The Lost Children of India

The Lost Children of India

Day 1 (Wednesday)
You will depart the United States on the escorted group flight to India today.

Day 2 (Thursday)
Welcome to India! You will land in Delhi in the evening, and your trip leaders will be at the airport eagerly awaiting your arrival.  Once everyone has cleared customs and collected their baggage, you will head to the hotel for a relaxing evening and the chance to recover from jet lag.

Day 3 (Friday) 
After breakfast, make the drive down to your new home in Jaipur! Enjoy the sights of camel carts and mountains dotted with hillside temples as you drive through the country side. Upon your arrival in your beautiful hotel, get to your service work by visiting local stationary shops to purchase teaching supplies. Spend the afternoon and evening in small groups developing teaching lessons, brainstorming new games, and preparing for your first morning in the orphanage tomorrow. Cap the night off with a wide spread of Indian and Western style dishes for dinner, all while watching an evening puppet show from the comfort of your table. Ask the puppet master for a try and controlling these wooden handicrafts, or to show you how to play a couple of the traditional instruments.

Day 4 (Saturday)
Your first day at the orphanage! Spend the first morning getting to know the kids by playing name games, doing a few dances, and gauging what level of English they have to tailor your teaching lessons. There is a wide range of ages and speaking levels, so the entire morning you will spend just connecting with the kids at the orphanage. After a quick bite for lunch, you’ll return to the orphanage to teach your first lesson with a small group of students. At night you will return back to the hotel with your group and discuss a teaching plan for the remainder of the week after getting to know the students.

Day 5 (Sunday)
It will be another full day at the orphanage! Play educational games with the kids and intersperse your lessons by trying to learn a traditional Indian dance as taught to you by the students. Also, try your hand at learning a few more words in Hindi – as they would like you to know a little bit of their language as well! In the evening, we’ll go out to the traditional markets of Jaipur where you’ll spend a few hours on the hunt for the perfect souvenir for yourself and your friends and family back home. Sharpen your bargaining skills and get ready to haggle – it’s half the fun of the shopping experience!

Day 6 (Monday)
Today we will work on an improvement project at the orphanage which could include repainting the home, building a playground for the students to use, or even constructing a dog house for the kids beloved “Scooby”. In the afternoon we will be back to teaching, playing, and learning about the stories of how all the students came to the orphanage. Spend the evening relaxing in the rooftop pool at the hotel while enjoying another feast for dinner.

Day 7 (Tuesday)
Your last full day in India will give you the chance to see another orphanage. You will spend the morning visiting a much larger orphanage in Jaipur to see the differences between the small-scale orphanage you’re been volunteering and a wonderful large-school orphanage that operates in over 50 different countries around the world. Here you’ll take a tour of the orphanage homes, play games with the kids, and spend the morning working with kids in the kindergarten. After lunch, we’ll go back to our small orphanage home for our last few teaching lessons. Then get prepared for a arts show where you’ll see traditional Rajasthani dancers and musicians perform alongside your new friends and little siblings at the orphanage. At night we’ll decide as a group how we want to spend our final evening together – going to a Bollywood movie, taking a journey back to the market, or visiting streetside artists to get temporary henna tattoos!

Day 8 (Wednesday)
After breakfast we will stop at the orphanage one last time to say our final goodbyes. After bidding your new brothers and sisters farewell, we’ll make the drive back up to Delhi. Depending on our arrival in Delhi, we might have time to check out a site or two, go bowling, or just relax before your home. We’ll have a final goodbye dinner and then drive to the airport where you will board the plane to go home.

Day 9 (Thursday)
Arrive back in the United States and share the stories of your wonderful adventure! Thanks for helping spread positive energy in India and for your hard work with us this summer!

An Important Note about Schedule Changes:
Rustic Pathways reserves the right to change, alter, or amend the daily itinerary for this trip at any time. Changes can be made for various reasons including changes in flight or program schedules, changes in the schedules of various external tours incorporated in our trips, the addition of new activities into a trip, or the substitution of an old activity for a new activity. The itinerary shown here provides a good outline of the anticipated daily schedule for this program. As with any travel program, some changes may occur

When packing, please be mindful of the conservative Indian culture and please leave skimpy clothing, sleeveless shirts, short shorts, and other revealing clothing behind.  Remember that part of being a good traveler is fitting in with your surroundings and clothing that is normal at home can be extremely suggestive and often times offensive in the areas we will travel to.  Most people in India rarely wear shorts, almost always wear pants or dresses, and keep their shoulders covered despite the sometimes high temperatures.  If you do not pack conservative clothing, our staff will request that you to purchase appropriate clothing upon arriving to India.

