Well, we have started a new leg of our journey. Jen and I left the comfortable tourist-driven county of Thailand behind. India–starting in Kolkata– is so many smells coming at you at once. Driving in the pre-paid taxi from the airport to the metro train station: it went from horrible smells that made you wish you could not smell at all to passing by food that makes you yearn for something delicious.
The metro train ride was like no other Jen or I have been on before, especially with our backpacks on. We got on at the first stop and the train was already crowded, but halfway through our trip, we were bursting at the seams. If these were people in the states, people trying to get on after a certain point would have said, “No way! I will catch the next one.” But not in India; they just kept piling in. It reminded me of being at packed concerts. The people were nice enough and no one really lets their temper flair, considering it is impossible to move and it is about 85 degrees.
Kolkata has a lot of poverty but our time in other large cities has prepared us somewhat. The beggars pull on your heart strings–holding a baby and asking for milk for their babies. A lengthy orientation at Mother Theresa’s volunteer program told us that always these beggars are choosing it as a profession and have other options. It is still hard when they seem so destitute and they need your help. Jen and I are going to volunteer in a few days, and I am glad for that. We may find volunteer opportunities in other parts of India as well.
Jen and I have walked around a lot in Kolkata in the last two days and my legs and my whole body get sore in a new way. Usually you walk and your feet hurt from the ground and your legs hurt from flexing and contracting. But in Kolkata, the joints hurt at my hips because I am trying not to run directly into an oncoming person or dodging motorbikes. Jen, surprisingly, isn’t sore. Walking around is not like the States because if there are sidewalks, they are really more like obstacle courses. Food carts everywhere, trash, and many things that it would be best not to step on. But as exhausted as I am getting back to our old and dingy room, I am excited to wake up tomorrow and do it again.
