Home Safe and Sound

I just wanted to let everyone know that we all made it home safe after a good 30 hours of traveling! Just a tip for you in case you decide to go to India - don't try to print your plane ticket @ the Kolkata airport (they won't let you through the doors without it printed already and if you get there 7 hours early you might end up hanging out outside for a bit...) Yeah...all is well though, we made friends with a cool British guy who works for the UN and was in the same situation we were. He was able to get us all in after 4 hours. You may be wondering why in the world we got to the airport 7 hours early...That way Father could catch the bus back to Raiganj and make it in time for work the next morning. Yep, he's a hard worker - bringing smiles to faces left and right! :) Father was the toughest to say good-bye to. Yes, we'll be in touch, but still, I'll miss all the laughs and all the joy that he brought to each day.

Anyway, things are going well at home. It's so nice to be home - warm showers, cozy bed, toilet paper, carpet...! And of course my family and friends! :) I'm still not quite done unpacking, but I don't see any more ants, so that's a good thing! (A few hundred ants decided they wanted to come home with me.) But no worries, all is well now (and clean)! Of course I'm realizing that this whole experience is quite difficult to share. Many people have and probably will continue to ask me how they think this trip has changed me or in what ways. That is a such a hard question! I'm still internalizing everything! It's like asking someone on their birthday how it feels to be one year older! That's a silly question, you can't possibly know immediately! All I do know is that the biggest change has happened in my heart. I can only hope that my heart may lead me to think and act in different ways to reflect this experience and growth.

Thank you all so much for sharing in my experiences by reading my blog and for all your thoughts and prayers! Have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! :)

Wrappin Things Up

We’re in our last full week here in Raiganj. We’ve been quite busy wrapping things up. Andrea and I went back to Bolaigaon for a few days (the village we went to our second week we were in India). It’s crazy to think how fast the time has gone, but I think Andrea and I both feel a special connection and warmth towards the sisters in Bolaigaon and the village communities there. The second week was the hardest week for me this entire trip. I didn’t emphasize the challenges too much in my blog last time, but I’ll admit I was scared, homesick and uncomfortable. This time it kind of felt like home, like family. (I know I said that about Kumarganj too, but even more so in Bolaigaon.) Right as we drove through the gate, a bunch of the hostel girls smiled and shouted in excitement, “Good Morning Didis!” I even recognized one of the girls at the gate (that is a big deal because we’ve met thousands and thousands of hostel children- all adorable kids with bright white smiles and beautiful dark features.) Andrea and I had a great time with the sisters. Two of them are about our age and they’re super fun. Never knew how hilarious a couple nuns could be! Seriously, we were laughing non stop. We saw Bondita and her 5 year old daughter Bernali again and we took some little hair clips as a gift for Bernali. (Bondita was the health worker we met before who so generously gave us some of her intricately hand-woven tablecloths and mats – the one who I said I would never forget.) Bondita ran away in so much excitement after greeting us and before we knew it she was back with a really nice breakfast - again, so generous, so kind, so giving. Her husband chatted with us too this time and tried to convince us to stay for a month with them. He said we could really learn Bengali that way.

We spent last Saturday at the MCs again. We were there for about 4 hours this time. Sadly, one of the babies died just an hour and a half before we got there from severe diarrhea. The mother was there weeping over the crib where the body of her one-year old boy was under a sheet with a couple fresh flowers on top. Her husband had just died 6 months before and she was a patient in the nearby TB hospital. It was definitely a heartbreaking moment as you can imagine and a sight that I hope I never ever have to see again.

We spent a lot of time with the babies, feeding them, holding them and loving them. Just when I thought that kids couldn’t get any cuter, the weather got “cold” and they are now all bundled up in tiny little sweaters and scarves. By “cold” I mean a little chilly in the mornings and at night but hot during the day. (Somewhat like a hot summer day back home; we still sleep with our windows open and occasionally still turn the fan on at night.) We had a great time with the kids but they really wore us out! There’s a bunch of new ones there, almost 30 altogether.

We’ve been working on lots of projects. Last Sunday we went to a place called Majlispur where we split up a project proposal for the construction of a girl’s hostel and cranked it out in just a few hours! We looked quite official, all working hard with laptops. There was a big procession going on in the village too. There is always some kind of procession or celebration going on here, but usually they are all either Puja celebrations with the Hindus or some kind of political march. This one was a Christian procession for the celebration of Christ the King. (It’s a holiday here.) A couple thousand people participated in the procession; it was a pretty awesome experience. The same procession was going on in many villages and towns throughout West Bengal.

Last night we went marketing with Father to get a few gifts and one more sari. Man, it was a fun outing! Customers actually sit on the floor and the shop owners and clerks throw tons of fabric in front of you. Before we knew it we were hidden in a mound of saris and shawls. We picked through the pile as Father explained the different qualities of fabric. They even brought cool drinks and snacks! This store had so much fabric it was unbelievable. Each small room kept leading to another! Never thought you could shop sitting down! The whole phrase, "Shop til you drop" doesn't really apply here in India. Dad, I think even you could manage this kind of shopping! Haha.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Andrea and I spent the last few days out in Bolaigaon again. I can’t believe it’s been 2 months since we were there last! (I will try to write more about it later, but for now, I just want to mention the Thanksgiving festivities.) The sisters there made us a special lunch for Thanksgiving with foods we mentioned as Thanksgiving foods. It was quite the feast – even some yams and pumpkin (boiled w/ fresh coconut shavings on top). Then of course, crunchy baby fish, green beans, cucumber and onion, meat, rice, daal, mango juice, and mini bananas. You can't forget, I am in India! :)

For dinner we went to our friends’ house, Jonathon and Ruchika (and their adorable little 9-month old daughter Trisha). They have become close friends here and we have lots of fun with them. We made mashed potatoes, gravy and stuffing. Thanks to the package Scott’s mom, Jan, sent! And also some green beans, chicken (in place of turkey) and many many Indian treats. It was a fun evening. Definitely a Thanksgiving we’ll never forget.

As wonderful as all these celebrations were, I hate to admit it, but I do miss the fam back home. Since Thanksgiving is a day to give thanks, (and it's still Thanksgiving for you all - 13.5 hrs behind me), I find it appropriate to give a little shout out to my family back home. When I think about the many blessings God has given me, family is definitely top of the list. I am very fortunate to have such an amazing family - Mom, Dad, my broski Adam, Aunty and Grandma Frank, Grandma and Grandpa Pflueger and the whole Pflueger clan. A family that is filled with many incredible individuals who have all taught me what love is all about. Seventeen grandkids on the Pflueger side just to give you an idea…! Of course, everyone has their own very special and unique gifts that they bring to the group, which makes for one awesome bunch!!!! To all of my family back home: I love you very very much and wish I could be there with you all. You have each shaped me in a very special way, brought me many wonderful memories and lots of laughs and lots and lots of love! I wouldn't be who I am without each and every one of you. Thank you for bringing such joy to my life! I will surely be there with you in spirit- even the pool tourney!!! :)

And to all my friends and family reading this, Have a very Happy Thanksgiving feast and please take a moment to think about all those in this world who go without…without food, without family, without health or without love. They aren’t as far away as they may seem.

Kumarganj

Last weekend we went to a village named Kumarganj. I tell you what; there is just something about the place. So much love and so much generosity! We met a bunch of families after mass on Sunday morning and then they all wanted to show us their home. We immediately felt like family. We went one by one, to each of their bamboo and mud huts, and sat for at least a couple minutes either on bamboo mats, plastic chairs or hammock-like beds. We had Father Kennedy and Sister Lizzy with us so were able to communicate w/ translations. The villagers were soooooo excited that we came all the way from America and wanted to meet them and spend time with them. One woman yanked on my arm and begged us to stay with them. Their kindness and generosity is incredible. Despite the fact that they have very little food to eat, they all brought a plate of rice or one or two rupees for the offering at mass. As we were walking from hut to hut, Andrea and I both had two little girls on either side of us holding our hands. It was one of those moments I didn’t want to end.

