Follow the Journey

Namaste!
After a long day of travel from Bodhgaya, we finally made it to the bustling streets of Kolkata. Coming to Kolkata after spending a peaceful day in Bodhgaya e(this letter key does not work)ploring temples, meditating, and rela()ing was a big change of pace. Our days in Kolkata were full of e()ploring the hectic streets, eating delicious and very greasy street food, volunteering for the Mother Theresa Home, and so much more. My time at Shanti Dan, a home for mentally and physically handicapped women was incredibly eye opening. Most of the women in this home have been rejected from their families. The Mother Theresa Home takes them in and provides them with basic necessities. The job of the volunteers is to help with daily tasks suck as washing floors, changing diapers, doing laundry, and helping out with anything else that needs to be done. At Shanti Dan, I helped out with physical therapy. Most of the girls I worked with had very little motor skills due to cerebral palsy. In addition to helping with physical therapy I fed the girls food, changed their diapers, and transported them from their wheelchairs to their beds. I have so much respect and admiration for the nuns and long term volunteers. Tending to all the daily needs to very physically and emotionally draining. Seeing how happy the girls got when we laughed, talked, and played with them made all the hard work worth it. The two mornings I spent at Shanti Dan were short and sweet but left me with a new sense of appreciation for my life.
The end of our stay in Kolkata marked the half way point of our semester… we have moved on from traveling in cities to traveling in the mountains! We’re all so e()cited to be out of the hectic cities and to be in the serenity of the mountains.
This afternoon we will be going to an ashram and will not have internet for a few days.
Shanti-
Nina