WE RAN OVER A MAN ON A BIKE!!!! Oh my goodness! So driving in Varanasi is no different than Kolkata... today we got an autorickshaw (or as Erin likes to call them... tuk tuk after experiencing Thailand) Our driver was a sweet little man who spoke pretty good English and as we're driving along a biker comes out of no where and our right side crashes into his sidebars and off to tumbling he goes. We all have various reactions.... gasps, shrieks, etc (you can imagine) and our rickshaw driver turns around to all of us and says "All okay for you?" Mind you, we have not stopped to see if this biker is okay... no no no... we keep driving and our driver doesn't give a backwards glance to that poor biker. So needless to say... we finally got into some kind of accident which was bound to happen at some point on this crazy journey!
Also, I realized today why feet washing was so special in the Biblical times. The middle east must be like India where man and beast poo in the streets and everyone walks around in it... I was looking at a mans feet today and thought "Ew!" and I looked at my feet today after just taking a shower three hours earlier and they were caked with dirt and grime.... YUCK. Last night I stepped in some kind of poo as we were walking into the train station... If someone offered to wash my feet here, I would look at them like they were crazy. So now... Dave S., Dave M. and Dad from the Boundary Waters trip... the washing of the feet might mean a little more to me after this trip than it did before:) Lovely story huh:)
Love you all and see you in less than 2 weeks!!!!!!! We are so excited!
DK
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Friday, November 14, 2008
Ready or Not!
As we approach the end of our time away from home it seems like more and more all of us are thinking about what life will be like when we get back home and how we will ever communicate to everyone our experience in India. I am still a big believer in that you will truly will never know until you have been here yourself, but we did have an experience yesterday while traveling back to India that maybe you can relate to if you have ever boarded a plane and will give you a little picture of what our time here has been like.
It happened yesterday when we were boarding our plane in Bangkok to fly back to Kolkata. We had cut it a little close on time and we were some of the last to board the plane, we were also seated in the back of the plane. As the four of turned the corner on the airplane to make our way down the long aisle to our seats we were met with a plane full of mostly Indian men who were seated and ready to fly. It was amazing how everyone was literally staring at us like they have never seen an american girl before. Many of the men had even taken out there digital cameras, video cameras and picture phones to take picture of the four white girls. We were all just amazed at this and how it just felt so backwards and rude. There was one guy that was cranking his head around so he could read my passport upside down to see where we were from. Once we were seated and getting our bags situated you could not fail to notice the overwhelming odor on the plane....holy B.O.! We were convinced that it wasn't just us that was noticing the smell because right before the take off the flight attendants walked the aisle with air freshner and sprayed the entire plane. We knew that even if we were ready or not to go back to India we were already there in some regards.
Tonight we leave Kolkata on the train to go to Varanasi. It is around a 15 hour train ride, we will stay there one night and then take another 12 hour train ride to Agra to see the Taj Mahal.
Hope you enjoyed the pictures Danielle posted.....there are about 10,000 more :)
Thank you for keeping us all in your prayers,
Lexi
It happened yesterday when we were boarding our plane in Bangkok to fly back to Kolkata. We had cut it a little close on time and we were some of the last to board the plane, we were also seated in the back of the plane. As the four of turned the corner on the airplane to make our way down the long aisle to our seats we were met with a plane full of mostly Indian men who were seated and ready to fly. It was amazing how everyone was literally staring at us like they have never seen an american girl before. Many of the men had even taken out there digital cameras, video cameras and picture phones to take picture of the four white girls. We were all just amazed at this and how it just felt so backwards and rude. There was one guy that was cranking his head around so he could read my passport upside down to see where we were from. Once we were seated and getting our bags situated you could not fail to notice the overwhelming odor on the plane....holy B.O.! We were convinced that it wasn't just us that was noticing the smell because right before the take off the flight attendants walked the aisle with air freshner and sprayed the entire plane. We knew that even if we were ready or not to go back to India we were already there in some regards.
Tonight we leave Kolkata on the train to go to Varanasi. It is around a 15 hour train ride, we will stay there one night and then take another 12 hour train ride to Agra to see the Taj Mahal.
Hope you enjoyed the pictures Danielle posted.....there are about 10,000 more :)
Thank you for keeping us all in your prayers,
Lexi
Monday, November 10, 2008
PICTURES!
Go to:
http://picasaweb.google.com/danerbridglex
For a selection of pictures... it's a bit deceiving... we truly did volunteer! We just couldn't take pictures to prove it:( Hopefully our blogs have painted you a picture of those experiences:) Enjoy!
http://picasaweb.google.com/danerbridglex
For a selection of pictures... it's a bit deceiving... we truly did volunteer! We just couldn't take pictures to prove it:( Hopefully our blogs have painted you a picture of those experiences:) Enjoy!
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Beautiful Days
Thailand... I think that God couldn't decide what his favorite shade of blue was and so he made rainbows of blue here. The ocean, the sky... whew... it's beautiful.
Our first day we stayed in a bungalow on the beach called Ton Sai and hung out with pot smoking, party loving, rock climbers... every way we turned we were offered a smoke. It was quite entertaining. I got to go rock climbing and met some fabulous Aussie men who befriended me and took pictures of me being spider-woman on the walls... It was great fun:)
Our second day we met up with Andrea (Lexi's sister), caught a ferry to Ko Phi Phi (pronounced like pee pee which has elicited plenty of laughs from us very mature ladies) and tried to cram a whole lot of fun in the three days that she was with us which we did successfully I might add. We rented a long boat that gets it's name from its super long "motor-stick" (I use very technical language as you probably have noticed alread) and toured around the island. We saw "The Beach" beach... Leonardo DiCaprio, scary, never saw it... but the beach was cool:) We went to a Lagoon and swam around until Andrea told us she saw a water snake:) We snorkeled and saw some amazing fish... How did God make everything in only 7 days??? Even if one day was actually like 1 million years... how did he come up with some of those fish!?!? We also went to monkey beach where we got to feed monkeys and Erin was absolutely fascinated by their little human like hands... she gushed over them... it was funny:) Andrea had her head on her shoulders and kept the water behind her and the monkeys in front so she could make a quick escape in case of any crazy monkey business occurred... which of course, with our luck, it did:) I'm sure you'll all hear about it later:) We ate Italian Gelato a few times, got a massage at least once a day, Lex and Andrea made us all wish for our sisters and we just had a fantastic time together. I think we're all planning our honeymoons in Thailand actually:):):)
Today it is raining and so we are spending our time reading, getting massages, facials, manicures, watching movies on our rented dvd player, writing to friends and family on the internet and just enjoying our second to last day in Paradise. The pictures are incredible and we are all SO excited to share them with you. We discovered a restaurant that offers GREAT salads and we are going to fill our tummies with wonderful veggies and fresh fruit before we return to India:)
Continue to pray for us... we are returning to India for a lot of traveling and we are all anxious to see our families and friends... sometimes the end of a trip is the most difficult. We are having a great time and repeatedly comment on how lucky we are to be able to do this trip. Whodathunkit 18 months ago when we walked into Allen College that we would be in Thailand and India sharing life, culture shock, and total relaxation with some of the girls in that room. Thanks for sharing this trip with us, following our blogs, writing us emails, praying for us... My cup runneth over:) See you in 17 DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Turkey, mashed potatoes, homemade rolls, pumpkin and apple pie here we come!
DK
Our first day we stayed in a bungalow on the beach called Ton Sai and hung out with pot smoking, party loving, rock climbers... every way we turned we were offered a smoke. It was quite entertaining. I got to go rock climbing and met some fabulous Aussie men who befriended me and took pictures of me being spider-woman on the walls... It was great fun:)
Our second day we met up with Andrea (Lexi's sister), caught a ferry to Ko Phi Phi (pronounced like pee pee which has elicited plenty of laughs from us very mature ladies) and tried to cram a whole lot of fun in the three days that she was with us which we did successfully I might add. We rented a long boat that gets it's name from its super long "motor-stick" (I use very technical language as you probably have noticed alread) and toured around the island. We saw "The Beach" beach... Leonardo DiCaprio, scary, never saw it... but the beach was cool:) We went to a Lagoon and swam around until Andrea told us she saw a water snake:) We snorkeled and saw some amazing fish... How did God make everything in only 7 days??? Even if one day was actually like 1 million years... how did he come up with some of those fish!?!? We also went to monkey beach where we got to feed monkeys and Erin was absolutely fascinated by their little human like hands... she gushed over them... it was funny:) Andrea had her head on her shoulders and kept the water behind her and the monkeys in front so she could make a quick escape in case of any crazy monkey business occurred... which of course, with our luck, it did:) I'm sure you'll all hear about it later:) We ate Italian Gelato a few times, got a massage at least once a day, Lex and Andrea made us all wish for our sisters and we just had a fantastic time together. I think we're all planning our honeymoons in Thailand actually:):):)
Today it is raining and so we are spending our time reading, getting massages, facials, manicures, watching movies on our rented dvd player, writing to friends and family on the internet and just enjoying our second to last day in Paradise. The pictures are incredible and we are all SO excited to share them with you. We discovered a restaurant that offers GREAT salads and we are going to fill our tummies with wonderful veggies and fresh fruit before we return to India:)
Continue to pray for us... we are returning to India for a lot of traveling and we are all anxious to see our families and friends... sometimes the end of a trip is the most difficult. We are having a great time and repeatedly comment on how lucky we are to be able to do this trip. Whodathunkit 18 months ago when we walked into Allen College that we would be in Thailand and India sharing life, culture shock, and total relaxation with some of the girls in that room. Thanks for sharing this trip with us, following our blogs, writing us emails, praying for us... My cup runneth over:) See you in 17 DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Turkey, mashed potatoes, homemade rolls, pumpkin and apple pie here we come!
