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
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Pictures, Photos and Snaps
Here are the pictures from our trip to Darjeeling and Gangtok. I know that I haven't written about the trip, so this is like an appetizer, but my stories will be even better, don't worry.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2055743&id=32404648&l=42d32
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2055748&id=32404648&l=1002b
There are also some more pictures of Raiganj. Hope you enjoy.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2055749&id=32404648&l=5cdf1
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2055743&id=32404648&l=42d32
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2055748&id=32404648&l=1002b
There are also some more pictures of Raiganj. Hope you enjoy.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2055749&id=32404648&l=5cdf1
3/2,3,4
Back in Raiganj, it feels good to be back in the familiar. Darjeeling and Gangtok were wonderful. I will sit down and write about the trip soon and hopefully have it posted by next Tuesday. We arrived back on Sunday night, our bus reached just before 11pm. Hannah stayed here and we were both so excited to sleep without 15 layers of clothing on (oh yea, Darjeeling and Gangtok were cold!). We slept in as late as we could (7:30, because English class is at 8am).
There just hasn't been a spare minute since we arrived back, and I am so behind on my blog. So I will write the past 3 days in bullet points, because then I can be more concise, and include the important stuff.
-I had French Toast for breakfast on the 4th, it was really really really good!
-I missed the kids at Chonditola a lot while we were gone, and when we went on Monday we had the most fun with them that we have ever had, running and laughing and playing
-The kids at Chonditola finally taught me how to say 'how are you' in Santali, a local tribal language. So now when I go, they say how are you and I say chellaka menama. :-)
-Hannah leaves on Thursday and Fr. is going to Calcutta for a few days too, I am not looking forward to seeing them off.
-Ruchicka is back in town for a few days, I have been over to her house for the past two evenings to have dinner and catch up. It has been really great to see her and Trisha again. I slept over their last night and we had a really fun girls night :-)
-The kids at St. Xavier changed playing time, so we missed it on Monday, but were able to play a haphazard game of football (really soccer) on Tuesday with the KGers
-I finally took Hannah for the flower fried sweets that I had with Puthumai in my first few weeks here. They are called a-mer-et-ty, and were really really good.
-One of the SWI staff had her farewell lunch on Monday, it is sad to see her go, she has been really nice and very helpful while I have been here.
-I attended a photo lamination training with Hannah, it was the first skill development training that I have attended for men. The men were learning to frame photos and then they will use those skills to open a shop and start a business
-The stresses of American life are seeping into my Indian life...after checking my email on Monday I realized I have lots of problems to solve (post office, taxes, registration, housing, tuition, etc)
-I am teaching my English students interview skills this week and we are doing very interactive speaking activities. It has been fun seeing their development in speaking ability from the beginning to now
-Puthumai has looked over my previous work and was very complimentary about my LFA, it felt really good to be complimented on my work. He also gave me a really interesting assignment for the next few days. It is about reading a few articles on the Millenium Development Goals and then comparing the projected targets and programs with the realities I have seen.
-I will be spending the weekend with the Sisters of the Divine Saviour in Bolegon, which is walking distance from quite a few villages. I am excited to spend the time with the Sisters and in the villages. On Monday we will also celebrate International Woman's Day with a village program. I am really excited.
-Hannah went for Henna today, but I think I will wait a while, so that it will still be on when I come home
Thats all that I can think of for now. It is becoming so normal to live in India that typing my blogs has become difficult. Everything seems so ordinary, and so mundane or redundant to type about. I guess that is a good sign. :-)
On another note, I have two weeks left here. It is the 4th and I leave on the night of the 18th (technically the morning of the 19th, 2:45am). I came to India knowing that I would leave, but I still can't help feeling that leaving here will be more difficult than I ever imagined. I have grown really attached to the people and my life here. I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to have this experience, but that doesn't mean leaving is going to be easy. Praying for connections that transcend time zones and for ways to carry with me all that I have seen.
Sending love.
There just hasn't been a spare minute since we arrived back, and I am so behind on my blog. So I will write the past 3 days in bullet points, because then I can be more concise, and include the important stuff.
-I had French Toast for breakfast on the 4th, it was really really really good!
-I missed the kids at Chonditola a lot while we were gone, and when we went on Monday we had the most fun with them that we have ever had, running and laughing and playing
-The kids at Chonditola finally taught me how to say 'how are you' in Santali, a local tribal language. So now when I go, they say how are you and I say chellaka menama. :-)
-Hannah leaves on Thursday and Fr. is going to Calcutta for a few days too, I am not looking forward to seeing them off.
