So after three days of being in Bodhgaya, the place where the Buddha received enlightenment, we began our crazy journey to Calcutta. It was not an easy journey to say the least. We were wait listed for seats for the train to Calcutta, which we luckily did make it on; but we had to sleep two to a sleeper bunk on an overnight train. We were suppose to board our train at 11:15 which turned into 2:15 and some of us, actually most of us, slept on the floor of the train station for a few hours. But hey, do as the Indians do right? Once we arrived in Calcutta the luck of the group didn’t completely turn around because 5 out of the 9 of us ended up getting sick. As the week progressed though and our group members have become healthy, Calcutta has opened up to us. This is the week of the Durga Puja, one of the biggest holidays celebrated in many parts of India, especially West Bengal. On just about every street corner there are temples of Durga, apparently on the last day of the festival they bring a huge statue of Durga to the river, which is definitely something that were looking forward to seeing. Today was also our first official day volunteering at the Mother Teresa home. Half of us are volunteering at Shanti Dan, a volunteer place for females only, where we assist young and older women who are mentally and physically disabled. The other half of the group is volunteering at the Kalighat, the home for the destitute and dying. Oh and some of the group members made the bold decision to go bald. Pictures coming soon.
Hannah