We also met a couple thousand hostel children and were greeted with songs and dances again. It has been awhile since we have visited the hostels; it made me realize how much I’ve missed it! My cheeks hurt again from smiling so much! :)

Oh yeah, and Friday was a blast too! It was Father’s birthday so we celebrated just about all day long! His office was filled with treats and flowers. In the evening we had a really fun dinner at DDC (about 10 of us). Scott and I even performed a little dance for entertainment! Haha. :) It was a very lively and joyous evening to say the least.

Children's Day

Last Wednesday (November 14^th) we celebrated Children’s Day in a nearby village named Dhumpur. We set up a health fair and had lots of fun activities. This was much different than the health fairs I’m used to – no brochures and pamphlets even distributed! The village has only a 17% literacy rate, so written materials are not very helpful. When we first got to the village the children lined up in two single-file lines while one of the supervisors taught them their chants. They were chanting about children’s rights. Things like, “Right to Education, Right to Immunization, Right against Polio, Right against Child Labor…” and so on. Of course this was all in Bengali so we needed some translations in order to understand. I was helping to tape the thin paper signs to bamboo sticks so that the children could hold them. We marched with the children through a few nearby villages.

There were a few health officials there from the government that spoke about different health and hygiene topics. Each mother brought the child’s immunization record and all records were reviewed by health workers to determine which children had received all the vaccines they needed at the appropriate times. Incentive prizes were given for the best immunized children. A doctor was also there and free medical check-ups were offered for all the women and children present. Medicines were also provided in very small amounts after the check-up.

Lastly, there was a “quiz competition” for the mothers. Questions regarding health and immunization were asked to the crowd. Those who answered correctly were given a bar of soap and a small pouch of laundry soap as prizes. This is a great way to check their knowledge and awareness about different health issues as well as evaluate the effectiveness of previous interventions. Again, because of the low literacy rate, written tests or surveys are not very helpful. Two very important things were determined through the quiz competition: 1. Their knowledge about immunization was very good. They knew which vaccines were to be given at which times. 2. No one had any knowledge or understanding of HIV/AIDS! Thank goodness for our next HIV program that just got passed! :)

A True Indian

I’m laying here in my room at DDC reading Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat, Pray, Love, laughing to myself as I identify with many of her feelings and experiences while living abroad in India. I’m also trying to hydrate myself and consequently getting up to use the toilet just about every 10 or 15 minutes. The last couple weeks were difficult to stay completely healthy and hydrated – partly due to the heavy pollution in Calcutta and the fact that most places didn’t have a water filter. I’d much rather be slightly dehydrated than severely sick.

I just realized I’ve never really described our room here…ah…so it’s actually quite spacious, but unfortunately not too homey with the cement floor and steel iron bedposts. Our “mattress” is more like a comforter on a board. We have a small table against the wall that is currently covered with the small library Andrea and I brought, Nalgenes, empty plastic water bottles, a small alarm clock, and actually a bunch of junk and way too many bugs. Right above the table is the lonely light bulb hanging on a wall covered in way more ants and odd looking bugs than I can possibly count. We haven’t had any cockroaches in awhile so that has been nice. The lizards seem to have stopped visiting as well. Now it is just lots of tiny bugs that unfortunately are able to crawl their way through the little holes in the mosquito nets. The worst part about those ones is that when you turn off the lights and try not to think about them, you rub your arm (or anywhere for that matter) and squash one. Next to the table are two chairs (currently covered with dirty laundry from the past two weeks – basically my entire wardrobe here). It was really nice to wear some of the Western clothes I picked up at Value Village before coming here while we were in Calcutta. Wearing the churidar (Indian dress) we wear here in Raiganj would attract some funny looks from Indians as well as foreigners in the big city. It’s funny because here it’s the opposite. Going into the villages in western clothes is not something you want to do. Trust me on this one.

And our bathroom…ha…um well it also has a cement floor and walls with a small sink emptying to the floor, believe it or not a Western style toilet that doesn’t really flush without a bucket of water and manual labor…of course two small pails for water used in place of toilet paper…ants on the floor and pigeons that perch themselves above us, constantly making odd gurgle noises and often using the top of our toilet as theirs as well…yeah…only a couple times they’ve made it into our room and flown around…it’s actually quite a challenge to get pigeons out of your room if you were wondering. We take quick cold showers every day, although when we get a chance to take a shower mid-day, we do because then it might be warm on a hot day (the water tank is outside on the roof). Let me just quickly remind you that you’re looking at someone who used to complain about using an outhouse while camping and often spends close to an hour in the bathroom getting ready for the day at home…yeah…you can only imagine! Let’s just say I’ve toughened up a bit in this regard.

Yesterday after washing my hands after lunch and using my Indian shawl to dry them, Father says, “Erin has become a true Indian.” Now, you have to realize that from Father that is one of the best compliments he could give me! A strong sense of accomplishment was hidden behind the smile on my face and small little chuckle I made. All the discomforts, all the awkwardness, all the frustrations accompanying this full immersion in Indian culture…have I really adjusted?!! SWEET.

Today there was a strike so everything in town is closed (including the office at SWI). So, today we have “a day of rest”. I kind of feel like it is a Snow Day when you can’t really go anywhere and everything kind of just gets put on hold for the day. Except here it’s hot outside and the sun is shining bright and instead of going to play in the snow, we venture our way out to the paddy fields (rice plants). We’ve been reading, relaxing, drinking coffee, and spending some good quality time together. If Father and Scott hadn’t stopped by earlier I’m pretty sure I’d still be in my ‘house robe’ as they call the thin cotton wrap-around bathrobe that women wear at all hours of the day around the house. Andrea and I purchased one a couple weeks ago for a couple dollars so we could hang out with the other girls here at DDC not in our Western jammies. Mine is bright turquoise and black and it looks quite Asian. Actually it kind of reminds me of a Japanese kimono.

So Andrea and I just went on the terrace to watch the sunset. What a beautiful evening. There was music blaring from beyond the trees – couldn’t even tell where it was coming from, but it was nice background music. We had a nice chat up there. Man, what a blessing Andrea has been for me here. I honestly can’t imagine this experience without my wonderful little roommate, companion and friend.

Bhubaneshwar and Puri

After Kolkata we took a long train ride to Bhubenasewar (a city in the state of Orissa). First off the 6 hour train ride was a memory in itself. When we first got on, it was super crowded and the three of us were all spread out but eventually I managed to make my way for the window seat. Some good ‘ol Beatles music playing in my ears with a nice breeze and scenery so green and so absolutely gorgeous. It was almost like driving with the top down in the convertible with the oldies cranked with Dad. :) Well except of course all the villages and different types of tropical trees. While I was in my own world feeling happy as ever starring out my window, I looked over to find Andrea and Scott laughing and making some new Indian friends in another seat.

In Bhubaneshwar we did a little sight-seeing of ancient temples and historical sights. One of our favorites was Udaygiri - a place where we climbed in a bunch of really cool old caves and saw a beautiful view of the city.

We also went to some villages where prawn is cultivated. There is some major health and social concerns facing the workers, so from an NGO perspective, Father wanted to check out the situation to perhaps develop an appropriate health program to improve the conditions. The main health concerns involve the nervous and respiratory systems. More specifically, shivering, severe coughing, and neck problems. We will be assisting with writing the project proposal for this so it was nice to go and physically observe the situation. The workers here are being completely taken advantage of and have lost all their dignity. Unfortunately they have been conditioned how to think and they’re uneducated so they don’t know the difference. Often the owners of the land where the workers live and cultivate the shrimp live far away in a distant city or state of India. One man we talked to explained that his owner lives in Delhi (all the way across the country) and the only time he returns is to get the prawn and his money. If the workers show any resistance or understanding of what is really going on and how they’re being cheated, then the owners will simply kick them out and find new workers, leaving them jobless and in even worse poverty. To me it sounds like slavery. The worker’s entire livelihood rests in the landowner. I’m beginning to understand more clearly why Kolkata has the poverty it does. I’m thankful for the opportunity to work at SWI to witness and contribute to the preventative efforts in helping the poor rise up, understand their dignity and rights, and help them achieve ‘freedom’ if you want to call it that (if freedom can be synonymous with education, dignity, health and happiness.) I feel that this is what true social justice is all about.

Lastly, we went to Puri and hung out on the beach for an hour or two. We even rode a camel – yeah, all three of us together- it was quite a sight to see. And the ocean water was like bath water it was so warm!!!

