1/27

I did not type my blog entry at the usual time yesterday. I had an awful headache and was getting sick. I went straight to bed after dinner instead of typing about my day first. So the entry for 1/27 will be short. It is difficult to recall previous days with much detail, and I want to save some time to type tonight’s entry. I will also type the entry as though it happened today, because that’s easiest for me.
This morning Father helped set up my Internet connection. Now I am able to connect to relatively quick Internet with the Ethernet cable in the Sr.’s office/immunization center. As long as the wireless box is functioning the Internet connects easily. That being said the wireless box’s functionabilty is beyond my understanding (and control). Overall though, great news. I was able to skype shortly with Mom and Dad. There is something so much more comforting to hearing their voices and seeing their faces. Hopefully as the weeks pass I will be able to connect over Skype with most everyone.
I woke up with a sore throat today, which is never a good sign. For my body a sore throat is the signal of a cold coming on. I tried to drink lots of water and watch my sugar intake (since sugar stunts white blood cells) but as the day progressed my throat just got worse. Ever since 4pm I have had an awful headache.
Some of the basics of the day: Class was good. I taught, the students spoke English and most everyone understand what was being said. In the afternoon I went to Bindol (the village with the leaf plate making training) with Susmita and Hannah. We traveled by tchecker, which was minimally crowded for Indian standards. The training is going well, and the women were very excited that I came again. I shared with them my increasing Bengali vocabulary (6 words) and they were very impressed. Bomali (the social worker in the village) had prepared some snacks for us, which was very sweet. For the ride home we took a government bus, my first Indian experience on a bus. It was bumpy and windy, and I fell asleep. There is something about bumpy roads and wind rushing through the windows that is perfect for sleeping. After arriving back at SWI Father rushed us to St. Xavier, for coffee and conversation. There I met Johannes for the first time, he is very nice and again it was nice to meet another Western student in Raiganj. Then we dropped Hannah off at DDC, she didn’t seem so thrilled to go, but I think she will enjoy the pace there. And the Sr.’s are so welcoming, I am sure she will feel at home soon. Then we came back to SWI, had dinner and I went to bed.
That is the jist of the day, I’m sorry that it is poorly written and rushed through. So here is a funny story from the day that should make up for the shotty job above.
When we were on the bike/door vehicle (picture to come soon) riding from the village to Bindol, we saw a large group of people gathered just off the road. We stopped the bike/door vehicle and got off to check it out. There was a game of musical chairs underway with a crowd of two hundred people surrounding. We started to watch, but soon the game ended and the crowd became more interested in the two white girls. As the crowd began to circle us instead of the musical chairs we headed back to the bike/door vehicle. I was sitting on the back and plopped down. I did not look up front and see that the driver was not sitting on the bicycle. Because I was the only one on the door part, the door part when down towards the ground and the bike part went up. It was kind of like sitting on one end of a table and having the other end fly up in the air. Except this happened on the road, on a vehicle with a crowd of 200 people watching. Everyone thought it was absolutely hilarious that the gigantic (this is not self-effacing, my height is huge for West Bengal standards) fair skinned girl had made a fool of herself. I laughed along with everyone and made sure that when I sat down next, everyone else was on first. Sending love.