DK
Monday, November 3, 2008
Goodbyes are never easy
Today is our last day in Kolkata. I am a little bit sad to be honest. Saying goodbye to the volunteers we've met and the women we've gotten to love on... it isn't very fun. There are a lot of things we didn't do or see here...but that just gives us an excuse to come back someday when we only remember the good things about the city:) Hopefully that will come sooner rather than later.
We have been buying our own fruit and bread to eat lunch and we had some left over today so instead of throwing it out, all we had to do was walk out the front gates to the begger who sits there and offer the loaf of bread which she accepted with many shakes of my hand, a hug farewell, and gibberish (to my ears) in Bengali. It's the little things in life for these people:) And they teach us that it really is the little things that mean the most.
:)DK
We have been buying our own fruit and bread to eat lunch and we had some left over today so instead of throwing it out, all we had to do was walk out the front gates to the begger who sits there and offer the loaf of bread which she accepted with many shakes of my hand, a hug farewell, and gibberish (to my ears) in Bengali. It's the little things in life for these people:) And they teach us that it really is the little things that mean the most.
:)DK
Sunday, November 2, 2008
God moments and Sunday in India
We had a God meeting on Erin's birthday confirmed by today. We were at the shopping center that is nicer than the Cedar Falls and Waterloo mall... super nice... examining the array of chocolate and double chocolate cake choices that would help Erin forget that she indeed is celebrating her 23rd Birthday in India! A white woman comes up to us and asks us if we are Americans and proceeds to introduce herself and ask what we're doing here. She is from Canada and her husband flies for Jet Airways and they live here! So we tell her about our volunteering and our plans for going to Thailand (P.S. We're going to Thailand for 10 days for a Holiday!!! Laying on the beach, suntans, kayaking, thai massages, and swimming here we come!). She got super excited and said she lived in Bangkok for one year and offered to meet us for dinner and give us lots of tips for our trip. So last night we met at a great restaurant called Afraa Restaurant and Lounge where we had great food and it was like a NYC night club... cool lights, white couches, outside patio on the 7th floor overlooking a shopping center that is all lit up and beautiful. She gave us all kinds of tips for Thailand and also invited us to her Kolkata apartment which turned out to be fantastic! Now we understand how people live here in Kolkata for longer than 2 months!
At her house she had a bible by her bedside and so I asked if she was a Christian and she invited us to an Assemblies of God church this morning. It was great with a choir, special music, basically very similar to an American service. Afterwards she invited us out to lunch with a family of four who is just beginning a 3 year committment here in Kolkata. We had the most wonderful conversation about the church, fundraising, God moments and just how cool God is. It was SO great. These are the days when it is so fun to be here--Meeting people who are brave enough to live here and have a relatively normal life. It is inspiring.
So there's an update... I am sorry that I keep posting...I know you all want to hear from each of us... the different perspectives give a better idea of what we're seeing and feeling. Hopefully when we get home, you will remember some of these posts and be able to ask more specific questions so you get a clear picture of our trip:)
Lots of love!
DK
At her house she had a bible by her bedside and so I asked if she was a Christian and she invited us to an Assemblies of God church this morning. It was great with a choir, special music, basically very similar to an American service. Afterwards she invited us out to lunch with a family of four who is just beginning a 3 year committment here in Kolkata. We had the most wonderful conversation about the church, fundraising, God moments and just how cool God is. It was SO great. These are the days when it is so fun to be here--Meeting people who are brave enough to live here and have a relatively normal life. It is inspiring.
So there's an update... I am sorry that I keep posting...I know you all want to hear from each of us... the different perspectives give a better idea of what we're seeing and feeling. Hopefully when we get home, you will remember some of these posts and be able to ask more specific questions so you get a clear picture of our trip:)
Lots of love!
DK
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Prem Dan
Well I have just completed two mornings at Prem Dan spending time with women who need long term care. These women are mentally disabled, have wounds which handicap them, or are just plain old and sick. I met one girl who is 18 years old and haven't figured out why she is there and another woman who is OLD (hunched over, skin and bones, shaking from the Parkinsons that is ravaging her body). Huge range of women. I am not sure how they come to be at Prem Dan, but they are beautiful women.
I met a nurse who has been there for about 1 week from Switzerland and I became her little shadow and apprentice. She showed me how to dress one wound and let me loose for the rest of the time. She took awesome care of the wounds... she kept saying "They're beautiful!" while I tried not to gag! She told me that when she first came in the wounds had maggots and she had to take them out with dry gauze and one lady's middle toe was black and she had to cut the toe off! The bone was still attached though so the sister said to leave it hanging on! I asked the nurse how she knew what to do and she just pointed to her head... oh dear I have a long way to go! I am dreading tomorrow because today was her last day and will I be able to stomach and do some of the things she did?!? Only time will tell:) The sisters are the medical help although they have no formal training. So she just encouraged me to ask the sisters whenever I have questions!
The volunteers I have met are incredible and from all over the world! I met some from Switzerland, Holland, Taiwan, Japan, Australia, Spain, France and of course the good ole USA:) It is incredible how serving the poor brings people together. Yesterday I asked God what the point was. What difference does it make when there are thousands more on the street who need help that is not available. There is no easy answer, but I remembered the wonder thing and maybe I can wonder at the goodness of humanity. It is incredible that people from all over the world come to get their hands dirty and spend time with these people rubbing their backs, brushing their hair, painting their nails, feeding, cleaning, and just plain loving them. There are a lot of ugly things in the world, but this is something beautiful that I have had the blessing to witness with my own eyes and even take part in it.
A song that I listen to on repeat is by Brandon Heath...
The chorus goes:
"Give me your eyes for just one second
Give me your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me your love for humanity
Give me your arms for the broken hearted
Ones that are far beyond my reach.
Give me your heart for the ones forgotten
Give me your eyes so I can see"
It's not very fun to see the things God wants us to see though. It's also easy to see those people here... I hope that I will continue to ask for his eyes, arms, and love when I return to the safety and comfort of Cedar Falls, IA.
Lots of love! DK
I met a nurse who has been there for about 1 week from Switzerland and I became her little shadow and apprentice. She showed me how to dress one wound and let me loose for the rest of the time. She took awesome care of the wounds... she kept saying "They're beautiful!" while I tried not to gag! She told me that when she first came in the wounds had maggots and she had to take them out with dry gauze and one lady's middle toe was black and she had to cut the toe off! The bone was still attached though so the sister said to leave it hanging on! I asked the nurse how she knew what to do and she just pointed to her head... oh dear I have a long way to go! I am dreading tomorrow because today was her last day and will I be able to stomach and do some of the things she did?!? Only time will tell:) The sisters are the medical help although they have no formal training. So she just encouraged me to ask the sisters whenever I have questions!
The volunteers I have met are incredible and from all over the world! I met some from Switzerland, Holland, Taiwan, Japan, Australia, Spain, France and of course the good ole USA:) It is incredible how serving the poor brings people together. Yesterday I asked God what the point was. What difference does it make when there are thousands more on the street who need help that is not available. There is no easy answer, but I remembered the wonder thing and maybe I can wonder at the goodness of humanity. It is incredible that people from all over the world come to get their hands dirty and spend time with these people rubbing their backs, brushing their hair, painting their nails, feeding, cleaning, and just plain loving them. There are a lot of ugly things in the world, but this is something beautiful that I have had the blessing to witness with my own eyes and even take part in it.
A song that I listen to on repeat is by Brandon Heath...
The chorus goes:
"Give me your eyes for just one second
Give me your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me your love for humanity
Give me your arms for the broken hearted
Ones that are far beyond my reach.
Give me your heart for the ones forgotten
Give me your eyes so I can see"
It's not very fun to see the things God wants us to see though. It's also easy to see those people here... I hope that I will continue to ask for his eyes, arms, and love when I return to the safety and comfort of Cedar Falls, IA.
Lots of love! DK
Friday, October 24, 2008
No such thing as "No more room"
So you've been briefed about our past weeks adventures... but I want to tell you about the Jeep rides in detail... so we get off the sleeper train which was a teeny bit dirty confirmed when we saw native indians laying newspapers and sheets over their "bed" for the night. We, of course, brought nothing and sighed at the things we are forced to do in India!
So off the sleeper and onto a Jeep which to our American eyes should be able to fit 6 people maybe 8 if we really pushed it. Well pushed it we did! We fit a total of 16 people in that blasted Jeep! The driver was scrunched against the door with half of his body in front of the wheel as he reached accross his buddy who just had to tag along to make tight curves and honk his horn should anyone be barreling on the other side of the curve. It was INSANE! Then of course after our trek, we had to get on another Jeep. This time our legs were so incredibly sore from the ghastly trek down 2000 meters and of course our hips are stuffed into a Jeep where we sit four accross the back seat. We were a bit cranky to say the least. On this trip down the mountains, we had a total of 16 people in the Jeep with an additional 2 men on the roof and one guy hanging off the back of the vehicle! There is always more room in Indian vehicles! We couldn't help but wonder at God's sense of humor in putting us in such crazy, awkward, and uncomfortable situations.
Our first night of the trek... the mountains reflected the setting sun and as I watched the glow of yellow to orange to pink I was absolutely amazed at the God we serve. I looked away to view the actual sunset and when I turned back toward the mountains, it was as if God had shut the lights off and they were a sleepy shades of blue. It was incredible.
So fittingly, I am reading Ragamuffin Gospel where Brennan Manning shares this prayer:
Lord, Grant me the grace of wonder. Surprise me, amaze me, awe me in every crevice of your universe. Each day enrapture me with your marvelous things without number. I do not ask to see the reason for it all; I only ask to share in the wonder of it all.