Kolkata

We just returned early Sunday morning after our 10 day trip and almost 24 hours of traveling on a bumpy road filled with potholes. I haven’t been able to use the internet so I wrote my blogs in my journal. I decided to split these into three entries. I apologize for the length; I hope you don’t find them too long and overwhelming. The first half of the trip was spent in Kolkata and the last half was in Bhubaneswar and Puri.

To begin with Kolkata - The city itself is extremely crowded, noisy and polluted. My initial thought was how much it looked (and smelled) like Tijuana, Mexico. When we first got there we had a little interview with a priest named Fr. Sarto. He is also a journalist and wanted to write an article about us in his magazine to encourage the youth of India to do some service among the poor. After about an eleven hour bumpy bus ride the night before and no shower, we somehow managed to pull ourselves together and share some thoughts with him. He asked us about our motivation in coming to India, our experiences while here, our faith and our interactions with the youth thus far.

We stayed in a hotel on Sudder Street (a somewhat sketchy area but none-the-less where all foreigners stay when they come to volunteer). We met up with a guy from Seattle University that we met on the flight from SeaTac. He was with a group of almost 10 others. We spent some time sharing stories and experiences of the past couple months here in India. Their experiences in the big city have been drastically different than our experiences in the small rural town of Raiganj.

We volunteered at Nirmal Hriday in Kalighat – The home for the sick and dying. When Pope John Paul II traveled to Kolkata to visit Kalighat, he called it “…a place of suffering, a house familiar with anguish and pain, a home for the destitute and dying…but at the same time, a place of hope, a house built on courage and faith, a home where love reigns, a home filled with love…” I had to add in that quote because I feel like it’s a very beautiful way of describing the place. To be perfectly honest with you, I don’t think I’m totally capable of describing the place or the experience myself. It was pretty overwhelming in many ways.

First we helped wash dishes and wash endless amounts of dirty clothes (a process including about 10 volunteers). While we were doing laundry – hand washing one article of clothing at a time, I looked up as a body was being carried out of the room with a sheet over it. It was then that I had a small mental and emotional shock as I realized what I was in for. While washing the clothes and chatting with a volunteer from Australia, my eyes kept wandering over to a man (bed #30) right outside the washroom lying in pain on his bed. He was the only patient I could see from inside. Then as I finished in the washroom I walked out to help with the patients. As I was walking out, the man (#30) had tubes in his mouth and one of the sisters and two women volunteers were on their knees by the bed praying. I too knelt down next to them and joined them in prayer as tears began to fill my eyes. It was only a couple minutes before the man died. As I walked away into the female ward of patients, I felt completely overwhelmed and a little helpless, unsure of what to do. In a room filled with so much pain and suffering, what do I do? Who do I go to? I felt like I was thrown into the ocean with no ability to swim. Basically we were thrown in a hospital of about 100 extremely sick and dying patients with absolutely no training or medical background (or emotional preparation) to help us out.

One lady was motioning me toward her and she kept putting her hand to her heart and then to my face. I sat down with her and held her hand for awhile. Then she bowed in thanks and motioned to me to the rest of the room. So I walked around and stopped at different women and held their hands and tried to comfort them in their immense pain and suffering. I tried my best to offer a smile to each patient, but I found it difficult. The sights were heartbreaking and quite indescribable. I also helped distribute medicines to the patients. One of the sisters would give me some medicine and tell me the bed number of the patient to take it to, and I would go and get a glass of water and take the meds to the patient. Some were too weak to sit up and needed a lot of help to get the medicine in the mouth but they were all so happy to see the medicine coming their way. The sisters then had us take lunch to the patients. The first plate I took to patient #53 - I realized that she was unable to feed herself so I sat with her and did the best I could. I think she also may have been blind; I’m not sure. It was somewhat like spoon-feeding a toddler but even more challenging. Then one of the sisters brought a change of clothes for her and laid them on the bed – I’m thinking, I can’t even get this woman’s mouth to open! How can I possibly get her to stand up?!!! Thank goodness some help came soon after. In the meantime, wounds were wrapped, massages were given, exercises were performed, comfort was given, and love was spread. One woman had about 3 inches of her tibia bone exposed along with 1/3 of her scalp peeled off. Good thing I don’t get nauseous at sights like this!

Kolkata is a place that seems to pull many volunteers from all around the world. Every individual who comes has their own personal reasons and motivation for coming. Some have absolutely no idea what brought them to Kolkata, some have a deep desire and compassion to serve, some to experience true simplicity, some to challenge themselves to the extreme, some to simply spread and share God’s amazing and selfless love and many all of the above. Asking each volunteer their reason for coming was an incredible conversation starter that was just a window into their fascinating lives. I met some really amazing individuals from all around the world. Volunteers were there from Italy, France, Ireland, Sweden, Australia, Japan, Canada and others from the US. I found great inspiration from many of these people – such big hearts and such strong faith. Some volunteers were back for their second trip; some were staying a couple weeks, others a year or more.

We really saw and experienced the dichotomy that exists among the people in Kolkata. The two extremes of rich and poor were the most extreme I’ve ever seen. Along with our experience in Kalighat, we also had a few really nice dinners and a quick tour of a resort area that a couple friends of Father took us to. We felt guilty about having such nice meals after working at Kalighat, but Andrea said it nicely, “You can’t say that you’ve seen Kolkata if you’ve only seen one side of it. This is Kolkata.”

Reaching EVERY child

Yesterday was the inauguration of the routine immunization (RI) program. We decorated the room with flowers, posters and pictures. About 7 or 8 government officials came and gave a few speeches. Father also gave an inaugural address and a lamp was lit to symbolize the start of the program. Unfortunately we couldn’t understand too much of the inaugural ceremony because it was all in Bengali, but we were given a few translations from time to time.

Today I joined Manasi for a field visit to Malda (another district here in West Bengal) where the training of health workers was taking place for the RI program. The workers that were trained today function as social mobilizers. They are all women who live in the villages. Many health services are provided to the village people (like the immunization station every Wednesday) but many aren’t benefiting from those services either because they are unaware of them or they are resistant to them. The role of the social mobilizer is to connect the people and the services and to reach the “left-out children” (those not being properly immunized). They do this by increasing awareness and accessibility of services provided. They also determine the factors causing some families to remain resistant to immunization. Some families remain resistant due to various social and cultural beliefs and many superstitions. Since the social mobilizer also lives in the village, they are able to go to each and every house to ensure that no child is missed.

Another role of the social mobilizer is to teach their community about various health and social issues using flashcards (large posters). These flashcards have been drawn by an extremely talented artist and each has a message about different health issues facing pregnant mothers and children. This is a very effective way to teach the villagers. Many are unable to read or write, but they are able understand the message through the pictures and descriptions. I got the opportunity to meet the professional artist last week as he was working on some more flashcards in the office at SWI. I was so impressed; his work is incredible!

I feel like I could talk about the RI health program itself for a long time, in much greater detail, but that would probably not be too exciting for all of you readers (except for my professor Dr. Lindsey and former Community Health student colleagues)! Ask me for more details about the plan and implementation later! It's really exciting and quite impressive! ;)

Earlier in the week, Scott, Andrea and I got to attend the quarterly meeting for the SWI staff. Each department gave a brief presentation of their progress from the past three months as well as their goals for next quarter. The night before the meeting we were surprised to look at a schedule and see our names on it for a 45 minute sharing of our experience here…yeah. So we panicked a little and then decided to chat about what highlights we wanted to share. It wasn’t quite as scary as I thought it might be and we were comforted in the fact that less than 10 people in the entire room could understand us – the rest were relying on Father’s translations. We shared a few things and then had a question/ answer time with the staff. I started off the sharing by mentioning a few of the discomforts we faced when arriving like eating everything with our fingers and using the Indian toilet…it got some good chuckles among the staff. They asked a lot of questions about America – some questions were easier than others. We were very relieved and thankful that the questions didn’t turn political on us like they have before. That makes for an interesting and uncomfortable conversation…

Bummer News- Almost every day someone comes into the office asking Father where the USAID food is. USAID provides food to the hostel children. The food was sent to Calcutta months ago, but it's going to waste because the Indian government won’t pay to get it transported and distributed, so in the meantime, over 7,000 children are hungry. :(