-Ruchicka is back in town for a few days, I have been over to her house for the past two evenings to have dinner and catch up. It has been really great to see her and Trisha again. I slept over their last night and we had a really fun girls night :-)
-The kids at St. Xavier changed playing time, so we missed it on Monday, but were able to play a haphazard game of football (really soccer) on Tuesday with the KGers
-I finally took Hannah for the flower fried sweets that I had with Puthumai in my first few weeks here. They are called a-mer-et-ty, and were really really good.
-One of the SWI staff had her farewell lunch on Monday, it is sad to see her go, she has been really nice and very helpful while I have been here.
-I attended a photo lamination training with Hannah, it was the first skill development training that I have attended for men. The men were learning to frame photos and then they will use those skills to open a shop and start a business
-The stresses of American life are seeping into my Indian life...after checking my email on Monday I realized I have lots of problems to solve (post office, taxes, registration, housing, tuition, etc)
-I am teaching my English students interview skills this week and we are doing very interactive speaking activities. It has been fun seeing their development in speaking ability from the beginning to now
-Puthumai has looked over my previous work and was very complimentary about my LFA, it felt really good to be complimented on my work. He also gave me a really interesting assignment for the next few days. It is about reading a few articles on the Millenium Development Goals and then comparing the projected targets and programs with the realities I have seen.
-I will be spending the weekend with the Sisters of the Divine Saviour in Bolegon, which is walking distance from quite a few villages. I am excited to spend the time with the Sisters and in the villages. On Monday we will also celebrate International Woman's Day with a village program. I am really excited.
-Hannah went for Henna today, but I think I will wait a while, so that it will still be on when I come home
Thats all that I can think of for now. It is becoming so normal to live in India that typing my blogs has become difficult. Everything seems so ordinary, and so mundane or redundant to type about. I guess that is a good sign. :-)
On another note, I have two weeks left here. It is the 4th and I leave on the night of the 18th (technically the morning of the 19th, 2:45am). I came to India knowing that I would leave, but I still can't help feeling that leaving here will be more difficult than I ever imagined. I have grown really attached to the people and my life here. I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to have this experience, but that doesn't mean leaving is going to be easy. Praying for connections that transcend time zones and for ways to carry with me all that I have seen.
Sending love.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
2/24
This morning Hannah woke up sick again. Which is the 5th time she has been sick in her 5 weeks here. I hope that she feels better soon! We had a quick breakfast of Special K at DDC, (we found Special K at the Wal-Mart last week). Then we took a trekker with 28 people in it to SWI. There were only two students in class again today, because the puja included staying awake all night to worship the god. So the students who were celebrating the puja yesterday and missed class, were sleeping and eating this morning. I hope that next week my students show up, because class is really more enjoyable when the students show up.
Sr. Anisha arrived back today after being gone in the south for the entire month of February. It is good to have her back, and Hannah and I went to Bolegon today to have tea and sit with her for a while. Bolegon is the Sisters of the Divine Saviour’s concent, and it is located about 45 minutes drive away near quite a few villages. It was market day in the village near Bolegon and we got the see the market as we drove by. Village markets are really cool, they are a large field with hundreds of people standing around selling just about anything that a village family could need. Once we reached Bolegon we had tea, biscuits and sweets. Hannah and I sat with Sr. Anisha and Sr. Minnie for an hour and just chatted. We had a lot of fun.
We were back at SWI for lunch, and then we did some work around the office until we left for Chonditola. I also got to chat with Ajla for a few minutes, which was wonderful, I miss her so much! We ran a few errands on the way to Chonditola and then we played with the kids for a couple hours. Today we learned a few of the kids names, which is really exciting. I now know 8 of the kids names. We were running around chasing them today, and Hannah and I were both covered in sweat. Today was the hottest day yet in Raiganj, especially because modestly standards require that women wear long pants and short sleeves. Both Hannah and I were really hot, but the kids were pretty understanding a sat around resting with us for a while. Then we were off to St. Xavier to play with the KGers. Today we played ‘Go Fish’, very similar rules to the previous day. Then we ran around in bare feet and kicked the soccer ball around. The kids were jumping all over me and throwing grass into my hair. We were laughing and running, and it was hot, but it was so much fun.
