Hello Everyone! And greetings from Kolkata!
I have finally arrived. What an adventure it has been! The past two days have been quite possibly the longest and most exhausting days of my life. But definitely worth it. Allow me to fill you in.
So the flights over here were miraculously not as bad as I thought. The 15 hour flight from Toronto to Mumbai was surprisingly not terrible...given my nice yummy cocktail of an Indian supper, Benadryl, Advil, and micro amounts of water so as not to have to pee. Thank goodness for a nurse's bladder since I had the window seat. But between my long slumber and a few good movies, I was set. And let me tell you, the airport in Mumbai was CRAZY nice. It was huge and so beautiful that I was just walking around for a few hours to kill time. The only unfortunate but not so unfortunate part of my journey was that the fellow next to me on my overnight flight to Kolkata spoke to me the ENTIRE TIME. He was super cool and giving me pointers but I just wanted to sleep. So that kind of set me up for a rough first day.
When I arrived to Kolkata, I had a ride waiting for me. He was a local who only spoke Bengali so it was a rather quiet ride. But man was it crazy! He drove like a maniac! Which I now realize is the norm but he was flying down streets with no regards to lanes and just holding down on his horn. I had to thank Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh for breaking me in to this sort of reckless driving...otherwise I would have definitely left the car with streak marks.
The first day was very very tough for me. I had a hard time getting into the place I needed to stay and my uber back from the shelter didn't know where the address I had entered was...nor did I. I was lost by myself in a foreign overcrowded city without a functional phone. So that was fun. Add in extreme heat, 1000% humidity, and sleep deprivation and I was rapidly overflowing with self doubt. It was clear to me that this is going to be the hardest thing I've ever had to do. Definitely almost lost my shit.
Thankfully though, I was surprised to find that there are two other volunteers here. Korah (20) from Indiana and Iona (18) from California. They have both been here for the past two weeks so they were helping to get me adjusted and feel more at ease. This is both of their first times outside the US which absolutely blows my mind. Go big or go home I guess.
Day two was a complete 180. Being the only non Indian people around here (literally zero other white people so far) I am still unsure of how it would be to whip out my phone and take pics. So for this first entry I will just try to paint you pictures. Forgive the length of this entry.
So the day for me started at 2am (wuddup jet laggggg) but we actually got moving around 830/9am. It was so hot that as soon as you step outside you are completely drenched in both sweat and humidity. The locals were even saying how bad it was so you know I was dying. Iona and I then started on our long trek to New Light which is the major shelter/headquarters. The trek included an auto ride, which is essentially a Tuk Tuk, and then we walked about a mile and half through the streets and alley ways. The streets are so busy with people, bikers, mo-peds, trucks, buses, taxis, dogs, and just all sorts of crazy stuff zooming by and everyone is constantly honking. It's pretty terrifying at first. The side walks are riddled with people in little stands with street food or small trade items, dogs, and just a plethora of stuff. And everyone just stares. I thought my st. Maarten tan would help me blend in but I'm still super white here. A trait that is super foreign to them.
The street you turn down to get to New Light is called Kalighat Road. It almost feels like the main strip/market area. There are so many vendors everywhere and it is packed. It also has the former residence of Mother Theresa which is still a home for orphans and the destitute. (I was thrilled to see that and be where she worked!) To get to the shelter you have to walk down a small alley, past a bunch of women at the corner who are the sex workers, past all these small little cubbies where people live, and through a little maze. Very narrow and I feel very typical of what you would envision when thinking of India. We got to play with the children for a bit before heading off to one of the shelters in North Kolkata known as Starfish. North Kolkata is home to the biggest red light district in the world. So the shelter we were at is for the children of the sex workers. They were so precious. It was at this shelter that I met Em, a 21 year old girl from Montreal who has been living in India for the past 2 years. Wild.
When it came time to leave, the heavens opened up into a downpour unlike any I have ever experienced. When it let up some we made a run for it but it quickly started up again forcing us so to duck into a narrow hallway of an area where people lived. We were waiting just inside when it started to really come down and flood. Doesn't seem so bad since water is water....but the grossest thing was that the floods were making the cockroaches flee....right towards us. SO. MANY. COCKROACHES. And the flood started filling in behind us so you can imagine we were getting squished by nasty water and cockroaches. My gag reflex was kicking in.
The second it let up we jumped over the roaches and made a dash for the metro. The umbrella was absolutely useless against these rains.
When we made it back to the main center I was soaked and the kids were in the midst of their afternoon nap. I then started to nod off so they let me nap in the back area. I slept for about 10/15 minutes before waking up to a bunch of little children on my bed laughing around me. "Your name? maam" they would all ask me. They all think it is 'amillion' now.
After making some new friends, I headed off to the second shelter. This shelter is for the "untouchables." Children born of parents who work at the crematorium. They are often cast out from society for their work and location adjacent to the crematorium. We hung out for a while and then Iona and Korah dropped by to snag me.
Getting back home was quite the adventure. Iona decided to walk while Korah and I were so exhausted, thus opting for an uber. We called the uber where we had Wi-Fi, scurried down to the road to wait for it, and my phone died. So we waited and waited for the car (knowing it's make and license) and over 20 minutes later, nothing. We therefore had to make a go at it since the Wi-Fi was now off. However, korah didn't know the way. I remembered the way in the daytime...but the night really threw me off. We were able to catch an auto a small part of the way but then we were lost again. We found out from people which bus to catch to get to the mall near us which then led us to this older man with his family who said he was also going there. Dude then took us under his wing and then some.
The bus pulled up and was about to explode with the amount of people packed in it. The back door is where you enter and there is not door. People just hang on. So he starts telling everyone to squeeze in to make room for his sisters (us) and everyone listens. I was literally on the last step hanging on for dear life as this bus zipped away. And he was on the outside....literally standing on a toe and hanging outside the bus. It was insane!! And everyone is so pleasant despite being smoothered. People need to make their way to the door somehow before the stop since the bus barely stops at all. It starts driving as people are getting in and they just jump and grab on. So our protector kept yelling for people to go around us and they all listen. He knew of we stepped off that was it for us. Everyone kept laughing at us but it was a riot. I couldn't believe how crazy it was! The older guy ended up paying for us with his whole family and as we walked back he was telling us not to worry because "India and America are very good friends." It was so nice. He just smiled, shook our hands, and headed off with his family.
Needless to say, my body has never been more exhausted...but I am already falling in love with this chaotic place.
Cue me collapsing into bed for my first good night's sleep in 4 days.
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