Exciting News- The HIV project proposal that Scott, Andrea and I helped to create for the Clinton Foundation got passed!!! So that project will begin in a few weeks! :)

We're leaving tonight for Calcutta where we'll be for the next four or five days, then we're traveling to a place named Puri on the Eastern Coast. Just a heads up because I'm not sure how much internet access I'll have, so basically, if I don't blog, Mom and Dad, don't worry, I'm fine! ;)

A Special Halloween

Happy Halloween to you all! (When I wrote this entry it was still technically Halloween for you, but yesterday the internet wasn't working so sorry for the late posting.) Believe it or not, we had our own little Halloween celebration! :) On Halloween night we had a nice dinner on the terrace of DDC with candlelight. It was such a beautiful night, very clear with bright stars and in our short sleeved tee shirts, the temperature felt perfect. There were 12 of us, so it was quite the party! :) The girls from down the hall came too, Rekha, Jonaki, Manasi, and Sanchari. They are all about our age, so it’s a lot of fun to hang out with them. You may think a candlelight dinner under the stars doesn’t sound quite like Halloween, but don’t worry, we did what we could to set the right mood… Scott even popped some of the balloons that Father got for us just to scare people. A couple bats flew over our heads and some odd chanting was going on in the background…and you really should have seen Scott’s shirt, it was scary enough in itself! He got it as a gift and we came to find out that it is actually a girl’s shirt. It is orange with black embroidery, just way too perfect and festive to pass up for Halloween. He got a couple funny looks earlier in the day, but then he explained that it was his “costume” for Halloween – an American holiday. I helped out with Scott’s evening class and that was also pretty entertaining. He got some candy to hand out and printed off a couple scary stories that they had to perform skits to. They got pretty into it – flicking the lights on and off and chanting random lines. All in all, it was a great Halloween – one I don’t think we’ll ever forget!

A Couple Visuals

Father w/ some tribal kids, Darjeeling tea gardens, & the beautiful Himalayas

Out on the Town

So, my last entry was somewhat of a stream of consciousness - I kind of just went with the mood of the day. I usually would just leave something like that more for my journal but I thought it might be a good addition. So, to lighten the mood a little bit, I'll tell you all about what a fun morning we had! Only four people showed up to Scott's class today (many are still celebrating Puja), so he decided to take them on a field trip! We ended up walking around town and going to the market. It was a great opportunity for them to practice their English in a more practical setting. They are improving a lot in class but for the everyday conversation skills, just hanging out and spending time together is the most beneficial. Many of them get very nervous in class and they're afraid to make a mistake. One-on-one chats are much more relaxed. As we're walking, one of them tells me, "Mame, this is a magnificent moment!" It made me laugh. It was the three of us plus two guys (Manas and Abinas) and two girls (Rena and Jacintha). They had such a great time showing us around the market and trying to teach us how to bargain. I'm terrible at it so we kind of left it up to Scott. He managed to get two kilos of potatoes for only 18 rupees (it's a good deal). The man selling the potatoes was a lot of fun. He could understand us pretty well and got really excited when he saw us taking some pictures. It was quite the sight to see. Before we knew it we had a huge crowd surrounding us and we were all laughing together as Scott kept trying to bargain. It was a good time. :) We also went and got some tea and biscuits. It was great to hear the students speaking more and asking us random questions. They even did a little bit of translating for us! Quite impressive! They wanted to take us to the cinema after but we decided maybe another day might be better.

It's quite interesting to spend time with the students and the other workers here at SWI and then go to the villages. It's almost like two different worlds. The students in the English class have all graduated from high school and are very well educated. Then in the villages, the dropout rate is 84% before college. (Out of 100 children, only 16 reach 12th grade.) Again, quite a disparity. I enjoy the opportunity to interact and spend time with both the English students and the villagers. They both touch my heart in very different ways and each interaction is extremely enriching. With the students I feel like we can really bond and build friendships. A very special someone recently reminded me that an interaction can change two perspectives forever. I like to think about that with everyone I'm meeting and spending time with here (the villagers, the students, the workers). It's good encouragement to stay positive and try to look at every situation on the bright side. :)

Yesterday we did take a little day trip out to see the sight of Mother Teresa's miracle and we got to meet about 140 TB patients. Well, I guess that they weren't all TB patients, others had HIV and other various illnesses. They all welcomed us with so much love. The women all came and individually greeted each of us (with the tribal greeting). They were really excited that we came to visit them. The sisters were just about to distribute medicine to the patients so many of the patients were lined up in the hallway. A few were too weak to get out of bed, but even they were happy to chat with us (through Father's translations of course). One young girl really stood out, she was adorable. She had the biggest and brightest smile! We heard a few of the patients individual stories. The sisters pointed out a few patients who were barely alive when they arrived there and now are doing much better. Basically every family in the villages has one member who has TB. The patients stay at the hospital either until they die or until they get better. Many do get better but the sad thing is the likelihood of relapse. After they come and receive medicines and care at the hospital and get better, they go home back into the villages. The sisters often send them with some rice, dal and biscuits when they go back home, but that can only last so long. Shortly after, they are in the same situation as when they first arrived at the hospital, but often the relapse is much much worse. On the way back Father was explaining to me that most of the deaths are not due to TB and other illnesses, they are technically slow starvation deaths. Many of the illnesses would be curable if they had enough food to eat. But with the rich getting richer, the cost of living is rising drastically and the salaries of the field workers is not, so therefore they get poorer and poorer. It's becoming more and more impossible to have enough rupees to survive even when you work all day every day.

Dang, I'm sorry this ended up to be a heavier entry than I intended. But really, the beautiful thing about these patients was how much love they had to share with us.

To Smile When Your Heart Isn't

Most of the time, when you hold eye contact and keep smiling, the stares of confusion and glares transform into smiles and sometimes giggles. But many times that transformation takes a long time and the discomfort and feelings of rejection remain. Many times it's just a quick passing - not quite long enough to change the stares into smiles and those are hard. The smiles and the many people I've built closer relationships and bonds with have made me feel extremely welcome, accepted and loved. It's very strange to feel such a mix of acceptance and rejection. Although it's hard, it's also very humbling. It's a good reminder of why I came here in the first place. I didn't come here to 'feel good', my initial motivation for coming was to volunteer and to serve. I knew I was going to be quite uncomfortable and I knew it was going to be hard. That's part of the point in coming. How hard and in what ways, I had no clue.

Andrea and I went into the villages with Manasi today to monitor the exam process for finalizing the new staff of the routine immunization program we are implementing. For some reason today going into the villages effected me in a way that they haven't before. I think it might be because last week we were in touristy areas outside the villages.

I'm reading a book right now that I got as a gift before I left. It's about Mother Teresa and the darkness she felt while working with the poorest of the poor in Calcutta. She talked about the struggle to appear joyful on the outside when she was struggling and hurting so much inside - how hard it was to smile when her heart was breaking. I feel as though to a very small extent, I understand.

To smile when you look into the eyes of a child who might not survive the year or even the week. To smile when you see the rib cage of every child you see in the villages. To smile when you realize that one latte from Starbucks is equal to about 4 days of hard work for a rickshaw driver. To smile when you look into the eyes of someone who is very sick and in a lot of pain. To smile when you are holding a 2 month old baby who is having a hard time breathing. To smile when you think of home and all the people you miss and love the most. To smile when you're scared, uncomfortable or sad. To smile when you feel completely helpless. To smile when your heart is breaking. To smile at a child who has no family. To smile in the face of all this...I feel that only with God's grace I can.

Journey

We just returned from our vacation to Gorumara, Gangtok and Darjeeling. We had the week off because of the Durga Puja holiday. We had such an amazing time!

Gorumara was the first destination. It is one of the top five national parks in India. We had our own little cottage to stay in. It was quite luxurious. We even had a towel rack in the bathroom and warm water! There we sat at different lookout points while drinking tea and listening to the sounds of the jungle. We saw some elephants, rhino, monkeys, bison, various birds, and tons of peacocks. We also walked to a place there called Samsing where we waded in the stream by the waterfall. It was honestly the clearest water I’ve ever seen.

