A New Adventure

I landed in India three and a half hours ago. As soon as I stepped off the plane and onto the tarmac, and felt the intense heat and humidity, the weight of my month long adventure hit. Here I am. So far, the scent of the air in Kolkata and surrounding towns is very similar to that in Liberia. Something is burning – somewhere, everywhere, hard to tell – and the air is thick with fumes and smog. Without air conditioning to temper the 95 degree heat (at night!), I was sweating again as soon as I stepped out of the shower.

I’m living in the guesthouse of the non-profit organization that is hosting me. It will be nice to see the entire facility in daylight, but what I could see looked lovely. Lots of trees and flowers give it an enclosed feeling, despite being less than an hour outside of congested Kolkata. Tomorrow I’ll have breakfast at 9 and then join the staff for its morning meeting. The women who picked me up at the airport are going to introduce me around and get me started on whichever project I work on for the organization dedicated to empowering women and girls.

Mimi and Manami seem great already – upon picking me up from the airport they asked if I needed dinner – and promptly took me to McDonald’s. In contrast, the rest of my meals will be prepared by Indian staff at the organization, and having been informed of the breakfast menu, I’m already quite excited. The ride from the airport out to Baruipur is one I won’t forget for some time – our driver wove aggressively in and out of traffic, gaining an inch here and there, honking incessantly (each honk sending a different message, from “be careful bike rider, I’m right behind you” to “move over bus, I’m trying to pass you”). I think it’s fortunate that, jet lag setting in, I kept dozing off.

The power just cut at the guesthouse – I’m grateful for the book light I brought, and for the slight breeze coming in through the window. It smells a bit like rain, which would be really welcome right now…