Rickshaws and HOLY COW!

When you arrive in India it's a blur of colors, sounds, and smells. I arrived with a CCS group to New Delhi in the middle of summer and was surprised by how thick the heat was! We were taken out to shop for our very first salwar kameez and dupattas the first night and I laughed out loud as my rickshaw driver sang loudly to his favorite Bhangra song.

I had so many experiences in my short summer in New Delhi that it's hard to pick one or two to share. CCS placed me at a school called Akshay Prathisthan..one of the first integrated schools in the area, teaching both able-bodied and disabled students in the same classrooms. As a piano and dance teacher I was quickly put to work developing my own arts curriculum, and we ended the summer with a full school performance on their outdoor stage attended by the President of the school and many families from the area. I also had the opportunity to work as a guest at the Mother Theresa house in Newl Delhi which was a real touch with the harsh reality of poverty for me. Young babies without parents and the elderly without family to care for them. The grandmas loved me to paint their nails that';s for sure!

In short, CCS provides for the most unbelievable volunteer experience one could imagine, and a house that's run like a family with great meals and people that care about whether you're sick, or nervous, or upset. If you're thinking about going to volunteer, go CCS!!