I am here and LOVING it!

                It is midnight here in India, starting May 18 so I have been here for 2 full days and will begin my third tomorrow. So far things have been going really well. I have seen so much in the past few days, much of which is going to be really hard to explain because it literally compares to nothing I have seen before. But I will do my best.

                For the past couple of days we have kind of just been getting used to Bangalore and to Indian culture. We have done a lot of walking and observing as well as visiting the local non profits and preparing for the following weeks. We are currently staying at NBCLC which is a Catholic retreat center here in Bangalore. One of the guys on our trip will stay here for the whole time and volunteer at a center for people with disabilities just a few blocks away. Tomorrow we will be taking two others to their site 4 hours south where they will be working in a hospital helping with tropical diseases. On Monday I will begin my placement with the Domestic Workers Movement about 30 kilometers away from where I am now.

                Yesterday morning we got to sleep in a little since we had just arrived and were exhausted. We got up and had breakfast around 9 and then we were off to explore the surrounding area. When I got back later in the afternoon I was exhausted. Not because we had walked too much it is just a major overstimulation of my senses (in a great way!) It is very hot and humid and there are constantly things to hear and see that are new and interesting. The streets are really hard to explain. Where we were seemed pretty small, a middle class neighborhood, but it was extremely busy. The streets are really broken (worse potholes than Canton!) and dirty. What is most amazing and what I cannot express enough is the wealth gap. The gap between the poor and the rich is extremely visible. You can literally see the poorest person you can imagine living in an alley way between two world banks or next to the four story mall with a Mercedes parked next to them. I was also shocked by the cattle roaming the streets and when I people about them later I was told that they are stray cattle, just like stray cats or dogs and they wander aimlessly through the streets next to the mopeds and buses and cars.

               

                We also got to go to Commercial Street later in the afternoon which is like the shopping hub here in Bangalore. It had everything from high end stores to little side markets and carts of people selling fruit. The most challenging thing I saw all day by far was a little girl, curled up on a step outside of the church, presumably asleep. It was honestly one of the hardest things I have ever had to do to walk away and leave her there. Now I don’t know what her story was, she could very well have been taking a nap, but it was very much representative of the immense, in-your-face poverty you see every day here.            

                Today we woke early and went to a traditional Indian mass which was really interesting. There were many similarities to the Catholic masses I grew up attending but there were also some really cool elements, like the anointing of our palms with oil,that I wasn’t used to.  Because this is a church retreat center there have been some students and nuns here studying and retreating and we have really had the opportunity to talk with them and get to know them which has been really cool. They are from a different state, particularly a city called Goa and they said their way of life is really different than here so I am excited to experience different places.

                After mass and breakfast we went into the city to a botanical garden called Lalbagh. We kind of just spent time walking around and enjoying the scenery and each other. Father Davis, our in country coordinator came along and brought a couple of sisters. They were experts on the garden and a lot of the trees. Oh, I nearly forgot to mention! When we first got to the garden we climbed up this hill and were looking at a shrine on top. All of a sudden this man came over and basically threw his baby into my arms and his whole family gathered around and took pictures of me and the baby. I was shocked but I couldn’t help laughing when I thought about the fact that my picture will be shown to people or framed and hung on a wall or something.

                After we went to the park we went to the mall that was close by. It was really nice to be somewhere that was a little more westernized and to know that if I’m craving a slice of pizza or some ice cream or French fries there is somewhere I can go. I also added minutes to my cell phone so I will be able to call home occasionally.

                After the mall we went to visit my future site: the Domestic Workers Movement. I got to learn a little bit more about what they do but I still don’t feel like I fully understand so stay tuned for more info about that. They showed me around the house I will be staying in as well. I will be living with three other women in a room but the nice part is that if I need an escape there is a rooftop I am allowed to go sit on that overlooks some of the other houses and the street below.  We had tea with the sister who will be in charge of me, Sister Nisha, and I made plans for me to move in on Monday.  Overall I am super excited.

                What has been really interesting for me in the two days that I have been here is that typical American stereotypes of India are both true and not true. It is not as exotic as most Americans perceive it and not nearly as scary. It is dirty and loud and busy but honestly, that is part of the charm. Sometimes the smells are overwhelming or I am shocked by things I see or it is hard to communicate with someone but for the most part I am able to look past all of those things and see the beauty. I almost always feel like I am on display. When we walk down the streets people stare and children wave. The people that we have met are just as interested in our culture as we are theirs and they shower us with questions as well as compliments.  I am very much looking forward to beginning my journey!

SHOUT OUT to Maura!!! – today What Makes You Beautiful came on the radio and I could only think of you singing and dancing to me :)

I am missing everyone back home :( but I'm having an amazing time!