Two Fruit Flies in My Daal

Despite the fruit flies that fall into my daal, the perpetual dirt under my fingernails, the relentless humidity that makes me sweat after I shower, and the never-ending need for insect repellent after the sun sets, I am enjoying life in West Bengal. There is always dirt and dust from the road on my skin that just seems to accumulate, but still there is something really special about this place. The moment I saw Kolkata from the plane, the city sparkled and twinkled like stars in the night sky as I was hundreds of feet above the city. There was an older man on the plane with three rings on his right finger that traveled from New York to Kolkata with me and offered his help in case I needed assistance finding anything in the city. He asked me, "How can such a young girl be traveling alone so late at night?" I assured him that I would be fine since I had someone picking me up. As soon as I stepped out of the airport, the humidity slapped me in the face. I had been sitting in a chilly air-conditioned plane for so long that it was a shock to my body!

Another shock occurred when I hopped in VSSU's van. Indian traffic is one of the craziest things I've seen; even at night when the amount of traffic is significantly reduced. Jagadish-da, the driver, non-nonchalantly honked his horn at every passing car and swerved around every bike, pedestrian, and rickshaw. If a road was closed, then no problem; he just squeezed his way through the traffic wherever he wanted to find another route. After traveling on the more peaceful village roads for about an hour, we stopped at a restaurant in Diamond Harbour for rotis (sort of like tortillas, but better) and curried chickpeas. It was at this restaurant that I peed in a squatty potty for the first time! If you're not a camper, then you might find it really disgusting, especially when there is no toilet paper! Aside from that experience, people stared at the ghostly-white foreigners (Aurelie, the other intern, and me) in their homeland, which is understandable. It's a good thing my older sister, Erin, warned me that people would do that, especially in smaller villages. We left the restaurant and after another hour in the van, we pulled up to VSSU's drive around 2 a.m. and I slept for hours and hours after a very exhausting 25-hour day in the plane.

I bathed from a bucket the next afternoon (which is around the time I woke up), and walked downstairs and across the yard to the office. There I met the CEO/ Founder of VSSU, Mr. Mondal, who explained the workings of his organization over some Chai tea. Speaking of, I drink so much Chai here: mornings they deliver some with tea biscuits at 7:30, then again in the office around 10, again in the afternoon, and any other time I speak with Mr. Mondal in his office. After some introductions and some settling in, Aurelie, Soma-di (a secretary in the office), and I visited the Children's Home, where about 37 kids live because their families cannot afford to support them and give them an education. The kids are the sweetest little people ever! One little girl painted my fingernails and toenails purple, while another one fanned me and put my hair up because she could see the sweat dripping down my neck. They are the most precious children I have ever met and I sincerely hope they receive good educations so they can achieve their dreams of becoming car mechanics, engineers, flight hostesses, teachers, or whatever it may be...

Friday I learned a bit more about VSSU and showed the other workers some pictures from St. Louis and of my family. The children loved seeing pictures of Erin-auntie and America. I explained to them that Erin is my didi, or older sister. As I left their home, they gave me hugs and kisses on the cheek as we said tata (goodbye for children in Bengali) to each other. Darpun, another office worker and Mr. Mondal's older son, picked Aurelie and me up on his motorbike to take us to a local village for some Biryani, a famous rice dish. I never knew that motorbikes were so incredibly fun (as long as you don't have to spend 2 or 3 hours on them, making you feel like you've been horse-back riding for hours). On the return, Darpun took us to his house and we went up to his roof where I saw the most stars I've ever seen in my life. It was like a kid had taken a black piece of paper and poked it so many times with a needle; it was spectacular!

Saturday was Ghandi's birthday so we had a holiday from work. Soma-di took us to Kolkata on the local train (which was miserably crowded and hot, not to mention lengthy). She bought us sugarcane juice and a strange fruit that was quite tasty. I wish I had taken a picture of it; the outside was bumpy and green but the inside had a white, milky flesh with black seeds. She led us around the market and thankfully found a squatty potty for me to use that was completely pitch black inside (I had to carry my flashlight in!). Soma-di bartered with the local vendors in the market for our salwar kameez, sari, scarves, and jewelry. The markets are so different than the stores in America that I'm accustomed to. I could never spend so long there; it is so crowded and there are not many places to rest. The October humidity gave me heat-headaches by the time we went back to the train station to come back home. I was so miserably tired and exhausted that I was expressionless, and I think the women on the train noticed because one old woman offered me her seat but I refused (it was too kind a gesture).

The next day, Darpun took Aurelie and I to his Aunt's house to enjoy a delicious lunch and then take a ride on the motorbike to the Ganga River. I will make all of my Fayetteville friends jealous when I tell them that I ate Golgappa on the shore of the Ganga River :P But honestly, I liked the parta that I had the next day on the VSSU branch visit better! There is so much going on here that I haven't even had the time or the means to talk to any of my friends or family since this Monday evening. Darpun finally set me up with a working SIM card for my phone so I can make international calls, which is such a relief, especially because I can finally hear my friends and family's voices and I don't have to slow down when I speak to them. Everyone here thinks I speak so fast that I constantly have to keep my speaking speed in check so I can be understood! I am so excited and grateful to be able to contribute something to VSSU and to India. I have so many ideas, I just hope that I can turn most of them into realities. Please keep in touch with your own updates (your emails don't have to be as long as this blog post, anything is appreciated :) I love each and every one of you pumpkin-pies and can't wait to see you again!