an eventful cab ride

jae and julia left bright and early this morning.  the remaining 4 of us had a lot to wrap up today but as with everyday, plans change and we just kind of go with the flow... doors open... we walk... and we trust God's schedule much more than we trust our own.

we all wanted to visit Connexions, a project that trains women from a local slum in sewing and handicrafts and employs them in making these beautiful bags, sari throws, cards, scarves, you name it... so at the last minute, we packed up everything and jumped into a cab to head over there.

on the way, we happened to peer over at the car next to us... which was a hearse carrying a body... but hearses in India are a bit different from what we'd see in the US.  The difference?  Well, let's just say the body is enclosed in a clear glass/plastic box on the car.  Not quite what we expected to see and sit next to as we sat in the typical traffic of kolkata.  then, we got lightly rear-ended.  but instead of pulling over, instead of both drivers involved getting out of the car to talk to each other, they simply yell out the window at each other... and then continue driving in the traffic.  i guess it makes sense.  there are so many vehicles driving in the same space, completely disorganized, rickshaws, auto rickshaws, cars, trucks, and hearses, people, animals all crammed together in one space.  there's really no where to pull over to, so... whatever i guess.  so we continued driving along, and then 15minutes later, the cab driver tells us to get out of the car because there's some damage or something... so we have to hop into another cab to get us to our destination.  thankfully our friend janea was accompanying us and could navigate and inform us on what in the world was going on.

we finally arrived at connexions, spent quite a bit of time there, and then went over to janea's home which was really close-by. a tiny little place but very cozy.  he and his sister hosted the 4 of us in their little (bed)room, gracing us with love... amazing tea made by his sister, chips, Indian snacks, soda... and we got to see old pics too.  it's nice to see home life... amazing family... amazing story... wonderful times.

tomorrow will be a crazy day... tired just thinking about it.