Spiced up my study abroad

I went on a month long trip with Sankalp to Jaipur while on spring break from studying in England. The program was fantastic. I was picked up at the airport and driven to the house where the volunteers stay. The house is great (by Indian standards... don't expect suburban America) and the staff was lovely.

Day to day life included getting up early to go to work at the orphanage, then ending the day at noon and going straight home for lunch (amazing food cooked by the house mother). In the afternoon we had free time to explore the markets, museums, parks, etc. You need to be back at the house by sundown for safety reasons. Dinner is cooked for you and getting to know the other volunteers was a highlight of the trip. I never felt trapped inside or anything after dark. There's a TV / living room upstairs so most of the volunteers and the house mother congregated there in the evening.

On the weekend there are trips to other parts of the region. I went to Agra one weekend, and Ranthambore another. There is a private driver (commonplace in India) who drove us around, and the hotels you stay in are great. The activities were well planned and very fun.

The best part about this program is that 1) it's sustainable travel. The money you spend will stay with the locals. And 2) you get to experience Indian culture first hand. The staff are ALL locals. You will be a tourist, but you will engage and learn from true Indian culture. You will almost surely have culture shock. But you'll come away changed. I adored my experience with Sankalp.