Cultural Immersion while Volunteering in India

---

What is cultural immersion?

If you are traveling abroad to volunteer in a new community then you should gain some insight before you start your work so that you will be able to give as much as you can as well as gain as much as you can because volunteering always helps you build your character and make you tough to deal with unwanted situations in life.

If you ask people randomly that what the term "Cultural Immersion" means? I am sure they would answer traveling to different parts of the world, meeting local people and asking them questions to learn more about their culture's nuances and peculiarities is cultural immersion but that is not true. However, the reality is something else. To completely immerse yourself in the local culture you would have to emphasis on doing things as local do. You would have to be open to learning new things in life and you will automatically immerse yourself in local culture.

Why it is important?

To have a life time experience while volunteering abroad, one should always try to understand the different cultural insight and aspect so that you will be able to gain much out of the program. If you planning to volunteer in a country like India then it is highly recommended to learn the local language to be able to communicate with the local people so that you will be able to help them in a better way and knowledge of local language is very important even if you are not volunteering as that will surely help you in your travel.

How to immerse in a new culture?

If you are wondering what steps you should take in order to gain the cultural experience then you should visiting habitat centers and cultural centers located in the major Indian cities such as Delhi, Palampur and Bangalore in South India etc. There are many international and local volunteering organizations which provides the language and cultural week programs in which experts will be providing you with the great insights about Indian culture and tradition, information on dressings and Hindi language knowledge which is very important before you start your program in the field as you will be able to related the problems by talking to the people and will try to educate them and support them in a better way.

---