Beautiful. What kind of God would encourage that prayer during the week that we visit the Himalayas?!? He is truly a good God who is so delighted in the details of our lives. It was even more special to share these spectacular views with Lex, Bridg and Erin. Things are so much more wonderful when shared with people.
Loving and learning through the beauty and complexities of the Indian culture:)
Danielle
So off the sleeper and onto a Jeep which to our American eyes should be able to fit 6 people maybe 8 if we really pushed it. Well pushed it we did! We fit a total of 16 people in that blasted Jeep! The driver was scrunched against the door with half of his body in front of the wheel as he reached accross his buddy who just had to tag along to make tight curves and honk his horn should anyone be barreling on the other side of the curve. It was INSANE! Then of course after our trek, we had to get on another Jeep. This time our legs were so incredibly sore from the ghastly trek down 2000 meters and of course our hips are stuffed into a Jeep where we sit four accross the back seat. We were a bit cranky to say the least. On this trip down the mountains, we had a total of 16 people in the Jeep with an additional 2 men on the roof and one guy hanging off the back of the vehicle! There is always more room in Indian vehicles! We couldn't help but wonder at God's sense of humor in putting us in such crazy, awkward, and uncomfortable situations.
Our first night of the trek... the mountains reflected the setting sun and as I watched the glow of yellow to orange to pink I was absolutely amazed at the God we serve. I looked away to view the actual sunset and when I turned back toward the mountains, it was as if God had shut the lights off and they were a sleepy shades of blue. It was incredible.
So fittingly, I am reading Ragamuffin Gospel where Brennan Manning shares this prayer:
Lord, Grant me the grace of wonder. Surprise me, amaze me, awe me in every crevice of your universe. Each day enrapture me with your marvelous things without number. I do not ask to see the reason for it all; I only ask to share in the wonder of it all.
Beautiful. What kind of God would encourage that prayer during the week that we visit the Himalayas?!? He is truly a good God who is so delighted in the details of our lives. It was even more special to share these spectacular views with Lex, Bridg and Erin. Things are so much more wonderful when shared with people.
Loving and learning through the beauty and complexities of the Indian culture:)
Danielle
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Darjeeling, A home a way from homes:)
Darjeeling was an amazing trip and we were sad to leave! I think we all loved the familiar climate, semi - cleanliness and serenity we miss so much from our normal lives. To be completely honest, the traveling to and from Darjeeling was terrible but the spectacular views made the trip more than worth it:) The first day we got there was kind of shot b/c we took the 11 hour overnight train to NJP (the local train station) and then from there we had to hire a jeep that took us up the mountain to Darjeeling - lots of sharp corners and hills but the dramamine kept us alive! So we arrived in Darjeeling in the evening and went to schedule our white water rafting and our 4 day trek. That night we met some fellow travelers from Australia and Denmark and they decided to meet us in the morning to go white water rafting. So the next morning at 7:00 AM we got into another jeep that drove us to the start of the white water rafting which was another 2 1/2 hours ride and we broke down along the way which added another hour but it wasn't bad b/c the town happened to have an awesome look out point:) White water rafting was sooo sooo much fun - we were a little hesitant at first b/c our 'guides' were 10-14 years of age - thank gosh the other guys we met the night before were with us! We are hoping to avoid any more jeep rides for the rest of the trip - on the way down the mountain Danielle said "No matter how many times you feel like you are going to die you just never do!" This is something we can laugh about now and to all of our parents - these drivers are absolutely insane and crazy but they are good at it, if that makes any sense!
The next day we did all of our shopping - and we bought lots and lots of scarves and the famous tea Darjeeling is known for. We also went to the Tibetan Refugee Center and that was also one of our favorite days. The Tibetan refugees explained the conflicts going on with China and Tibet which helped us realize why they lived and Darjeeling and how happy they were to have a home. They had several workshops around the center with elders hand-making shoes, boots, purses, sweaters, paintings, woodcrafts and beautiful rugs! We bought several handicrafts from the refugees and all of the profits went straight to them! They were all so nice to us!
The next morning we got up and headed out for the trek - the first day wasn't to bad only 11 km and several stops for tea and snacks, our guide was very good to us. The first night as we walked across the road to dinner we looked up into the dark night and saw the most amazing stars any of us had ever seen! The next day we went 19 km which wasn't terrible but the last 5 km was very steep and gave us a run for our money. The 2nd night was the coldest but we also had the most amazing views of some of the tallest peaks in the world including mt. everest - the views were breathtaking! We took lots of pictures and can't wait to show everyone! The last day we trekked 22 km and it was supposed to be the easiest b/c it was downhill - to our surprise it seemed to be the hardest b/c our legs were weak from the first 2 days! But we finally made it too our destination and what an accomplishment! The week was a success - relaxing but challenging at the same time leaving us with a sense of accomplishment! We are now back in Kolkata getting ready to start volunteering at the Mother House on Friday. Hope all is well in the states and I miss all of you and can't wait to see you on Turkey Day! xoxo B
The next day we did all of our shopping - and we bought lots and lots of scarves and the famous tea Darjeeling is known for. We also went to the Tibetan Refugee Center and that was also one of our favorite days. The Tibetan refugees explained the conflicts going on with China and Tibet which helped us realize why they lived and Darjeeling and how happy they were to have a home. They had several workshops around the center with elders hand-making shoes, boots, purses, sweaters, paintings, woodcrafts and beautiful rugs! We bought several handicrafts from the refugees and all of the profits went straight to them! They were all so nice to us!
The next morning we got up and headed out for the trek - the first day wasn't to bad only 11 km and several stops for tea and snacks, our guide was very good to us. The first night as we walked across the road to dinner we looked up into the dark night and saw the most amazing stars any of us had ever seen! The next day we went 19 km which wasn't terrible but the last 5 km was very steep and gave us a run for our money. The 2nd night was the coldest but we also had the most amazing views of some of the tallest peaks in the world including mt. everest - the views were breathtaking! We took lots of pictures and can't wait to show everyone! The last day we trekked 22 km and it was supposed to be the easiest b/c it was downhill - to our surprise it seemed to be the hardest b/c our legs were weak from the first 2 days! But we finally made it too our destination and what an accomplishment! The week was a success - relaxing but challenging at the same time leaving us with a sense of accomplishment! We are now back in Kolkata getting ready to start volunteering at the Mother House on Friday. Hope all is well in the states and I miss all of you and can't wait to see you on Turkey Day! xoxo B
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Ahh.. such a long time since a post with so many stories to tell! We had the most amazing and relaxing week hidden on the top of the Himalaya mountains! It has shown us once again that India is a country of extremes... we walk from 98 degree temperatures, pollution, noise, and all around chaos into the serenity of the incredible mountains (and 20 degree temperatures...brr!!) that surrounded us. We had the opportunity to go white water rafting and go on a four day trek... the views were breathtaking and the memories unforgettable. I wish that everyone could have been with us at the top of that mountain to see the incredible views (although I am not sure that everyone would have enjoyed the last hour of excruciatinly steep climbing to the top ;). The same God that brought us to witness this incredible poverty brought us to see the incredible beauty that within the same country lines. India is truly a country of contrast in which we are constantly developing a strongly distinct love/ hate relationship with (Danielle)! We had the opportunity to meet so many interesting people that really made our trip. I cant wait to start posting pics (We are hoping for some time tommorow! Only 1 month in... sorry!)
We went to registration today at the Mother Theresa house and are anxious to get involved again...Danielle and Bridget will start at a home for the destitute and Lexi and I will start at an orphanage for physically disabled children. Continue to keep us in your prayers...our adventures are only beginning!
Thanks again for the continuous love and support! Your comments and emails continue to bring homesick tears to our eyes... without our amazing support systems at home we could not do the things God has asked us to do... I always remember my mom telling me "he wont bring you to it if he cant bring you through it"... thank you all for being the foundation of our success and the encouragement that gets us through!
Erin
We went to registration today at the Mother Theresa house and are anxious to get involved again...Danielle and Bridget will start at a home for the destitute and Lexi and I will start at an orphanage for physically disabled children. Continue to keep us in your prayers...our adventures are only beginning!
Thanks again for the continuous love and support! Your comments and emails continue to bring homesick tears to our eyes... without our amazing support systems at home we could not do the things God has asked us to do... I always remember my mom telling me "he wont bring you to it if he cant bring you through it"... thank you all for being the foundation of our success and the encouragement that gets us through!
Erin
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Moving On
Well tonight at 11:45PM we will hop on a sleeper train to head north to a town called Darjeeling. We are planning on going white water rafting, a four day trek to see some views of the Himalayas and visit a tea plantation!
Our lungs are jumping for joy at the thought of clean/clear air to breath for a few days! Our ears are rejoicing at the silence that we will encounter:) And we're just happy to get away from this busy crazy city for a week!
I don't know how much access we'll have to the internet, so if we don't write for a while, don't be alarmed!:)
Love you all and love your comments!:)
Danielle
Our lungs are jumping for joy at the thought of clean/clear air to breath for a few days! Our ears are rejoicing at the silence that we will encounter:) And we're just happy to get away from this busy crazy city for a week!
I don't know how much access we'll have to the internet, so if we don't write for a while, don't be alarmed!:)
Love you all and love your comments!:)
Danielle
Monday, October 13, 2008
Maggots
Since in India, we have found the most charming internet cafe... it has millions of computers, access to Skype, great shopping for gifts and a TV (which plays Indian tv:( but hey! it's tv!). In addition to all these wonderful things, it has a bathroom which is rare in India... but this bathroom is literally the most disgusting places on the earth because we have to take our shoes off when we come into this cafe. So my bare feet have to walk into this nasty gross dirty bathroom where I do NOT dare touch my bottom to the toilet and to my horror... Bridget told me on our way out the door that she thought she saw maggots on the floor! I wanted to vomit and she reassured me that she was joking. NOT FUNNY.
