left and leaving

This picture came from Nepal. It is the three Servant Team girls turned pirates for a day...


It is Saturday now, and I only have a few days left in Kolkata. I have had my last visits in most places, all that is left to leave is the family. We are flying out of here on Wednesday next week. Everyone is asking about how excited we are to go home, what we will eat first, where we will go. As of late I am most excited to sleep on a bed...

So far this week has been full of special meals and last time visits. On Wednesday we took Gita, ma, and sister for a really nice dinner and it was so great. Gita's mom took great joy in assembling us all in our Sari's and then we ate at the tastiest restaurant in Kolkata. On Thursday we ate a great lunch at SariBari and then spent the day with all the ladies working on our stitching. Last night we went out with all our friends from the community for a traditional Bengali meal. It was so delicous of course. I had my last day at Kalighat today, it was a strange place to leave. There isnt really time there to say good byes, and when you try it just feels a bit strange. I know that there will always be volunteers there, and it will still stand after each of them leaves, but it is still hard to walk away from. I had great lunch at one of my favorite restaurants with a good friend named Tuna. I ate chick peas of course.
Now I am about to go to the house and dive into the task of packing. Bah.
We will be going to a relaxing place for the weekend, to help with the transition out of the city. After that we have one last big meal with the family the night before we leave; we are preparing our stomachs for this feast.

This is sister Gita and I yesterday at SariBari. She is the bag making master.



The heat feels extra hot these days, must be because I know relief is on the way somewhere. It doesn't feel like I am about to leave this place though. I am sure that I won't feel much of anything until we drive away from Gita's home and family.

I am so excited to see everyone at home, but the actual leaving of Kolkata must come first.

lots of love, and see you soon

work it

hey again,

I have some pictures for you now!

This is all us shining Servant Team girls plus sister Gita and sister Beth.


This is me with a lovely young Nepali friend that I made at an Eco-Village on the outskirts of Kathmandu. Full of smiles.


Here are a few photos from the lake in Nepal.
Kind of beautiful isn't it?






And this is a bit of an old one, but a great one. Sunshine really does only happen when it rains.



thanks as always for following my journey!
I am coming home soon, crazy.

loves from over here

how deep in the valley

Hello,

I am back now from a glorious trip to Nepal. We got to spend time with the team serving in community there, we ate way too much delicious food, and we took in as much of the beautiful surroundings as possible.
I must also tell you that I got to jump into a lake, take Gita from a spin on a bicycle and eat a bowl of hummus all in one day. How lucky am I.

Of course I missed Kolkata while I was in Nepal, but the transition home to the city was still difficult. Nepal is such a different place and the break was so nice, but we all felt like we were coming back to a home when the hot air and loud streets of Kolkata hit us again. Luckily the girls that stay there were able to show us around the places that they serve and call home, and that helped to understand Nepal from a different view. The tourist industry is massive all over the country, but being with these girls we really were able to enter into their "Kolkata". We were able to see the places that they spend time volunteering, we got to meet the Nepali familes they eat with, and we got to hear lots of stories about how life has been for them in Kathmandu.

(sorry sorry, I left my camera card at the house. I will post pictures in the next couple of days!)



Less than two weeks left in Kolkata. Let's be honest, I am exhausted. I feel like the trip to Nepal was the perfect refreshment; I feel like I have bright eyes and new energy to spend in my last couple of weeks here. I cannot really imagine yet how it will feel to leave my Bengali family, and to leave the places that have been my home for the last four months.

P.S. A cyclone came through Kolkata yesterday. It was nuts. I am ok though.


The way on may be truly to stand in one place
And let the deep of the valley
Fill you will grace

she couldn't help but sing

Namaskaar, see how great this man looks.


I think it has been so long since I have written, I know there is so much to say.
I was sick all last week; it was a high fever that kept me glued to my bed most days. I feel like I have more energy to start this week, and I must make sure I am well for Nepal.

As you can imagine, I spent the entirety of most days in my lovely nighty, gliding through the day sleeping, reading, and eating toast. Of course I also had plenty of time to think.

