August 4, 2026
Today marks the end of our second day with the Nursing College in India, and I am already amazed by how much I have learned in such a brief period.
Yesterday was our first day at the Nursing College where Sabreet’s mom is the Principle. We spent the day introducing ourselves, getting to know one another, and learning more about the students and faculty. It was exciting to finally begin the Field School part of our trip after spending the previous week traveling.
Today we facilitated the Consent Café workshop with the nursing students. This was my first time taking part in and helping facilitate the Consent Café program, and I was genuinely impressed by how comprehensive it was. The workshop covered many distinct aspects of consent and created space for meaningful conversations around relationships, communication, emotional regulation, boundaries, and respect. Being able to facilitate these discussions with women from another country was a unique and rewarding experience.
During the workshop, I sometimes worried that my group was losing interest because many participants were very quiet. I questioned whether my facilitation was engaging enough or whether the language barrier was making it difficult for everyone to take part. However, at the end of the session, the feedback I received, reassured me. Several participants shared that they enjoyed the activities, especially the consent, bingo, and one participant even came to apologize for how quiet the group had been. She explained that they were hesitant because of the language difference. I appreciated her honesty and reminded her that we completely understood because we also do not speak their language. That conversation reminded me that silence does not necessarily mean disengagement, and that effective communication requires patience, empathy, and an awareness of language and cultural differences.
Reflecting on the past week, I have now spent just over a week in India. Before meeting the rest of the class, Amy and I spent several days exploring the country. We landed in Delhi where we visited India Gate, the Lotus Temple, the Presidential House, and Humayun’s Tomb. From there, we travelled to Agra, where we visited the Taj Mahal, Agra Fort, the Baby Taj, and Mehtab Bagh, the gardens across the river from the Taj Mahal. Standing in the gardens and looking across at the Taj Mahal, while learning about its history, was one of the highlights of the trip so far. It offered a completely unique perspective of one of the world’s most famous landmarks.
Not everything has gone, according to plan. Within my first few days in India, I experienced food poisoning, which definitely was not the way I had hope to begin the trip. Thankfully, I am starting to feel better, and I hope that continues so I can enjoy trying more local foods without being as hesitant. Despite that setback, I have thoroughly enjoyed my time here. We stayed in a beautiful hotel during the first part of our trip, and having those extra days to adjust before meeting, the rest of the group made a significant difference. I think, arriving early allowed me to adapt to the time change, experience, some of India’s history and culture, and become more comfortable before beginning the academic part of the field School. Looking back, I believe that the decision helped reduce what could’ve been a very overwhelming transition for me. I think, arriving early allowed me to adapt to the time change, experience, some of India’s history and culture, and become more comfortable before beginning the academic part of the field School. Looking back, I believe that the decision helped reduce what could’ve been a very overwhelming transition for me. I think, arriving early allowed me to adapt to the time change, experience, some of India’s history and culture, and become more comfortable before beginning the academic part of the Field School. Looking back, I believe that the decision helped reduce what could’ve been a very overwhelming transition for me.
This experience has already taught me a lot about myself. I have realized how much I enjoy traveling, learning, and immersing myself in cultures that are vastly different from my own. I especially enjoy building relationships with local people. Getting to know Sabreet, her family, and the faculty and students at the Nursing College has been one of the most meaningful parts of this experience so far. Those personal connections have helped me understand the culture in ways that simply reading about it never could.
From a social work perspective, this experience is continuing to reinforce the kind of practitioner I hope to become. Well, I do not think it has fundamentally changed my understanding of social work yet, it has strengthened the values I want to carry into my future practice. I want to remain open to learning, culturally, humble, inclusive, adaptable, and willing to embrace new perspectives and challenges. Every day in India offers another opportunity to learn something new, whether it is through teaching, conversation conversations with classmates and faculty, or interactions with community members.
As the Field School continues, I look forward to continuing to build relationships, deep in my understanding of social work in an international context, and reflect on how these experiences will influence my future practice. Although the trip has had a few few unexpected challenges, particularly the food poisoning. It has already been an incredible rewarding experience. I am excited to see what the coming days will bring.