Even the most seasoned travellers get homesick at some point, it may be for 5 minutes, it may for a few days… so don’t worry when you have that wobble and want to go home, it happens to the best of us and normally passes very quickly! Homesickness is a common worry, whether that be […]
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Student Leader Blog: Check List
One of our Student Leaders, Lucy Allcock, from Edge Hill University is spending just over six weeks in India supporting her team of volunteers, she has put together an excellent check list for future volunteers going to India, check it out below! So the volunteers are just beginning their 3rd week of teaching and are […]
Travel advice: living with a host family
Living with a host family is a really unique way to get to know and experience the local culture, taste the local food and have a rare opportunity to become fully welcomed into a new family. Most volunteers come back from their projects and see their host family as their second family, but it can […]
Travel advice: Making the most out of your project
A common question we get asked is how to make the most of your project, this is especially true for volunteers doing a short term project, so we have written some tips below to help you make the most of your time overseas: *Have an idea for your first lesson plan ready for your first […]
Travel Advice: Books to Read About India
Doing some reading before you go overseas helps to give you a real sense of what the culture like in your destination country will be like, this is especially true for India where there is a plethora of books out there to help you get a real idea of what Indian culture is like. We […]
Travel Advice: Communicating With Your Host Family
Lots of volunteers worry about being able to communicate with their host family if they speak little or no English, having been placed with a host family myself with VESL who spoke little to no English (although this didn’t stop them trying!), I have put together some handy tips to help you communicate: 1. Learn […]
Student Leader Interview: Lucy Allcock
Our next Student Leader post comes from Lucy Allcock who volunteered in India in 2012 and is returning with a team of six volunteers this summer, check out her advice below! I’m Lucy Allcock, just finished my second year at Edgehill University studying Drama and Creative Writing. Last summer, I went to Kerala, Southern India […]
Student Leader Interview: Andrew Durrant
This is the second of our Student Leader blog posts (last week we had a post from James Hallworth), drawing on their experiences from last year and previous overseas volunteering they have written some useful advice. Our second post comes from Andrew Durrant, a student at Keele University. I am currently finishing my final year […]
Travel Tip: Basic Thai
Heading to Thailand and don’t know any Thai? Don’t worry we are here to help, check out our handy list of basic words below! Remember the Thai language has lots of different tones, so the same word said with different tones means different things, the words below are written how they sound. However the best […]
Travel Tip: Learning basic Malayalam
Heading to Kerala and a bit worried about not being able to speak the language? Ever heard of Malayalam? Don’t worry we are here to help! Knowing some Hindi is not going to get you very far in remote fishing villages in Kerala, so knowing a bit of Malayalam can be very helpful! Malayalam is one […]
Staying Safe Overseas
Staying safe whilst you’re overseas is really important whether you are a first time traveller or seasoned traveller, there are some important things that you need to remember, before and after your trip. Caroline’s Rainbow Foundation is a charity that is working to raise awareness of the importance of staying safe while travelling, especially to […]
Festivals in Kerala
When you think of India a lot of people thing of the bright, vibrant, loud festivals that occur across the country throughout the year. Each state has different festivals so here we have bought you some of the famous Keralan festivals so you can see what is on when you’re out there! (more…)
A day in the life: India Project
Olivia Higginson is currently in India on a three month project and has written an excellent article below about what she does on a day to day basis… Morning 7:00am Wake up. The family are normally all up. Ama (host mother) has often been up since 5am preparing vegetables and cooking for the day. My two […]
Student Leader Diary – Thailand 2012 – ‘An Honorary Thai’
Ellie Livermore was our Student Leader from Manchester Metropolitan University this year in Thailand, she volunteered with VESL in 2010 and was able to return to Thailand this year as a Student Leader, here she reflects on her experience. When the opportunity to be a VESL student co-ordinator came up, it was too good to […]