After Gorumara we went to a place called Gangtok in Sikkim (located near the Chinese border - a place we needed special permits to go to where no other tourists go). It was by far the highlight of the entire week. It was a small town surrounded by the Himalayas. We went to a place called Chungu Lake where we hiked on a mountain at almost 13,000 feet. Once we reached the little hut at the top, we had the most amazing view of the lake down below and the Himalayan mountaintops and hills for as far as we could see. The whole ride up to the mountain was a good time, partly because we had the coolest driver and guide, partly because Bryan Adams, Phil Collins and Michael Jackson were playing on the stereo, and partly because we were wearing long sleeved shirts and finally not drenched in sweat…not to mention the spectacular scenery the entire way up the mountain! Oh yes, and a few more things about Gangtok:

• We went to an Indian film and turns out movie previews are showed at intermission and not at the start. During intermission there is a beverage counter where you can buy cups of tea (of course). Oh yeah, and cell phones and talking is allowed during the show…quite a different atmosphere!

• We rode on some yaks by the lake.

• We ate just about the best Chinese food EVER. (It even compares with my favorite restaurant back home – good ‘ol Wah Kue's in Burien where my Grandma and Grandpa have gone for about 50 years.)

After Sikkim we headed off to Darjeeling – also surrounded by the Himalayas. Unfortunately it was really cloudy so we couldn’t really see the mountains but we enjoyed the sightseeing there anyway. We saw the first white people we have seen in over a month! Darjeeling is much more touristy than any other place we’ve been and it’s a fairly big city.

To wrap up our trip, we had just about the best car ride back from Darjeeling to Siliguri. We were in a shared car with five other Indian guys who enjoyed singing Indian classics to us and chatting. One of them was a high school teacher. I was next to him so I was able to chat with him easy. He taught at a private school for about 5 years and now works for a state school. Each class has approximately 80 students and sometimes up to 120. He says ideally it would be 40 but the government tells them they should be able to handle 100. Many of the students get to class over an hour early so that they may have a chance to sit in the front row. Transportation is a tremendous barrier to their education because many students who live in the villages where there is only one road are unable to come to class if there are heavy rains. They would have to truck through many swamps in order to get to school. He said that there is a really high dropout rate among the high school students and they are working very hard to decrease the dropout rate as well as to obtain a 95% education rate in the area. Many children, especially teenagers, drop out of school to work in the fields. Unfortunately many of the families don’t see and understand the concept that more children equals more mouths to feed, but instead more children equals more hands to do the labor and earn the family money. He also talked to us a little about the dual economy and the 'very rich' and the 'very poor'. I enjoyed talking with him and hearing his perspective as a teacher in a state school in India.

Scott made a great list of highlights from last week. So I'm just going to copy and paste a few things that I didn't mention for you:

• Watching people carry giant bags of tea from a backpack that you strap to your head...a head pack
  
• Hiking to the top of a Mt. at 13000ft in the Himalayas and seeing gorgeous views of Lake Chungu and the mountains, while wondering why all the other tourists are just sitting by the lake
• Having countless "photo shoots" with Indian tourists, while feeling like some sort of celebrity
• Drinking tea from a lookout tower overlooking the jungle at our hotel
  
• Getting a private serenade from the people sharing our jeep
• Dressing up like traditional Nepali's
• Seeing amazing statues of Hindu deities
  
• Watching countless Indian music videos
• Watching the sunrise in the Himalayas
• Seeing animals like the snow leopard, rhino, elephant, red panda and most importantly Peacocks!!
• Watching an Indian water light show
• Almost getting stuck in Gangtok
• Eating amazing pot stickers, chowmein and Samosas (no not smores) from a small hotel that didn't expect any tourists
• Fresh Darjeeling tea in a tea field
• Frolicking in a stream with our driver Matthias
  
• Baby elephants at Rhino point
• Visiting the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute and seeing really neat artifacts from the original Everest summit
• Tibetan Butter Tea is nothing like I imagined Butter Beer in Harry Potter, it is mainly just butter with water
• Watching a cultural program in the shrubbery
• Learning that when the hotel offers you tea, even though they are making you late because they were not ready when they said they would be, it still means that they will charge you room service price for the tea
• Visiting the first ever Tibetan Refugee Camp
• Getting our picture taken with Indian Military and having them tell us we look "Superfantastic" while holding up the OK sign

You can only imagine the many adventures we had last week! Oh yeah and on the way back from Darjeeling in the shared vehicle after they sang to us, of course they asked us to sing a song to them. So, we sang an all-time favorite...."Don't Stop Believing" by Journey. :)

New Links

As you will see, I posted links to the right of the page for both Andrea and Father Puthumai's blogs so that if you want, you can hear a few more stories and details that I haven't mentioned. Andrea has some creative titles for her entries, you should really check them out. :)

A Month Already Past!!!

This morning we went back to the MC Sisters and played with the kids again. I think that I’m falling in love with about 20 children...uh oh. They got really excited when they saw us coming this time and started smiling and jumping up and down. They brought a book over to me that was in English. It was a book that had pictures of different objects with the correct word in English. I said each word and they repeated it after me. I was quite impressed. They had lots of the words down pretty well, and others they tried really hard to pronounce. Imagine a bunch of little children trying to sound out hippopotamus when they barely know the alphabet...Yeah, pretty cute. Then as soon as I finished the book, one little boy said, “hokey poky” and stuck out his arm at me. So I got the idea and we did all the songs like last time except this time we taught them more words like “put your finger in, put your finger out"...and shoulder and toes and ear and so on... Father also gave us some little bouncy balls to take to them. That entertained them for quite awhile.

A couple of days ago, we went to a stone quarry. It is a very serious health concern for the workers as well as the nearby village communities. The dust is so terrible. After about 10 years of working in the dusty environment, many workers’ lungs get filled with so much dust; it contributes to their likelihood of contracting tuberculosis. Only a few of the workers have a rag or handkerchief over the nose and mouth to protect them. Andrea and I both had our scarves over our faces the whole time so that we didn’t breathe the heavy dust in. Father really wants to get some masks distributed to the workers and nearby children and he’s hoping to do a research study on pregnant women living near the quarry to see how the environment is affecting newborns.

We are getting much closer to the other workers here at SWI especially Manasi (my ‘boss’ and friend). I just learned more about her life and upbringing. She is an extremely exceptional person who has fought the system to become as successful as she has. She grew up in a small village - almost a half hour drive to school. (Only one bus ran per hour and usually dropped her off half way and she had to walk the rest of the way.) Manasi was able to go to college and now has her master’s degree in social work. Her father works for a local pharmacy and also works a second job to ensure that his children get an education. Manasi has 2 younger sisters and she is contributing a good chunk of her paycheck as health coordinator to pay for her youngest sister’s education and tutor. (Many of the teachers make it so that the students have to hire private tutors in order to pass the class, which makes it pretty much impossible to get an education without a private tutor. The teachers are the ones who are also hired as tutors...understand?) Most likely she won’t be able to marry because she has no brothers and the responsibility of the family falls on her because she is the oldest. Right now her little cousin lives with her parents, her aunt lives there and also her grandmother. She is a very determined, hard-working and dedicated worker and student. Her story and her life have been very inspiring to each of us.

Next week we are traveling to Darjeeling because we have the week off for Durga Puja. This is the biggest festival of West Bengal. It started a few days ago and lasts for about 10 days. It’s somewhat similar to the Christmas season back in the states (students go home on break to be with their families, new outfits are given as gifts, and there are lots of lights and special traditions). There is also what is called Kali Puja, which happens in November. Scott tried to have his students explain the different celebrations to us in English class as an activity but we still have some questions. Main point is it’s a huge celebration.

I realized that I have written a fair amount about my experience but not too much about the smaller things. Things like the food...we eat a ton of rice, chicken, curry, dhal, mutton, vegetables, fruit, eggs, fish and different kinds of flat bread. Indians don’t snack like Americans do, although they take way more coffee breaks…and I love it!!! :) The coffee is instant coffee; we are still trying to learn the right mixes of coffee, milk powder and sugar. Scott has it down pretty well. The food is tasty, although many times quite spicy. They sneak in chilies to all kinds of things. We also occasionally have hard-boiled eggs in curry sauce. There is a great variety of fruits…papayas, pomegranates, guavas, bananas, apples, pineapples, grapefruits, mangoes…they always serve the fruit at the end of the meal kind of as dessert (with all 3 meals).

