Another week...

Kolkata is such an interesting city. And just when you think you've seen everything, you pull up to a stoplight and a tiny, wizened old man tries to sell you a bunch of cauliflower. At 9:30 at night. There is so much going on here all the time. And I am still meeting new people- met one of Dave's former co-workers from IJM for dinner at her flat last week. Also met some Brits and a boy from Holland at the guesthouse and spent a rainy Sunday afternoon playing cards with them. I also met a new volunteer, from Montana- we went to the Victoria Memorial one day and it is actually a museum inside, which gave me a much better idea of the history of the city. (for instance, Lower Circular Road was once the outer edge of the city- it began as a ditch dug to defend the city against raids, then was paved and later renamed Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Rd- or AJC Bose for short!)

Last week I did finally get to meet with another woman about some different volunteer opportunities. I may be visiting some HIV patients at a hospice, as well as a few other projects in the works. And I might get an opportunity to make another video while I am here!

Vishal took us out for dinner (because two of the volunteers are leaving) at this great restaurant- it is in a hotel, but it's on the 9th floor, so you have a terrific view of the city. It's sort of an oasis- you don't even realize where you are, it's so far removed from the dinginess of the streets below. Here are some pictures to give you an idea:

New Market (opened in 1874!!! so that the British could have a separate marketplace) is one of the huge shopping sections in the area.

Sherry (my roommate) left on Saturday for London. No one has yet mentioned anything to me about moving upstairs, so for now I have my own room. It was a bit strange Saturday night- I realized that I was alone for the first time since my arrival here 2 months ago!

I've gotten really involved at the church here (I found out it was originally started by none other than William Carey!) and have been helping out at the church office. I also went to the youth meeting on Saturday (and they made a big fuss because it was my birthday- it was very sweet! They sang and had cake and everything) so I am getting to know some people as well. Everyone is so welcoming, it is great. And Sunday was their bi-lingual service, which was amazing. I think one of my favorite parts about travelling is to visit churches around the world and have the priveledge of listening to other believers praising God in their own language. It really broadens my perspective of God- He is so much bigger than our limitations. I took some video of them singing:

And speaking of my birthday, it was pretty good. It rained, so my plans of going to the botanical gardens got washed out, but that also meant that the weather was cooler, so it felt a bit more like October instead of August! Went out to dinner with some girlfriends, and my sister even made sure that I got flowers- from halfway around the world!

Diwali, the festival of lights, is tomorrow, so I'm sure that there will be more pictures and posts very soon. I hear there are lots of firecrackers, too....

