From May 6 to 25, 2012 Volunteer State Community College and TnCIS allowed me to embark on a study abroad program in India. The World Civilization course’s main focus was world history and its impact on India from 1500 to present day. This was my first time participating in a study abroad program. I was truly excited to see how the program would navigate the logistics of class lectures and daily excursions while in a foreign country such as India. My travel abroad experience to New Delhi, Agra, and Jaipur are ones that I will never forget.
The first leg of our trip began in New Delhi, India. After a night’s sleep, we hit the ground running. Our first three days in Delhi, we visited Akshardham Temple, Jama Masjid and Gandhi's Eternal Flame and Bungalow, to name a few. We saw so much those few days and were gone from morning until night. Conservatively, I think we averaged getting back to the hotel by 9 p.m. those first days.
By Jaipur, the scenery changed to small mountains overlooking the flat desert terrain. Jaipur is where the remainder of our time would be spent. Here is where we would get the opportunity to really interact with the Indian people via our service learning and free days to explore the city.
Taabar and Shrestha were the schools where the service learning projects took place. Taabar helps exploited children and rehabilitates them. Shrestha does outreach in the slums and poor communities to provide an education. I helped teach the children geography including calling their attention to notable places on the globe. The children were happy and engaging. The teachers and counselors do excellent work with the children.
Editors note: The Vol State connection with Taabar goes back several years and started with a travel-study trip. Many faculty and students have visited and worked with the children in Jaipur.
Volunteer State Community College Travel-Study
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