This morning at 8 I met up with Pradeep & Olf (an
anesthesiologist from Sweden) and we headed out the hotel gate to the right.
And it was a totally different experience – a tale of 2 villages I am calling
it!!! After about 100 yards on the dirt road outside the hotel there are more
sturdy brick type homes – still very simple & humble but definitely more
stable and an entirely different “village” from the one on the opposite side of
the hotel. There was a temple structure back there from the 1800’s, a nice
building that was the school & on this Monday morning kids walking to the
school. All sorts of little “businesses” a man with fabric & a sewing
machine who is the tailor there, a little market, an incense shop, several wells
for water, some paved pathways, a newer temple and even a barber where Olf
decided to support the local economy & get a haircut for 30 rupee (50
cents). People were outside their homes brushing their teeth. Women were washing
their cooking pots and clothing in tubs of water outside their homes & some
areas had overhead electrical wires & electricity!!! Pradeep had met the
Chief Elder of the village and visited with him yesterday so he greeted us. His
mother is the teacher at the school there. He showed us where they have all of
their rice fields and then where they dry out all of the rice – which is a
staple of their existence. Many people have their own cows or goats & if
they don’t have a cow they trade good for milk from someone elses cow. It
seemed like a very self-sufficient little village. I didn’t get the sense that a
lot of people left there & went into “work” anywhere but I could be wrong.
The kids were all dressed. Many homes had mini shrines outside their homes or
on the road. I took a bag of cookies & candy that I had & we asked the
parents & then gave it away to the kids we saw. I am SO GLAD I went on this little hour or so
walk with Pradeep – it was a hole different look from the village on the other
side of the hotel. I did wonder why the people on the other side of the road aren’t
a part of this village? I was told that there is a significant “class system”
still very much in place in India which dictates some interactions???
We were supposed to head to Kolkata in 10 cars at 10 am but
timeliness is not an India quality and all 10 cars didn’t get there until about
10:45. I was in a car with Sharon, Mayra & Peggy & Pintu was our
driver. He spoke pretty good English & gave us info on our drive. Today was
the birthday of a Freedome Fighter so there were several gatherings on the road
to Kolkata that we “drove thru” Peggy was one of the OR nurse & I really hadn’t
had much interaction with her this week – she is 67 and retired 7 years ago
after 36 years in the airforce. She spent 3 years on the front line trauma hospital
in Khandaahar as an OR nurse & had some horrific stories of her experiences
there. She said that her Op Smile experiences have been healing her for her 22
missions she has been on. She still works in Victoria Canada & runs
marathons!!!
We drove over the Ghanges river to get into Kolkata. Pintu
pointed out the Queen Victoria palace – they were under British rule until
1947!!! I seriously regret sometimes my lack of recall of world history! There
were lots of interesting statues (Indira Ghandi, Don Bosco etc) and buildings,
and of course intensely crazy traffic. Once we got into Kolkata all the cars
were to head to a hotel where we were dropping everyones bags and then could go
off & “explore” based on when our flights were. George, Lori & I all
had 6:30 flights so we stuck together in the car I was in with Pintu as we only
had about 3 hours before we needed to head to the airport. Most of the cars
were going to the Sisters of Charity Motherhouse to see the resting place of
Mother Teresa & the would split up from there. When we got the there Mother
house & the Orphanage were “closed” from noon-3 pm every day. We knocked
& were told that they were closed so the sisters could do some of their
work but I wasn’t giving up!!! I went down & knocked again & explained
why we had been in Indai & that we only had this time now & pleaded if
we could come in & they said yes!!!
The place of her resting was very serene. There were a few
nuns sitting near there praying and a sign for it to be a reverent environment.
My Aunt Natalie (my dads sister) was a nun in the sisters of Charity order
& I know that she spent some time in Indis (not sure if it was here or
elsewhere) but I definitely felt a connection to her & my Catholic heritage
here. These nuns have an orphanage that they run here & also a hospice
center – it was very touching to see their selfless service. I wanted to make a
donation so they took me into a little room and the Mother Superior came out
with her “financial assistant” and they accepted the donation and “blessed me”.