Bus Vignettes

Amusing things not only happen at restaurants, but on the bus as well. I take the bus every morning to get to work, and it's about a 45 minute ride through the city. I really enjoy riding the bus, not only because you get to see such a cross-section of life in the city, but because people don't expect a white person in India to ride the bus, so it is fun. I like that there are specific seats reserved for ladies, and if there are men sitting in them they have to get up and move. Some background: The buses are all bright blue, and they each have two doors (well, openings is more like it..) There is a ticket collector in the front and one in the back, and they hang out the door and holler the bus's destinations as they pass the bus stops. They are quite harmonious about it- sometimes it sounds almost like a song. And I'm finally getting to the point where I can now understand what they're saying when they yell the names of different districts. So once you get on the bus and are settled, the ticket man closest to you comes and ruffles his stack of tickets at you and once you pay him your fare, you get a tiny ticket stub. They are also in charge of telling the driver when to stop. (They only come to a complete stop if a woman is getting on or off the bus.) This involves the ticket man in the back watching the road to see if anyone is trying to flag down the bus, and then pounding on the side of the bus- once for a full stop, and twice to get going. The front ticket man then pulls a rope attached to a bell in the driver's box so he knows when to stop. And that is how it works. It also provides a wealth of stories...
One Wednesday morning:
Ticket man: (ruffles tickets at passenger)
Passenger pulls out a 100 rupee note, ticket man shakes head
Much yelling in Bengali ensues
Karin's translation:
Ticket man: Don't you have 4 rupees?
Passenger: Don't you think if I did I would have given it to you? No, you have to give me change.
Ticket man: I don't have 96 rupees in change! It's only 9 am!
Passenger: Well this is all I have.
Ticket man: I can't believe you don't have 4 rupees! Who doesn't have 4 rupees?Passenger: Are you going to let me ride for free?
Ticket man: NO!
Passenger: Then you have to give me change.
Ticket man: I don't want to! What do you mean you don't have any smaller bills? Passenger: What do you mean, you don't have any change??
(After much heated debate, the ticket man gives the passenger his change.)
The same Wednesday, a few minutes later:
The other ticket man collects fare from another passenger and gives him change. Passenger realizes he has been given a ratty 10 rupee note. Much yelling in Bengali ensues. Karin's translation:
Passenger: Hey, wait a minute! You just gave me a crappy bill! Ticket Man: Too bad. It's your problem now. Passenger: No! I want a different bill.
Ticket Man: Well, I am not giving you one.
Passenger: You have a whole load of them in your hand. This one's no good. Just give me one of those instead!
Ticket Man: No, the one you have is fine.
Passenger: Well if it's fine, then why won't you take it back?
Ticket Man: I'm not taking it back!
Passenger: Then give me all my money back, I don't want to ride your stupid bus!
Ticket Man: Sit down!
Passenger: Give me a new bill!
(not really sure how this got resolved... eventually after a good 5 minutes of yelling, the passenger gave up and stayed on the bus without getting a newer bill)
And then there was the day that the bus pulled up and we tried to get on even though there wasn't a single square inch of space. You just sort of press in- can't even hold onto the bar because you can't raise your arm, (not that it matters because you are not able to move anyway, no matter how hard the driver slams on the brakes). And more people keep getting on the bus, and there are about 7 men standing in the doorway, and the girl sitting down next to where I am crushed between two passengers needs to get off. The only way that she can get up is if, simultaneously, I move to sit in her seat. She needs my standing space to get off, and I need her seat if I intend to move out of her way. Talk about tricky manuvering!
One sunny Monday:
Ticket Man: ruffles tickets at me
Karin: hands him money
Ticket Man: Ko tai?
Karin: (blank look, then realizes this is Bengali for where) Ruby
Ticket Man: (shakes head)
Karin: You don't go to Ruby?
Ticket Man: Na, Ruby na.
Karin: Near the Siemens building?
blank look from Ticket man
Karin: Is this the 45A?
Ticket Man: shakes head (which means yes)
Karin: Six rupees (holds up fingers)
Ticket man then gives me the ticket, returns to the door of the bus and begins yelling, Gariahut, Ruby, Ruby....
One Day Later..
Karin: (hands money to ticket man)
Ticket Man: Ko tai?
Karin: (having learned her lesson) Narkel Bagan
blank look from ticket man
Karin: Narkel Bagan (I just asked Becky this yesterday-I know that's where I'm going!) Ticket man gives up and goes back to the front of the bus. For 20 minutes. I wonder if he is going to make me pay the fare. I wait. He comes back.
Karin: 6 rupees
I get my ticket, and then as I prepare to get off the bus, I hear an Indian girl tell the ticket man she is getting off at Narkel Bagan- and he nods and lets us off at our stop.
Why it is good to have exact change:
Ticket Man: (ruffles tickets)
Karin: (hands him 10 rupee bill) 6 rupees
Ticket man hands me my ticket... and 6 rupees.
Karin: (giving it back) No, 6 rupees is the fare. You give me back 4 (holding up fingers) rupees.
And then there was the day that the bus never came... so I decided to take a bus to Gariahat and get a rickshaw from there, feeling more confident in my navigational skills. So I wait until I distinctly hear both ticket men yelling "Gariahat" out the door, and board the bus.
Ticket Man: (ruffles tickets)
Karin: Gariahat?
Ticket Man: Gariahat, Gariahat
Karin:(inwardly breathing a sigh of relief that he understood) How much?
Ticket Man: 4 rupees.
I pay the fare, get my ticket, and relax... the bus is going the right direction, and everything is fine... for about ten minutes. Because that's when the ticket man rings the bell once, stops the bus, and proudly announces: Gariahat! and gestures for me to get off. Meanwhile Gariahat is a huge market about 5 minutes from work, bustling with activity and shops, and this is a rather deserted stretch of road. So I get off the bus, and think, "Great. Now what?" So I continue in the direction that the bus was heading, and before long I have found the corner where the auto-rickshaws are. Now I just have to find one that's going towards Ruby...
Karin: Ruby?
Rickshaw Driver: Na
Karin: Ruby?
Rickshaw Driver: Na
Karin: Ruby?
(Rickshaw drives away)
Karin: (finally spotting a rickshaw labeled "Ruby", approaches with confidence) Ruby- Rickshaw Driver: Na, Ruby na.
After asking about 20 drivers, I finally decide it is quicker to just board another bus, since they keep coming around the corner and the ticket men are yelling Ruby out the door. I did finally make it to work, albeit about 2 hours late. (the first hour spent waiting for the bus that never came...) But amazingly enough, it works- I've always managed to get to work in one piece, and sometimes it seems easier than trying to tell a taxi driver where you need to be- at least if you get on the right bus you know where it's going! And my favorite is taking the bus home at dusk, just when the streets come alive, and there are candles being lit at all the roadside stands and the men coming home from work all pause to have chai. When you can listen to the ticket men sing their destinations into the twilight, and you know that the last thing you hear when you get off the bus will be: "Aste, Ladies, aste*.."
*careful

