New Delhi

As our orientation all 20 or so of us volunteers spent four days in Delhi. We stayed at The Don Bosco Institute which is predominantly a charity hub for street kids in India. Most of the four days was spent doing teaching skills courses and security briefings, however we were also fortunate enough to explore Delhi by visiting the Gandhi museum, India Gate, Qutab Minar and Dilli Haat.

Before leaving for India family members and friends would try and prepare you for the worst, sharing horror stories and experiences expressing the strong difference in culture and way of life. Delhi however erased such fears as the culture shock was not as confronting as i could have imagined. Yes one could draw parallels with the poverty, smells, noise and fear of death whilst in a Tuk Tuk in other Asian countries such as Indonesia, Cambodia and Vietnam, however the persona of the Indian people is unlike anything i have ever seen. This can be justified in the shopping side of things. Unlike Indonesia/Cambodia where once you start the bargaining game there is no getting out of it until the price is reduced so low your forced to buy it. People would grab on to you, or when you walk away disagreeing with a price they would potentially follow you in desperation. In Delhi however, i experienced the same level of poverty to that of those places, yet the nature of the people was bizarrely passive. For the most part they were unwilling to lower the price more than 200 rupees (roughly 4 dollars) and would hardly harass you into their shop as you pass by.

All in all our experience in Delhi was thoroughly enjoyable with the assistance and wisdom of our two amazing supervisors Mr Manoj Matthew and Mr Prabhudatt Tripathi whom would always smile even if something didn't go to plan. We met some amazing locals whom i am already keeping in contact with. The saddest part however was not leaving Delhi but leaving behind our fellow volunteers and supervisors, who after only four days have become some of my closest companions. It was so refreshing meeting a like minded group of people. I was the youngest volunteer of the group that ranged from 17-22 year olds from countries including Australia, New Zealand and England.

Next chapter - My placement.

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