3/5

Okay, back to daily entries, I want to have memories of the end of my journey, just like I do of the beginning. And I think writing my thoughts down at the end of the night is still the best way to end my days. I spent the last night at DDC with Hannah, it was her last night in Raiganj. She packed and I attempted to distract her so that she wouldn’t be able to pack and she would have to stay :-) This morning we took an auto do SWI and the driver let me take control of the steering wheel. He only did this for the empty portion of the drive while no one else was in the vehicle, but nevertheless I was thrilled. Upon arrival at SWI we had a quick breakfast and I taught English class. I am teaching my students interview skills, and class lately has been really interactive, it’s a lot of fun. After class Hannah and I went with Sr. Sarita to visit a monastery. The Sisters there stay inside the building the whole time, they have staff for marketing and taking care of the grounds. They rely on the church and the community to support them, but they supplement that support by selling their stitching work and preparing the host. Their daily schedule includes praying, doing yoga, meditating, stitching, personal spiritual times, and meals. They are not allowed to see visitors during lent, but since it was Hannah’s last day and we were special guests the Sisters call came to greet us. We sat in a room and behind the metal bars sat the sisters. There was a lazy Susan that they handed us drinks through. The Sisters were really happy to speak with us. Two of them will be traveling to Virginia in the upcoming months to support a monastery there. They were pleased to hear that I was from America. After saying goodbye to those Sisters we went next door and visited the novices house for another order of nuns. I really enjoy meeting the different religious communities in India, because they are always so welcoming.
In the afternoon Hannah and I spent a few hours lying in bed and chatting. She was sick again (her weekly bout of illness) and wasn’t feeling good. It was great to just relax with her, but it only reminded me more how much I am going to miss her when she’s gone. Then we went to Chonditola, where the kids were energetic as ever. Rajes(previously known as Sleepy, I am doing really good at learning their names) was really upset today, he was crying and didn’t want to be held. But besides him, the kids were all upbeat. Cibass and Puja convinced me to play chase and after 3 minutes I was sweating in giant droplets. Even just sitting in the shade I was sweating, so running after the kids and tickling them was hot, hot, hot. From then on I mostly sat in my puddle of sweat playing with the younger ones, Sumitra, Shonali, Sajen and Uttu. After Chonditola I went to St. Xaviers and played with the KGer’s, we played football, which it turns out isn’t about scoring goals. Instead the objective seems to be to kick the other kids in the shins while kicking the ball at the same time. I thought this was particularly vicious, but they seemed to be enjoying themselves. There is about 6 of the little guys that usually hang around me regardless of where the soccer ball is. One of them always asks me what I ate for breakfast and for lunch. Whenever he has head bulgur for breakfast he always tells me about it. The bulgur the hostellers get is from USAID, and they know that I am from America, so they think that I brought the bulgur with me just for them. The other ones who usually hang around me include a little guy who smiles at me and then runs away, and two guys who I’m pretty sure speak no English. They all love when I hold their hands and spin them around. The guy who asks me what I ate for breakfast also likes to ask me to dance with him. They are lots of fun.
I left St. Xaviers a little early and went to DDC to have a final tea with Sr. Sarita, Sr. Philo and Hannah. We had thin pancake like things wrapped around coconut shreds. I have had it once before, but with cumin, this time it was even better. Tea time was pretty quiet, because we were all sad. We left together because the Sisters wanted to come and see Hannah off at the train station. There were 2 other people traveling with Puthumai and Hannah on the train (2 other people that I know). One of them is from CRS and she has been staying at SWI for the past two days, and the other is the Mother Superior of the Missionaries of Charity Mother House who was in town for the funeral of her brother. Once we all arrived at the train station Hannah and I were both in tears. I cried so hard my face went numb. It is sad to see her leave; she has been a really great companion. I know that I will miss her for my remaining days in Raiganj and that all of my previous days would not have been the same without her.
In the evening the current was out, we ate dinner by candlelight and had the remaining pigeon from Hannah’s fairwell dinner (pigeon is Hannah’s favorite). I had a cold wash after dinner and then the current came on. Tomorrow I will leave for my stay with the Sisters near Bindole (a village). On Monday we will have a International Women’s Day program for the village women. I am excited for the change of pace and to spend so much time around village life. I will update on Tuesday and hopefully by then I will have found enough time to write about Darjeeling ☺
Sending Love