Update

So I know it's been a while since I've written- life here has been quite busy. Things were pretty crazy last week for the puja- I went out a few nights with some friends, we met some Indian boys, got to see the chaos at the river on Thursday night. When the Indians party, they really know how to make a racket! Then one of the volunteers left on Tuesday, so this weekend we went out for a night of dinner and dancing on Park St for her going away party. Yesterday we went to another puja at the home of one of the ladies who is helping out here at the center. We have about another 2 weeks before Diwali (yet another Hindu festival) starts on Oct 28th.
As far as work goes, one of my projects was putting together a promo video for the company. It made it through several revisions, but it's now posted on youtube if anyone wants to check it out. The link is: http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=ycYWYTLuX-0 I didn't do the still photos or the titles, but the majority of the film was shot and edited by me. This week we have a British designer here to help the girls learn to make some new bags. I've been helping her cut out patterns and copy them. Sarah, one of the CEO's of the company, is also here for a few days, so everyone is in and out of the office. I've sort of taken over supervising the girls (as well as I can, seeing that they don't understand me when I try to explain what they're to do) and signing them in and out. It makes for a pretty long day. I have also gotten in contact with a German woman from church named Pia- she has a ministry in the red-light district here and I think I will be able to help her a few days a week starting in November. I still need to meet with her to hash out the details, but I'm pretty excited about that opportunity.
I'm still enjoying every minute here and learning more about Indian culture every day... more on that soon!

Here we come a-pandel-ing....

So I'm not sure if that's a verb or not, but it's definitely what we did last night. This week is the Durga Puja festival. It's all about the goddess Kali and how she defeats the guy who is trying to kill her (I think). Anyway. For those of you who are asking, what is a pandel, anyway, let me explain. About a month ago, these bamboo structures began to go up all over the city. When we asked what they were, we were told that they are pandels- almost like mini-temples where they display the gods (or in this case goddess) and do their puja and offerings and such. They are all decorated and lit differently, and a lot of money and effort goes into them.

You can still see the bamboo frame in these shots.

(Which is why it's a little odd that at the end of the week, they take the beautiful idols down and throw them in the river, but hey-) So they build these pandels, and all this week everyone gets dressed up to the nines and walks around town to go visit the different pandels. It's a pretty big deal- there's a contest and prizes for the best pandel. (It's sort of like, if at Christmas, every church in the whole neighborhood put on their own nativity scene, and then the week before Christmas everyone got all dolled up to walk around and see the different nativity scenes, and someone would win best nativity, and then we'd throw everything into the river. Or something. That's the closest analogy I can come up with. )

So last night, we (we being 6 girls that are all staying at the same guesthouse) decided to get into the Puja thing. Sophie knew these two Indian guys who have a shop in New Market who offered to take us around and show us some of the sights. They were great- really nice, friendly, and spoke perfect English. Sanjay was a perfect tour guide- made sure everyone stayed together, no one got lost, etc. So we started out near New Market and joined the throngs of people out seeing the pandels.

There are lights and people everywhere. They actually have small stages set up near each pandel, where they have bands and live music while people wait in line to get inside. It's a very festive atmosphere- we were told no one sleeps this week, and judging from the noise levels and the number of people out and about, I'd say that's pretty true!

So we walked around and visited probably about 10 or 12 different pandels. We walked for several hours, but it didn't feel long at all. There are pandels all over the city, so there is so much to see! Each one is set up a bit differently. The outsides have been decorated with various mediums (like poppy seeds or pen caps!), some facades modeled after famous builings.

The inside, while revolving around the same theme, differs in medium as well, but the main difference is the lighting and wall decorations. Each pandel displays 5 figures, the goddess Kali, Ganesh (with the elephant head), two other goddesses, and the villain who got his due trying to kill Kali. (Bet you can't tell which one that is...)

One of the wall murals

Lotus flowers as an offering

Some of the chandeliers inside the pandels..

So we wandered around for quite a while, and then there was this really big, fancy pandel that was right next to... a carnival?!?!? Yes, a carnival. With all the silly games, chintzy prizes and rides you would find at any carnival worth its salt. The only thing it was missing was funnel cake... (because we all know that a carnival isn't quite complete without funnel cake.) There was, however, cotton candy and popcorn. It was rather surreal, because a carnival was the last thing I expected, but apparently it's a big draw for Puja-ers. We rode on the wildly unsafe Ferris wheel, which was lots of fun (you always want to see the mechanic with a screwdriver in the moter as the machine is going...)

So that was our night out during the Puja- we might go out on Thursday to see some of the processions down to the river. It was a very interesting festival- we were glad to have guys with us who knew what everything was and could explain it!

Maddie, Nisha, Sophie and Sanjay, the best guide ever!

