Stimulation

Yesterday, was the longest Thursday of my life. LOL! When I got home from the airport I was tired but not so tired I needed to sleep. I knew I needed to stay up as long as I could... well Heidi's nap came around and I thought this would be a perfect time to get some rest. So I went and took a nap... that was probably a HUGE mistake! LOL! Bob came upstairs to wake me up and I could not wake up... my eyes would not stay open. I finally got up and went down stairs... I went straight to the couch and laid down. LOL! It was such a blur after that and I was not very nice. Sorry Bob. I did wake up after dinner and as soon as the kids went to bed my eyes were shut. I slept until around 5:30 a.m. this morning... not to bad, right? I am still tired but nothing like yesterday. Enough about my sleepiness... let me tell you about the first day in Kolkata.

Kolkata, India is so stimulating! There is so much to look at... I wished at times I had 4 eyes to see on both sides of the road. There are really no strict road laws... just suggestions and most of the time (if not all of the time) that is all it is... suggestions.

I took a lot of pictures, but they aren't very good because the city of Kolkata is so busy and fast and there are so many people. Pictures will never be able to explain the life these people live or the way this city runs.

Here is all our luggage. We all checked 2 bags... 1 for us and the other cram packed with supplies. We did leave one bag behind, but God graciously was with us as one DeeDee (big sister) had to go back and get it (along with Omar and Don, who was the one that made all of our travel and visits possible).

This picture is taken outside of the airport. Motorbikes are the way to get around in Kolkata. They could weave in and out of traffic so easily while traffic was always backed up.

Traffic. Need I say more? LOL!

Trash. Kolkata had trash everywhere! I guess if we were cram packed in a city full of 4 million
people we would have trash everywhere as well.

Bus, motorbike, trolley, rickshaw, and taxi are the way to travel.

Staring was huge thing. 13 white women in a huge city... of course they were going to stare at us, but if you looked back them and smiled or waved 98% of the time they would smile and wave back at you. Here in the America if you were to smile and wave at someone staring at you they would look away instantly.

This was the first person we saw in India carrying something on his head, but as the trip went on this is the way they do things.

Our first "dinner" in India. Yummy Fanta with a long straw. I had the most delicious Indian style chicken fried rice and garlic naan bread.

We went and saw a few of Mother Teresa's house. This one is the one where she lived and died. She lived in a tiny room and the room was one of the hottest in the compound because the suns rays were constantly beaming on that room, but she never had a fan. I wasn't supposed to take pictures beyond a certain point going up the stairs to her room and I was not supposed to get this picture... but there were Nuns washing.

I know this picture is blurry and bad, but to me it says so much. We were in the back of a rickshaw for the first time and we were laughing so hard.

A picture of the busyness.

Again, these pictures will never capture what Kolkata really was... no words will ever describe it. Kolkata to me will not be about the smog, the trash, the busyness, or the poverty, but it will be about the love of the people and the faith of the believers. I can say it has a piece of my heart forever. By God's grace I will return soon to the City of Joy.