India

When I was a little girl, I didn't understand what volunteering was. In middle school, I did the Bellingham Plunge (which is a mission trip for the Bellingham area) and began to really understand what helping people was like. At the time, if you had asked me where I would have wanted to go over-seas to help people, I probably would have said Africa, "because isn't that where everybody goes?" In early high school I became fascinated with anime and with that came a love of East Asian culture. I became obsessed with the idea of going to China to help poor little orphan girls and even tried teaching myself some Chinese (to which I failed miserably...) Then I saw Slumdog Millionaire, which opened my eyes to a whole new culture I'd never really looked into before. 

India

 

 

 

  A place I've recently fallen in love with. I love the culture, I love their religion and their culture and how bright their society is. Recently I saw the documentary, Born into Brothels, and my attention was really brought to how many children are in need of care there. I've always felt a pull towards children and helping children and I think that because I love this culture it would make helping the children all that more important to me. 

Within the last few weeks I've been seriously considering the Peace Corp.  I have pros and cons for that decision, and the main thing that is a big downer is the long time commitment and the fact that I need to really get a degree before I do that is also not my favorite thing. 

A bonus to going with another organization is that I can have more choice in where I'm going, what I'm doing, and for how long I'm doing it.

It's always been one of my dreams to help out kids at risk, no matter where I previously had wanted to go.

There a quite a few different organizations I've considered going with.

There is Cross Cultural Solutions New Delhi which is really organized and structured. It is quite a bit more money but it's in a secure safe location and there are plenty of western commodities. I feel like it's more of a touristy thing and less of a volunteering job. But it's still totally an option. It's something I can do for a short amount of time and get a taste of.

Then there's Shake Hands India, Summer Program. It's a program I see more of for college students. It's cheaper than Cross Cultural but there's more things that would need to be covered by the individual. The thing that really attracts me to this program is that it's a lot more hands on and there's a week of just being a tourist basically.

I obviously can't do that this summer, but next summer it's a possibility. 

I've just really gotten excited about going somewhere new and exciting and helping people. I really want this to be a part of my future and I want this experience to be one I look back on and say wow, that was really a fun part of my life!

So that's what India means to me, (although I'm sure I've forgotten important things,) and I'm hoping to write about other places soon. :)

~Sherilyn