Monday, June 3, 2013

Leaving India...for now

I can't believe I will be flying from Mumbai to Istanbul tomorrow morning, bringing my time in India to an end.  As feared, the time flew by too quickly.  I will cherish every moment spent here and I look forward to returning as soon as possible for another adventure.

At a quick glance back, I can easily say my time spent in Calcutta was the most challenging and the most rewarding.  Far exceeding any expectations I had, my experiences at Mother Teresa's hospice at Kalighat will always remain with me.  I will forever be humbled and grateful to have been in the presence of the men that I cared for there. My interactions with the Sisters of The Missionaries of Charity were pleasant and I do have great respect for them and for the work they do considering the circumstances... even if I didn't always agree with them.   Beside the men we cared for, my greatest respect is for my fellow volunteers from around the world, most of them in their 20s.  It was such a privilege to work side-by-side with so many young people that were giving so much  of themselves.  I was amazed at the amount of patience, compassion, dedication, thoughtfulness and initiative that I witnessed every day.  There were a few older folks too who were just as impressive!  An extra gift from this experience is some new and very special friends from Australia, Singapore, Chile, Spain, New Zealand and the U.K.  We all feel a very special bond and will no doubt see each other again...either in Calcutta or elsewhere.  I'm actually meeting up with a great guy from Barcelona when I am in London next week.  And, I need to mention, one more time, my amazing new friends Nina and Suresh in Calcutta.  I will be forever grateful to them for their kind hospitality, care and friendship and I so look forward to the next time we can be together.

I thoroughly enjoyed my week off between the volunteer gigs when I visited Varanasi, Delhi and Udaipur (a new favorite).

My time in Ahmedabad, while not as rich an experience, was time well spent.  I thoroughly enjoyed meeting so many of the members and staff of SEWA and was thrilled to be able to make even a small contribution to this incredible, inspiring organization.  The opportunity to spend time with these women and to hear them tell me their stories is another unexpected gift and was a true honor to receive.  I was able to write copy for a brochure outlining SEWA's incredible work in the Surendranagar district in the desert of Gujarat, as well as consulting with them about SEWA's museum and its website.  They were very pleased with the work I was able to accomplish in such a short period of time...and I was just thrilled I was able to get it done!  

I'm currently in Mumbai.  What a sprawling city!  I made a list of everything that I wanted to see and, in two and a half days, managed to get it all done for the most part.  I really wanted to visit Annawadi, the slum near the airport that is the subject of Katherine Boo's extraordinary book, Behind The Beautiful Forevers (being adapted for the stage for England's National Theatre by David Hare), but didn't have time.  Mumbai is a great city...a real mix of old and new.  It's impossible not to think of the devastating terror attacks that this city experienced in 2008.  I visited the Taj Hotel and Leopold Cafe today... two of the sites that were attacked.  #neverforget

I'm feeling very sad leaving India, but I know I will continue to return and I will definitely be back to work at Kalighat, which makes me happy.

So I'm off to Istanbul, the only city that falls in both Europe and Asia!  I'm super excited to explore the city as I've only been in the airport once, in 1984 (and for those of you that don't know that story and want to hear it, just ask).  Then to London for visiting friends and seeing some theatre before returning home on June 15.  Wow, I can't believe it!  I'm actually excited at the thought of being back home as well!  It will be amazing to see Bob and everyone else...and Mom, I know you'll finally be able to breathe a little easier!!

I better make the most out of the next two weeks!  

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