Who Knew There Was A Such Thing As Nor'Westerners?

I continue to be almost shocked by what I see in the streets. Today as we were driving to the Mother Teresa center, my eyes were opened even more. I saw men and little boys bathing in the streets either via a broken water pipe or a water access center that had been opened for such a purpose. The poor of India literally live in the streets. Everyone I saw in the streets of Calcutta was literally skin and bones, just starving. When we were walking through New Market there were beggars everywhere of all ages and gender, no matter what. The little kids hurt my heart the most. I just wanted to help them all, but I couldn't. How are we to solve this problem? Where does someone begin with this? I just have no idea...perhaps it comes with cleaning up the trash first. Then at least the people living in the streets would have a cleaner environment to live in.

I love this heat. My friend can't quite understand why haha, but I do. It just feels good, even with the humidity and everything. Perhaps its due to living in Michigan with its not-so-hot weather that makes me appreciate any chance of sunshine and warmth. We attempted to go to the Mother Teresa Center (it has a name I cannot remember) but it was closed :( but we still got to talk to some little girls on the street and give them candy. Saw more rickshaws today...still blows me away that I'm sitting in an air conditioned car while someone else is pulling two other people in the sweltering heat. But its not as if my friend and I were the only ones in cars, many, many others were, they're just used to the contrast.

Went to an outdoor/indoor market called New Market. They were selling almost everything; fruits, flowers, clothes, shoes, food, tobacco, silver and gold, fabrics, handicrafts galore and anything one could think of buying. I just love walking around markets like that. It kind of reminded me of Europe in places like Florence. In these places a person can gain a full taste or experience of what an area has to offer. All walks of life go to the markets, high caste, low caste, men and women, children, everyone. Once we got to the indoor section of the market the first thing I noticed was the smell, kinda like old urine, but it wasn't really that bad, you get used to it after like five minutes. Not a big deal. Once we were inside, there was just a bombardment of shops...fabrics, jewelry, clothes, sweet shops, all in one space. There was this guy that kept following us around telling us where to go, even after tipping him he wouldn't leave.

It was at New Market where I finally got a taste of the infamous roll. We both had chicken rolls...a roll is a sandwich type deal that is a typical street food of Calcutta. It is composed of a fried naan called p-something, which is wrapped around chicken, fried onions, raw onions and smothered in spices aka delicious. Although what I have noticed already is that all of the food is piping HOT. Everyone says you're not supposed to eat street food, but I don't think I'm really going to listen to that mantra. In fact, I'm going to follow Anthony Bourdain's style and eat EVERYTHING I can get my hands on. The most important aspect of learning about a new area and its people is through the food served locally. A area's food can give a person a real sneak peak into the area's lifestyle and culture.

Calcutta (at least) is a melting pot of religion. I have seen just as many Hindi temples as Muslim mosques as catholic churches everywhere. As I sit in a Hindi household worshiping the God Ganesh, I can hear prayers being shout out via the mosque close-by. I feel as if my ignorance has made this discovery such a surprise. I think the strong presence of Christianity here is what caught me off guard the most, I guess I just wasn't expecting such a thing. I really like the diversity of religions in this area. It may seem small and you the reader may doubt such diversity, but I can assure you there is more religious diversity and acceptance here than in my own town. Where are the Jewish temples and synagogues or the Muslim mosques in Crystal Lake? Granted there is tolerance for practicing other religions besides Hindi here, but, there is still a small although growing tolerance for mixed marriage. That, I believe, will come with time, as well as the acceptance for other deviant behaviors.

Per normal Calcutta weather, we experienced a Nor’Westerner today…definitely more epic than the usual storm. The wind was crazy strong, at least 30mph, sporadic rain, and intense lightning. After the storm cooled down we went and got more typical street food which they call “chats”. We ate something that was mushed up aloo (potato), chickpeas, masala, and other spices, all put into this tiny fried shell that resembles a cream puff, very tasty. Although I did limit myself because it was made with water and I didn’t want to risk getting sick before I left for Delhi. Oh! And for dinner we had this Burmese dish that was out of this world! Basically it was noodles covered in this liquid coconut chile gravy thing with chicken, and then you put as much onion, chili sauce, coriander, fried noodles, or lemon as you like. I feel as if that isn't doing the dish justice, but trust me, its fricken good. But alas, my love for spicy food has bitten me in the arse. Right now my stomach is ON FIRE. I’m sweating bullets and am quite uncomfortable. However, would I take back eating all of that delicious food? I think not.

My new fascination? Buddha. How have I not discovered this before? I find myself completely enraptured by Buddhism…its like the faith for those who believe in equal human rights and that suffering is not necessary when we don’t want it to be. Of course that’s a really brash definition, but I cant wait to explore it some more on my trip.

Peace