A Little Piece of Home

So sometimes when you are away from home for a while you start to get these aches and pains that can only be associated with a slight case of home sicknesses. On phone calls from friends and family you start to get a bit teary eyed, you begin to miss your wonderful but usually annoying boyfriend more than before and you even miss your own cooking. On such an occasion you try and find something that reminds you of home. Today was one such occassion, and so like an good hearted American girl when i saw that Sex and the City was playing at the local movie theatre AND it was English..I couldnt pass up the opportunity. So guys--thats what I spent my morning doing watching Carey, Samantha, Charlotte, and Miranda enjoys their lives in the big apple. And let me tell you for that 2.5 hours I felt like I was home again. After the lights came up I was back at the school for my evening class and the rest of my daily routine here in Kolkata, but for that short period it felt nice being home.

I get by with a little help from my friends

I am always amazed at the spirit of giving that exists in this school and in this city.  Besides the "credit" that stores give out to strangers I am always touched by how giving the girls at the school can be.  I am working in particular with four of the sweetest girls around: Samouna, Maya, Chaya, and Meena.  Everyday from 5-7pm we sit up in a classroom and read fabulous Dr. Seuess Books and discuss life in general.  And it never fails that they have some treasure to give me.  Whether it is a string bracelet or a piece of fruit the generosity they exhibit is amazing.  If you think about these girls who often times have nothing and yet are willing to share what little they have with me, a perfect stranger on all accounts, it becomes a very humbling experience.  I would like to say that I would do the same thing.  That I would give up my last sip of juice or my last slice of orange to someone, even if that was all I had.  But I am just not convinced I would.  I can safely say, that these four girls, these four nine year olds have taught me a grand lesson on giving and on love in general.  

A Sunday in the City

Sundays are an amazing day here in Kolkata. For one day out of the week the streets become easier to navigate and you can walk quite freely down the sidewalk without too much fear of running over someone. Today was no exception. With little to do most Sundays since that is our official day off from the school, Jay and I spent the morning roaming the streets looking for a little action. The walk was long and hot, but we rewarded ourselves at the end by checking out the "starbucks" of Kolkata called Barista where I sampled a delicious mango smoothie...absolute tastey deliciousness! With the remainder of the afternoon ahead of me, I think I'll now head home for a cat nap of sorts.

On a different note...my bag has arrived! FINALLY! almost two weeks later we have been reunited, and not a moment too soon. I was running out of clean underwear and I am not ready to experience laundry yet. That my friends is for another day...but certainly not on a Sunday in the city.

I've been sprung from the joint....and I LOVE JAY

So as the title explains...after 5 days of air conditioning, curry, pajamas, and DVDs I have been sprung from the joint (aka Ruby General Hospital). And not a moment too soon! What with the strike for two days, then the fact that they lost my shoes (so I had to wear bedroom slippers home) I never thought I was going to make it home today...there was even a time I was feeling a bit bamboozled. But I am home now and welcomed very lovingly by Cecilia and Richard as well as the girls at the school who asked me constatly "where you was auntie?" Its nice to know I've been missed.



As far as my love for Jay goes....I am probably only one in a million who loves Jay here in Kolkata! However my love differs in that I don't love Jay in the "I want to spend the rest of my life with him" or the "Uncle, you have wife?" way. I love Jay in the Mr. T "I pitty the fool" who doesn't have Jay at their service project site this summer way. He has been amazing while I have been away in the hospital making sure i had everything I needed and making sure i felt a little less scared and alone. So if you have a chance let Jay know today how great he is!



As for my bags...still no word as of this afternoon but I am back to my constant hounding of Emirates and British Airways. I am hopeful that in the nexy couple days I will be reunited with my bag...Im dying to know how his mini vaca in the London airport was! So until then..

LIFE

Life is an opportunity, benefit from it.
Life is a beauty, admire it.
Life is bliss, taste it.
Life is a dream, realise it.
Life is a challenge, meet it.
Life is a duty, complete it.
Life is a game, play it.
Life is costly, care for it.
Life is wealth, keep it.
Life is love, enjoy it.
Life is mystery, know it.
Life is a promise, fulfill it.
Life is sorrow, overcome it.
Life is a song, sing it.
Life is a struggle, accept it.
Life is a tradgedy, confront it.
Life is an adventure, dare it.
Life is luck, make it.
Life is too precious, do not destroy it.
Life is life, fight for it!

---Mother Teresa

Home Away from Home

After being away from home for a while you begin to try and search out ways to make your place feel like your old one. In the last couple of days I have found two such examples of how I am finding my own home away from home.

The first comes to me at the hospital. Today is day 5 of my stay here at good old Ruby General Hospital and the nurses and I have finally worked out a system. Each morning when they come in to wake me up..we go through a routine where I beg for just 5 more minutes of sleep and in turn they give me about an extra half hour. This routine reminds me of home when I would beg my dad for just 5 more minutes before getting up for school.

My second vision of home come in the form of a man named Mr. Trivedi. Before I left Chicago my dad had given me Mr. Trivedi's number as an in case of emergency contact that I never expected to use. Being a friend of a friend of my dad I expected this number to have been given to me out of general curtousy and nothing else. I couldn't have been more wrong. On my second day in the hospital I recieved a phone call from Mr. Trivedi who in turn came for a visit and quite graciously invited me to think of him as my family here in Kolkata. I couldnt be more greatful to Mr. Trivedi who has provided me with some sort of friendly face in a city where I know no one.

I have heard that I am going to be sprung tomorrow morning if th strike in the city is called off. Hopefully this happens as Jay and I have plans to try out the Kolkata BBQ restaurant.

A week in the life of an asthmatic traveler

For those of you who read my blog religiously (thanks mom) you may have noticed I've been away for a while. Well...it turns out that inside my lost baggage (still hasn't arrived) was my medication for the summer that I would need if I was to surrvive Kolkata. So for the last week I have been experiencing the Kolkata health care system at Ruby General Hospital. As I write this, I have just enjoyed my lunch (day 4 of vegetable curry and rice) and am quite comfortable in the complementary blue and white cotton checkered pajamas. Curry, pajamas, air conditioning, internet....this place sure has any hospital in the states beat. If I had known I would have checked myself immediately into this little piece of heaven and given the heat a miss right from the start. In all seriousness...I have been extremely well taken care of although I don't know what the nurses think of this little american girl who has been watching sound of music on repeat. (They have 5 english DVDs for my viewing pleasure including sound of music and mary poppins)

While I have holed up in the hospital Jay (my amazing classmate) has been doing my dirty work concerning my bags. And it seems to have paid off...after countless phone calls which have included threats and yelling I got news that my bags will be delivered tomorrow morning. While I would love to jump up and down with great joy 1) that wouldnt be good for my asthmatic state and 2) I have heard such things before. I'll let you know the update with the bag as the situation continues to unfold. I have been havng dreams however about the marvelous compensation I am going to be asking from British Airways since it was their incompetence that landed me in this joint.

And finally, my luck continues....the doctor has told me that I would be free to go tomorrow...only for me to find out that the entire city is on strike for two days because of the rising gas prices and there is no possible way for me to get home. Sadly I will be staying at Ruby until Saturday when the strike it over.

I will have more to report once im sprung from this place but as for now it's back to bed to watch the sound of music once again!