Maddie and Jack, our other guide

My sari

So this is just a short post to let everyone know that I am feeling immensely better than yesterday- my throat no longer has glass in it and I had pizza last night so I am not hungry anymore. (Actually that's a lie, I'm starving right now, but we're going out for the new volunteer's birthday in about 20 minutes, so it's okay.) This is just an update to calm anyone that was worried I was going to start roasting lizards or doing anything crazy. I actually felt well enough to go to church this morning, which was a great reason to get all dressed up!
So this is the sari that I bought in Darjeeling- obviously I love it. I have a second one, but I have to get a top made and all the tailors are closed for Durga Puja. So it will have to wait. This one is a lot fancier, though.

Now you would think, being so attired in native garb, people would stare at you less as you walk down the street. You would be wrong. You would think people couldn't possibly stare at you more than they do already, considering that your skin blinds them as you walk past, no matter what you're wearing. Again, you would be wrong. I felt VERY conspicuous as I walked to church this morning. I also discovered why the women wearing saris don't usually walk very fast. Because all that skirt takes a bit to manage. Everyone was excited about it though- all the staff at the guesthouse said I looked nice, and everyone wanted to know if I had tied it myself (which I had, although the pleats might have been the wrong way...) So anyway, consider this the fashion show... despite the terrible florescent lighting and lack of catwalk... It'll just have to do.

My complaint

So perhaps I have misjudged a bit. Perhaps the best way to visit a foreign country is for exactly one month- before the romance and adventure wear off. Before you get miserably sick. And before the novelty of India begins to wear off and some of the outlandish customs are no longer quaint, but annoying. (Like the fact that the waiter can only bring one menu to a table, no matter how many people there are. Like when people honk at you to move out of the way when they are the ones driving down the wrong side of the road. Or that the staff has to bang on your door every morning at 7 to wake you up to a breakfast of cardboard and cold eggs, nevermind that 30 seconds earlier they rang a huge bell announcing that breakfast was ready. Or that the tiny old lady in the sari has to ask me every morning if I've signed the book saying I ate the bricks of toast and rubbery eggs, nevermind the fact that she saw me do it, every morning as I have since the first day she told me to. Or that the internet crashes nearly every time I try to use it. Or the fact that there is a designated person for each task, and if you don't see the right one, they can't help you. Which is why it takes a half hour to buy stamps. And why you can't bag your own produce. Or the fact that no one- no one, mind you, has change for hundred rupee bills or above. Not even taxi drivers, although they've been driving all day, charging people at least Rs 22 a ride. Not the guy at the Vodaphone shop, even though you clearly just saw him counting scads and scads of money in his drawer. Not the guys at the grocery store, who have to make change out of their own wallets. Even the man selling papers doesn't have change for 10 rupees- despite the fact he's been selling papers, so you have to take two and forego the 6 rupees change that's due. ) So clearly, this week hasn't been the greatest, mostly due to the fact I've been sick all week. So you may chalk it up to the fact that I am not myself because I don't feel well. Or you could also argue that I am just plain old cranky because of hunger. To substantiate this case, here is a list of what I have eaten this week (since Monday morning, mind you):
2 hard-boiled eggs (both cold)
4 pieces toast (which you could break your teeth on)
1 croissant
1 bowl oatmeal (hot only because I was in the breakfast room at 7:01)
3 biscuits
5 cookies
4 biscuits (of a different, softer variety than the first)
1 cucumber, tomato and onion sandwich
3 chunks pineapple
2 pieces coconut
2 slices of bread
onion rings (don't ask...)
2 hunks tandoori chicken (boneless)
1 hunk tandoori lamb (boned)
2 bowls soup (1 tomato, 1 corn veg)
1 granola bar
1 banana
1 pancake
1 inordinately spicy momo (dumpling) that was a big mistake
1 apple tart (with raisins)
1/2 Coke
innumerable cups of tea
So anyway. I am hungry. And I can't eat because my throat is killing me. And sadly, there is no Jello in India. You could also argue that the crankiness is from lack of sleep- I stay up most of the night coughing, and then there are always fun times like last night where I woke up to find ants in my bed, crawling all over me, so I'm a bit tired too.
Anyway, I'm sure that this is a riveting post- you all really needed to know my menu for the week, I'm sure. Sorry I am venting a bit, but if you want to know how my week has been, this is the truth.

Darjeeling pictures

So here are some pictures of my weekend. I took about 200. It was really hard to narrow it down. You can see why I have trouble describing Darjeeling- it has a charm all its own. I really want to go back and spend my birthday there- it is a very peaceful place. The day we left the weather was much clearer and you could see snow on the mountains in the distance- just giving you an idea of what you can see if the clouds aren't there. And I also tried to be artistic with the black and white pictures... some of them turned out pretty well. Wish I could post them all, but that might be a bit much. Enjoy!