Having spent ten days in the hustle and bustle of Jaipur and Delhi, I could tell in my taxi ride from Kochi airport to the GVI House - driving past miles and miles of palm trees in the beaming sunshine - that Kerala was going to be a totally different experience. I was welcomed at the house by the other volunteers (and the goat who lives next door), and shown around our lovely new home. I was blown away by the rooftop terrace - the perfect spot for evening drinks, sunbathing, star-gazing and yoga!

A relaxing weekend getting to know the other volunteers and exploring Fort Kochi was a great way to settle in - my Kerala experience started off with a bang!

Before starting school on Tuesday, we were given some teacher training and each decided which class we were going to teach (Kindergarten for me - the cutest of the lot.)

My first few days at the school have been great, despite being very tiring and it's getting more and more enjoyable as I get to know all the kids, who LOVE the GVI volunteers.

Five days in and I can already say it's been an amazing experience and there is a whole more lined up: a talent show at school, a weekend at the beach in Varkala, an elephant festival in Paldaruty.....watch this space!