So this morning to continue my new found discovery of maggots, a man came to our medical lady with a big bandage and everyone around us were covering their noses and mouth and staring in horror. Ever the new nurse graduate, I am curious and thinking I'm tough... this won't gross me out. He removes to bandage to reveal a little crew of squirmy maggots crawling in the hole in his ankle. I am itching and getting the chills and gags just thinking about it! I am pretty sure that I will have nightmares tonight about maggots so I will thankfully take two sleep aides so that I will be knocked out into oblivion.
I debated sharing this with you... It's disgusting and most of you non-nurse people will probably be disgusted... but its real! I also learned from Erin, Bridget and Lexi that maggots are actually good for wounds because they eat away the dead skin! whodathunkit. It is still the most disgusting thing I have ever seen in my life.
Pray that I don't have nightmares!
Danielle
So this morning to continue my new found discovery of maggots, a man came to our medical lady with a big bandage and everyone around us were covering their noses and mouth and staring in horror. Ever the new nurse graduate, I am curious and thinking I'm tough... this won't gross me out. He removes to bandage to reveal a little crew of squirmy maggots crawling in the hole in his ankle. I am itching and getting the chills and gags just thinking about it! I am pretty sure that I will have nightmares tonight about maggots so I will thankfully take two sleep aides so that I will be knocked out into oblivion.
I debated sharing this with you... It's disgusting and most of you non-nurse people will probably be disgusted... but its real! I also learned from Erin, Bridget and Lexi that maggots are actually good for wounds because they eat away the dead skin! whodathunkit. It is still the most disgusting thing I have ever seen in my life.
Pray that I don't have nightmares!
Danielle
Sunday, October 12, 2008
The City
This weekend we chose to travel into the city and get a taste of our much missed American lives. The transit from our Host Family's house in North Kolkata to the city center is usually pretty brutal whether it's just plain hot (90 degrees and 90% humidity) or we are packed in the train likes sardines being forced to smell body odor you wouldn't want within 100 feet of you, let alone an inch!! Rather than making the trip twice in 1 day, we decided to stay overnight at the YMCA on saturday and splurge on air conditioning, a night out to dinner and our beloved coffee the next morning.
Of course we went out to dinner at one of the two restaraunts we have eaten at thus far ( The Blue Sky Cafe and Fresh and Juicy). They are across the street from each other and both were listed in the Lonely Planet as being travelers cafes, in other words they do have some American food! The chicken sandwich I have eaten the past 2 times we have been there wasn't amazing but I knew it would stay in my stomach! As we looked at the menu last night, someone commented on how the menus of the 2 restaraunts looked very similar - soon after we ordered our food we watched our waiter run across the street to the other restaraunt to tell him our order - haha so we really have eaten at 1 restaraunt:)
We also love the shopping - okay maybe I love it a bit more than the other girls but we always find humor in the schmucks trying to sell us every item in their store! 'Come here sista this is a very cheap price', 'what is your bottom price', or 'you buy from me we are good friends' - let's just say we have learned a thing or two about bartering for a good price! This morning we went to our favorite spot - the very Americanized coffee shop where they play musical selections like John Mayer and Tom Petty.
Don't get me wrong, we really do love India - Whoa I went a little far - we are liking India more and more everyday and I am sure we will LOVE it by the end of our trip but we have realized no matter how familiar and pleasant something sounds it never tastes, smells, looks or fits the American way - whether the Dominoe's pizza is unusually spicy, Erin's much desired plain spaghetti was loaded with peppers, onions and other Indian spices or the fact that cold drinking water and hot showers are nonexistent. Although we complain from time to time - okay like all the time:) - I think the unfamiliarity of it all is great and has already changed us for the better! In the past 2 weeks I have needed much encouragement, support and reassurance about our adventure - the same words of wisdom have been repeated time and time again and it is a quote I currently live by - 'Nothing worth while is ever easy'! I want to thank EVERYONE for their support throughout this journey - it is appreciated more than you will ever know! xoxo Bridge
Of course we went out to dinner at one of the two restaraunts we have eaten at thus far ( The Blue Sky Cafe and Fresh and Juicy). They are across the street from each other and both were listed in the Lonely Planet as being travelers cafes, in other words they do have some American food! The chicken sandwich I have eaten the past 2 times we have been there wasn't amazing but I knew it would stay in my stomach! As we looked at the menu last night, someone commented on how the menus of the 2 restaraunts looked very similar - soon after we ordered our food we watched our waiter run across the street to the other restaraunt to tell him our order - haha so we really have eaten at 1 restaraunt:)
We also love the shopping - okay maybe I love it a bit more than the other girls but we always find humor in the schmucks trying to sell us every item in their store! 'Come here sista this is a very cheap price', 'what is your bottom price', or 'you buy from me we are good friends' - let's just say we have learned a thing or two about bartering for a good price! This morning we went to our favorite spot - the very Americanized coffee shop where they play musical selections like John Mayer and Tom Petty.
Don't get me wrong, we really do love India - Whoa I went a little far - we are liking India more and more everyday and I am sure we will LOVE it by the end of our trip but we have realized no matter how familiar and pleasant something sounds it never tastes, smells, looks or fits the American way - whether the Dominoe's pizza is unusually spicy, Erin's much desired plain spaghetti was loaded with peppers, onions and other Indian spices or the fact that cold drinking water and hot showers are nonexistent. Although we complain from time to time - okay like all the time:) - I think the unfamiliarity of it all is great and has already changed us for the better! In the past 2 weeks I have needed much encouragement, support and reassurance about our adventure - the same words of wisdom have been repeated time and time again and it is a quote I currently live by - 'Nothing worth while is ever easy'! I want to thank EVERYONE for their support throughout this journey - it is appreciated more than you will ever know! xoxo Bridge
Friday, October 10, 2008
Nothing like a little optimism..
I wanted to share with all of you a little bit of the comedy India has brought our way so far.... (Warning: some, if not all of the should be followed by a "you had to be there" disclaimer.)
1. We have constantly found comedy in the leaps and bounds Bridget has made. I pick on her only because she is such a lady...very feminine- some may even call her a "city girl" ;). She has been a great friend on this trip and we are SO GLAD that she is here- and not just for the comic relief that she has provided. In one instance, we were getting ready to go out for coffee. Bridget had showered, cleaned up, and went for one last bathroom run before we left. She came out..slightly damper than before. At some point her skirt had taken a dip in the toilet. This is something that would have made Bridget scowl two weeks earlier, but at this hotel in India it ranked so low on her priority list that she hardly batted an eye. She was so casual about asking for extra bottoms that Lexi and I couldnt help but burst out laughing.
2. That same weekend we decided to check out Sunday morning service. The preacher, bless his heart, was asking all new people to stand and introduce themselves in his best, but choppy, english. We soon learned that there are some things that just dont translate. Rather than saying speak now or forever hold your peace, he translated, without skipping a beat or cracking a smile "say something now or keep your mouth shut for the rest of your life." I guess that works too :)
3. As Danielle aforementioned, one part of the Indian culture we have less than enjoyed are the stares. The best way that I can explain to you just how bad it is, is to tell you the lengths to which natives will go to have their eyes linger one minute longer than western standards define as comfortable. We were walking down the street during Puja, and a father stopped his children, turned them around, and stood directly in front of us, pointing and seemingly teaching his children of the western worlds we come from ( or reassuring them we were not, in fact, aliens with our fair skin, blonde hair and blue eyes). While at the train station, a tour bus of native indians stopped in front of where we were stationed with the children. Each and every one removed their cameras from their oversized fanny packs to take a picture of us. Today at the train station, we looked up to find a group of male Indian teenagers taking pictures with their cell phones, assuming the curious horseshoe around us. For the first, and what we can only hope to be the last, we empathize with Brittany Spears. The best we can do is laugh, smile, and give them something pretty to stare at!
4. We were taking the train home Wednesday night. Like Danielle said, the women here are so sweet and pretty protective of us. They are amazing and we find ourselves so frequently grateful for their smiles and helpful gestures. That being said, most (justifiably so, as we are guests in THEIR country), dont speak a lick of english. We have tried our hardest to learn some choppy bengali but have yet to be conversational. Danielle is persistant, and the indian women love her playful attempts and pretty smile. Communication thus resorts to the only language that is translingual- touch. Approximatley 30 seconds into the ride the sweet indian woman beside danielle is holding- not one, but two - of Danielles hands. Cautious not to break her smile, Danielle turns to the rest of us and says " I am not a touchy person, and this is so far outside my comfort zone!" We burst out laughing and the lovely women assumes this as a reaffirmation of our gratefulness of her presence and pulls danielle a little closer. Bless her heart, she never broke a smile, and we once again were provided with some always appreciated comic relief.
5. Restrooms here are few and far between. We sent Lexi in to scout out the bathrooms in one fantastic restaurant we were at (ice cream, brownies, and coffee... what more could four girls ask for?) and as a result of her focus on the mission she forgot to lock the door, and was soon joined by an interrupting Indian visitor... At least this time she remembered to go into the WOMENS restroom ;) Sorry Lex.
6. Bridget and I have both had the opportunity to hold the sweetest, most angelic 6 week old babe at the train station on 2 different mornings. Each time we watched her peacefully sleep in our arms. Each time she opens her little eyes, and gives the faintest smirk.... and pee's all over us. We have learned the hard way the beauty of diapers...
More to come! Our story is far from over!