Hannah and I went to DDC to pack her things for our Darjeeling trip. She started feeling even worse, which sucks. I hope she feels better for our trip. We couldn’t find a trekker or auto to take home, because it was dark out. Which also meant that we had to walk down the DDC path in the dark. It was really creepy, but we made it without tripping or running into any scary nighttime creatures. We ended up getting onto a bus that we thought was going to Raiganj. We lucked out and the bus ended up going exactly where we needed.
After packing my things, sending a few emails and sitting for dinner, Hannah and I are now sitting in my room both freshly showered and watching a movie. We will leave for Darjeeling tomorrow morning after Ash Wednesday service. We will travel all day tomorrow and then spend the next two days alone in Darjeeling. Then we will travel to Gangtok and meet Puthumai for a trip to the China/India border. The area is hilly country and supposed to be really beautiful. I will make sure to take lots of pictures and I will update my blog when we return on Monday.
Sending love.
Sr. Anisha arrived back today after being gone in the south for the entire month of February. It is good to have her back, and Hannah and I went to Bolegon today to have tea and sit with her for a while. Bolegon is the Sisters of the Divine Saviour’s concent, and it is located about 45 minutes drive away near quite a few villages. It was market day in the village near Bolegon and we got the see the market as we drove by. Village markets are really cool, they are a large field with hundreds of people standing around selling just about anything that a village family could need. Once we reached Bolegon we had tea, biscuits and sweets. Hannah and I sat with Sr. Anisha and Sr. Minnie for an hour and just chatted. We had a lot of fun.
We were back at SWI for lunch, and then we did some work around the office until we left for Chonditola. I also got to chat with Ajla for a few minutes, which was wonderful, I miss her so much! We ran a few errands on the way to Chonditola and then we played with the kids for a couple hours. Today we learned a few of the kids names, which is really exciting. I now know 8 of the kids names. We were running around chasing them today, and Hannah and I were both covered in sweat. Today was the hottest day yet in Raiganj, especially because modestly standards require that women wear long pants and short sleeves. Both Hannah and I were really hot, but the kids were pretty understanding a sat around resting with us for a while. Then we were off to St. Xavier to play with the KGers. Today we played ‘Go Fish’, very similar rules to the previous day. Then we ran around in bare feet and kicked the soccer ball around. The kids were jumping all over me and throwing grass into my hair. We were laughing and running, and it was hot, but it was so much fun.
Hannah and I went to DDC to pack her things for our Darjeeling trip. She started feeling even worse, which sucks. I hope she feels better for our trip. We couldn’t find a trekker or auto to take home, because it was dark out. Which also meant that we had to walk down the DDC path in the dark. It was really creepy, but we made it without tripping or running into any scary nighttime creatures. We ended up getting onto a bus that we thought was going to Raiganj. We lucked out and the bus ended up going exactly where we needed.
After packing my things, sending a few emails and sitting for dinner, Hannah and I are now sitting in my room both freshly showered and watching a movie. We will leave for Darjeeling tomorrow morning after Ash Wednesday service. We will travel all day tomorrow and then spend the next two days alone in Darjeeling. Then we will travel to Gangtok and meet Puthumai for a trip to the China/India border. The area is hilly country and supposed to be really beautiful. I will make sure to take lots of pictures and I will update my blog when we return on Monday.
Sending love.
2/23
I got up on the wrong side of the bed today. I can’t exactly put my finger on it, but I am not in a good mood, and I do not have a positive outlook today. When I woke up my foot was still swollen, I hadn’t slept well and I had a headache. Breakfast was good, but for class only two of my students showed up. Apparently it was some sort of puja, single women fast and worship the god that will bring you a good husband. Since there were only two students my lessons didn’t work out so well, but class went well anyway. We ended early and then I went to the office to putz around on the computer. I got very bored, very quickly, and when Puthumai walked in I attacked him and demanded he give me work. He gave me a small project that I finished before lunch.
Puthumai and I went to the Dr. so that he could look at my foot. The doctor was a private doctor. We took a rickshaw, and took our shoes off at the front door. Once up the stairs we sat in a waiting room because the doctor wasn’t in. Puthumai knows the doctor and the doctor’s wife. He called the doctors wife and the doctor showed up soon. The doctor ended up laughing at me, because of my weak American immune system and my need to go to the doctor for such a ‘mundane’ problem. The doctor wrote me a prescription and when I asked Puthumai what the pills were for he said, my ‘mental satisfaction.’ This encounter only made my bad day worse.
