An injection of home & EYE BALLS!

Hello there,
I am in India, there are no words and so many words to describe this place. I'm not sure how really. I'm in Calcutta until tonight. My first day here was mind blowing, walking around the streets. The first thing I noticed was EYE BALLS. Wow, I got eye contact every where, hello, where are you from (scary question to answer right now-I'll explain later), where are you going, how long will you be here? The smiles were brilliant. Heart warming to have such connection. But the difference so much from other places I've been that after 5 hours of eye contact and being human with other humans I was pooped! In 5 hours I was the only white person I saw, it was incredible!
Just the experience of riding in on the taxi was just outrageous! It was the same as my last time coming into town. I think they have a script! I get in, I collected some great people to share a taxi ride with, got a prepaid taxi, we all got in, within moment the man says "bakshish 10rs from each of you, 10, 10, 10, 10rs" we said no, then he tried 5rs, we said no. We drive off and within moments we are back at the train station for all of his taxi friends to drive the taxi and see if it's ok or if a tire needs to be fixed. We drive off after their approval. Everything is going fine and then he says if we don't give him bakshish we will be going back to the station, he slowed down, we continued our no, he almost stopped, he made threats, wow, I just had to laugh as it's the exact thing that happened 6 years ago, but that taxi drive did turn around and then back around. Wow, it was amazing. He kept going though!!! then he pulled over to get someone to check out the tire-all we could think of is how is he going to try to get us to pay for this? Luckily it was fine, we drove on and then he lightened up and became a great guy. Which they all are underneith it all.
Something about driving through this city, the dirt, the grime, the culture in the poverty, the unembarrassment of living on the street-as it's their cast, nothing to change, just to accept here, can't change birth of cast here, even if you are a doctor you don't move up cast. Seeing the eyes, as we past other cars, the cars driving like crazy, within inches of each other, such trust of their driving skills. there are no lines on the road and part of the time it's dirt. It's like 3 lanes but all sideways, or on top of each other, and they can't drive without honking. If they just think someone will move they honk. So it makes this very dusty, dirty city a very loud city as well. And they are always talking loud, yelling, or just having to make sound. There is the man rickshaws all over, the men that pick up these double seated carts with a hood over them to protect from the sun and 2 wheels and they pull you all over town. They are thin and very strong. No fat on them, at all.
The smell of India, it's home, it really is home to me. Some is a little strong but the different things they burn is just heaven. I'll be stocking up on it before I leave, it's so glorious. the moment Ianded yet again I was calm. I'm so happy to be in this busy, grimy place. A little sad to be leaving Calcutta so soon tonight to go on my, YES, 48 hour train ride to Kerala, but it's time! Life is an adventure and I've never done 48 hours and so I'm going for it. I'll be there the night of the 8th and in Amma's arms on the 9th!
But backing up a little a few things I need to share one is that first day that I showed up I saw a sign that really rang true but really scared me, the sign read: Worlds #1 Terrorist! and it had a photo of Bush. Well yes I agree, but honestly it makes saying "I'm from the US" a lot harder. I walked on a little scared. Wondering what nationality will I say I am. Well I finally let it go and then I sat down to rest on a step in front of a closed shop. Watching this glorious man with white hair dodge the cars and then turn to me and with a hand gesture gave me a beautiful greeting, amazing eyes. Then I started taking notes as to not forget anything as there was so much I saw that day and this man stopped and stared at me angrily. I didn't know what was wrong. I kept doing my thing and then I thought maybe I should stop writing as the intensity was getting thick around me. I put away the pad of paper and pen and stood to leave, the man walked with me with his intense eyes for a bit and left. I saw the nice man and he did his little hand greeting which I was relieved to get from him and made me smile! I realized that man may have thought I was a terrorist taking notes on something but I don't know for sure, but luckily nothing happened. and it's the only time I've ever felt that kind of thing in India, but there is a lot of fear right now. I walked on to get question by another man where i was from, how I felt about Bush, how did he get elected, did I like Clinton or Bush? Well I won't go into my answers but lets just say the man was shocked when I told him my feelings about it all yet relieved and I left him with I loved India and he was happy with that. I hardly saw any women in parts of town, it's a very mans world here in Calcutta.
I saw this gorgeous woman on the way to Mother Theresa's Orphage, where I was volunteering with the kids there, she had light blue eyes with her brown skin, living on the street. Like the National Geographic photo, she was there with her child. Once I can get it to work I'll upload this email as well as my photos to my blog, but as for now it's not coming up. I worked with the children this week and it was divine, they are such brilliant souls. At first being with the handicap I felt a little scared of them, the difference and newness of it and how do I play with them? Within hours it was gone. I saw their souls, they have such deep eyes, so much is held in there so many stories to be told and so much love and trust in there. To make them laugh was like heaven and thrilling. To feed them could be difficult but a great experience. One little girl adopted me. She would come find me immediately for me to play with her. Her name is Romeda, gorgeous brown skin, brown eyes with curly hair. I could easily take her home with me. She loved to be touched and played with. The first day she wore me out but we had so much fun together. I had my Goddess Necklace on and I taught her the word Goddess and kept saying Goddess Romeda. She kept calling me auntie as most Indians who live on the street or at the Sister house call women auntie, so I turned to her and called her neicie and pointed to her and she'd say neicie. It was so cute. It was lovely to look so deeply into these beautiful souls. And some of them look like children but they are 40 years old, so small, so young looking with so much to say with no words most of the time. Yet it can be very noisy in there with the sounds and the ones that speak.
So I've been drinking all the juices and and food on the street, it's so nice to be here again. And I love how friendly most everyone is. I don't remember it being so friendly but I love it. I slept in a room with 5 other girls in it, one of them, Joan, from South Africa, she and I became instant friends. She has 4 children at home all out of the house-well one lives at home now but in his 30's. She is lovely, I have been introducing her to India and helping the fear of it be released. She's a lot of fun, we've talked for hours, she introduced me to leeches, or leiches-I don't know the spelling, but it's a fruit, it's devine but they do crazy things to my belly.
So I'm not sure, what else without giving you every detail. But I'm safe here, I'm having a blast. I'm on a train tonight for 48 hours to Kerala to be with Amma and to study Ayurveda. I send you all love. I wish I could tell you more but it would take hours. I love you and hug you, Heather