And this is why friendship bracelets were a bad idea...

Well hi! Haven't been able to blog as we have had veryyy demanding schedules :)

Yesterday was our first day as volunteers. In the morning, we were to set off for the production center. Because India time runs "slower" than American time, we had about 15 minutes to spare. So, we walked down the street near the hotel to see the old production location. En route, we looked over a bridge at a little village made of mud and wood and bamboo. It is unbelievable how dirty it is in those neighborhoods. The water was filthy and the water and banks were filled with garbage and flies. Even so, we saw a bunch of kids outside their doors, being vigorously washed by their mothers before school, or just enthusiastically throwing around a ball. I was reminded that life for these people isn't always a horror show. They have good and bad days just like we do. The sun was shining, but it wasn't too hot, and they were smiling.

The dirt roads that led to the old center were lined with buildings, some falling down and some that were in livable condition. There were little kids walking to school, with crisp white shirts, navy blue skirts, and mini backpacks. Outside one house, there were two brothers eating a banana and peering curiously at us. They kept snickering and whispering. When we stood back to take a picture, their father said "Smile, smile!" The picture was perfect because one boy had the banana peel in his mouth. Around the old center were tumbleweeds, trash, and street dogs, which are basically characteristic to any part of Kolkata.

We all started at the new production center. We met the girls, who are in their 20's. They speak very little English but their appreciation for us and their pride in their work didn't need any translation. We sat in a circle and had a workshop on women's rights in India compared to those in the US. Smarita, the co-founder of the center with Becky, translated. Most of the girls contributed to the conversation, which Smarita and Becky were impressed with. We went around at the end and said one thing we think need to change in order to empower women. The two male members of our group both said very touching things! The center's women were a little shy, but it was a very positive discussion.

After that, half the group went to another shelter, while Victoria, Eric, John, and I remained to do activities with the women. (Eric and JOhn were really their to do research for their projects). We all needed lunch, so Becky sent Raju, one of the center's employees, to take us to get lunch, then bring it back so we could eat with the girls. Instead of taking us to an Indian restaurant 5 mins away, he took us to Chinese restuaratn 20 mins away! They didn't understand ANYTHING we were saying, we ended up making the girls wait an hour for their lunch, AND mine was too spicy to eat! Oh well :) It was a nice walk.

Victoria and I set out to teach them friendshio bracelet making. Half the girls continued to work, and half stayed with us to play. It was difficult because Smarita had to translate every direction we gave, but she didn't really understand what we were doing. The girls loved the colors of the thread and they started to pick up the gist of things. That's where it turned ugly. After about 45 mintutes, the oldest woman, a younger one, and the youngest one were total pros at it! The oldest one turned away and started doing it in a meditative way with her eyes closed. I, meanwhile, had made absolutely no progress and my turquoise, orange, and pink creation looked more like a tangle of knots, or gitmara, than anything else. The youngest one was quite a trouble maker and loved to rub it in that Becky and I couldn't do it. Becky fondly calls her "Shiv", the god of destruction because whenever she touches the fabric during work hours, she destroys it. In Bengali, she would say to Becky, "It's my first day and I can do it." Becky would say, "Yes, but it's more difficult for me." She would say, "Yeah, but I can," and grin wickedly.

They served us tea, with ginger, sugar and cardamon, and then we headed out. It was 6 and we had been there since 11 so we were pretty tired. Victoria and I went to a market with Becky because she had to get fabric for journal making, The market is a state emporium which means that the Indian government decided to import the traditional dress of every state of India to this one marketplace. So, even if you live in Kolkata, you can get Mumbai dress. I got a salwar kameez, which is a flowy printed tunic over drawstring pants (like Princess Jasmine from Aladdin) and a scarf. What you do is take it to a tailor to have them fit it for you, which costs 10 rupees or 20 cents. I came back after grabbing a mango juice, and the waist of the pants was still 3 times too big! The kind store owner where I bought the outfit, and his wife, put a drawstring in it for me. They spoke some English and were very friendly. I'm convined that I paid the tailor and he really didn't do anything...

