My Second Home

In just five weeks, not only did I come to think of India as my second home but I came to think of my Indian host family as a second family. By offering homestays, IVHQ offers FULL cultural immersion - the only real way to experience and learn about a different culture - and with a culture as distinct and rich in history as that of India, there is no other way to volunteer in India short-term as a college student than to do it through IVHQ. Easily the highlight of my trip was my homestay, which enabled me to learn about Indian travel tips, food, music, pop culture, customs, religion, and history through the eyes of one amazing family - a family that I am now broken-hearted over saying goodbye to. In addition to the homestays, I fell in love with the students at the school where I taught English. In the time I was blessed to have spent with them, not only was I able to help them practice their English skills, I was also privileged to be invited to visit students' homes and play cricket with many of the students after school. I was stunned by their generosity, curiosity, and pure joie de vivre and formed incredible connections that left me in tears on my final day. Centrally located within India, I was able to tour New Delhi, Jaipur, Rishikesh, and Varanasi with relative ease - something I would not have been able to afford were it not for the EXTREMELY low cost and high value IVHQ offers in the Delhi program. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE contact me if you are considering doing IVHQ, have any questions or reservations, and I would be overjoyed to help you out.