The Mosquito Net is My Safe-House

The beginning of this week was filled with many traveling adventures to VSSU's micro finance branches. Monday we went on a visit to the Dhola Branch to see some of the women's self-help groups and the individuals who either take loans or savings with VSSU. We took another motor-bike tour the following day to the Diamond Harbour Branch to visit two women's groups. The leader of the last group we visited used her loan to buy a rickshaw for her husband so he no longer has to pay rental charges to use one everyday. She is so young: only twenty years old, and has an adorable one-year old boy. After completing these visits, I wrote case studies (like the one about this group leader) for VSSU to see how effectual their work is in the community on a smaller, individual scale. On the motorbike ride home, the wind picked up as the dark clouds rolled in the sky. It began raining steadily and we had to pull off to the side of the road and stand under someone's awning for the rain to subside. I was so very glad for the cooler temperatures that the rain brought, but it was ill-timed. We got soaked on the motorbike!

Bless the rain that brought cool temperatures and restful nights, but curse the rain that made me fall ill. As we were strolling the muddy and littered streets of Lakshmikantapur in search of new clothes for the children Thursday night, I began to feel tired and feverish. I thought that maybe I've been on my feet for too long, or maybe I was exhausted dressed in my rain-drenched sari, so I waited to see if those feelings went away, but they only got worse as the night progressed... I danced and sang with the children after we returned to their home, but all I wanted was to be in my bed and have my Mom take care of me. My Mom and I talked that night and she gave me her perceived diagnosis of a small virus and told me to go to the doctor the next day if I felt worse.

Later that night, fever high, body aching and shaky, I attempted to sleep covered up with my hoodie. Soma-di knocked on my door the next morning to teach me how to wear the sari, but I went back to my bed because I felt too ill to have a huge piece of fabric wrapped around me. She told me to take rest and continued to check on me throughout the day. It wasn't only Soma-di, but Mashi, the cleaning lady who barely speaks English, made a gesture through my mosquito net to ask if I needed food, and the three workers that bring us chai brought me a fluffy fleece blanket. It was so sweet; I felt so well cared-for :) After sleeping literally the entire day in my mosquito net safe-house, I still felt pretty bad, so Rotin-da (another worker in my office) and Aurelie took me to the doctor in VSSU's van. Apparently the change from hot humid tropic weather to wet rain gave me a small virus. Luckily, I sweated it out in a day and felt so much better the next morning as I started to get my appetite back.

Mr. Mondal even visited my room the next morning to check on me and ask me to come to VSSU's Annual General Meeting if my health was better. As it so happens that I was feeling peachier than the day before, I showered and came to the office to attend the meeting. Unfortunately, it was all in Bengali so I couldn't understand more than five words! I almost forgot to tell you about the bit of drama that happened before the meeting! Aurelie told me that Mr. Mondal and the villagers had a bit of a brawl that morning while I was asleep. Apparently some of the villagers are jealous that he has property, so they uprooted some of the trees he recently planted in the yard adjacent to VSSU. When he went to check on them that morning, the villagers socked him in the face and some of the VSSU staff pushed the villagers into the pond! A few moments after I arrived in the office, the police came and Soma-di told me to come outside with the other staff and villagers (everyone likes to know everyone's business, especially in such a small village). The officer followed Mr. Mondal inside and took his complaint in his office. Let's hope that is the end of this dramatic tale!

Now that the sun is back out again and the rain clouds have passed, the heat and humidity have returned. I will pray for more rain, but no rainy travels and illness :) Until next time, here's a quote from Nikita Koloff: "Capture your dreams and your life becomes full. You can, because you think you can."