On Friday, April 20, CASI held its 2012 Orientation for those chosen for its student programs. It was, roughly, a crash course in India, the development and NGO sectors, the organizations interns are working for, and experiences/tips from past interns.
Interesting to me was that the same major take-away was repeated at least three times by past interns and other members of CASI: ultimately, the places you are going, organizations you will work for, and people you will meet have much more to offer you than you have to offer them. Programs which are ostensibly similar to the one CASI operates often describe the exchange being an approximately balanced two way street. In my opinion, this is blatantly false. Reflecting back on my personal experience, I am honored to have been invited into the work and lives of the people I met. And I'm still unconvinced that I deserved it.
I've attached some photos of the event to this post.
– Sudeep
By the way, all the photos from the orientation can be found by following this link:https://plus.google.com/photos/103642544307418130162/albums/5733744403455834481?authkey=CI_hz8LI39uTQQ