» Passport WITH MINIMUM 6-Month Multiple Entry India visa
» Airline Tickets
» Wallet with about $100
» 2 Photocopies of the front 2 pages of your passport
» 2 Photocopies of your Indian Visa
» T-shirt
» Comfortable pants or pajama bottoms
» Sunglasses (important in this high altitude environment, the sun is strong)
» Toothpaste (less than 3 oz tube though!)
» Toothbrush
» Journal and Pen
» Water Bottle (stay well hydrated on your flight, it helps with jet lag!)
» Snacks
» Deck of Cards
» Suggested reading:  Dalai Lama’s autobiography “Freedom in Exile” or Hermann Hesse’s classic “Siddhartha,” for Leh/Ladakh programs “A Journey in Ladakh” by Andrew Harvey or “Ancient Futures” by Helena Norberg-Hodge
>Camera and film (bring all of your film in your carry on and have it hand checked instead of putting it through the x-ray machines)

• Make sure everything you pack in your carry-on complies with the new carry on regulations of the TSA: http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/prohibited/permitted-prohibited-items.shtm

Checked Luggage: A medium sized duffel bag or large back pack work best - wheeled bags are OK as long as they are medium sized and can easily be carried like a duffle over rough terrain.  It is important that you try to keep your total luggage to one piece of checked luggage.  Often you will have to carry it through streets, so it should be easily manageable!

For all programs pack the following items in your checked luggage:
» Sleeping sack (can be purchased from www.rei.com item #627251 – cocoon cotton mummy liner)
» Lightweight long pants (3 pairs).  Ex Officio, REI, and Eastern Mountain Sports (EMS) all make nice ones.  You will wear pants most of the time in India, as showing your knees is considered inappropriate and even men rarely wear shorts!  Women dress VERY conservatively in India, so please respect the local culture, dresses or pants please!
» Underwear (7 pairs)  (sink washable underwear like Patagonia and Ex Officio travelers underwear are recommended and you can bring only 3-4 if you wash in the sink.
» Socks (2 pairs)
» Swimsuit
» T-shirts with sleeves, tank tops are not appropriate as shoulders should be covered (5 t-shirts)
» Long sleeve t-shirts (2 long sleeves, it can get chilly at night)
» Lightweight rain jacket (this rain jacket should be waterproof, the rains can be heavy at times in northern India)
» One pair of shorts (modesty is important in Indian culture)
» Tennis shoes (something you can work in)
» Sandals that are strapped (Tevas or Chacos are recommended)
» Soap in a plastic dish (Versatile liquid soaps like “Camp Suds” or “Dr. Bronners” can be more convenient for travel and biodegradable.  These can be used to wash your own laundry and yourself!)
» Biodegradable shampoo (pack in a zip-lock bag)
» Personal First Aid Kit (optional, we carry first aid kids on all of our trips, but personal Tylenol, medications, band-aids, etc… can be convenient)
» Small bag for day trips (this can double as your carry-on bag)
» Sunscreen (pack in a zip-lock bag)
» Chapstick
» Aloe Vera (optional)
» Insect repellant (one heavy in DEET and one natural citronella- pack in a zip-lock bag)
» Hand sanitizer (1 small bottles packed in a zip-lock bag)
» Handiwipes or towlettes
» Small packs of Kleenex tissues for public toilets in India, toilet paper can be hard to find sometimes
» Sweatshirt
» Hat for sun
» Flashlight or headlamp with an extra battery
» One towel (not white, a travel towel works great and can be found at any outdoor store like REI)
» Laundry bag or pillowcase
» Medications.  Bring with you whatever medications you will need during your trip, and you must disclose to your staff during orientation all of the medications that you are carrying.
» Contacts and solution if necessary (packed in a zip-lock bag)
» Small photo album of your family and friends to show the locals
» Musical instruments are always appreciated if they can be easily carried
» Frisbee, hackysack, or other fun, easy-to-carry items

Don’t leave home without your sense of adventure!!  Incredible India awaits! 
Optional Items:

• Travel Pillow *a pillowcase can be a great dirty laundry bag or a comfortable pillow if you stuff it with a sweatshirt. So you could bring two pillowcases, one for each purpose

1 - Will the kids be drinking bottled water?
Students will be provided with safe drinking water on their program, either
pre-packaged bottled water or water that has been treated and filtered prior to drinking.

2 - Do we need to get visas for this program?
YES! All students traveling to India are responsible for obtaining their own visa
for India. You must obtain a minimum 6-month, multiple entry tourist visa. The
information for obtaining the visa can be found at:
https://indiavisa.travisaoutsourcing.com/

You will need a reference for your visa, which is provided to you or you can email india@rusticpathways.com for this information as well.