What came up most, and what has repeated itself for sometime in Kolkata is that I feel privileged here.
Ironic to say I suppose after spending the past week cursing a city that gives me constant headaches, but I tell you after days that I spend with people here I can only feel lucky having spent that time with them.
I am often asked by people here and home, "how did that make you feel". I usually first try the words sad or good, but then I end up turning to privileged. It made me feel privileged, they made me feel so privileged.

Ill share with you, I think the places that I enter to fill a need, have all become the places that fill something in me.
I feel privileged to live with a true Indian family. True in the Indian sense that they live a special life. Everything takes a bit longer, and everything is just a bit flashier. True in the sense of family as I have discovered from living with them for these months. They function with love and time spent together, but they also dysfunction, as we all do.
I feel privileged to be spending time with people who's lives are so precious and potentially nearing their end. I can sit with them and talk about their day, or just talk about nothing at all. I get to do their laundry, bring them food, and rub their feet.
I feel completely privileged to be able to enter only slightly into a community of women standing strong in Kolkata. Some that I see are still living in deeply woven poverty and they have yet to make the choice to step out of an industry that allows no freedom. I get to visit these women, and sit with them during a regular day of work in their lives.
I also then get to spend time with women who have now been on both sides. Women who know what it is to be bound, and now what it is to be free. I cannot fully comprehend the life changing decisions they have made, but I get to sit an do simple tasks amongst them.

I want to show you a few more pictures. These were the highlights of my week! After all my rest came such great reward.

This is at the very early morning Sari market.
It reminded me of a thrift store or a block-party garage sale.


And here are a couple of photos from the building that we spent one morning cleaning up. It still needs work, but it is a beautiful place. I can tell you that this building will so soon be a new place for women who want a new job, a new life.




And this is me wearing my "nice shirt", which is never actually clean or presentable. On this day it was extra gross from the cleaning in the morning.


I am going to Nepal for a week on Saturday with my team and few others which is so exciting. If you don't hear from me before then, just imagine me in a place that is a few degrees cooler and many mountains more beautiful.

thanks for waiting and then reading,
loves from this steamy city

our beloved's not dead,
but his highness instead has been utterly changed into fire;
so why not be utterly changed into fire?

your girl, she's a renegade

Namaskaar.

I have a few pictures.
Pictures just from today.

We went for a long exploration today.
We found the bustling flower market, the packed train station, the windy bridge, the quaint ferry, and the tempting river.

This is just a small shot at the massive Howrah station.


Here we are just about to embark down into the chaos that is the flower market.


And here is a shot of the epic Howrah bridge. And one friend standing, thinking.



A few more to come....
loves from over here

slow show for you

Hello.
no excuses... it is true. I should have updated a few days ago, but I didn't. I will give as much as I can now and then I will return to add some pictures. It is not as though I live in a remote shack with no easy way to find internet; I just often sit down and begin to type feeling like I can do no experience here justice. What I am saying is that upon my safe arrival home in a couple months you will have to take me for tea or eggs and then I can tell all the juicy stories.

Let me tell you it is hot. I am not allowed complain, thats impolite, but I am just acknowledging the fact. I think I can say that last Wednesday was the hottest day of my life so far. The heat here is measured in celius, these days it sits in the 40's. Then 5 or so degrees are added for what is called the "measure of discomfort". I think that means humidity. Sweat is everywhere, but I am not complaining.

On Saturday we went to the Book Bajaar with sister. Imagine my dream stroll. You should be picturing a long long road that is packed on either side with little shops selling used books. All this affordable literature is really starting to pile up on my window sill. It was such a fun day though, a girl after my own heart and weakness, sister was a great help when trying to get a good deal on books. I heard that there is a tiny little nook of a tea house that I missed. It has an ancient reputation for hosting heated debates and mind battles of local college students and memorable philosophers alike.

I am still spending as much time as I can at Kalighat. People are getting sick, new people are coming, and I am getting more attached and woven with the people every day.
I have done a couple of visits into the red light district here. Pretty close to what I expected it would be, I am enjoying the struggle of relationship with these women as I expected I would. It so clearly means entering into friendship for joy and struggle. The time is full of laughing and chatting with beautiful girls, lots of chai and food, and feeling a great bond. Lots to share and lots to process about those visits.

I am so fortunate. Lovely girls Jen and Jenna have ventured across the pond and they are spending a couple of weeks in Kolkata. It is so so good to see them, just a little taste of a place called home. I enjoy eating breakfast with them when I can, I really miss that part of my life at home.