Erin
1. We have constantly found comedy in the leaps and bounds Bridget has made. I pick on her only because she is such a lady...very feminine- some may even call her a "city girl" ;). She has been a great friend on this trip and we are SO GLAD that she is here- and not just for the comic relief that she has provided. In one instance, we were getting ready to go out for coffee. Bridget had showered, cleaned up, and went for one last bathroom run before we left. She came out..slightly damper than before. At some point her skirt had taken a dip in the toilet. This is something that would have made Bridget scowl two weeks earlier, but at this hotel in India it ranked so low on her priority list that she hardly batted an eye. She was so casual about asking for extra bottoms that Lexi and I couldnt help but burst out laughing.
2. That same weekend we decided to check out Sunday morning service. The preacher, bless his heart, was asking all new people to stand and introduce themselves in his best, but choppy, english. We soon learned that there are some things that just dont translate. Rather than saying speak now or forever hold your peace, he translated, without skipping a beat or cracking a smile "say something now or keep your mouth shut for the rest of your life." I guess that works too :)
3. As Danielle aforementioned, one part of the Indian culture we have less than enjoyed are the stares. The best way that I can explain to you just how bad it is, is to tell you the lengths to which natives will go to have their eyes linger one minute longer than western standards define as comfortable. We were walking down the street during Puja, and a father stopped his children, turned them around, and stood directly in front of us, pointing and seemingly teaching his children of the western worlds we come from ( or reassuring them we were not, in fact, aliens with our fair skin, blonde hair and blue eyes). While at the train station, a tour bus of native indians stopped in front of where we were stationed with the children. Each and every one removed their cameras from their oversized fanny packs to take a picture of us. Today at the train station, we looked up to find a group of male Indian teenagers taking pictures with their cell phones, assuming the curious horseshoe around us. For the first, and what we can only hope to be the last, we empathize with Brittany Spears. The best we can do is laugh, smile, and give them something pretty to stare at!
4. We were taking the train home Wednesday night. Like Danielle said, the women here are so sweet and pretty protective of us. They are amazing and we find ourselves so frequently grateful for their smiles and helpful gestures. That being said, most (justifiably so, as we are guests in THEIR country), dont speak a lick of english. We have tried our hardest to learn some choppy bengali but have yet to be conversational. Danielle is persistant, and the indian women love her playful attempts and pretty smile. Communication thus resorts to the only language that is translingual- touch. Approximatley 30 seconds into the ride the sweet indian woman beside danielle is holding- not one, but two - of Danielles hands. Cautious not to break her smile, Danielle turns to the rest of us and says " I am not a touchy person, and this is so far outside my comfort zone!" We burst out laughing and the lovely women assumes this as a reaffirmation of our gratefulness of her presence and pulls danielle a little closer. Bless her heart, she never broke a smile, and we once again were provided with some always appreciated comic relief.
5. Restrooms here are few and far between. We sent Lexi in to scout out the bathrooms in one fantastic restaurant we were at (ice cream, brownies, and coffee... what more could four girls ask for?) and as a result of her focus on the mission she forgot to lock the door, and was soon joined by an interrupting Indian visitor... At least this time she remembered to go into the WOMENS restroom ;) Sorry Lex.
6. Bridget and I have both had the opportunity to hold the sweetest, most angelic 6 week old babe at the train station on 2 different mornings. Each time we watched her peacefully sleep in our arms. Each time she opens her little eyes, and gives the faintest smirk.... and pee's all over us. We have learned the hard way the beauty of diapers...
More to come! Our story is far from over!
Erin
Hard day
Today was a hard day at the station. It is one of our last and it started with a man that I thought to myself, "Maybe Jesus looked like him" (because the book "The Shack" makes me not see Jesus as a tall bearded white man!) He was carrying a little puppy which was endearing seeing as we have seen many puppies around the station with no home. But to my horror, he walks up to us and throws the puppy to the ground and laughs. My new friend from Germany, Eva reaches out to the puppy and this puppy is not happy. He looks at Eva's hand warily from the corners of his eye. He is a scared little one and I just wanted to run away from that place for forever and never look back. How can people be so cruel? It was my first glimpse at not nice India! I realize that the same horrible things happen in America and all over the world, but it usually isn't in front of my eyes. It made me sad too to think that a hurt puppy was the first thing in India that made me cry.
The kids were out of control today and I felt frustrated at the language barrier. There was no way to ask them what was different about today. The women and older kids help us to know who gets the food and who can use the toothepaste because I think that everyone at the station would use it if we would let them. Today we had to turn away old women and men. How do they know who gets it and who doesn't? What are the requirements?
I also got to see one of the women who helps people with physical problems. Today she bandaged a wound over a boys eye, a boy with a long laceration down his shin, an old woman who had lost most of her fingers and toes, and many people with holes in their skin. Bandaging their wounds consists of taking off their old bandage, putting Betadine on the wound and covering it up again with a fresh bandage. It was hard to see such simple problems that could be quickly healed in a clean environment and proper care, but here wounds are easily complicated.
Honestly, I celebrate that Monday is my last day at the station, but I don't want to forget the needs I see and I want to continue to look for solutions for these problems.
Till next time:)
Danielle
The kids were out of control today and I felt frustrated at the language barrier. There was no way to ask them what was different about today. The women and older kids help us to know who gets the food and who can use the toothepaste because I think that everyone at the station would use it if we would let them. Today we had to turn away old women and men. How do they know who gets it and who doesn't? What are the requirements?
I also got to see one of the women who helps people with physical problems. Today she bandaged a wound over a boys eye, a boy with a long laceration down his shin, an old woman who had lost most of her fingers and toes, and many people with holes in their skin. Bandaging their wounds consists of taking off their old bandage, putting Betadine on the wound and covering it up again with a fresh bandage. It was hard to see such simple problems that could be quickly healed in a clean environment and proper care, but here wounds are easily complicated.
Honestly, I celebrate that Monday is my last day at the station, but I don't want to forget the needs I see and I want to continue to look for solutions for these problems.
Till next time:)
Danielle
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
A love-hate relationship
We have not updated in a couple of days and we have done some fun stuff... Hopefully I can explain some of it by explaining what I am learning to Love about India and what I am learning to Hate about India:)
Bad comes first... we always want to end on a good note:)
I have come to hate the music that plays relentlessly through the night for the festival throughout the entire village over loud speakers. This music ranges from chipmunk sounding voices to a man chanting or talking. Many times we have wanted to search the streets for this microphone and rip it from his hands, but to no avail:)
I have come to hate the beep, ding, and honk of every rickshaw, bicycle, motorcycle or car that passes by as we walk down the road. Sometimes I want to stop in the middle of the street and yell at the top of my lungs for some sort of silence!
I have come to hate that nothing ever comes easy in this country whether it be a simple trip to the Subway which happens to be closed for the festival to the internet cafe where Lexi becomes the IT woman. NOTHING is easy here.
Indian boys must be fascinated with the white face of a woman because everywhere we go, millions of eyes follow us. Just this morning, our personal space was decreased as a horseshoe of high school boys watched us hand out stickers to the kids after they washed up for the day. I will never get used to it. The other day, we stood at the train station waiting for our train and there was a tiny circle of 6 white girls surrounded by a circle of Indian men just watching. I do not feel danger at these times... just extreme discomfort!
Things I love:
Mornings on the train with the women as they chatter with one another and occasionally engage in conversation with us. During these conversations they ignore the fact that we cannot understand Bengali and we submit to being laughed at and laughing at ourselves as we struggle to find any word we understand!
The children saying "Auntie, Auntie... slip slip" so that they can eat their meal for the day or Colgate, Auntie!" as they clean their teeth with their dirty little fingers every morning at the train station.
The mile walk to our host families house where every child calls "Hi" to us and tries to shake our hand. They don't ever get tired of it!
The color of India is fascinating... the women are brilliantly dressed everyday... they look like royalty... even some of the homeless ones at the train station... goes to show how much a little gold jewelry can do for a girl:)
Indian people are so helpful and kind... one day we stepped out of our comfort zone and took the train all by ourselves with an overnight bag to return to our host family after a weekend in the city... the train in the early AM compared to the late afternoon is incomparable. Picture sardines of women... Erin and I had our bags over our heads and women were pressed against me... cornering me against the wall... Indian women were hanging out the side of the train because there was no room inside! Nevertheless, the women knew where we had to get off and helped us push our way and even stepped off the train to make room for us! One day we were looking for an open internet cafe because though an Indian man says he will open again at 4:30, chances are he doesn't. Two Indian boys helped us find the next internet stop and led us up some creepy stairs that we never would have braved alone! Another day, we arrived at the Metro/triain station and didn't know what train to catch and an Indian man stepped right up and even walked us to the womens compartment. These people are good, kind, beautiful people.
I am sure that the other girls could add about a million things to both sides of the list, but hopefully this shows you another picture of what we are experiencing.
Danielle
Bad comes first... we always want to end on a good note:)
I have come to hate the music that plays relentlessly through the night for the festival throughout the entire village over loud speakers. This music ranges from chipmunk sounding voices to a man chanting or talking. Many times we have wanted to search the streets for this microphone and rip it from his hands, but to no avail:)
I have come to hate the beep, ding, and honk of every rickshaw, bicycle, motorcycle or car that passes by as we walk down the road. Sometimes I want to stop in the middle of the street and yell at the top of my lungs for some sort of silence!
I have come to hate that nothing ever comes easy in this country whether it be a simple trip to the Subway which happens to be closed for the festival to the internet cafe where Lexi becomes the IT woman. NOTHING is easy here.
