We managed a wonderful mosquito-free night of rest last night! This morning we trekked back to EMC where we met with the head of their informal school program, Ilora. We had a good discussion on their programs and the concepts they are teaching to the many children and families they serve.
Day-by-day, we grow more comfortable with the sounds and smells of Calcutta. The way we increase our comfort levels is to look past the discomfort, pretending it is not there. It means holding your breath as you walk past areas filled with trash. It means trying to muffle your ears to silence the honking vehicles around you. It means walking at NYC speeds, weaving in and out of people to pass through the challenging traffic and stench. We are so used to putting up our blinders and ignoring the difficult stuff. Unfortunately, this also means that when so many people suffer in poverty, beggars, lepers, people with missing limbs, children, a young baby watching over his baby brother sleeping on the sidewalk, at all hours of the day, congesting the already congested streets and sidewalks and alleyways, we also walk right past them, as if they did not exist; or as if we walked past them faster, they would somehow disappear, if not off the street, at least in mind. It makes me sad and angry, not sure how best to feel or respond, especially when the challenge is so large.
On my partner in crime here in Calcutta… it brings me great joy to see Grace growing more and more comfortable in this environment. Not to say that it is easy for me at all, but I think having been here before I had real expectations about life in Calcutta. I think for me part of my discomfort was in seeing her frustration, so personally, I am really thankful for your prayers. During our meeting this morning, it was also really neat to see Grace in her element, as we spent a good amount of time talking about early education, a topic she is expert in. I think we are both getting our heads around the huge tasks we have at hand, but we are looking forward to it.
Alright gotta get to sleep. We have a relatively early start tomorrow as we trek out to the outskirts of Calcutta to visit CSS India, a microfinance program.
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