sry yal...

hey guys!

so i've come to the conclusion that bloging is possibly not my strongest suit. yeah honestly i kind of suck at it. its all right though because i've been keeping a pretty good journal and taking lots of crazy pictures. so i figure that any of you can just ask me all the questions you want and i'll be able to tell me all the stories you want to hear. However, to day i thought i'd give you a short little update.

so what’s been happening in the world of India, or at least my world of india... well its been just over 7 weeks now sense i left American soil and it feels like i've been in India for ages and like the days have flow; i feel like i've done and seen so much and so little, all at the same time. I've seen several temples, a run off of the Ganges river, a crazy cute bollywood movie, an amazing leprosy colony( and wounded people like i 've never seen and probably never will again) , played soccer/ climb on the foreigners with some adorable street children, had some good times with some amazing people from all around the world, traveled to Diamond harbor (what a trip), and continue to be reminded daily how hard i don't have to work and how much i don't have to worry in order to simply survive each day, compared to so many people here and around the world. Yet do how much i have and continue to receive, i've done and given back so little. Its over whelming some times the amount of people that end up in such dire, corrupt situations and appear to need so much help. yet, its just as astonishing how much you can receive from someone who you thought needed so much from you. but the numbers really shouldn't matter, we must keep fighting, around the world and at home, receiving and giving.


so any who, on a lighter note, sadly no longer working at Khaligat. but instead i'm at Shishu Bhavan and i lov it! I work with young kids, probably between the ages of 4 and 9. all of them have sever mental and physical disabilities. we spend our time there changing beds, changing the kids, feeding them , and playing with them/ doing exercise with them. is great. the kids, the masis (the native indian women who work there), the sisters, and the volunteers are all so nice.

anyway, that’s all i got for now and i'm praying for you all back home. you 've all been on my mind, especially since my time is soon coming to an end. it will be hard to leave but it will be good to come to the good old washington (not DC, as i say here).
all my lov always and God bless!

a real dream come true

hey guys! sry its been so long since i've written anything, i still lov u all. anyway, first off a little update. so i'm alive and well- in many senses of the word- and back in kolkata. we've been back about week now, and im not gona lie it took a little adjusting. Raiganj was so lovely and so peaceful compared to kolkata. i had come to know the people there as friendly, hospitable, and real fellow human beings. that is harder to do here; Fr.Puthumai is not here to introduce us too anyone and a lot of the interactions you first have with locals here is them nagging you or staring at you. honestly though, they are real people, struggling to survive. In fact that is probably one of my favorite part of this whole experience- the reality of it. i've been here for over three weeks now but i still occasionally have moments that take me back and i'm reminded that i'm here, all the way across the world, i made it. its real, so real. i've been working in Khaligat a lot lately. that is mothers first love, the world wide famous home for the dying and destitute. there, on the women’s side where i work, lie real women. real people, with real suffering, real laughter, real tears, real wounds inside and out, real affection, real hearts, real beauty. here, in this place i have found real culture, real faith, and i have witnessed Mother Teresa's legacy of real lov. what more could i ever ask for, then to be here in this place with these people? amidst some challenging, unpredicted obstacles and the needed growing pains they have brought, this is truly my dream come true. how could i ask for more?


Along side Khaligat, i also want to Nirmala Bhavan yesterday (bout an hr bus ride from mother house, it a home for young children, with babies on one floor and round 4, 5 year olds upstairs all of whom are totally healthy) and Daya Don Both of them where so great. i really miss the chilins. well i've got to run but i'll writ more later about the homes, what i saw around there, the crazy temple i went to today, and my sight seeing to come! i love u all and miss u so much!
bye bye for now

hey hey!

Hey all! so this is actually me, katie saying hi to everyone back home! tuan was nice enough to lend me his blog for a bit- what a giving soul he has. in fact, if tuan hadn't been so willing to share his stories and so much of his trip with me, it would have made the Lords job a lot harder in getting me where he wants me; so if you are reading this tuan thank you from the bottom of my heart- i don't know how i could have done any of this with out you.

anyway, so about India...well honestly i can't believe we made it! I can't believe it has been a week and 1/2! it really is a whole new world. there are so many new thing to see and smell and hear and taste. its all so fascinating and i'm still trying to take it all in. I'm not even sure where to start.
lets start with the Mother house- o man its so beautiful. when we first went one of the sisters pointed us up Mother Teresa 's old room. it was as setup behind the screen, as if she was just going to walk right in and sit down at her desk. then we down and looked at the beautiful display they have set up with bulletin boards and articles from Mother. they even have her old sari, hand patched and everything. On our first day of volunteering, before we had breakfast we got to have mass with the sisters; hearing them sing is one of the most beautiful sounds i've ever heard. The whole place is filled with God's presence of peace.

the 1st day of volunteering at Prem Dan was very eye opening but a little rough because i wasn't really told what to do, you just kind of jump in. The second day was fabulous though! Prem Dan is a home for ( at least o the women's side) mostly mentally ill women. The majority of them where fairly old and some of them needed a lot of assistance physically. the morning shift is between 8ish and 12ish. once we get there the laundry is done first, then beds are made, we help to feed them, there a short brake for us, and then we spend alot of time just sitting with the women. Most of them don't know english at all, but that really doesn't matter once you get the hang of it. it dose make me want to learn Bengali though! How beautiful these shundaries (beautiful elder women) are! I had never seen such pure smiles. One of the very old women almost broke my heart. She was one from the handful who had to be spoon feed and in order to get her to bed after lunch, you had to drag the chair she was in into the next room. But more then that was how much she loved holding your wrist. she couldn't really speak very well-even to the sisters, and her eyes often wondered, but the minute you would go to leave or start pulling your had from where she left in on her knee or from her own hand, she would reach from it. what a simple, simple request, just to not be left sitting alone.

So now i am done volunteering for a while. the three of us Alicia, Brendan, and I meet up with Meghan, Jamie and Fr.Puthumai and took a 12 hr train ride north on the 10th (Thursday night for us; there is a 11.5 hr difference btw). we are leaving this Sunday night. thats bitter sweet for me because Raiganj is so beautiful, it is so nice seeing Meghan and Jamie, the people are way less used to tourist so they stare more but they hardly try to cheat u out of you money, and Fr.P totally is taking such good care of us. On the other hand, my heart longs to return to the Mother house and the people. and the hustle and bustle and pollution and creeper stares that is kolkata has an excitement, a romanticism to it. it is a fun place once you get you foot in the door. you see new thing every day that you would never see in Washington. then again i could say the same thing for Raiganj! here is a brief list of some things i have done while up here:
-explored an Mosque built in 1364
-fallen in love with, many young singing Indian boys!
-saw a live gazel tied up in a small market ( i frekn lov those!)
-had an Indian beer
-been on tv (or at least jamie was, i'm not really sure how many of us made it on)
-thrown up for the first time in like 3 yrs
-signed my autograph for, shook hands with and dances around wiht several enthusiastic villagers
-ect!


any way, i lov you and miss you all and will write more soon! ur all in my prayers!
i lov u and God bless!

-Katie