Study India

Describing itself as "an intellectual and aesthetic journey through India", the Study India programme has been the perfect introduction to my stay in India. I will certainly be using my experiences here as a springboard for the rest of my travels. The programme itself is pretty intense, far more so than Study China was. We are shepherded from one activity to another, with little free time to explore the city ourselves. I have learnt a lot from the activities and lectures organised by the programme. It has actually renewed my thirst for learning, and I am leaning towards the possibility of further study. We have had a number of inspiring lectures, covering topics such as Indian traditions and values, Gandhian economics, Indian Cinema and the curious tradition of Dabbawallas. We've been taught Bollywood dancing, Hindi and lots about religion.

As part of the programme, we all took part in a volunteering scheme for a week. My placement was with Mumbai Mobile Creches, which is a school for the children of construction workers. The school was really impressive, colourful walls decorated with the children's work. It was well run and organised, the children has a daily routine which was fairly rigidly stuck too. The main teacher was really enthusiastic and inspirational, even though he spoke little English. The school is at the foot of a construction site for luxury apartment buildings. The construction workers live on site, in a small slum with their families. Yet another example of the ludicrous divide between the rich and the poor. The problem with NGO work is that it is difficult to know how much a difference you can make, especially as we were only there for a week. We spent most of our time playing with the children, teaching them a little English and helping them with their school work.

At times I have not really enjoyed the programme, many of the lectures have been of little interest to me. But I have met some amazing friends, so it hasn't really mattered if the programme hasn't been perfect.