First Impression, July 2010
Ms. Maren Deerberg


When I arrived at Durag Niwas Guesthouse 10 days ago, Govind and his wife Mukta gave me such a warm and nice welcome. From the first moment I have been feeling very welcome and comfortable. Govind’s family , the other volunteers, the girls, women and teachers from Sambhali Trust make me feel at home. I feel settled and I’m looking forward to my three months of volunteering!

I’m overwhelmed with impressions. Everything is so different, but I’m getting used to it…

It seems, that my body still needs some time to get used to the climate, the food and the time difference. Beside that, I really love the Indian food, especially the vegetables made by Mukta.

Last week it was my first time teaching basic English at Payal Sewing Centre. I really enjoyed it. All the girls were looking at me with eyes wide open and listened attentively to me. They kept on repeating the words I taught and still wanted to keep going after the lesson was over.

For the next two weeks I will do some cultural activities with the girls. On Saturday we started singing and today we did some drawing. I enjoy the time with the girls and women very much. Especially when I’m unhappy or homesick, they make me feel better. Even with just a smile smile, they give me so much warmth.

I also have to write reports about some projects of Sambhali Trust. I am a bit worried about this because all the other volunteers are native speakers in English. But I hope after some time I will get used to it and be fluent in spoken and written English.

When I was walking in the city for the first time, I was kind of uncertain about how to behave. I felt like everyone is starring at me and keep asking me: “What’s your name?” “Where are you from?”. This is kind of nice because people are interested in me, but on the other hand I’m not used to it at all. I will see how it will be the next times.

I summary, I’m content about my decision to volunteer at Sambhali Trust. I’m looking forward to my time here in Jodhpur. Even if there are some moments I don’t feel well, the next moment I’m more than happy to be here. I think it may take some more time to become accustomed to the Indian way of live.