Indian boys must be fascinated with the white face of a woman because everywhere we go, millions of eyes follow us. Just this morning, our personal space was decreased as a horseshoe of high school boys watched us hand out stickers to the kids after they washed up for the day. I will never get used to it. The other day, we stood at the train station waiting for our train and there was a tiny circle of 6 white girls surrounded by a circle of Indian men just watching. I do not feel danger at these times... just extreme discomfort!
Things I love:
Mornings on the train with the women as they chatter with one another and occasionally engage in conversation with us. During these conversations they ignore the fact that we cannot understand Bengali and we submit to being laughed at and laughing at ourselves as we struggle to find any word we understand!
The children saying "Auntie, Auntie... slip slip" so that they can eat their meal for the day or Colgate, Auntie!" as they clean their teeth with their dirty little fingers every morning at the train station.
The mile walk to our host families house where every child calls "Hi" to us and tries to shake our hand. They don't ever get tired of it!
The color of India is fascinating... the women are brilliantly dressed everyday... they look like royalty... even some of the homeless ones at the train station... goes to show how much a little gold jewelry can do for a girl:)
Indian people are so helpful and kind... one day we stepped out of our comfort zone and took the train all by ourselves with an overnight bag to return to our host family after a weekend in the city... the train in the early AM compared to the late afternoon is incomparable. Picture sardines of women... Erin and I had our bags over our heads and women were pressed against me... cornering me against the wall... Indian women were hanging out the side of the train because there was no room inside! Nevertheless, the women knew where we had to get off and helped us push our way and even stepped off the train to make room for us! One day we were looking for an open internet cafe because though an Indian man says he will open again at 4:30, chances are he doesn't. Two Indian boys helped us find the next internet stop and led us up some creepy stairs that we never would have braved alone! Another day, we arrived at the Metro/triain station and didn't know what train to catch and an Indian man stepped right up and even walked us to the womens compartment. These people are good, kind, beautiful people.
I am sure that the other girls could add about a million things to both sides of the list, but hopefully this shows you another picture of what we are experiencing.
Danielle
Address for the following weeks
Here is an address for the Baptist Guest House that we are planning on staying at after we are done at SMILE. Hopefully Monday the 13th, and then for the rest of the time after we get back from Darjeeling.....we think.....unless we decide to travel some more :)
BMS Guest House
44, A.J.C. Bose Road
Kolkata: 700017
phone no: 2226-9378/ 2217-6795
We were told to have all mail sent with the ability to be tracked.
BMS Guest House
44, A.J.C. Bose Road
Kolkata: 700017
phone no: 2226-9378/ 2217-6795
We were told to have all mail sent with the ability to be tracked.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Dhurga Pujat
Early this Monday morning we began another week at the train station. The kids were excited to see us - we are now beginning to recognize their faces and we have decided which ones we would take home if we could:) This is an exciting week for all Indians who will be spending time in Kolkata this week - it is the week of Dhurga Puja. As Danielle mentioned before it is the celebration of the Goddess Dhurga - many Indians have explained to us ' like Christmas'! There are beautiful multicolored structures lining the streets that were built specifically for this special occasion. Colorful statues of the goddess line beautiful stages decorated with pink, yellow and orange fabrics that hang as backdrops. There are bands playing and children dancing in the streets - vendors line the streets selling balloons, fireworks and a variety of candies. It is a very happy time and fun for us girls to be a part of. We are all looking forward to our trip next week to Darjeeling! Darjeeling is in the northern portion of West Bengal - The himalyans can be seen from a location in Darjeeling known as Tiger Hill. From what we have heard it is beautiful:) Hope all is well is the US and thank you everyone for writing and keeping us in your thoughts and prayers:)
Sunday, October 5, 2008
India is a country of contrast!
I want to paint a picture of our day yesterday. We had a wonderful day of exploring the city, finally more able to navigate, more bold in asking locals and any white face! We were on a mission to find the Mother Theresa house and the YWCA in preparation for the next 6 weeks of our trip. Along the way we found an Oasis of a guest house which Lexi had been told about by good friends. It was beautiful! Gated walls with beautiful gardens within... nice buildings, clean, AC, and shelter from the rain that began pouring down during our exploration.
The streets that we had to walk down were the most disturbing though. Imagine walking down a narrow sidewalk with one side being a gated wall or building and the other side of the sidewalk being plywood elevated on bricks and torn tarps and garbage bags tied to the trees or fence to provide shelter for a family. A peek under their tarp revealed piles of clothes, pots and pans, naked babies, or a mother preparing some food for her children. At first I thought "There is no way that this is where they live... it must just be where they set up for the day to do street vending!" Outside played little children with potbellies due to poor nutrition. I wish I had a picture to share with you, but I could not bring myself to document this new level of poverty.
This was sandwiched in between the discovery of the Baptist guest house OASIS:) and a visit to a street vender where I bought a kit kat for our American taste buds. Like I said... contrast.
Something I want to let you all know is that tomorrow begins the festival called Durga Paja which celebrates the goddess of kolkata. Sadly, she is a goddess of violence. The city makes memorials for her in extravagant ways in which the eye can easily be deceived to think it beautiful and good. There is extreme spiritual bondage during this time. Please pray that God's glory would be revealed and pray for our strength and wisdom as we share this time with these people and pray and fight for their souls.
This was a bit of a heavy post... I don't mean to burden you with some of the realities, but I count on the detailed prayers that have gotten us thus far and will get us to Nov. 26th.
Many thoughts and thankfulness go to you!
The streets that we had to walk down were the most disturbing though. Imagine walking down a narrow sidewalk with one side being a gated wall or building and the other side of the sidewalk being plywood elevated on bricks and torn tarps and garbage bags tied to the trees or fence to provide shelter for a family. A peek under their tarp revealed piles of clothes, pots and pans, naked babies, or a mother preparing some food for her children. At first I thought "There is no way that this is where they live... it must just be where they set up for the day to do street vending!" Outside played little children with potbellies due to poor nutrition. I wish I had a picture to share with you, but I could not bring myself to document this new level of poverty.
This was sandwiched in between the discovery of the Baptist guest house OASIS:) and a visit to a street vender where I bought a kit kat for our American taste buds. Like I said... contrast.
Something I want to let you all know is that tomorrow begins the festival called Durga Paja which celebrates the goddess of kolkata. Sadly, she is a goddess of violence. The city makes memorials for her in extravagant ways in which the eye can easily be deceived to think it beautiful and good. There is extreme spiritual bondage during this time. Please pray that God's glory would be revealed and pray for our strength and wisdom as we share this time with these people and pray and fight for their souls.
This was a bit of a heavy post... I don't mean to burden you with some of the realities, but I count on the detailed prayers that have gotten us thus far and will get us to Nov. 26th.
Many thoughts and thankfulness go to you!
Friday, October 3, 2008
good for the soul...
We experienced a much needed relief from culture shock this weekend... for the first time we all woke up cold!! What a good feeling! We arrived at the YMCA yesterday after a 2 hour taxi ride that completely redefined our concept of a traffic jam. Whew... I cannot say enough about the traffic here. They showed us to our room and Bridget was in heaven... within two minutes, she asked "do you have HBO?," a question that seemed to sum up the relief we were feeling at that moment. The town is neat and we have been able to get some coffee at a wonderful place called Barista- it is conveniently located next to dominos, internet, and KFC... minature america. The shopping is intense- there is so much to buy and everything is so cheap by american standards. The colors are brilliant- pinks, oranges, turqouise... a burst of beautiful linens. Later we are finally going to get to find the Mother Theresa houses. We are looking forward to seeing a place where we can serve. Just wanted to say hi! Keep us in your prayers!
Erin
Erin
Blessed
So this morning was our first morning of not having to wake up at 4 am and I was a little annoyed when I was awake and ready to go at 4:30 this morning. But it was a good time of reflection and mediation on our first almost week in India.
As I look back at this week it has been quite a ride. I know everyone is probably saying "I told you so", but I just didn't expect to have this amount of culture shock coming to India. It truly has been different then any other of my traveling experiences. One thing that sticks out to me about our departure and the first week is that I am truly blessed to have such amazing travel companions. Each of these girls are amazing women and I don't think that our group would be the same without each of us. I have never felt such an overwhelming sense of confidence in knowing I will be ok cause we will take care of eachother.
Bridget has been a great friend who is always willing to roll up her sleeves and just get in there and be a team player and get maybe not the most glamorous of jobs done. She proved to me she always has my back this week when we were walking into town one day and a boy ran up to me and grabbed my arm and tried to drag me into his shop. Bridge firmly grabbed my other arm instantly and pulled me the other way and was like, "No, she's with us!"
Erin always is giving me some comic relief. There have been multiple times already when I bust out laughing at her skill of perfect delivery and timing of dry remark. I have thought to myself, "dang, she's good, and funny too!" She also has been impressing me with her wise words of advise when we talk about our lives back home and mulling around our future plans of life.
Danielle is always going to come to mind as one of the strongest women I know. From my first impressions of her way back to the start of nursing school I have thought of her as such a sweet and positive person to be around. I love our conversations and her perspective of life and feel like she can be such a breath of fresh air. I think I will forever remember our first heart to heart talk as a group on this trip when we all were starting to ask ourselves, "yikes what have we got ourselves into here" and Danielle encouraging us by saying, "Nothing worth while is ever easy!"
I know this trip is going to be an adventure of a lifetime and will forever change all of us. I cannot think of any better people to share this experience with. It is amazing how God plans in advance these things and gives what we need to get through the difficult but amazing times. For me I think what I needed was 3 great friends! And I can whole heartedly say, "THANK YOU GOD for giving me what I need to get through!"
So to all of you who are missing your daughter, sister or friend. Thank you for sharing them with me! I feel truly BLESSED to be in the presence of such amazing women!