The election is coming here. For all of India it takes a couple of months for everyone to vote; the stations go into every village and hill of people. Its really complicated, and not always talked about, but its going to be a big deal. I am learning as much as I can about it, from my understanding there could be a major shift in history and power of this state in the next month or so. It is interesting to be around; there are lots of rallies and flags and mega posters. There is one that Obama's face melted into a candle with a local leader. They really love him here, an automatic connection seems to be made between him and Ghandi.

I must dash, I will gather some photos to share soon.
thanks so much for reading
loves from way yonder


every thought, a thought of you.
a light within my brother's eyes
every look in search of you

the province of the brave

Hello, and "Shubho Nababarso!"- Today is Bengali New Year.
Maybe I will start you with a couple of photos:


Goodmorning Santospur. This one was taken really early; I love when I get to walk in Kolkata when it is too early to be loud, but not too early for the bustle to begin.


And here is my view as I approach the front steps of Kalighat. A beautfiul building it is.

I should tell you that I love Kolkata. I think I only truly love it because there are so many days that I hate it. I feel myself making a niche here as it is called; and I think just as soon as the niche is so perfectly molded to me, it will be time to pack up and leave.

I should explain that one time last week I got really irrationally upset at a taxi driver. I treated him as though he was every Indian man who had ever done something to irk me. Unfair. He charged us bedeshi girls too much for a taxi ride that we didn't want to take that came at the end of a very misfortunate 3hr transit home to the village.

I should also explain that it feels like the sisters at Kalighat are getting used to having us around and they have started to rely on us a bit. The slight closeness I feel with them is so rewarding and it is lovely just watching the way they work and find their space at Kalighat. Some of the ladies that live at Kalighat too, I think feel our presence is there. I don't know how much stabilty is in their lives as they lay on their beds; we are hoping to be a bit of that for them.

Also though, Kalighat sometimes seems impossible. A small house that is right in the middle of a busy, loud, overcrowded, token endowed road. Inside the house at Kalighat can become shocking and hard to look at, and gross to deal with. I think it has to be like that sometimes.

But I really can't forget, that I probably live with the best Indian family. It may take me a long time to get back to them at night, but I can wind down during the commute, and arrive home to an astonishingly delicious home-cooked meal. I can sit on the floor with my sisters and laugh about all that we've lost.

Same pattern feeling for the past handful of days. Karissa asked me a question this morning that summed it up a little bit. She asked me if I ever feel like I could just burst in this place. I answered, "of course".

thanks for reading,
all my love from way over yonder,

grant me singleness of purpose,
and some strength to lift a part of the burden,

wide eyes

Good day,
I've got a few pictures to show you.

These first two are from the roof of Kalighat. I think the sun is about to take it's trip down.




And this one, for my Dad, is a beautiful Indian named motorcycle. I finally spotted this one.


bye for now,

these days, a little bit stronger than the last

Good day,

I am writing you here, Saturday for me, and it is getting hot. I can feel the harsh times coming. I am up to about 4 litres of water a day and a pretty wimpy apetite as I move throughout the city.
By the time I get back to the house though, I begin to anticipate the meal to come. I can hear Ma bustling in the kitchen, sometimes in the dark due to a power out, and I start to feel hungry. These days I am craving her food which is such a lovely feeling. I am always looking forward to the roti piece, the mound of bhat, and the aloo mix. The latest addition to any plate I eat has been an oinon. Whether its a snack or a big meal from Ma, I crave the punch and crunch of a raw onion. These days a strange desire for an onion or a cocnut just cracked and sold from a wrinkly lady on the street are most common.

This week again felt more like I have a place, and a home in Kolkata. Out of neccessity perhaps I am feeling more comfortable as I move about the city and back out to the village. In Kalighat I still don't know everything, but I know what I can do. I am getting close with a few particular women who stay at Kalighat, I am not sure if thats the best idea. For some reason this week was full of laughter at Kalighat. The women love to mock my bedeshi ways, and I love to hear them crack up. My Bengali language is coming along slowly... I increase by a few words a day. I feel like the sisters/didis that work at Kalighat are getting used to having me around. The one sister is always keeping me busy, and once and a while she will offer me an ounce, only a pinch, of affirmation. I think she knows it's what I live for. This week as I was throwing on my dupata scarf to leave Kalighat she studied me for a couple for minutes. I was standing nervously, anticiapting a commment about my uncombed hair or my saggy pants, but after some silence she said "You look Indian. You are wearing a dupata and you look like an India woman". I can tell you that just filled me with joy. I think I have a lot to learn from the sisters. I think this week I will hang around to be with them after we do the afternoon shift.