I have seen some incredibly beautiful sunrises and sunsets. This morning on our way to Mass the sun was like a bright red ball of fire in the sky. The sun rises at about 5:30 and it is dark by about six. When we leave SWI around 7:30 it always feels so much later than it is. We usually are in bed around 9:00.

Oh yeah and here’s a story for you…I woke up the other day with a bad rash on my right arm. I knew it wasn’t heat rash because I’ve had heat rash off and on the past month and this was much different. So when I woke up yesterday it looked much worse and began to itch a whole lot more; Father got concerned and wanted to take me to the doctor to check it out. Turns out…ready for this…there are hundreds and hundreds of mosquito bites on my one right arm!!!!! I’ve been getting random mosquito bites here and there but nothing like this. It turns out what had happened was that when we stayed in a hotel we didn’t bring the little plug in oil to kill the insects and I must have had my arm against the mosquito net while I was sleeping and the bugs just went to town without me knowing it! Lesson learned…don’t go ANYWHERE without the bug oil killer!!! Seriously, in about the size of a dime, I have about 10 bites no joke, especially on my knuckles. Kind of gross but thank goodness it's only mosquito bites! Oh yeah and the best part is, we didn't even have to pay for the doctor visit! Man, Father has connections all over the place!!! :)

Health Update

We are implementing a new health program to increase knowledge and awareness about the importance of routine immunization in children. We are specifically targeting pregnant women, newborns and children under the age of five. We hope to also decrease infant mortality rates, decrease death rates of mothers during pregnancy, and improve access to immunization programs. The team of coordinators, supervisors, volunteers and health workers consists of 264 people. There are approximately 240,000 beneficiaries of this program. This is a year long program so I will be involved with the initial stages. I am really excited because the next month and a half will be very busy with staff trainings and visits to villages to monitor and ensure the success of the interventions. The staff meeting today was just with the district coordinators and supervisors (about 20 staff).

I have also been working on finishing the past project proposal for the repair of the dispensary in a nearby village named Altapur. The roof is about to collapse, and because this is the location offering health services and distributing medicines and other treatments to the community, it is extremely important to repair. It has not only become an unsanitary environment, but it is also causing injuries and additional health risks.

A few days ago we had a deadline for a grant proposal for HIV Reduction. We sent it to the Clinton Foundation in hopes of getting approval (and funding) for the program. We were on a time crunch so we split up the project into three parts and each worked like crazy for the entire day. We had to provide all kinds of information and data about West Bengal as well as the program plan and budget. It ended up to be 14 pages long and we were quite proud to finish it.

Road Trip

Last Tuesday we had the day off because it was Gandhi’s birthday. We took a little road trip for about 2 hours to a place called Gour and we saw lots of ancient monuments and mosques. It was the first kind of touristy thing that we’ve done since we got here. Then we got to go to the Bangladesh border. We didn’t actually cross into the country, but we saw it. Bangladesh used to be part of India until 1947 when the British took over.

The English class is still going very well and has been a lot of fun. We are getting to know the students much better and they have invited us to come hang out in the park this week. Many of them are about our age (late teens to mid twenties). They have enjoyed teaching us a few Bengali words as well. It is always a guaranteed laugh when we attempt to speak their language. It is a pretty tough language to learn especially if you don’t see the words written out phonetically.

Saturday was a really good day. We went back to the MCs to play with the children. This time many of the kids remembered us. Again, we did Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes, The Hokey Pokey, The Macarena, the Penguin dance and “Copy what Scott does”. Then Scott decided to become a scary monster and crawl on the floor and chase after the kids. They loved it and they ran around giggling and hiding. Although while all this craziness was going on, there was also a little boy who was lying down on the bed very sick and in pain. There was a cracker next to him with only one small bite out of it; he was too weak to eat any more. I sat down next to him and remember feeling so helpless. His feet and stomach were swollen and he had burn marks on his stomach and wrist because in the village they didn’t know what was wrong with him and what was causing the illness so they thought maybe they could burn away the pain. It is so heartbreaking to see and play with these children, but at the same time so nice to feel that we are getting a chance to give them the attention they crave and simply to love them. We also get to witness success stories. On a happy note, an orphan baby that we met last time got adopted!

Since we don’t work on Sundays, we did what we often do on our days off. We go church and hostel hopping. :) I’m pretty sure we’ll end up seeing every parish in the whole diocese before we go home. Each place we go to we chat and have coffee and treats and get a tour of the mission. (A mission usually contains a chapel, a school, a boys hostel, a girls hostel, a convent, a presbytery and a dispensary.) Most of the time the kids hear we’re coming to visit and they get all dressed up and ready to do a performance. If they don’t know we’re coming, they often run back to the hostel and put red bows in their hair. After their welcoming song and dance, they ask us how we’re doing. When we answer them with “Bhallo achi” they get really excited and start giggling and whispering to each other. Then any more questions they ask us, we have to get translated. Sometimes after that we sing them a song or do a dance. After many pictures are taken with the kids, they get very excited and say that they are coming to America with us on our cameras. :)

The weather is still extremely hot and humid. Many people are saying that this is an unusually hot year. We have heard a few times, “October is usually much cooler and much more comfortable. You must be quite hot.” We are constantly wiping sweat off of our faces and at night wiping tons of bugs off our bodies. Thank goodness for the mosquito net, the large insects can’t get to us as easily. We often have lizards and other odd looking insects in our room. We always hope and pray that the electricity doesn’t get cut because that means no fan, which also means no sleep. (The electricity gets cut a few hours a day.) These discomforts have taken a little adjusting to, just like everything else, but I know that the more challenges we experience, the stronger we become and the more we grow.

It’s Electric!!!

First of all, I want to add captions to the pictures I posted last week. The top picture is with the orphaned children at the Missionaries of Charity convent. Yes, that was the wet skirt incident. :) Which little one do you think it was?! It could have been about 5 different ones…who knows?! The second picture is outside of DDC where Andrea and I are staying. It has very beautiful greenery and gardens. The third pic is simply showing you how we look in Indian sarees. :) Believe it or not, we have 5 and ½ meters of fabric wrapped around us! We even have a bindi on our forehead (the dot). We had quite a bit of assistance putting the saris on; it was about a half hour process. I’m pretty sure I won’t be able to do it by myself next time.

So as for the update…I am back safely from Bolaigoin. We arrived last night around 10pm. I have a whole week worth of new stories and experiences, but as always I will pick a few to write about. The sisters were extremely hospitable, loving and compassionate and they made sure we didn’t go hungry! (I think I’m still full!) Our regular daily schedule was wake up about 4:30, morning prayer with the sisters at 5:00, Mass at 6:00, breakfast at 7:00, relax and rest for an hour or so until 9:00, leave for the villages at 9:00, walk for an hour or an hour and a half to a village, stay out most the day (with a lunch break), then evening prayer with the sisters at 7:00pm, dinner at 8:00, bed around 9 or 10pm. Yes, the days were jam-packed. And I know what you’re thinking, yeah right, Erin, did you really wake up that early?! And yes, it’s true, some days we got to sleep in until like 5:15 or 5:30, but either way, I’m usually pretty slow to get moving in the mornings…as some of you might know…but somehow I managed quite well and it was actually a relaxing start to the day. During one of the prayer times the sisters asked if we would sing a song, so Andrea and I sang Amazing Grace because it’s a song we both really like and we thought it would be an appropriate one to teach them. Andrea has a beautiful voice and was able to keep the tune, because well, if it were up to me….it might not have been so pretty! The sisters loved it and had us write the lyrics down for them so they could learn it, then the next day we sang it two more times and they joined in.

