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First Impression, April 2009
Ms. Adriana Contreras
While traveling around Asia for the first time after graduating university I had the strong inclination to volunteer in India. After much time on the net I found Sambhali Trust. I was told beforehand that I would be going to work in the village of Setrawa; which left me with some doubts. I have been volunteering with children for quite some time now, but had never worked with teenage girls, or lived in a small community where I don’t speak the language. I first arrived in Jodhpur where I stayed for a few days and observed English lessons.
Everyone in Jodhpur was so nice and helpful that I was sad about leaving when the time came to go to Setrawa. I was afraid that I might start feeling lonely once in the village. The fear of feeling lonely soon vanished as we were greeted by about ten girls upon our arrival. Being the only foreigners in Setrawa it’s easy to know where you are from. As you walk down the few lanes in the village you are greeted with “Hello, Sambhali?!”. All of the girls were so sweet, and before the end of the first day I had about three offers to go eat dinner at the girls’ homes.
The warm welcome from all of the girls in Setrawa really helped me ease into the culture…until I came down with the flu, that is. Everyone recognized that being sick in Setrawa wasn’t a good way to start off volunteering, so I got out of bed and got onto a bus. I returned to Jodhpur for a few days, and as soon as I felt better I was again anxious to get back to the girls and resume my life in Setrawa.
Before I arrived there were two volunteers that stayed in Setrawa for about eight months. Their presence in the community was strong, and all of the girls kept telling me about the things that they did with them. One of the obstacles that I am continuing to struggle with is the amount of presents that the previous volunteers gave to the girls. In no way are the girls in Setrawa spoiled, but they do seem to expect a lot of gifts from the volunteers, which I’m not ready to give. So I found that the best strategy to avoid this is pretend not to understand what they were asking for, and even outright ignore them at times.
Another aspect of life in Setrawa that changed with my arrival was that I began to stay with Usha’s (the local teacher) family. After some problems with the landlord, Govind decided that it would be best if I went to stay in Usha’s home. At first I was a bit apprehensive about living with a host family (which I have also never done), but so far the experience has been nothing but pleasant. While the house is not equipped for a western ideal of privacy, the family does try and allow me time to be on my own.
The more I stay with the girls the more I get to know them. They are all very eager to learn English, and to have as much interaction with the volunteers as possible. Since my name is a little too long for all of the girls to remember, they have shortened my name to Ana, which at times takes me a few shouts to recognize.
Setrawa has thus far proved to be one of the best volunteer experiences that I have had. I am completely immersed in the project, as well as in the culture. Everyone in the area knows who we are, and what Sambhali is doing for the community, and are ready to help or even practice a little English with you. Setrawa is a wonderful village; vibrant in its own way where native peacocks roam around, and two rouge monkeys terrorize the village. I look forward to completing my time in Setrawa, and to further getting to know the girls and take part in their lives.
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