Same Same But Different

Same Same But Different...this saying is printed on many of the 40 rupee (90 cent) t-shirts for sale at the internet cafe right next to our hotel. This cafe is an NGO and a portion of the sales of their products goes to programs for education and medical care for the poor of Kolkata. We've all talked about what the saying on this shirt means and have at different points in our time here had experiences or moments that feel the same but different from our lives.

Service work: Everyone on this trip has participated in service work and volunteer programs. The students on this trip have an incredibly high level of dedication to the service sites we have been working with. A typical day at the Missionaries of Charity homes goes from 8:00 am - Noon. There are afternoon shifts available but most volunteers are tired out from the heat and exertion of one shift so they don't return in the afternoon. Not so for our group. Students on this trip have regularly returned, after a delicious lunch at the Blue Sky and a quick rest or stop at the internet cafe, for an afternoon shift at one of the homes. Even at Nicco Park, when the heat was so intense and we were all feeling it more than the children, our group persevered and found it in themselves to run through the park and on rides sweating like we've never sweat before!

Service here feels more intense, whether it be due to the heat, or more likely the level of suffering and despair we encounter. One student commented that the service work here doesn't come with all the accolades you often get at home. It makes you realize that service is not about you at all, but is about the people and the places we serve. The service work here often has less tangible outcomes than some of our work at home may provide. The extent of poverty here is so great, the number of kids coming to brother Xavier's orphanage continues to rise, and the goals of the missionaries of charity are not to bring significant transformation to people's lives but simply to ease people's suffering and give them respite from the streets. Sometimes we struggle with this as a group, feeling like it is all so overwhelming, yet for people here it is part of life and they don't feel despair over it like we do. They do what they're capable of doing each and everyday.

The People: I was reading the intro to the lonely planet guidebook and the first thing it said to be sure you have when traveling to India is patience, flexibility and a sense of humor. It is the best advice they could have offered and we've all needed to call upon these attributes a lot during our time here. If we ever lost sight of these qualities the people of Kolkata model them everyday for all of us. The people here are incredibly patient as we stumble through the few Bengali phrases we know and ask to learn more from them. All of the people we have connections with have been so flexible accommodating our schedules, our stomach issues, our exhaustion, and our dietary needs. As far as time and planning goes, Kolkatans are so able to be in the moment and trust the process. Our need to know what the weather will bring the next day is often responded to in the following way, "When we wake up tomorrow we will know what the weather is." Good point, eh! I guess in a place like Kolkata the resources are not there to prepare for weather so people do what they can to survive when the weather arrives.

As for having a sense of humor, we are presented with examples of this everyday. I so appreciate the cab driver to Dreams who got very lost but kept on searching for Dream's home, laughing throughout the journey, Michael at the Astoria hotel, always making jokes with the straightest of faces, the children at Brother Xavier's laughing and making us all smile, and the people Sue and I observed at Rabindra Sarovar getting their daily dose of Laughter Yoga at 6:15 in the morning. (We hope to join a session one or two times this week!) People are not so concerned with controlling situations or rushing around to be on time for things-that just doesn't seem to be a part of life here. People here are "moving and doing" a lot of the time but they are also able to "just be" and to let things progress as they will. They are survivors here in this city of heat, humidity, crowds, poverty, despair and hope. I am not sure I could survive here and I admire and honor that about the people here.

The animals: The circumstances for animals in Kolkata has always been a struggle for me. I know I am experiencing them with my own cultural bias, yet I can't help but have intense emotional reactions to what I see around me. Dogs and cats are everywhere on the streets; most are flea and mange infested and many are pregnant and none are spayed or neutered. They scavenge off the street and you can often here the cries and growls of dogs in the evening, most times I think it is a female dog scaring off a male dog trying to impregnate her. They sleep under cars, in the middle of streets, anywhere they can and the noise of traffic doesn't stir them. I talked with someone about the dogs and he is very happy to have them on the streets. He sees them as protectors, who can sense when strangers are well or ill-intentioned. Dogs also help manage the garbage through their scavenging. And many people do feed the dogs and the dogs do attach themselves to people or locales around the city. Michael at the Astoria has about 8 or 10 street dogs that he feeds everyday and he knows of a women who cooks up meals everyday for some of the dogs. People also have dogs as pets, though it is a rare sight to see someone out walking their dog. We have seen newly born kittens that the mother cat carried up a ladder in the internet cafe to put in a display case to keep them warm and away from other predators. Chickens are transported across town hanging upside down on bicycle handles on their way to the market. Someone in Vermont told me that chickens actually like being upside down, it is hypnotic and soothing for them. I hope so because to me it just looks like a wild and frightening ride! Horses at the Maidan ( a large park near our hotel) graze on the park grass with their legs tied together. An animal welfare organization comes regularly to check their health and give them injections. Cows are sacred to Hindus and are dinner for some others here. They roam the streets freely and are often on the median strip of a busy multi lane road. The herds of goats roaming the city are painted different colors depending on who their owner is and we've all walked over or near goat tails strewn on the street after a slaughter. The animals, too, are survivors. Their environment, their day to day life, and their experience of humans is different from the animals we have in our lives yet it is their life here in Kolkata.

As I sort through what feels so different and so familiar about my experience here I always keep in mind my background and experiences and how those influence my reactions and thoughts. I strive to remain open hearted, to suspend judgement and to seek to understand the many dimensions to this place. These images and experiences will remain with me long after I leave here and I hope to continue to try and make sense of it all.

The call to prayer and the growl in my stomach is reminding me it is 12:30 and time to head to the Blue Sky. Hope you are all well and thanks for reading!
peace