3 - What will the accommodation on this trip be like?
Students on this trip will find themselves staying in a comfortable 3-star hotel
in the outskirts of Jaipur. The pool has fully air conditioned rooms which will be
shared by 2-3 students, a rooftop pool, and internet access in the lobby(an charge by the hotel applies).

4 - What immunizations do we need to get for this trip?
Rustic Pathways only requires an up-to-date Tetanus shot, however the Center for Disease Control often has recommendations that are kept updated regarding India. Since we do not know your child’s medical history, we recommend you reference the CDC website at: www.cdc.gov or the World Health Organization website at: www.who.org for more information. We also suggest consulting with your local travel doctor prior to your travels for further information.

5 - What costs are not included on this trip?
This trip includes all of the student’s accommodations, in addition to three
meals a day, drinking water, transportation, entrance fees and other related group entertainment costs. Optional activities, such as massages, internet use, phone calls home, snacks, souvenirs, etc… are extra costs. For this program, we typically recommend between US$100-200 per week for allowance depending on the student’s spending habits. Student spending can vary greatly, however, as some students may spend very little and others may spend much more if they plan on making a big purchase.

6 - Will there be a flight leader to this country?
All flights departing from and returning to the United States will have flight
leaders. In the event a student is connecting from another country, they may or may not have a flight leader. In such instances, we generally have coordinated with the airlines to escort the students from check-in through customs, and delivered to a verified Rustic Pathways staff member in Delhi airport.

7 - How does this program connect to other programs?
This program connects seamlessly with our other India programs and students
traveling in different regions of India will use Delhi as their hub. This program
also easily connects with any of our other programs in Thailand, Cambodia,
Vietnam, Laos, Burma, and China.

8 - How long is the flight to this country?
Students travel on a very comfortable nonstop flight from Newark Airport in New Jersey (EWR) to Indira Gandhi Airport in Delhi, India. It is approximately 14
hours each way.

9 - What kind of food will we be eating?
Students will be eating a mix of Indian, Chinese and a little western-style food. 

Dietary restrictions are typically accommodated quite easily and vegetarians are in paradise here with the extensive options of vegetarian dishes. Indian foods can be easily sampled at a local Indian restaurant, but they consist of rice, lentils (dals), curries, and flatbreads (naan, roti, parantha).

10 - How many girls and boys are usually on this trip?
This program generally breaks down to about a 60% female and 40% male mix

11 - Is your staff qualified in First Aid?
Because safety is our number one priority, all of our programs have guides that are certified with First Aid and CPR training. Many of our guides are also
qualified Wilderness First Responders, EMTs, Wilderness EMTs, or Life Guards.

12 - How often (if at all) will students be able to do laundry on this program and what will it cost?
During this program, students will be moving around a bit, so laundry will only be able to be done one or two times on the program. Students should keep in mind that they don’t need new outfits for each day and ‘rewearing’
clothing is perfectly fine! In fact, the less you pack, the happier of a traveler
you’ll be. Many of your guides will be carrying just a small pack to travel
with, you’d be amazed at how little you need! Laundry will be the equivalent
of about US$10 per load generally.

13 - How often will they have access to phone and internet?
Students will have daily access to the internet, except for days where there are internet "hiccups" in the area we are staying where it can be done for an entire day. Parents will receive safe arrival emails upon their student’s arrival
and should also remember that many students get to India and to fully immerse themselves in their trip and new opportunities stay away from things like phone and internet which connect them back to their lives at home. This is completely normal and parents should remember that ‘no news is good news’ if they don’t hear from their child during the course of their trip

14 – What is the climate in the region where this program takes place?
The climate during this time of year generally is hot and sometimes humid. During much of the year, temperatures in India can be in excess of 90 degrees Fahrenheit.

15- Will I receive community service hours on this program?
Yes! At the end of summer you will be mailed a certificate of completion for the number of hours that you volunteered on the program. You will have the opportunity to receive the maximum number of hours listed for this program as long as you work hard and with a positive attitude on each and every day of service. We do however reserve the right to deduct hours from your certificate of completion if you refuse to do service or do not complete the service with a positive of effective attitude after talking with our staff.

16 – How physically strenuous is this program?
This program is not very strenuous, but students should be able to hike short
distances, and be in fairly good physical shape. Students with health concerns
should contact our India staff at: india@rusticpathways.com

17 – What are the optional activities available at an additional cost on
this program?
This program does not have optional activities that will require a student to
spend extra money.

18 - Can we cater to specific diets?
India is extremely vegetarian friendly, however some special diets may be more
difficult to cater to during parts of the trip. If a student has questions, they
should contact india@rusticpathways.com or contact our administrative offices for more information.

19- What is the ratio of guides to students?
Depending on the program, we sometimes have a lower staff to student ratio, but with safety as our top priority, we maintain at least a 4 or 5 to 1 student to staff ratio.