So as for the village experiences…where to begin? The first day we were there we met a team of health workers that Sister Anisha coordinates and supervises. They were very excited to meet us and had many questions for us. Where are you from? What is it like in America? Are there poor people there? Do you have villages? Do you have any black people? What do you eat? And many more questions…Some were more difficult than others. The health workers are trained on different issues facing the tribal communities and villages. They are trained about different health issues such as AIDS, Diarrhea and many others. (Many children die here every day from diarrhea). Other topics of trainings and meetings include Women’s Empowerment, and Self-help Groups. The women have been learning that they can also use their talents and make handcrafted materials to sell and bring in some money for their family. This also offers them a support network and increases their confidence and dignity as women. Each of the health workers coordinates about 10 self-help groups where they are able to meet on a regular basis. The primary purpose of the self-help group is economic development. The goal is to help the poor understand the concept of saving and teach them how to do it as well as how to take out loans from the government and pay the loans back. One especially important aspect of the groups is the internal loans that take place. Each group member contributes a certain number of rupees to the group fund each month and if one member has an emergency and needs to take a loan from the rest of the group, they are able to do so. The groups also provide a great base to implement different programs to improve health and education. Through the health workers as well as the self-help groups, a great deal of information can be administered to the communities and it creates a great opportunity to increase knowledge and awareness about different issues, as well as an organized setting to implement new programs that are planned and developed here with the SWI staff. SWI alone is linked to over 2,000 self-help groups. It is a very efficient way to reach large numbers of people and communities. There are also sub-centers set up in the villages at different locations on certain days of the week where a government health worker comes and offers medicines and vaccines to the community members. If someone needs to be sent to the hospital they will also arrange for that. One of the days we were there Sister Anisha took a woman (a teacher from the hostel) to the hospital whose face was swollen on one side around her jaw and her eye. She had been complaining about a headache, but it turns out that she had a severe tooth infection that hit a nerve and traveled upwards.

Within the villages there are a few schools run by the government but not all families send their children to school. The school provides one meal a day so some children go to get the food and don’t stay for the class because they have to help their families work and earn money in order to eat and survive. The convent we stayed in is also a girl’s hostel on the second floor. For about 20 rupees per month (less than one dollar) a child may stay in the hostel, go to the school and get three meals a day. So the families that can afford it send their children to the hostel so they may get an education and a safe place to stay. There is also a dispensary at the convent where they store medicines and offer health services to treat the children when they are sick. There were about 80 or 90 girls staying there and the boy’s hostel and school is run by the priests next door.

One of my favorite things from the week was whenever we walked by the children, they would always say, “Good Morning Didis” or “Good Evening Didis” all synchronized. (Didi means elder sister.) One evening we were there the children wanted to show us their dance program. So they dressed up and performed different dances for us! Again, couldn’t stop smiling! It was very entertaining and a lot of fun. We had brought some candy for them, so after they finished the program we gave them each two pieces. They got in a single file line and each got a huge ear-to-ear smile when we gave it to them as they said, “Thank you Didis!” :) Just about the cutest thing ever! Then they wanted us to do a dance for them, so Andrea and I were caught on the spot trying to think of something we could do to entertain them. I suggested a little mix of the Electric Slide and The Macarena. It wasn’t near as impressive and graceful as theirs and we couldn’t help but laugh during it, but nonetheless, they loved it! Yeah, can you picture it?!! Haha. Then the teachers got a brilliant idea to dress us up in sarees (they didn’t know we had before) and so the kids got a kick out of the whole process- flowers in our hair, bindi again on our forehead…the whole thing! Then when we went to take pictures outside we were bombarded by all the girls running and trying to hold our hands and arms for the picture. Then after the photo session, Andrea and I taught them how to give high fives and tens. I think we gave about 90 of them, they were pretty excited. :)

Oh yeah, I almost forgot! We got to go to some houses where the health workers lived. One lady we spent a lot of time with was Bondita. She was actually one of the supervisors of the health workers. We got to meet her 5 year old daughter and her husband as well. (Her son is staying in the boy’s hostel.) Bondita showed us all the hand-crafted mats and table cloths she had made and generously offered to give each of us one; she insisted we take one with us. She also was very excited to give us lunch. Because we were in the villages, we had to be super careful about the food and drinks we tasted due to contamination. She is an individual I won’t forget. Her smile was so bright and she and her daughter both were filled with so much love and so much joy.

After that the girls were able to convince the sisters to let them go watch the football (soccer) game that was going on at the boy's hostel. It was some kind of huge tournament with probably about 400 people there. Should have known better that we would end up being interviewed by the announcer! Knowing most of the crowd couldn’t understand us anyway, it was somewhat easier to talk. They wanted us to sing as well, but we didn’t quite go for that one. It was pretty funny though, we thought we would go watch the game and as soon as we got seated up with the announcer the crowd was no longer watching the game…It was a lot of fun though and they played very well. It is just like American soccer except they play barefoot.

On Sunday we went to a church blessing and had Mass at the small new chapel. There was a very entertaining program after with lots of songs, dances and bright costumes. Of course we enjoyed all the dances, but our favorite by far was the boys dance. All the dances we had seen so far were mostly just girls, but this one the boys were dressed up and the dance was very catchy and entertaining!

The week was filled with all these wonderful experiences, but also many very tough and challenging ones. Just to mention a few...We were a good 40 minute drive away from Raiganj (I was wrong in my last blog when I said 15 minutes), and I felt quite disconnected from everything without internet available and very minimal cell coverage.The weather was very hot and humid and Andrea and I both got fevers and had to take a full day of rest (very likely dehydration and heat exhaustion). I had a really close call with an accident (no worries though, all is well!). The malnutrition and the poverty level in the villages are quite different and much more intense than here in the town of Raiganj. That in itself was a lot to take in. When spending some time with the girls in the hostel, sister was explaining to us some of the circumstances and stories of each child. One child she explained didn’t have any parents; one had a mother in the hospital and no father (he died from TB). Sadly, this is all too common here. All these challenges and experiences contributed to me feeling a bit homesick, tired and overwhelmed, but at the same time, they made me realize not only what I take for granted but the things that I often mistakenly think of as guarantees - things like my health, my family, my food, my home, and my life.

Pictures!

JOY

Everything is going very well. We have officially been here in Raiganj for a week now. I have had many wonderful experiences this past week. It’s tough to even know what to write about because there are so many stories! But I will share a few highlights with you.

On Monday I learned more about the new health project I will be assisting with in the next few months. As I learn more detail, I will inform you. I have also been doing some more documentation work of the data they have received about children ages 0-5 in all 3 districts of West Bengal. This information is very important to analyze before implementing our next program. Another project I have been working on is a project proposal for the repair of a dispensary in a nearby village called Altapur. I have recruited Scott for a little assistance on that one.

Scott (aka English Master) has been busy trying to develop lesson plans. He teaches two English classes five days a week. One class is in the morning (7:30-9:30) and one is in the evening (5:30 – 7:30). He has no background in teaching so it has been quite a challenge. I have enjoyed co-teaching and helping him create his lesson plans. Through health education, I had to teach some classes for different programs so I have a small amount of experience, but still not very much. I do really love teaching though; I find it extremely rewarding. The biggest challenge has been the fact that all the students are at very different levels in their spoken English abilities. To not lose the beginners but to still challenge the advanced is an extremely difficult task. Instructions and grammar are very difficult to explain without knowing any Bengali, but we’re doing our best. Andrea is working in the Community Based Disaster Preparedness department. She goes off to do fieldwork quite often so I haven’t actually seen her as much the last few days. I really like that each of us have our own individual daily tasks and activities, because we also get to have many other experiences together and it is exciting to hear each other’s stories.

Today Scott and I assisted the MC sisters in distributing free medicines to the community. Every Saturday the MC sisters come to SWI and set up a table with a bunch of health remedies. They have vitamins, ibuprofen, cough suppressants, antacids, creams…and so on. Hundreds and hundreds of people line up with their little ones and describe their illness or infection and the sisters basically diagnose and determine what treatment they need. Majority of the time they would show the sisters something on their skin like a rash or infection of some kind. Because we don’t have the background and ability that they do, we assisted with scooping the creams for scabies and ringworm. Majority of the people who were in line needed some, so we gave the requested amount in the tiny containers or plastic square they gave us. Occasionally we helped with pouring cough medicines and other liquids. It was a great experience though; I’m glad we were able to help out.