We headed back to the hotel and slept for a half hour until dinnertime. Smarita, her brother, and Becky joined us. Smarita and Sanjoy regaled us with stories of ancient Indian legends with gods and goddesses. After an hour I was so exhausted that I just went upstairs to bed.

This morning started off...not so well. I had set my alarm for 8:15 but Tammy had to shake me awake at 9:22 when we were leaving at 9:30. I was furious because I hate not being on schedule, especially when other people are waiting on me! Victoria got the hotel to pack me a breakfast, and we were able to leave on time. The taxi had only gone 5 mins before we realized we forgot the paint for the mural we are doing at the shelter home. When we got that, we drove a half hour and got lost. Smarita talked to the driver and supposedly set things straight. Things were not straightened. We went another half hour before he "realized" that we had gone the completely wrong direction. That got our( (Tammy, Janell, Sarah, me) blood boiling, but we ended up having lovely and intriguing conversations about child-rearing. Ask any of them: I held my own.

Another hour later, we were at the shelter, which is tucked in a village. It was absolutely OVERWHELMING to be welcomed the way we were. T and J had been there the day before and all the girls screamed and waved and smiled at us when we arrived. They all jumped on us and hugged us. They call us all "Aunty". While Sarah, Tammy, and the older girls/staff worked on painting one of the walls in one of the bedrooms, Janell and I were in charge of entertaining about 50 girls, ages 4 to 12. We started with the paper dolls, which were a big hit. Some were hoarding them so much that we had to draw stick figures for them to dress. They loved doing it and the courtyard was filled with the shrill din of "Aunty! Aunty!" As every single one showed us every single time they put a new outift on the dolls :). Some of the girls were shier, but many of them kept grabbing our hands or saying "Sweet, sweet!" which is their American word for nice. After the paperdolls they had lunch and we cleaned up. After, we had lunch. The older girls/'staff cooked for us and gave us quite a feast. When we didn't continue to eat they would say "You don't like, you don't like?" No! We did, we said, but we just couldn't eat anymore. They were dissapointed with our unimpressive eating skills, but I think all is forgiven :). The afternoon was more unstructured and we played with jumpropes. Most of the time, the kids just wanted to be held or talked to. They liked to take very fast and furiously at us in Bengali, even though we couldn't understand. Sometimes I would pick up one of them and put them on my hip, or give one a piggy back ride. Fierce competition would ensue and I would have to give them numbers so they knew they had to take turns. They had smiles on their faces the whole time and just loved to hold our hands, or put the hands on our shoulders, or just stand close to us. We played duck duck goose, did some yoga, and ring around the rosey. Pretty much anything entertained them. In duck duck goose, of  course, they had to pick up to be "goose" EVERY SINGLE TIME. After a while, we had to insist that they pick the kids, and not just us :) We hung out in the mural room for a while because it was cool in there. The wall is a sky blue, but over it is now pencil drawings of a huge tree with animals all around. Some of the teenagers drew the most incredibly tigers, monkeys, elephants, and cranes. They will start painting them tomorrow. One older woman who is a staff member and is deaf and mute, herringbone braided my hair. With some of the younger girls, I played hand games with them and they showed me some of theirs. Even the four year old knew the song that accompanied the games. Of course, they all want to have all of our attention. We had sugar and milk laden tea with cookies, then we had to go. As we said goodbye, they all wanted to know if we remembered their names and if we were coming back. We were all exhausted, but it was difficult to leave. As we drove home, the fiery ball of sun was a stark contrast against the polluted sky. Now, we are at the internet cafe. After, we will go to the mall to get our fix of "normalcy", have coffee, restock our water, and chill out, because we have a free night. We all want to get home early because we have another full day tomorrow with incredibly women, heartwarming children, and our own volunteers :)

Goodbye for now

xo