This coming week brings more new adventures. I am doing my first visit into the red light district. Also, we have visitors from Nepal. Also, as much time as my feet and sweaty face can allow me at Kalighat.

All my love, and a few resignating words I have been humming this week. The Cold War Kids sing this one,
"I've got one friend laying accross from me; I did not choose him, he did not choose me. We've got not chance of recovery, joy and hospital, joy and misery"....It reminds me of the ladies (and men) at Kalighat sometimes. Lots of joy, misery as well, but all in it next to eachother.

oh, sister.

Hello today.

I hope you are well as you read this, I feel quite healthy this week. This past week Kolkata really felt like a home and like I have some sort of a routine. I have been going to Kalighat house either once or twice a day and I also started going to an Adoration service with all the sisters at the main Mother Theresa house. I really look forward to the service because it consists mostly of sitting in silence. Silence is something that does not come easy in the bustle of Kolkata.

Kalighat can be a very heavy place to be. Walking there we go down a street filled Hindu dedications and idols for the Kali temple. It feels like I am walking through a tight weaving; Kali is often understood as the Hindu goddess of death, and between all the road side sellers and the beggars, the sick people and the flashy colors, Mother's house sometimes feels like a crawl. I think of that most days as I walk into the home that Mother Theresa started as a sanctuary for people who are in their last days of life. I hear stories about the tribulation she faced as a foreigner trying to start the home back in the 1950's.

Usually I do massaging and exercises with ladies in the mornings at Kalighat and then medications and quality time in the afternoons. This is always interjected with trips to the bathroom, cleaning, and some small medical attention. I mentioned to someone that I am lucky there is laundry and dishes to do at Kalighat because if I every feel overloaded or really overwhelmed and I sit and soak my hands or saunter up to the roof to hang some clothes. Also these past couple of weeks every time I am at Kalighat I seem to be rehearsing ancient poetry about certain feelings in my head. It seems soothing to me.

I have a few more pictures to share.

This is Karissa and I with our Bengali Ma. She prepares for us the greatest food and we are always laughing with her as we struggle with our Bengali and she talks slowly for us. She knows now that I love shosha (cucumber), bhat (rice), and aloo (potato) with any meal. She stresses out if I talk to strangers, and she is always willing to attack any bugs that are in our room.


This is Karissa and I with our new lovely friend/sister Gita. We live with her, and apparently we sit in strange positions on her veranda.


And these are a couple more shots from the train. Something I have picked up about India is that there are people everywhere. Even when we were on the train passing by what seemed like untouched countryside I could spot one person squatting or picking a plant.






and This is the way the world ends, not with a bang but with a whimper.
-says T.S. Eliot

on your side

Good day,

I am back in Kolkata now.

Bangalore was a really great place to be. We went to visit a children's home that seems like it is the model of changed lives and leaders of tomorrow. It is a big family of 45 kids who have been taken off the streets and out of dumpsters and put into schools and covered with love. The kids are unbelievable. Bangalore is such a different city than Kolkata; the skies are blue and the traffic is bearable. It is meant to be a place to retreat or take a breath from the bustle of Kolkata. A breath it was, however I secretly missed being back here. I think that means the attachment and slow growing fondness of this place has really begun.

The train back and forth was really fun. Between sleeping, eating a million Samosas and drinking endless cups of chai, reading piles of books, pooping down a chute that goes right onto the railroad tracks, and sitting at the edge of the door hanging my feet over in the wind, it was a really cool experience. Highlights included being accosted by a monkey with the face of an old man, and having one of the usually relentless beggar kids sit and my leg just to rest for while.

I have a couple of photos here.

This a view from the train of the beautiful South Indian countryside.


This would be a token white lady hanging her head out the train...


Oh yeah... and this is what happened to my face during holi.