Last Tuesday when we visited the parish in Altapur, we sat with the sisters for a little while and had coffee and snacks. Then the children brought each one of us a flower! And then…best of all…. a performance!!!!!!!!!!! Oh my gosh, it was soooooo adorable! I tried to video some of it. We were there on the day of a festival so the children didn’t have school. Father said that if they would have known we were coming they would have been dressed up for the performance! They had choreographed dances that they all sang along to. They even had a couple solo routines. I remember my cheeks hurting from smiling so much!!! After their performance, Father looked and me and said why don’t you say a little something to the children, like a little about yourself? I was like uh…well…ok. I just gave a short introduction for all 3 of us and then told them how much we enjoyed their dance and also thanked them and told them to keep studying hard in school. The translations in Bengali were much longer, I think perhaps Father added a few more things here and there…who knows. Haha. The kids were so adorable. They were beaming with so much joy and they all ran up to shake our hands, ALL of them!

We also went to the market this past week with Manasi (the one I mentioned before - the chief health coordinator I work with). We bought some flip-flops (slippers they call them here) and she went and bought Indian dress for us to wear. We didn’t go with her then because she wouldn’t have been able to get such good deals. So yes, now Andrea and I look like as Father says, “true Indian princesses”. Haha. I don’t know about that! The material is very lightweight and they are very loose fitting. Many of the fabrics here are very pretty. I still feel a little silly in it though, perhaps after a couple weeks I’ll be used to it. It’s nice to blend in a little (even though as soon as someone looks at our skin or hair color they get confused).

Last night I had a little bonding night with two of the other younger women here. Their names are Sanchari and Jonaki. I shared some American candy with them and then we had some girl talk. :)It was a fun bonding time. I brought some American candy to share with them and also some photos I brought from home of my friends and family and perhaps a significant other…haha. They really enjoyed looking at them. I also got to hear about their families and friends.

Next week (and perhaps the following) I will be unable to blog because Andrea and I are going to stay at a parish in Boilagon. We will be staying with a woman named Sister Anisha. We met her already; she is very nice and we hear very motherly. :) She is a nurse and she also runs a Community Health program in the villages there. Father said this would really give us a taste of India – more the village life. Compared to all the poverty we are seeing here, our living conditions here at SWI and DDC is extremely luxurious. It will be an interesting experience. I guess we will be staying the floor below the children in the hostel, so I’m really looking forward to spending more time with the kids. I’m sure that will be really fun. Apparently the village is only about a 15-minute walk from here. Father and Scott will come to have dinner with us next Sunday and he said if we are enjoying ourselves and we want to stay, we can stay another week, and if we want to come back to DDC we can do that as well. So, I guess we’ll see how it goes…!

Don’t forget I check my e-mail…I love to hear what’s happening at home too you know!

A Few Small Lessens Learned

1. When you think you are eating a green bean, it may actually be a chili pepper so watch out!
2. Chapati should not be used like a tortilla.
3. Everything can be finger food, even rice and noodles.
4. Don't look for a light switch inside the bathroom - you won't find it.
5. Although tp always sounds like a good idea, an unclogged toilet sounds much better.
6. When meeting tribals, a hand shake may not always be kosher.
7. If children act shy or have a look of complete terror mixed with confusion, don't be alarmed, it's only because they have never seen a white person.
8. Make sure everything is in place before going out to the market or village b/c you'll feel like you're on the catwalk.

Yesterday was my first day in the office here at SWI. I am working in the Health and Immunization Section with a young woman named Monasi. She is very nice and also very intelligent. She has her Master's degree in Social Work. I assisted in reading over and editing a completion report for a Polio Eradication Program. It was very impressive and very well done. It was all in English so I was able to read over it and learn a great deal about the program they implemented here in West Bengal. Polio was very prevalent here a few years ago and after implementing their program they had increased awareness and education about proper vaccination procedures among children ages 0-5. The program was extremely successful and last year there were no reported cases in the districts where it was implemented. It was just like the programs I learned to develop last year in school, even the format, components and terminology were the same. It makes me very excited to be able to use my Community Health background and knowledge to assist in projects here. I also helped with some documentation work yesterday. I created an excel document of a bunch of different names and information of people from Germany who would like help SWI.

Today is a festival, so we didn't have to work in the office. Instead we went back to the Missionaries of Charity (MCs) - the Home for the sick, malnourished and abandoned children. We got to spend about 3 hours there with the children. I spent most of my time there with the youngest ones. I think at one point I had about 6 or 7 children on and around my lap that were all within the range of probably 4 months to a year and a half. And when they got off my lap, I looked down to find my skirt was soaking wet on the floor. Haha. One of the Sisters told me it is only because they love me so much. :) It is funny because I didn't even notice when it happened! I also held a little girl who was I think just a few weeks old. Scott and Andrea taught the older ones Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes and got them to sing along. Of course we all really enjoyed spending time with them and making them smile. A few of them in particular just couldn't stop smiling and it was the cutest thing. I know we will be going back there whenever we have the chance. It is heartbreaking to see how sick and malnourished some of the children are, but at the same time it is extremely rewarding to spend time with them and care for them.

Andrea and I have decided as roommates to do a little reflection/prayer time each night before bed in order to help each other process this experience. It has been really nice to get a chance to chat and share what we're feeling and even more, what we are really struggling with. Last night we talked about how humbled we have been in all the little daily events that have occurred. We are learning so much here. Father takes every little event as a teaching opportunity. I can't believe we've only been here for a few days. We have experienced so much already! I can't imagine after 3 months! Hope all is well at home! :)

I'm HERE!!!

After a long few days of traveling, we made it here safely to Raiganj! The flight from Seattle to London was about 9 hours, then a 4 hour layover in London, then 9 hour flight from London to Kolkata (Calcutta), then 10 hours in Kolkata and an 11 hour train ride up to Raiganj!!! Yesterday we were finally feeling a little bit over the jetlag. It was nice to get a chance to see Kolkata for the day and get a taste of it. We will be going back for a week in a month or so. While we were there we saw the Mother House (where Mother Teresa's tomb is). We were only there for a short while, but it was really neat.

Our place where we're staying in Raiganj is beautiful. The name of the place is DDC (Dioces. Development Center). Raiganj is much greener and the air is much cleaner than in Kolkata. Outside of our window from our room, there is green for as far as we can see. We are on the third floor. The Sisters there are spoiling us. We feel like we have eaten sooooooooo much! Andrea and I have our own room with two beds, a bathroom, a table and 2 chairs. It is quite comfortable. Scott is jealous I think of where we're staying because it is so beautiful. He is staying at the Social Welfare Institute. He has a nice room also (and air conditioning!) but he is more in town and doesn't see all the green that we get to.

The weather has been very hot and very humid. We feel sticky and sweaty all the time, but I think we are getting used to it somewhat. Fr. Puthumai is very nice and cheerful all the time. He makes us laugh and has been very welcoming. He has shown us all around Raiganj the last couple days. We have met so many people and everyone has been so nice to us. The children are so adorable!

There is so much more I want to write about, but today is our first day at the office and I start at 9 (in a few minutes). So I should go now, but hopefully I can write more soon. Once I get more in the routine, I think things will be easier. But for now, everything is going wonderfully!

YOU ARE DOING WHAT?!!

LEAVING TOMORROW!!! I can't believe it! It has come extremely quickly. I am actually almost already packed and it's only 4:00pm! I have almost another 24 hours!! haha. I got a chance to chat with a few friends who just got back from Calcutta. They were there a couple months as well. They all had incredible stories and helpful advice. I'm feeling a bit nervous but also very excited.

So just to provide you with a brief description of what exactly I will be doing in the next 3 months...I will give you pretty much all that I know. I will be assisting on a project in Community and Child Health at Social Welfare Institute (SWI) in a small village called Raiganj (approximately 6 hours North of Calcutta). The project title is “Children’s Immunization, We Need Help.” I will also be assisting in teaching a spoken English class to college students, helping with documentation for the organization, volunteering with Missionaries of Charity with the orphaned children and sick children, assisting in the health section of SWI, helping Mother Teresa sisters in distributing free medicines to the poor, and many other miscellaneous tasks that I’m asked to help with while I am there. We are also getting an opportunity to travel around a little bit. I am there with two of my very close friends from Western (Andrea and Scott) as well as a few students from Seattle University who I haven't met yet. That's it for now...I have about two days of traveling ahead of me...I'm flying straight from Seattle to London then to Calcutta then finally taking a train up to Raiganj. Please keep us all in your thoughts and prayers. :) I will be checking my e-mails (erin.pflueger@gmail.com)and would love to hear from each of you as well and I will do my best to update this blog as often as possible.