India....

In June '08 I went on the most amazing journey of my life.
This is an article I wrote about it to give you some small idea of how utterly incredible it was. I found it the other day on a missionary website!!!
If ever you get an opportunity this great you really should just go for it. I never regretted it for a minute.

From the very minute I heard about the Calcutta trip I knew I wanted to go. Opportunities like it don’t come very often and it would be a sin not to give it a go and try my best to do my little bit at making a difference.

I didn’t stress myself with imaginings at the start when I found out I was going because I had no idea what to expect, I really didn’t. So I decided to just go with it, not worry and see what happened. I think this was quite a good way to go about it. No one can be prepared for their first trip to India. Absolutely nobody can be totally prepared for those first few hours in the country when all the elements of Calcutta are unleashed on you. You feel the dead heat; you smell all things unpleasant; you can taste the pollution in the air; you hear the sound of the traffic and it’s non stop beeping of horns and most of all, you can see the utter poverty of the country.

It’s a very overwhelming thing to arrive in not just a foreign country but a completely different world with people you haven’t known very long. Very scary!
The meetings really helped. They gave us an idea of what to expect and one of the most valuable things we gained out of the meetings in my opinion was getting to know each other. At least we weren’t complete strangers going into a different world together. The trip to Lough Derg was also great. It gave us a chance to step out of our normal lives for a day and just slow down, think about things and pray. It was not unlike going to India. The world seemed to stop dead around us and we were just us, a little group, preparing for a big journey. People bonded a lot that day I felt, because it was the first time we’d all been together properly for more than an hour or two and we were away from home…on an island so there were no distractions!

We were warned about the heat many many times before hand but it was still a shock to finally feel the dead humidity hit you. I remember the first day quite vividly. Everyone’s excitement had died down somewhat because of exhaustion and the very long journey! The first journey into the city was the most unreal journey of my life, it was just so completely and utterly different from anything I’d ever known.

Getting used to the country was very hard. There was always something happening around you and when you’re grumpy and tired and still scared stiff of your surroundings the last thing you want is to have the noise of Calcutta’s traffic in your ears. But it dosen’t stop, ever, the noise continues on at all times without relenting. When you’re out it’s like you have to be alert at all times, and there’s no doubt about it, your surroundings make sure you are. Between avoiding taxi’s, rhickshaws, busses, cars, people, trams and even cows, it’s a bit scary. But I got used to it and I absolutely loved this mad new world.

I was a bit nervous about starting work at first but I needn’t have worried. I loved it. The kids were amazing. They were so adorable and they made me never want to leave, to stay there forever and take care of them. The day I had to leave them I was on the verge of tears but I’m hoping that they will all find loving families soon because they deserve it so much.

Mass every morning was lovely. The sisters have such an inner peace and tranquillity and it seems to shine out of them. I felt honored to be there with these women, women who gave up their entire lives for the people of Calcutta and for God. My respect for them is immense. Mother Teresa started of with one person and look how many people she and the sisters helped to date. It shows that anyone with determination and who has their heart in the right place can make a difference. It will start small but it can grow to be something huge.

I know I will be back to the City of Joy. Back to the noise, the smells, the poverty, the heat, the pollution, but is the people who make it all worth it. There are people who have hardly nothing but have this amazing spirit which I can never forget. It was the trip of a life time and hopefully there will be more to come.


Hope you enjoy it;)

Dasha