combo is a bonus) but all they want is to communicate. All they want is to hear us talk, and have the chance to listen to our stories and see pictures of how we live life. They don’t have a lot of chances in seeing another culture and the bigger world outside of their own little village. These kids are so high on life, and expect so little from anyone. Its to the point where little drawings we give them to color, they give back - and whatever they have with them, bindis, hair ties, bracelets - anything they are willing to give up to thank us for just being there. These kids are so much more emotionally intelligent than most kids in the US, and what I mean by that is, they have no filter expressing love and compassion towards us and each other on an every day basis.
This experience has changed my perspective on everything in life and I think it’s a privilege that everyone should consider. Incorporating volunteering with travel allows you to experience another side of the culture. By interacting with others on a daily basis and essentially taking part in someone’s life, not only changes you as a person, but gives the other person a perspective on your own culture. It’s a chance to develop a new kind of relationship – one that is cherished for a lifetime.
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