Yesterday I received an answer from my next volunteering spot. I asked if it was possible to come a bit earlier than planned. I had originally said I would be arriving on the fourth of September, but I decided to leave Vrindavan a bit earlier. I found a good train connection on September first and second (night train) and I booked it. I first then asked the farm if it's ok, because I had the feeling they wouldn't mind. And they didn't.
I already planned a bit further as well. There's a straight once-a-week train connection from very close to the farm to the closest station next to the orchard I'm going to volunteer in after the farm. I booked myself a trip on the September 24th. This means I've got about three weeks for Uttarakhand (state), from which I've promised to stay at least two at the farm. If I like it very much, I may stay longer, if two weeks are enough, I can try to find other things to do or at least other places to stay.
I also contacted another volunteering opportunity for mid October on. It's all the way down south in Kerala. I'll tell you more about it later if I get a positive response.
I'm sorry to say that I cancelled the volunteering in an orphanage in Patna. I decided that it's something I probably couldn't handle well. Vrindavan is a city with relatively high literacy rate and even here I feel overwhelmed and a bit frustrated when I see the poverty and all the suffering faces. Patna is the capital of one of the poorest states of India (Bihar) and working in an orphanage means I would have to face even much more suffering there. Another reason I said no, is that it's a rather big city and as I've already told you, I'm not interested in getting to know any more big cities in India than I absolutely have to. I feel bad saying no, but it's just too much. I would never have thought myself saying that before I got here...
No comments:
Post a Comment