I know that these sisters take avow of poverty so that all the money I was able
to give them will go directly to helping the children in the orphanage and the
people in hospice. They gave me all sorts of Mother Teresa cards etc so when I
came out I was able to share them with whomever wanted them. On the top of
Mother Teresa’s tomb in flower petals were the words “Love Seeks to Serve”…..what
a reflection of Mother Teresa’s life. I was so grateful to have this
opportunity today. If there was one thing I had wanted to do it was to get
there.
I had tried to connect with Pres. Sujal via phone &
finally did & had Pintu speak to him. Kolkata is a big city and with the
crazy traffic getting anywhere is a challenge. He was 25 km away from us not in
any direction we were currently headed. George & Lori wanted to go to the
Kolkata market area & I didn’t want to impact their time so I tried to
brainstorm with Pintu & pres. Sujal what our options were. I wondered why
he couldn’t come close to us or meet us somewhere in the middle but it just didn’t
seem possible. All I wanted to do was give him some $$$ to support Sis Kumbhaker
someone I hadn’t ever met but who was a part of this little congregation of 20
members of the LDS church & who wanted to serve a mission or our church but
didn’t have all the financial resources she needed. Pintu said that is we got back to the hotel by 2:30
& left for the airport then we could maybe do a drive by….I was doing a
while lot od praying while also not wanting to interfere with George &
Lori. We did the market area in about an hour – there really wasn’t anything to
buy so that helped & then we went back to get our luggage. It looked like
we could literally do a “drive by” & I could pass an envelope off to Pres
Sujal. I had already written a note the night before when I was packing.
Traffic was a little crazy but WE DID IT!!! All thanks to Pintu – I was in his
car for a reason that was for sure. He pulled over Pres Sujal was there. I
handed him the envelope – shook his hand & got back in the car. Honestly I
could not pick him out of a line up if I had to it all went down so fast. He
& Pres. Hodges emailed me later that night thanking me for the efforts to
get them the donation. I will never ever see them again & I will never meet
Sis Kumbhaker but I know that she was part of the reason I was in India!!!
We made it to the airport within or time range, I got my
bags checked all the way to LAX (but I had to pick them up in Newark to go thru
customs). We had about an hour at the airport and I did a little shipping at a government
type store there that raises money for villages. The 2 ½ hour flight to Delhi
was 100% packed & I just tried to remember I just needed to get past this
flight then I would have an upgraded next flight. When we got to Delhi George.
Lori & I parted ways & I thru some trial & error found my way thru
immigration in order to leave the country & got the the International
terminal with only an hour before my flight. Despite the upgrade the 15 ½ hour
flight from Delhi to Newark was LONG. I m not a good plane sleeper even when I
am exhausted and while the flight left at midnight I was trying to figure out when
to sleep so I might sort of be on a US timezone – that didn’t work so well.
They served food right as we left & then made the plane dark. I think I
slept maybe 4 or 5 hours in total but
rested too and watched some movies TV. In Newark I had to gather my bags, go
thru US customs & immigration & recheck my bags. I only had about 3
hours there and it took awhile to do all of that. One more 6 hour leg of my
trip was left!!! The Newark flight was not upgraded but at that point I knew I
was getting close to home so I didn’t care & there was an open seat between
me & the person at the window so that was nice. We got into LAX 30 min
ahead of schedule but since the gate wasn’t ready somehow we ended up on the
runway for an hour… I thought that time would never end!!! FINALLY I was HOME
(or at least close). Doug was there to meet me – it had been a long time to be
away. I was travel weary – tired, sort of hungry, and ready to really get home
and take a hot shower!
As always I had an appreciation for all the things I
typically take for granted day to day – clean water, hot water, breathable air,
not crazy traffic, familiar food, the ability to communicate and be with family
and friends, a soft bed…the list goes on
& on!!! It is a sacrifice to go but always so rewarding. I appreciate these
opportunities to serve. I don’t think I will be able to go again until probably
next fall. I met some incredible people, had some amazing experiences and
believe I was right where I was meant to be these past 2 weeks….it may take a
while to recover from this one though – the travel time was intense and I am
pretty tired!
No comments:
Post a Comment