Volunteer Programs in Calcutta, India

Traveling with Carpe Diem challenged the ideas I had formed about myself in high school. Never quite excelling in the classroom environment and not knowing how to take advantage of school resources, I thought I was just born a “bad student.” Approaching education from an experiential model made me realize, I just didn’t know myself and my own needs. Carpe Diem’s Educators are so compassionate and supportive and help their students excel in their own ways. The program is immersive and set up in a way that gives you a wide variety of experiences, so everyone can experience a range of challenges and strengths.

Like someone said below, I haven't reviewed my semester on here yet because how can you sum up 3 months of experiences in one post? I will say that not only were our groups leaders incredible, the opportunities we were given were very special and unique. While this program may not work for some students, it was beneficial for me in learning how to travel with a variety of personalities, and how to live in a country to vastly different from my own. I saw a review on here that was incredible negative, and I am saddened that India did not teach that individual as much as it taught me about bringing the best out of an experience, and doing so with compassion and patience. I met many people during my time in India, within my group and outside of, that challenged me to think about my own behavior as a person and as someone who participates in society and what my impact is. Traveling in itself does this, but CDE gave us time to reflect and discuss our own thought processes in ways in which traveling alone would not. CDE gave me the space to become more confident in my own traveling abilities, and open my eyes to the differences in the world around me. I am in college now, and I always tell my friends here that I am a better, calmer, more caring person after my semester with CDE. So, if I could, I would do a semester again just to see the ways in which I could continue to grow.

I traveled to India with Carpe Diem Education in the fall of 2011, and what a wonderful experience it was! I appreciated the scope of our travel - we got to see many different cities throughout the country, as we never spent more than a week in one place. The leaders were incredibly street-smart and savvy, and made me feel completely safe in their care. I appreciated the small group dynamic and the intimate friendships that developed between the members of our India cohort. We also had an excellent balance of activities - from trekking in the Himalayas, to attending a week-long retreat at a yoga ashram, to taking Hindi classes and volunteering at an orphanage in Calcutta, I felt as though we really experienced such a range of what the country had to offer, doing whatever felt culturally relevant to our location. I learned so much about being an independent traveler from Carpe Diem, and felt enabled to travel internationally on my own over the next few years. All in all, this was a life-changing opportunity and one that I am still grateful for several years later.