Wednesday, March 19, 2008

You may never see me again.

I may just hide out in India for the rest of my life. 
Well, okay, that's a lie.  I can't afford that.  But I will be staying on another three months.  I just can't help myself; I'm in love.

Here's the basic rundown on my reasoning:  There's a lot I still want to do here.  There are some aspects of Indian life I still want to explore.  There are a number of things I'd like to work on at Shishu Bhavan.  I'm still discovering new and exciting things about Kolkata.  
I don't know when I'll be back. 
I'm changing my program of study, but I don't yet know to what.  When I get home, there would be no reason for me to go back to school as I would have no idea what classes I should be taking. 
So, basically, if I'm going to be taking the rest of the year off of school, why not spend it doing something that has a positive impact on the rest of the world.  And something that I really want to do, as selfish as that is.  
It makes a lot more sense when I take the time to really flesh it out, but the one other time I did that, when I wrote to my mom, it took an awful long time.  But I really have put a lot of time and thought into this decision and I do feel that it's the right thing to do.   
I haven't got the exact details yet, but I'm going to Bangkok on Feb. 14 to get a new Visa, will stay until that Visa is up in late May, and will be in California for a bit, then back to Seattle at the end of May or beginning of June.

And now that that's out of the way... 
Sorry that I haven't written so long.  I've been busy making preparations to leave, discerning whether or not to stay, figuring out if staying is possible, and making staying happen.  And in between all that, there's of course work and seeing people and shopping and laundry and a number of other things.  But I think I probably owe you all a blog after that announcement.

This past Sunday, I went with my Irish lady friend to visit another of the rural villages outside of  Kolkata.  She goes out there every Sunday with a priest friend of hers to attend mass and visit with a few of the families she helps out there.  It's amazing how different things can be just an hour outside of Kolkata.  Once past the dirt road around the marsh, still wet and muddy from the recent rain, and over the rickety bamboo bridge, I was absolutely amazed at the quite and the GREEN of this village.  There were trees, bushes, moss, various vegetable plants, just green everywhere.  And you could not hear a single car horn.  I honestly think that my ears were ringing from the quiet.  After the initial shock at how beautiful it all looked and sounded, I started noticing life in the village.  I got to walk around a bit before mass and I was in love with the way that all aspects of life go on right there in front of you.  So much happens in the little ponds surrounding all of the houses.  There were women washing dishes, doing laundry, children bathing, men working to clear weeds.  And it was all shared with you.  But, in contrast to life in Kolkata, it's not an in-your-face kind of  openness; there's much more modesty and humility in it all.  I can't describe it much better than to say that it was beautiful. 
After mass, we went to visit one of the nearby families, over yet another rickety bamboo bridge.  They made the most delicious breakfast I have ever tasted, consisting of paratha, subji, and omelette.  Once we were stuffed, we visited with an older woman with a hip injury living in one of the rooms of the house.  She is not related to the family, but loves and is loved by one of the sons of the family and so they take care of her.  She, like so many in India is in so much pain with no hope of relief, and yet is so strong and beautiful that her smile makes you want to cry.  I'm hoping to be able to visit the village a few more times before I leave in May in order to see this woman again and get to talk to her a bit more.  

Things at work have been a bit busier, as Sr. Beattina has gone on retreat and so there are more little odd jobs that need taking care of.  I've been working a bit more with a 3-yr-old boy named Peter.  He's partially blind and a bit mentally retarded due to neglect as an infant and toddler.  I think he's pretty close to being able to walk on his own, so that's my goal with him for the next few months.  I don't know that we'll get all the way there, but that's what I plan on working towards.  Sr. Beattina has also asked me to work a bit on sensory stimulation with our two new girls, Sonali and Jyotsni, and to work on implementing a program of relaxation before dinner in the afternoons.  It's clearly going to be a busy couple of months, but I'm really looking forward to it.  I like to keep busy.

I hope all is well back home, and I'll see everyone in May!

Namaskar, 
Melissa

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