I am relieved to say that I am starting to find my niche here. The past two weeks have been fantastic. I’m enjoying teaching. My students are by far the best part of my life here. They are so vibrant and have a lovely girlish air about them. I’m learning more Hindi everyday. I am continuing to have mini cultural breakthroughs as I discover new nuances and intricacies about Indian society.

So, it’s official. I’m starting to fall in love with India - despite the horrific poverty, mystifying culture, and exploding population. This is such a unique and fascinating nation that contains mountains, deserts, and tropical climates; not to mention over 1,500 languages. It is incredible that a country as heterogeneous as this has managed to stay unified.

I am discovering the beauty of the daily rhythm of life here – wrapping my sari bleary eyed in the morning, dodging geckos on the path as I walk to breakfast, enjoying a cup of chai with Nani (my Indian grandma), haggling with the rickshaw wallah. I could go on and on. Sometimes I have to pinch myself, because this country is so beautiful. From the multicolored saris to the rice paddies, India is breathtaking. I don’t intend to dismiss the prominent presence of poverty. I’m merely trying to paint a more holistic picture of my experience here.

I had a dream last week that I was at home and sitting on the couch in my living room. It was familiar and cozy to be at home, but I was thinking “I’m not in India anymore” and felt terribly forlorn. I think that this pretty succinctly sums up my attitude right now. I miss the comforts of home (friends, family, my bed) but am happy to be here.
Much love friends.
Mary

Hello from rural India.
I’ve been in Dhamtari for 2 ½ weeks now. It’s a small town located in a rural province. There is one main street. The selection of goods here is pretty limited because it is difficult to transport anything (the roads are particularly bad right now because the monsoons are here). The big thing to do here in Dhamtari is to visit the nearby dam. Every Sunday afternoon, people travel up to 50km to walk along the river and on the dam. It is so funny that it attracts so many people.

It’s really hard to adequately describe what this place is like. Every task is done differently here than at home. All of the food is made from scratch. My students don’t have text books for our class. Many of the girls don’t have mattresses. They just sleep on the bed frame. I use a rickshaw to go into town (I’m pretty good at bargaining in broken Hindi). People stare, and I mean stare at me all the time. Liz and I are the only expats in Dhamtari and are therefore quite exotic.

I have never experienced a culture like this before. It is so complicated, layered, and subtle. I feel like I am breaking unwritten rules all the time. Everything is hierarchical and about respecting authority. You just do what you’re told because your boss said to, no questions asked. Even Hindi, the language, is hierarchical. Indians never say please, thank you, or excuse me. It’s all implied by how formal or informal your language is. So when it’s translated into English it can sound curt, because so much of Hindi is commands. I just realized this connection the other day – it was a little breakthrough.

I got yelled at in Hindi last week because I was showing my ankles. I was leaving the dorm, and the warden chased after me yelling in Hindi. She started pulling on my pants (at this point I was starting to feel mildly violated) when I realized what she meant. Hurray for cross cultural communication!

I started teaching last week. I have to wear a sari, which is 4m of fabric that you have to skillfully wrap around your body to create a toga like dress. It takes SO long to wrap it properly in the morning. The first day I wore it, ten of the other teachers crowded into my room to dress me. They thought that it was hilarious. I walked into chapel that morning (I have to go every morning at 7:30AM) wearing the sari and the students started nudging each other and looking back to look at me. That day everyone commented on it, it was such a big deal. I had my students do some in class writing that day, and one of the girls wrote “My teacher Ms. Mary is looking very beautiful in her new sari.” They’re already sucking up!

Overall I am doing well. I am excited to be here, am eager to learn more Hindi, and see more of India,

Dear Friends
I arrived in Kolkata a week ago and have been very busy soaking up the new culture and eating curry. The MCC staff here has been tremendously hospitable to Liz and I - every night we have had dinner at a different apartment. It has been wonderful to get to know the staff outside of the office. We have eaten very well. Thankfully, I have not experienced the famous "Delhi belly" that plagues many westerners as they acclamate to the Indian cuisine.

Liz and I have also been able to travel around Kolkata visiting schools and organizations that MCC supports. It's been very interesting to learn about the Indian education system. We visited one school that has 63 students in First Grade! The head mistress brought us into the classroom and the kids immediately stood and said "Good morning!" in unison. Obviously, very different from schools in the states.

We also visited a partner organization of MCC that does income generation for women. It was encouraging to see how motivated these women are to bring in extra income for these families. They told me that most of the money they earn goes toward school fees for their children. Some of them risk a lot just by leaving the house, because their husbands are not supportive.

So that's just a glimpse of the past week. Overall I am doing well. Kolkata is a very densely populated city with over 13 million inhabitants. The amount of poverty is appalling. It is on every street. Families move here from the villages looking for work and simply claim a bit of sidewalk and set up camp. It's hard to be constantly surrounded by the suffering. I'm struggling with how to balance compassion for the destitute (many have nothing but their clothes) and guilt for the luxury I can enjoy. It's just very easy to feel overwhelmed.

I'm also finding it difficult to accurately describe Kolkata. Driving alone is an experience here. There are no traffic rules. No seat belts. No one signals to switch lanes (come to think of it, there are no lanes). There is constant beeping. Until you come here and smell the chai at the side walk stands, feel the humidity, see the 15 men playing cards on the side of the road, or hear the Bengali it's impossible to know what Kolkata is like. I'm learning to see beyond the overwhelming aspects and appreciate the everyday rhythm of life.

Tonight Liz and I will travel by train to Dhamtari in Chattisgarh, where we will be teaching for the next year. I'm excited to meet our host family and begin our lesson plans. I will write again when I have the chance. I trust that all is well with everyone at home. I miss you all!
Best, Mary