The best thing about the about the placement is the children, their enthusiasm and energy has been delightful. I would most definitely recommend this placement. I abhor clichés but this really is an experience of a lifetime, miss at your peril! This placement would suit someone who is enthusiastic and enjoys working with children. This may seem an obvious point to make but I really do feel it is important (for the volunteer as much as the children) that the volunteer has had some kind of pervious experience of teaching or working with children; to gain the most from the placement. The teachers expect you to plan lessons and teach straight away. Without previous experience and added culture shock, I can imagine it being quite daunting.

Can you describe a typical day? School begins at 9:10 and finishes at 16:00. There are 7 periods of teaching in the school day and I teach for 4 of those per day. During my free periods I interact with other staff and plan lessons. Lessons are a mixture of my own material and syllabus expected to be studied by the school. Lunch time is 12:25-12:50. I alternate between sitting with the secondary school teachers and with the primary teachers and their students. I've tried to throw myself into the whole experience to gain the most enjoyment and I can eat successfully with my right hand now!

The school we are teaching in is exactly what we had hoped for and all the teachers are very kind and thoughtful. It is a little bit daunting standing in front of a class for the first time but I think we are getting on okay and the children are very sweet and polite.

What struck us straight away about India was the number of people! As we drove through Trivandrum we saw so many things that it was hard to take it all in! And no one seems to be in a hurry - they're often just hanging out. The driving is another extraordinary aspect. There seems to be no road signs and no particular side of the road for traffic to stick to. Just to add to this chaos, cows wander aimlessly down the middle of the road while cars and bikes lethally swerve around them! We are now becoming immune to this and England will seem ridiculously tame

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Can you describe a typical day? My Auto diver Ramu drops me off at school where lessons start at 8.30. On average I have three 45 - minute lessons per day but this does vary. At 2.30pm Ramu is waiting at the school gates to take me home as school has finished for the day.  In the afternoons we generally go to the 'Akash Club', which has a lovely swimming pool and a gym if you are feeling particularly energetic. From 5 - 6pm we have our yoga lessons on the rooftop of our yoga teacher's house, which is very enlightening! Then we have supper around 8.30pm made for us by our cook Sumiti, which is always very tasty.

It has been so nice staying in the volunteer house and feeling like this is my home. Sumathy, the cook, is so much fun and I am going to miss her a lot. Last week we were drawing patterns on the doorstep with flour, she's an expert though and I just made a mess! We are always watching Tamil music channels together, so now I know all the songs and I've bought some CD's to take back home! Living here has made me feel part of the community, we are always recognised especially in the internet place, the phone shop and the bakery!

South India is a beautiful place and we've had some great weekends in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Last weekend we were in Kanyakumari, the southern most point of the country, and went paddling in the sacred meeting point of the Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal. We were having a lovely time but whilst we were posing for photos I noticed my shoes floating off to sea and had to go chasing after them...... Tomorrow, Robin and I are leaving Madurai and travelling up to Chennai via Pondicherry and Mahabilapuram before our flight home next week. It will be strange to go and know we are never coming back, but I've had an amazing experience here which I will always remember! A teaching placement is suitable for anyone who is looking for a challenge because although it is very rewarding it is not always easy, also people who are eager to learn about another culture because there is much opportunity for talking to the children and the teachers.

The placement has given me the experience of living in a very different country and helped me become more aware and understanding of other cultures. Teaching conversational English has given me the confidence to work at a challenge and use my initiative to help overcome any difficulties I encounter. It has been a valuable and memorable experience. Thank you!!

Can you describe a typical day? The car would come to take me to school at half past 8. Every morning there would be an assembly before lessons began at 9.05. There were 8 lessons a day, of which I would be teaching 2/3. During the mid-morning break (10.25- 10.35) a man from the canteen would come round to sell us samosas and chai! The lunch break was half an hour, most teachers would eat in their classrooms with the children and I ate with the few who didn’t have their own classes. We all shared our food with each other! The day would finish at 3.15 unless there was a special function for the teachers after school, such as my leaving gathering on the last day!

I’ve had such a sensational time both at the School and the Orphanage.  My 4 weeks teaching was challenging, exasperating, purely brilliant, comic and damn right fun. I was rarely in control of any of my classes so usually had a teacher sitting at the back – this added to the pressure of trying to make the lesson fun & fractionally educational!

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The staff at were very accommodating and had me teaching by the end of my second day at the school. I taught anything from cricket or football to Drama and English. Many of the children seemed totally fed up with learning their standard material just to pass exams and seemed to love having something different to do. I found that the kids loved a lesson listening to different forms of western music. They took real enjoyment from doing drama games and despite some difficulties in the language barrier, always gave it their best effort. I really really enjoyed my time and would definitely consider going back to do another placement

Wow I can’t believe that I have been here 3 months, but the time has flown by and life has been full of surprises.  The kids have been great making the experience so worthwhile. Memories are plentiful and words can never fully express how my time here has been. A smile is warming but their “hello’s” are more. Shaking hands with strangers never feels odd here.The auto drivers are very willing to help you photograph the sights – make full use of these free and friendly guides. They love that you are interested enough to record their city/country. Travel and see Periyar – a truly fantastic experience – riding the elephant. Kanyakumari is another must – to dip your toes in the 3 oceans. But always come back to “COFFEE DAY” if only to cool off. Enjoy your time here, I hope you have as much fun and laughter as I have