This week I switched Mother Houses. I am starting my volunteering at one called "Kalighat" and I will be there for the rest of my time here. Kalighat would be the house that Mother Theresa first started; it's the home for dying. I am still spending time with lots or great ladies who are in the business of freedom, I am loving life in the village with our family, and I am getting closer to being able to communicate to people in Bengali.


Its been a good week or so. We had one day while we were away when we were reflecting as a team about our first month or so in Kolkata.
I think Nic gave the secret for the week. He said faintly "Kolkata is the real deal". I think we all agreed. Kolkata seems capable of holding ever depth of both joy and wretchedness.
Conclusion being... I would rather be here in this city of burden, beauty and revival then in some of the finest places of the world.

thanks so much for reading.
love and love,

Hello just quickly,

I just received this picture from someone. If you could focus on the great view of Kolkata city and not on my strange face. I think I was saying "Egads!". Perhaps in reaction to the gaggle of people horking their morning loogies on the sidewalk...



thats all for today. I am going to go pack for my time in Bangalore and try to get some more studying done.

loves.
Nitu.

ki kobe

Hello!

I hope that as you are reading this you are well. I have heard about crazy weather in Calgary. When I was home in Calgary freezing my butt off I was craving the Kolkata steam, but some days here all I want is to jump into a pile of snow. It's ok though, nobody looks at you funny if you are sweating buckets.
I have been sick most of this week. I guess I am still adjusting to all the new flavors and textures here. Since moving into the village our schedule has changed. It takes longer to get anywhere, and we eat dinner at the traditional Indian time of 10pm. That can make digestion a bit tough, but it is the Indian life.

I have the day off from Mama T's today but Karissa and I are heading to a really neat place for the day. It's a business that we will be spending a lot of time with. They employ Indian and Nepali women who want to be free from the sex trade. Turns out that Kolkata is basically a hub for the entire Indian trade. A lot of women come to Kolkata for some sort of "training" and then they go to different Indian cities to work. I have been told that there are about 10,000 women in Kolkata working in the trade, and about 64,000 customers that go through everyday.
Anyways, this business. The women come in to hand sew blankets out of old Saris. Their blankets are then sold throughout the US and Britain to give the women a solid income. They also get English classes and a lot of fun events. This weekend we are going to some crazy theme park/disco place called Wonder World with them. Last week we had the big picnic with them.

Mama T's was great this week. I am meeting so many international volunteers. I think that some of the Indian women that work at Primdan (the house I work at) are starting to recognize me and so they call on me for lots of jobs. We did so much laundry this week, we gave foot massages, and Karissa and I had to deal with quite the poop catastrophe. The women there love to sing and dance and have their nails painted. I often bring my Bengali notes there to practice with them. I think they enjoy that too. However I seem to only know the most open ended questions like: "tell me how you are feeling today", or "what did you do today".

Us girls still seem to be the talk of the village. Apparently we are so gutsy for taking the early train from the village because it is so packed. The woman that we live with said that she heard some ladies talking about "those Bedeshis (foreign girls) who are always on the 7:20 train". Apparently a lot of the local ladies wish they could talk to us but they don't know any English. Hopefully soon we can say a few words to them, I am learning lots in our language classes.

I have a photo here. Not sure if you can tell, but im on the crazy train. (its empty).


This coming Tuesday we are all heading to Bangalore and Chennai for a week. We are taking a 30 hour train ride (think Slumdog or the Darjeeling Unlimited) to get there. In Bangalore we will be visiting with a young lady named Tammy who has started a home to raise kids with no homes. I have been told all about her life, and apparently her and I are going to bond. ha ha. Also, we will be in Bangalore for Holi. All I know is that people throw colored powder everywhere. It was on the Amazing Race once.

I suppose that is all for now. I am going to embark on a mad search for some diet Pepsi.

A secret this week? Hmm I would say Fish are friends... not food. In fact. If you can consider all living things that are killed then eaten friends, meat is easily avoided. There are bikes with screaming chickens dangling from them, goat heads for sale, flapping fish at the market, and hanging carcasses for sale. I would say stick to the aloo (potato) bhat (rice) roti (bread) and phulcopi (cauliflower).

wish me luck on my train extravaganza!
a whole rickshaw full of love,
Nitu. (oh yeah, that's my Bengali name).

out to the village

Hello today.

