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.