Lexi
As I look back at this week it has been quite a ride. I know everyone is probably saying "I told you so", but I just didn't expect to have this amount of culture shock coming to India. It truly has been different then any other of my traveling experiences. One thing that sticks out to me about our departure and the first week is that I am truly blessed to have such amazing travel companions. Each of these girls are amazing women and I don't think that our group would be the same without each of us. I have never felt such an overwhelming sense of confidence in knowing I will be ok cause we will take care of eachother.
Bridget has been a great friend who is always willing to roll up her sleeves and just get in there and be a team player and get maybe not the most glamorous of jobs done. She proved to me she always has my back this week when we were walking into town one day and a boy ran up to me and grabbed my arm and tried to drag me into his shop. Bridge firmly grabbed my other arm instantly and pulled me the other way and was like, "No, she's with us!"
Erin always is giving me some comic relief. There have been multiple times already when I bust out laughing at her skill of perfect delivery and timing of dry remark. I have thought to myself, "dang, she's good, and funny too!" She also has been impressing me with her wise words of advise when we talk about our lives back home and mulling around our future plans of life.
Danielle is always going to come to mind as one of the strongest women I know. From my first impressions of her way back to the start of nursing school I have thought of her as such a sweet and positive person to be around. I love our conversations and her perspective of life and feel like she can be such a breath of fresh air. I think I will forever remember our first heart to heart talk as a group on this trip when we all were starting to ask ourselves, "yikes what have we got ourselves into here" and Danielle encouraging us by saying, "Nothing worth while is ever easy!"
I know this trip is going to be an adventure of a lifetime and will forever change all of us. I cannot think of any better people to share this experience with. It is amazing how God plans in advance these things and gives what we need to get through the difficult but amazing times. For me I think what I needed was 3 great friends! And I can whole heartedly say, "THANK YOU GOD for giving me what I need to get through!"
So to all of you who are missing your daughter, sister or friend. Thank you for sharing them with me! I feel truly BLESSED to be in the presence of such amazing women!
Lexi
Thursday, October 2, 2008
TGIF... finally a feeling we are used to!
Greetings all! Thanks for taking the time out of your busy days to follow our blog... it has been proving to be pretty therapeutic for all of us, except for Lex who gets stressed out about what to write. Lucky for me, absence of words has never been a problem. Today at the train station was much like the others.. exhausting but rewarding. Every day teaches us something new.
We are planning on going to the city this weekend with our other new friend Danielle...there are 2 danielles now! She is from Austrailia and has been in India for 2 months now, so she makes up for the confidence that we seem to be lacking right now. It has been great being able to hear her stories.. she plans on staying for a total of 4 months so that makes our time look shorter! Not that we are counting the days already;) She is pretty adventurous and talked about wanting us to go on a guided tiger hunt with her. We considered it, thinking it might be fun...then she reasurringly told us that only like, 30 people get eaten by the tigers every year. I think that india is enough of an adventure. Our parents have enough to worry about without the threat of us becoming tiger food. ;)Every day is getting easier and we are getting more and more used to the culture. I am excited to see what this weekend in the city will bring. We are all looking forward to it, hoping to get some air conditioned rest (bridget;), and maybe a little shopping and indian treats. Thanks for all the support so far, we cant tell you how much we look forward to coming to the internet cafe to read your comments! A little taste of home goes a long ways... again, keep us in your thoughts and prayers, as our story is far from over!!!
We are planning on going to the city this weekend with our other new friend Danielle...there are 2 danielles now! She is from Austrailia and has been in India for 2 months now, so she makes up for the confidence that we seem to be lacking right now. It has been great being able to hear her stories.. she plans on staying for a total of 4 months so that makes our time look shorter! Not that we are counting the days already;) She is pretty adventurous and talked about wanting us to go on a guided tiger hunt with her. We considered it, thinking it might be fun...then she reasurringly told us that only like, 30 people get eaten by the tigers every year. I think that india is enough of an adventure. Our parents have enough to worry about without the threat of us becoming tiger food. ;)Every day is getting easier and we are getting more and more used to the culture. I am excited to see what this weekend in the city will bring. We are all looking forward to it, hoping to get some air conditioned rest (bridget;), and maybe a little shopping and indian treats. Thanks for all the support so far, we cant tell you how much we look forward to coming to the internet cafe to read your comments! A little taste of home goes a long ways... again, keep us in your thoughts and prayers, as our story is far from over!!!
Erin
A new look at serving
Well... we have realized that maybe instead of making a mark on India, India will make a mark on us. Which is so common of people to report with these kinds of trips but somehow I forget it every time.
Going to the station every morning and seeing kids who are dirty, have no home, little food, open wounds, mangled body parts, etc and realizing that us being there for two hours every morning is not going to change their circumstances. India is what it is... just like you said Kara. They sit on our laps with freshly wetted pants and we feel disgusted at our now dirty smelly clothes and guilt quickly follows. How can I feel disgusted at their dirtyness!?! What kind of person am I that I would even hesitate to pick up and hold the little boy who is always smiling and singing due to his soaked pants? Does it even matter? I get to go home immediately after and take an amazing cold shower and put on clean clothes while he stays at the station running around greeting the regulars and singing his heart out.
Nope, we're sure not going to change his life. He won't remember us the day after our last day. So what do we do with that as Americans who are taught that we can change the world and opportunities are endless? It's so hard to accept that we're not making a difference or maybe that the difference made is invisible to our human eyes. I am just not sure.
Danielle
Going to the station every morning and seeing kids who are dirty, have no home, little food, open wounds, mangled body parts, etc and realizing that us being there for two hours every morning is not going to change their circumstances. India is what it is... just like you said Kara. They sit on our laps with freshly wetted pants and we feel disgusted at our now dirty smelly clothes and guilt quickly follows. How can I feel disgusted at their dirtyness!?! What kind of person am I that I would even hesitate to pick up and hold the little boy who is always smiling and singing due to his soaked pants? Does it even matter? I get to go home immediately after and take an amazing cold shower and put on clean clothes while he stays at the station running around greeting the regulars and singing his heart out.
Nope, we're sure not going to change his life. He won't remember us the day after our last day. So what do we do with that as Americans who are taught that we can change the world and opportunities are endless? It's so hard to accept that we're not making a difference or maybe that the difference made is invisible to our human eyes. I am just not sure.
Danielle
teary
I just read some of the comments... and they just make me teary and remind me why we are trying to navigate our way through this crazy city. We can't find our hostel and it is frustrating and the city is packed with people because of the upcoming festival. I think today I just wanted to be done for a little bit and I got to be done by escaping via internet and reading your encouraging words. Thanks:) Danielle
The adventures continue...
After 14 hours on the plane and three days it is becoming more clear that we have entered a totally different world. The people, the sights, the smells... nothing reminds us of home. We are at the internet cafe and there are cows (huge cows. Iowa cows.) passing on the street outside. I repeat, nothing is like home ;)
Today we woke up at 4 am to another day at the train station. It is an emotionally difficult task to do. The kids range in age from 6 months- 12 years. Today we saw a babe that could not have been more than 6 weeks old sleeping in the station with her parents. Many of the kids we feed have no family.The kids live at the train station... the meal we give them is the only meal they will get all day, and it consists of 2 pieces of white bread and a banana or cookie and some milk. They are very grateful and very hungry after a long day and night at the train station. The living conditions for the children are worse than you can imagine, but they are all in high spirits and are always smiling. We wash them and dirt pours off of every inch of their frail little bodies. They look like little monkies crouched up on the washing table...it is then time for alphabet and letters. They are interested for a little while but quickly loose interest and would rather play (they are kids after all!). It is emotionally exhausting to work with the children. It is sad, but it is all they know and they are very appreciative of the time we spend with them.
When we were done with the children we took a much needed shower. It is so hot!!! 90 % humidity... we have not stopped sweating since the moment that we arrived. We had breakfast and went to find a taxi to take us into town (we are living in North Kolkata now. It is the slums, and certainley lives up to its name). It was a two hour taxi ride and cost a little over 6 dollars. That is one nice thing about this country! The downtown new market is a mess of people and the junk they are trying to sell. The traffic is incredible(as I have said before)...wherever there is 6 feet people will drive in every possible direction, honking their horns whenever possible. They drive on the opposite side of the road so it has been slightly disorienting.
I leave you in health and medium spirits! We are missing home a little and struggling to recover from the culture shock. It is absolutley a different world here...hopefully soon we will regain some sense of normalcy. We had a friend/ volunteer join us today from Germany... her name is Eva and seems very nice- and brave to be traveling alone!
We miss everyone very much already! Keep us in your thoughts and prayers for the next...57 days!
Today we woke up at 4 am to another day at the train station. It is an emotionally difficult task to do. The kids range in age from 6 months- 12 years. Today we saw a babe that could not have been more than 6 weeks old sleeping in the station with her parents. Many of the kids we feed have no family.The kids live at the train station... the meal we give them is the only meal they will get all day, and it consists of 2 pieces of white bread and a banana or cookie and some milk. They are very grateful and very hungry after a long day and night at the train station. The living conditions for the children are worse than you can imagine, but they are all in high spirits and are always smiling. We wash them and dirt pours off of every inch of their frail little bodies. They look like little monkies crouched up on the washing table...it is then time for alphabet and letters. They are interested for a little while but quickly loose interest and would rather play (they are kids after all!). It is emotionally exhausting to work with the children. It is sad, but it is all they know and they are very appreciative of the time we spend with them.