This past week has been very busy. We moved into the village, went to a big fancy party, and kept up our time at Mama T's home.

We moved in with a family in the village. The village is pretty much like a rural suburb of Kolkata. It takes at least an hour to get anywhere, through a combination of auto-rickshaw, bus, local train, and metro. It has been really hard to adjust to a new place again. It seems as though no one in the village has seen white girls before, they have only read about them in textbooks and such. The stares never really stop and they are never hidden. Crowds form, people point, little kids run away, its exhausting. We are living with a great young lady named Gita though and she really stands up for us. She said that people will get used to having us around and then they will all look out for us.
The best village experience so far was taking the local train. Picture the stereotypical Indian train packed to the brim with people in every corner just sweating bullets, and will lots of people hanging on the outside. Us girls took an early morning train to get to Mama T's and it was such an adventure. When the train is nearing all the girls stand on the edge and really give the stare down. Some puff their shoulders, some spit a bit, and some just shoot the stink eye, all to tell other girls that they are going down and that the train has no room for the two of them. As soon as the train arrives all I knew to do was to grab some sort of post or rail and then hope that the mob would just carry me. This is true. We floated right on. So crazy though. I thought it was hysterical, while all the Indian women were screaming at each other.
Gita's mom cooks for us everyday and that takes some getting used to as well. She is a fantastic cook, but she tries to get us to eat so much food. Also, dinner is not served until 10 or 11pm.

This week we went to a huge celebration for the Indian women who have started a business in order to get out of working on the streets. It was their 3rd anniversary this week and so we went out to get decked out in our Sari outfits for the occasion. It was a big morning for Gita, she is obsessed with pink and her mom had such a fun time dressing us. It felt like some sort of prom. We went out with the ladies to this really nice garden and then went for a nice lunch. We all ate with our (right) hand at lunch even though there was fancy silverware, and a lot of the ladies took leftovers home in tins for their children.

I have a couple of pictures here from the garden:





I had such a great time working at Mama T's this week. I feel like some of the ladies that work there are become familiar with having us around and so they rely on us a bit more. This week as I was walking in in the morning, one of the sisters said "Aunti Aunti come come!". I followed her and she threw this old shriveled lady into my arms and we started walking down a dirt path. We walked down this road with about 10 other ladies from the home, some of them had to be carried, some crawled a bit. We arrived at this gigantic ambulance and the sisters asked me if I could come. We ended up going to get the ladies eye's checked at this big community eye checking event... haha. That was such an ordeal. Some of the ladies only have one eye, some of the ladies eyes go in two directions, and some of them refused to even open their eyes. It was good to be there for it though, I am always reminded of how much care and company these people need. Even the littlest tasks could be embarrassing for them or make them feel strange I think.

oh yeah. a secret for the week.
be bold. We have had to be bold when everyone tries to rip us off.
We have had to be bold when a taxi is about to run us over but we slam our hand on the hood of it to stop instead.
We have had to be especially bold when Indian men think we will share an auto rickshaw with them. (haha a you go girl moment for sure).

thats all for now, I am off to language class.
lots of love,

...it's here in the smallest bones

Hello again.

It has been just over a week now that I have been in the busy Kolkata and I have a few more stories to share.

I had my birthday here this week which was nice. We had green peas for dinner, and Beth gave me a beautiful book to write in. I starting reading some Rabindranath Tagore writing this week and it is so good. I read some really neat short stories of his and I found a book of some of his poetry. Its really great for me here, there seems to be used book stores on every street.

I spent this whole week working in Mother Theresa's home called Primdon, which is a hospice. Here people are not quite destitute, they still have a bit of time to live. Most of the people at the home are mentally ill or severely disfigured. Our days there usually start with laundry, then making beds. After that we give lots and lots of foot rubs, then we serve lunch.
I realized after working there for a couple days how much more it actually is to be there. I starting to look a little closer and see what happens beyond those basic tasks. What I learned is that all the women need to be moved in order to be fed, or have a massage, or go to bed. That is an ordeal, some of them are pushed in their wheelchairs, some of them just need a human crutch, and some of them do this really neat crab walk thing on the ground. One woman that I found who needed to be changed was so tiny and frail that one of the sisters told me to just throw her over my shoulder. Oh man. As I was carrying her to the toilet she was grumbling and moving a bit and I accidentally hit her pea sized head on the wall. She had a bit of a fit. But after getting her into a fresh nightie and giving her a mushy banana she was just fine.
The day after that I went over to feed someone there lunch and I ended up sitting with one woman who was in the corner. I think she was the most disfigured person that I have every seen. She was so peaceful though, and she enjoyed the meal.
I think I will be at this house for a couple of months, and then I may change to a different home for the final two.

