The perfect combination of traveling and volunteering

I have volunteered two times so far, but this time I wanted to combine volunteering with traveling and visiting tourist destinations as well. As I’ve never visited India, this program from Global Crossroad looked interesting to me and I’ve bookmarked it the first time I read it. As it was probably the best offer for me I decided to go with it. Everything was easy, I applied and got the needed info from their excellent custom support. I chose the 4 week program and I choose Jaipur to be my base. I participated in the teaching English program.
I arrived to Jaipur by plane and my hosting family took care of my transportation. They were really great right from the beginning. They are open people, very kind and gracious. I had good time with them from the first moment I arrived to the very last moment when we said good bye.
Their house was great. It was located in a good neighborhood with lots of shops and restaurants. I had 2 days off before I went to the orphanage. My first day was great. The children that I worked with were truly amazing. It was easy to see that he children lived in very poor and hard conditions. However, they still had a big smile on their face and very happy to learn. I met some very inspirational children and completed workshops on learning English as well as educating the children in a fun and engaging way. We clicked right away and they really appreciated my effort. They were so nice and positive, besides their hard life.
My hosting family cooked really good food for me. I love spicy food and they are literally the masters of it. They treated me with respect and always wanted to help me feel welcomed.
As this program involved traveling as well, I was really excited about that part. Actually one of my best memories of the volunteering in India were the discoveries. I truly appreciated the differences. This country is proud of its culture and you must get into it. The hotels during traveling were amazing. Also, I’ve spent many hours in trains and overfilled bus, tried unusual food that was sometimes too much spicy, saw several temples and experienced monsoon. They are all parts of the immersion and you must live it without any regret.
In this program I’ve visited major Indian tourist attractions. I am talking about Red Fort, Lotus Temple, Qutab Minar, Lodhi Gardens. I also had the opportunity to visit Delhi, also an amazing city! At the end, everything was amazing and I really learned a lot from this experience. Definitely a way to get out of your comfort zone and experience something new. I love to travel as a volunteer, it is a unique experience that made me grow in every way. My only regret about the whole trip is that I didn't spend longer than 4 weeks there. I highly recommend it!