I was very happy with the information I got. Everything seemed to be covered, from information on the family, on the school and on the country. There was even important information that I wouldn't have even known to ask about. I can't think of anything that I wished I had known or that I wasn't prepared for by the pack or by Karen.....I'm still baffled by how hard Karen works. Any little query I had she was able to help me with immediately. Any time, day or night she has been there, even when she isn't needed for company and support. It wouldn't be the same without her. Even a couple of weeks after my placement has finished and she still makes sure I'm okay and offers me help if I need it. She has made India a much less scary place for me. It was one hundred times more than I expected. I felt totally supported by the team at all times and I am thrilled with the experience I have had

I am alive and well and back at home! Had a wonderful time and am missing the food and weather already. The principal, the teachers, and indeed everybody in Kerala, went out of their way to make me feel welcome. I will be contacting the school again when my photos are developed. I altered my itinerary at the end and went to Kodaikanal and Periyar rather than Ooty. It was one of the major highlights of the trip, trekking through the Periyar forest and seeing wild elephants drinking by the lake - so it was a good decision. I stayed in some excellent hotels should you require any recommendations. I hear you have someone going out for five months, he's a lucky man, I'll be happy to talk to him should you wish. Thanks again for arranging such an excellent trip, hopefully it won't be the last (I quite fancy Sri Lanka)..... I've also given your details to a language teacher friend

Our main aim was to teach the pupils English grammar and pronunciation by talking and reading to them and then giving them opportunities to speak. Additionally, we would teach them about our British and European cultures. Usually I started a lesson by asking the pupils to ask me questions. This provided the starting point for conversations about issues such as our families and friends, our life stories, our education and profession, our home, our country and its landscape and climate, and our traditions. If the pupils were reluctant to volunteer any questions, my alternative course of action was to borrow a textbook and read from it. Towards the end of our stay, the senior students asked me to talk in detail about physics and aeronautics, and I gave some very impressive lectures.

We spent Christmas in Kanyakumari, the southernmost place in India, where the Arabian Sea, the Indian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal meet. I found it very peculiar when I became sunburnt on Christmas Eve. The countryside in Tamil Nadu was different than in Kerala: it was more mountainous and less forested and wild boars used to run loose in the streets. After Boxing Day, we spent three days in Thampanoor, in the centre of Trivandrum, where we met the Principal and his driver. On the first day we attended a sports event at a very large school in the outside of Trivandrum. The day after, we went on a boat tour on the backwaters, which became very exciting when the boat's motor stopped. Fortunately it eventually started again and we got back to dry land, after which we visited Trivandrum Zoo. We spent the New Year in Kovalam, a popular beach resort south of Trivandrum. It was again an unusual experience when we celebrated the Millennium New Year's Eve sitting on the beach in our shirtsleeves. We went to a beachfront restaurant every night and watched the sun set over the Arabian Sea. At night, we would see faint lights on the horizon as people spent the night out at sea in their fishing boats.

Most of the state was covered in coconut palm forests, even in the towns and cities. There were also numerous mango, jack fruit, papaya and pineapple trees, to name a few. The most common birds were crows, sparrows and mina birds, although we sometimes saw beautiful blue and brown kingfishers, much larger than the ones that we would see in Britain. Once, while we were sitting on the roof of the Girls' Hostel watching distant thunderstorms, I saw a green parrot flying through the trees. At night, small bats would fly around in large numbers, although I did occasionally see large ones. One night I saw something flying towards a treetop that was the size of a crow, so I assumed it was a crow. However, as it approached one of the top branches and prepared to land, it grasped the branch and then hung underneath it. It was actually a bat, much larger than any I had ever seen before. Insects would vary from microscopic ants to three-quarter-inch ants, quarter-inch to three-inch beetles, spiders and moths of various sizes and, unfortunately, mosquitoes. One morning, we were greeted at the breakfast table by a fast-running four-inch spider, with hairy brown legs as thick as pipe cleaner and a body about three quarters of an inch wide. Later we were told that it was not poisonous. Surprisingly, I only saw one snake.

During our last few days, the staff and pupils gave us numerous charming votes of appreciation and we received many beautiful presents. Anyone planning to visit India should not expect to have a cosy time or to live in comfort. However, what one should expect is to see to and live in a completely different world, to be integrated into welcome into a warm, friendly community and to do something worthwhile for other people, for which one will be highly respected

I am now back in the UK, after a brilliant trip through India with Tom. The teaching that we did was a real experience and a thoroughly enjoyable and interesting one. I would like to say a huge thank you to you and your excellent team for making everything so smooth and easy for us. India, as I am sure you know, is quite a daunting prospect for a young traveller, but thanks to you and the teaching programme that you set up for us, we were given a perfect way into the culture and way of life of the Indian people, which made the rest of our trip all the more enjoyable

The placement is going well. The school is better off than others but does have very basic resources. The children are very friendly and excited. I feel like a movie star! The older children are keen to learn about London which they have heard off. They are not familiar with Britain. As a teacher I have found the lack of resources and whole class teaching quite challenging, but I am learning to improvise e.g using a piece of chalk as a microphone and moving furniture back so we can sit in a circle. The teachers have been welcoming and are also interested in the UK and how things are done there. They are also interested in my background as my family are from Gujerat, India. Whenever I am asked where I am from, I answer London. The reply usually is 'but you look Indian'.

I do wish I could stay longer as some of the younger children have just started to feel comfortable with me and one of the older classes are so interested in finding things out about me and my life in the UK. I have talked about teaching methods at home and tried to think of how they can be applied here given the lack of resources. I'm not sure if they truly get it though. I am leaving most of my resources that I brought and have stuck a couple of alphabet and number posters on the wall, much to the children's delight.