This weekend the girls and I are moving into a lady named Gita's home. She lives in the village so it will be a bit of a commute for us to get in everyday. I think it will be lots of fun though, and everyone says that Gita's mom is the best cook in Kolkata.

I have a few pictures here.


This is a photo from the veranda of the flat. It can be so noisy out there, and it is wedding season right now so there are a ton of flashy parades.


This a picture at the Victoria park. We went there on Valentines day and it was hilarious. We went with a few English speaking Indian women and they were laughing the whole time about all the young couples kissing under the trees. (In India, guys and girls cant even stand in the same section of the train). Nic got his head into the picture.


And this would be myself with my other team mates Karissa and Sandi. We found a place where you can quickly snap a picture without getting into trouble. This is just after getting out of a crazy auto-rickshaw.

The secret for this week is to plan out trips to the toilet. I have developed a strategy because toilets are just holes that you squat in, and yes it is true, the left hand becomes the dirtiest part of your body. The trick though is to make friends with people who own restaurants or hotels that may just also have a sink, a few squares of tp, or a flushing squat.

whoa that was long.
thanks for reading.

love and love

Shundor Kolkata

I am here.
I am here in an Internet cafe in the middle of what is called Sudder street. I just finished eating chicken and naan bread that cost less than two dollars and I think I will go and try and find some sweet yogurt and some pants in just a bit. I am living with 5 other Americans. They are so loving and open minded. Boy Nic says y'all and thinks that my English is pristine. Boy Kyle is a good friend to have around, he knows the city. Girl Beth is our host, she is a stand up white girl who has totally found her place in Kolkata.

I was with the dying today.
I was with men and women who all seemed to be shrunken and they were dying. I massages hands and feet and scratched backs and did the Indian head bob so they would think I knew what they were talking about. They seemed content though, I mean who doesn't like a solid foot rub. The guys shave the guys, the girls massage the girls. I am excited to spend more time there as I learn more Bengal so that we can talk a bit. The homes are cool because they are full of International volunteers who just showed up. A lot of people show up to volunteer and don't end up leaving for months. Ever heard Mother Theresa say that we will be taken care of just like the lilies are? I feel like a lily. No requirements to help, filled with home made chai tea all day, stay as long as you want.

I am joyful here.
I am joyful in a place that is so colorful and so loud and that is always smiling. A place where I know that terrible things happen, but also where spirits are so high. I am joyful flying around in a rickshaw and I am joyful walking for kilometers on end so that I can be shown the best food in town. I am joyful wearing genie pants and eating spicy food.

I am trying to learn Bangla. That is the best language to learn here.
I have a new phrase-ish.
Kamon Achen - How are you?
Ami balo achi - I am fine.
Kamon Achen? - and how are you?
Ami gete hobe batha pecchap - I have to go painful urine.
Maaf Korne, Ami tomake belobachi - I am sorry, I love you.
Hen. kalka dakka hobe. - yes. see you tomorrow.


so that you know... this place is full of secrets.
I have the first one to share with you today.
It turns out that women's behinds in Kolkata are their best kept secrets. We walk up so many stairs and walk on rubbish roads for miles, yet we are absolutely not allowed to wear anything tight or short, or anything that would even suggest we have a rear.


kalka dakka hobe.

Its about that time.

I am leaving for Kolkata in less than two weeks.
All the little tasks seem to be coming together. (via the mass effort on my mom's part).

Not excited just yet... I am anticipating actually being settled; no one likes traveling for 30 hours and trying to make a new place home.

I look forward to writing here, I hope you look forward to reading.
Hopefully not too many rants about the current state of our world. I am going to focus on just telling stories.


thank you already.