Ever considered 3 months in India?

To be honest, about 2 years ago I had decided I wouldn't travel to Asia because it was too far out of my comfort zone.   Even if you had asked me 12 months ago where I would be now, I don’t think I would have described the following:

I was an intern at an 850 student public school in a town adjacent to Chandigarh, India in the Punjab / Haryana state. My daily routine included arriving to St. Soldier’s Divine Public School around 7:55 am, where I was given my schedule for the day.

Each day I started out with 1 hour of an interest activity. This included coaching Basketball and Field Hockey. From 10 am to 2:30 pm, I rotated around classes from 2nd Grade to 11th grade, where I shared global perspectives, taught effective public speaking skills, and strived to learn universal similarities of youth (and some Hindi too). 

School ran from Monday to Saturday, but allowed me the flexibility to travel on my weekends. In 10 weeks, I  travelled to Jaipur, Shimla, Amritsar, Kausali, Agra and Rishikesh.  I hiked through the Himalayas, did yoga with Gurus, visited ancient forts, and saw the Taj Mahal.  A monthly stipend covered my accommodation (a short 5 minute walk from the school), along with basic food costs. I lived with 15 interns from 9 other countries who worked at a variety of school’s and NGO’s. 

Sure, it may not revolve around the professional development or money making endeavours you would expect from a summer job, but I now have 10 weeks of developing as an open minded, global minded youth with a wallet full of photo’s, business cards (AIESEC helps with the professional side...) and memories to take home.

So, when I stated at the end of August last year that I would “get a summer’s experience working in India”, I may not have envisioned the description above, but I am proud to have done exactly that.

If you have a few months free and no plan this year, I know a school that might be of interest to you.