When we were done with the children we took a much needed shower. It is so hot!!! 90 % humidity... we have not stopped sweating since the moment that we arrived. We had breakfast and went to find a taxi to take us into town (we are living in North Kolkata now. It is the slums, and certainley lives up to its name). It was a two hour taxi ride and cost a little over 6 dollars. That is one nice thing about this country! The downtown new market is a mess of people and the junk they are trying to sell. The traffic is incredible(as I have said before)...wherever there is 6 feet people will drive in every possible direction, honking their horns whenever possible. They drive on the opposite side of the road so it has been slightly disorienting.
I leave you in health and medium spirits! We are missing home a little and struggling to recover from the culture shock. It is absolutley a different world here...hopefully soon we will regain some sense of normalcy. We had a friend/ volunteer join us today from Germany... her name is Eva and seems very nice- and brave to be traveling alone!
We miss everyone very much already! Keep us in your thoughts and prayers for the next...57 days!
The City
Today we took a trip into the center of Kolkata and wow is it big! We took a taxi and all simultaneously compared the ride to driving on a one - way street THE WRONG WAY! Haha it wasn't that bad but we were glad to finally get there. Lots of sights and sounds and thousands of people shopping for the lastest trends in clothes and jewelry. We were happy to hear American music and see bottles of diet pepsi - and Lexi was extremely excited when she yelled from the Taxi with excitement "there's an American" - in a place soo foreign to us all it is nice to see things we are familiar with! We are all having more fun as we explore and discover more of the city. After we leave the internet cafe (our new favorite place to spend our spare time) we are going to go look for a hotel to stay in when we finish our time at smile. Hope all is well in the states - we can't wait to see all of you and tell you about our adventures thus far and experiences yet to come:) We love hearing from you all! Lots of Love B
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
We made it!
Hi! I miss you so much! This has been such a wild experience so far there are no words to explain to you. We arrived here safely and all our bags were with us (thank god!). We stayed the first night in a hotel with air conditioning... we have already been forced to redefine our comfort zone! There was running water but there was no hot water, so it was an experience. We got to our guest hostel yesterday and last night was an experience. We arrived by taxi and were surrounded by lean- to (sp?) and more poverty than any of us have ever experienced. We crossed the creek to our home so very far away from home on a 2x4 board... if you could imagine us crossig with 75 lbs on our back...there are no words! our roooms are minimal but there is a roof over our heads and a working fan, so we cannot complain too much (but we still find a way;))
We had our first experience at the train station this morning. We awoke at 4 am and took the train approximatley 50 minutes away to a Sealdah train station where we proceeded to arrange a tarp. We did not have to gather the children; they quickly came to us seeking affection, food and water. We lovingly gave all three. It was an incredible experience to be able to do all that for these children who have nothing. THey do not seem dissatisfied with their lives but seem constatley hungry and searching food. They are all small; they climb on you with their urine stained clothing. It is clear that they have not had a good meal or change of clothes in a longer time than they can remember. They are all in high spirits and seem grateful for a smiling face, and are suprisingly interested in learning the alphabet and numbers. It is humbling to see children living on so little but it is rewarding to be able to provide a meal for them they might not otherwise have.
I would love to explain India to you in a way that you could see it through my eyes. Your senses are immediatley overloaded with the sights, smells, and sounds of poverty. THe people are stuck between a third world and developing country. The streets are insane without seperation between pedestrian, bicycle rickshaws, motorcycles, and eurovans. There are no paved roads, only dirt and clay. The city reeks of the garbage that overcrowds the streets. There are goats, cows, chickens, dogs, geese and ducks on every corner. There is no seperation of man and beast. (sorry this is so choppy we were only able to get one hour at the internet cafe due to our overwhelming language barrier!). The experience so far has challanged me in ways that i have never before been challenged (yes i know that it is only day three). We pump oour own water, all the plumbing is outdoors, there government decides whether there is power or not. The poverty pushes you so far out of your comfort zone; i am constatly grateful for the three amazing girls I am able to travel with. We each bring something unique to the dynamic of the group.
There is so many other things and details that I wish that i could share with you, but I am running short on time! I hope that this finds you well and know that we are all safe and healthy. I love and miss you all!
Erin
We had our first experience at the train station this morning. We awoke at 4 am and took the train approximatley 50 minutes away to a Sealdah train station where we proceeded to arrange a tarp. We did not have to gather the children; they quickly came to us seeking affection, food and water. We lovingly gave all three. It was an incredible experience to be able to do all that for these children who have nothing. THey do not seem dissatisfied with their lives but seem constatley hungry and searching food. They are all small; they climb on you with their urine stained clothing. It is clear that they have not had a good meal or change of clothes in a longer time than they can remember. They are all in high spirits and seem grateful for a smiling face, and are suprisingly interested in learning the alphabet and numbers. It is humbling to see children living on so little but it is rewarding to be able to provide a meal for them they might not otherwise have.
I would love to explain India to you in a way that you could see it through my eyes. Your senses are immediatley overloaded with the sights, smells, and sounds of poverty. THe people are stuck between a third world and developing country. The streets are insane without seperation between pedestrian, bicycle rickshaws, motorcycles, and eurovans. There are no paved roads, only dirt and clay. The city reeks of the garbage that overcrowds the streets. There are goats, cows, chickens, dogs, geese and ducks on every corner. There is no seperation of man and beast. (sorry this is so choppy we were only able to get one hour at the internet cafe due to our overwhelming language barrier!). The experience so far has challanged me in ways that i have never before been challenged (yes i know that it is only day three). We pump oour own water, all the plumbing is outdoors, there government decides whether there is power or not. The poverty pushes you so far out of your comfort zone; i am constatly grateful for the three amazing girls I am able to travel with. We each bring something unique to the dynamic of the group.
There is so many other things and details that I wish that i could share with you, but I am running short on time! I hope that this finds you well and know that we are all safe and healthy. I love and miss you all!
Erin
Arriving
Oh my word.
I want to start by telling you about a verse I read on the plane ride to India. It's in Hosea and I can't remember the exacts but it sad we should have confident dependence in our God. That verse is now the theme verse for me and this trip.
Some highlights:
In JFK loading the plane to India, Bridg says "Holy BO" and we were off to a crowded plane where we were the minority!
Fly Air India whenever you can: screens on the back of the seats (with good movies I might add and even an episode of friends!) , warm cloths, eye covers for sleeping, footies to keep warm and a nice blanket. We were sold on India at that point.
We got to Delhi and had to connect flights with no boarding pass or ticket in hand to prove that we were to be on that plane. Yikes. Some major running between two Indian airport people to get our tickets printed so we could just get to our flight... this is all with about 2 hours before our flight was to take off... talk about stress! We get to our check in counter and they scan our bags only to stop mine and stare at me like some criminal... "you have tools. empty your bag ma'am" (uh oh) so I empty it and he takes it back to scan it. "is it ok?" I ask. "no ma'am it is not ok!" you have tools! and out comes a swiss army knife! whoops! maybe I forgot about that little knife. He let us go and there are now minutes before we are to get on our plane. But we made it:)
The connection in Kolkata and our hotel went so smoothly it was unbelievable! To all who prayed specifically for that, Thank you! God so totally went ahead and prepared the way!
I'll let someone else talk about some of the other highlights...
God is so Good and he shows us that minute by minute. The people here are beautiful, but it is a hard country.
Love you all and LOVE hearing from you!
Danielle
I want to start by telling you about a verse I read on the plane ride to India. It's in Hosea and I can't remember the exacts but it sad we should have confident dependence in our God. That verse is now the theme verse for me and this trip.
Some highlights:
In JFK loading the plane to India, Bridg says "Holy BO" and we were off to a crowded plane where we were the minority!
Fly Air India whenever you can: screens on the back of the seats (with good movies I might add and even an episode of friends!) , warm cloths, eye covers for sleeping, footies to keep warm and a nice blanket. We were sold on India at that point.
We got to Delhi and had to connect flights with no boarding pass or ticket in hand to prove that we were to be on that plane. Yikes. Some major running between two Indian airport people to get our tickets printed so we could just get to our flight... this is all with about 2 hours before our flight was to take off... talk about stress! We get to our check in counter and they scan our bags only to stop mine and stare at me like some criminal... "you have tools. empty your bag ma'am" (uh oh) so I empty it and he takes it back to scan it. "is it ok?" I ask. "no ma'am it is not ok!" you have tools! and out comes a swiss army knife! whoops! maybe I forgot about that little knife. He let us go and there are now minutes before we are to get on our plane. But we made it:)
The connection in Kolkata and our hotel went so smoothly it was unbelievable! To all who prayed specifically for that, Thank you! God so totally went ahead and prepared the way!
I'll let someone else talk about some of the other highlights...
God is so Good and he shows us that minute by minute. The people here are beautiful, but it is a hard country.
Love you all and LOVE hearing from you!
Danielle
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Commenting on our Blog
Hey Reader:)
If you want to comment on our blog and you do not have a google account, you have to click the anonymous button under your message. Just make sure to sign your name in your message so we know who wrote the message! Thanks a million:)
Danielle
If you want to comment on our blog and you do not have a google account, you have to click the anonymous button under your message. Just make sure to sign your name in your message so we know who wrote the message! Thanks a million:)
Danielle
Preparation
4 Days and we will be off to a new country and pushed out of our comfort zones. How does a person prepare for such an adventure?! I am going fully expecting to be transformed by a new perspective about God's creativity and love for people of all shapes and forms.
There are four girls going and we all graduated from Allen College of Nursing in August and are now Registered Nurses! We are looking forward to using our nursing skills and serving the people of Kolkata, India.
Glad you are thinking of us!
Danielle
There are four girls going and we all graduated from Allen College of Nursing in August and are now Registered Nurses! We are looking forward to using our nursing skills and serving the people of Kolkata, India.
Glad you are thinking of us!
Danielle
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