First 2 days in Calcutta

Well we got off our 2nd overnight train ride at about 9 in the morning. I think now are are starting to get adjusted to the crampness and the noise of Indian trains and most the group even managed to get a bit of sleep. Marty gave us a warning about the intensity and crowds of Calcutta station, but we managed to get through the gate and caught taxis to the fablous Hotel Crystal. In true India style the floor and stairs of the hotel are made out of beautiful marble, but the rooms are fairly average. Not quite as good as Surya Hotel but defenity beats Hotal Namasker. With hot running water and a clean enough room though, there were few complaints.

Later in the day we walked to the Mother Teresa home and after 3 attempts we finally turned up at the right place. We enrolled and were given instructions about our time at the homes. Its important to realise that these Homes are HOMES not tourist attractions. The dedication and spirituallity of the Sisters blew us away, with many of us, coming to turn with these people giving there lives to God and its not just a job for them. We then visited the Mother Teresa musuem. We were all memorised by how this woman lived so simply and recieved so little but gave so much love. We learnt that its not not how much we give but how much love we put in. Seeing where Mother Teresa lived for so many years was amazing, how such a famous and loved person could live so simply and just on the bare essentials.

Today we got up at 5 in the morning to go to mass. Thursday is meant to be the Sisters day off but it still means 6am mass for them. We later meant Joan a women who worked amongst the poor in Calcutta and was going to take us to the Brothers home for Leperosy in outer Calcutta. We were told the metro bus and train rides were a fight and it was survival of the fittest, this was not a understatement. We missed our first train but managed to get on the 2nd, it was a bit crowded but ok.

We were inspired by the Brothers work with the Leperosy patients and how 7 brothers could do so much. We saw how proud the patients and ex-patients were to be able to work and be treated like normal people. I felt as though we made the patients day as we sang as we walked through the wards. The Brothers long term planning and goals are inspiriational as we see them encourage the ideas of economic and religious development and being self-sufficient.

And Finally the train ride home... we were told it was going to be busier... it was. We tried to get on the first train but it was so packed only 2 people could get home. When the next train stopped, it was an all out fight to the finish to get on that train but we managed to get on. For the people from the group in my carriage there was 6cm and 1 layer of Indians between us and the open door, by the end of the ride there was 15cm between us and the door and about 5 layers of Indians. Being used as a battering ram to get through the crowds to get out when the train stopped was an experience we will never forget. The expression "being packed liked sardines" does not do this experience justice it was far worse. People in our group started to sing Christmas carols to liven spirits, we got a few funny looks and stopped when we realised we were surronded by Hindu's. But hey we lived...just.

We are excited and nervous about our first day at the homes tommorrow and eagerly await the challenge.

Caleb Grove SKC.