Lunch was miserable because, well because I was still in an awful mood. After lunch I did some work scanning. It was interesting to learn about what I was scanning, but it was a lot of scanning for a funding/oversight agency that would probably never actually open any of the documents that I scanned. Hannah and I left to run a few errands in the afternoon. Then we went to Chonditola, which was probably the best thing for my bad attitude. The kids were really energetic, we chased after them, spun and tossed them around. Sleepy, the little cuddly guy, starting crying when I picked him up for 5 seconds and put him down. Hannah and I decided that we didn’t want to affirm his cry until someone picks me up behavior, so we let him cry for a few minutes. We tried to comfort him in everyway besides picking him up, but he wouldn’t have it. He was more persistent than we expected, and cried for about 20 minutes before he finally calmed down. It was really sad to see him cry, but I think it is better that he doesn’t get too attached.
Then we went to St. Xavier, and since Regina and Johannes were gone, the kids were really happy to see us. I played with the KGers for playing time. We played a game of matching cards with animal pictures. The rules included screaming as loud as you could, cheating by turning over the cards when it was not your turn, and constantly accusing other kids of cheating. It was slightly chaotic, especially with one little guy sitting in my lap, one sitting on my shoulders, and one pulling on my arm. But it was a lot of fun. I was finally smiling, laughing and distracted from my bad day.
Then Hannah and I went back to SWI, waited for Puthumai for a while before our dinner out. We went to a hotel that we had eaten at before. Hannah and I both really enjoyed the food their. We had fish sticks, fried potatoes, really juicy chicken tikka, nan and dal. Nan is like thick chapatti and the dal wasn’t liquid it was more pulse like. We all really enjoyed our dinner. I slept at DDC with Hannah and we both were very excited to end the day, get a good’s night sleep and hope for a better day tomorrow.
Sending love
Puthumai and I went to the Dr. so that he could look at my foot. The doctor was a private doctor. We took a rickshaw, and took our shoes off at the front door. Once up the stairs we sat in a waiting room because the doctor wasn’t in. Puthumai knows the doctor and the doctor’s wife. He called the doctors wife and the doctor showed up soon. The doctor ended up laughing at me, because of my weak American immune system and my need to go to the doctor for such a ‘mundane’ problem. The doctor wrote me a prescription and when I asked Puthumai what the pills were for he said, my ‘mental satisfaction.’ This encounter only made my bad day worse.
Lunch was miserable because, well because I was still in an awful mood. After lunch I did some work scanning. It was interesting to learn about what I was scanning, but it was a lot of scanning for a funding/oversight agency that would probably never actually open any of the documents that I scanned. Hannah and I left to run a few errands in the afternoon. Then we went to Chonditola, which was probably the best thing for my bad attitude. The kids were really energetic, we chased after them, spun and tossed them around. Sleepy, the little cuddly guy, starting crying when I picked him up for 5 seconds and put him down. Hannah and I decided that we didn’t want to affirm his cry until someone picks me up behavior, so we let him cry for a few minutes. We tried to comfort him in everyway besides picking him up, but he wouldn’t have it. He was more persistent than we expected, and cried for about 20 minutes before he finally calmed down. It was really sad to see him cry, but I think it is better that he doesn’t get too attached.
Then we went to St. Xavier, and since Regina and Johannes were gone, the kids were really happy to see us. I played with the KGers for playing time. We played a game of matching cards with animal pictures. The rules included screaming as loud as you could, cheating by turning over the cards when it was not your turn, and constantly accusing other kids of cheating. It was slightly chaotic, especially with one little guy sitting in my lap, one sitting on my shoulders, and one pulling on my arm. But it was a lot of fun. I was finally smiling, laughing and distracted from my bad day.
Then Hannah and I went back to SWI, waited for Puthumai for a while before our dinner out. We went to a hotel that we had eaten at before. Hannah and I both really enjoyed the food their. We had fish sticks, fried potatoes, really juicy chicken tikka, nan and dal. Nan is like thick chapatti and the dal wasn’t liquid it was more pulse like. We all really enjoyed our dinner. I slept at DDC with Hannah and we both were very excited to end the day, get a good’s night sleep and hope for a better day tomorrow.
Sending love
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
