Arrival in Kolkata

So we arrived yesterday in India at 5am. We had a long first day. It feels as though I have spent several days here, but in reality I have only been here for 24 hours. I seem to be absorbing so much that my brain is overwhelmed. I want to take everything in; the smells, the sounds, the people... I just can't seem to get enough of this place! Oddly, I am not shocked. I was expecting this awful, poor, downcast city, but everything here is alive. To me, it seems so normal; people are working, cleaning and cooking, they have daily routines just like they would in Toronto or some other Western city. I have to keep reminding myself that I'm in Kolkata, that I'm in India, so far far away from home. I LOVE IT!

God has been doing a lot in me since arriving. He's bringing up all these things that I have to deal with. Things that have nothing to do with Kolkata or my work here. I feel guilty about it in a way. How can I think about myself and my problems from home when I'm here, in a place like this? I have a job to do which entails being selfless. Today, after reading 'My Utmost for his Highest', I realized what God was doing. He's totally preparing me to work for him. He's calling me to confess the things that could get in the way of my serving Him and the people here. It was wonderful to take my journal and tell God all that I felt and have Him take it away. I feel refreshed, renewed and totally enabled to do God's will. I'm so blessed.

malaria pills are yucky

Today, my adventure begins. I leave for India at 11:05 pm. Well, I don't really go to India directly, I'm really going to London and then to Calcutta so.... I leave for London at 11:05pm. I'm feeling anxious. I thought that I would be full of anticipation and excitement, but I feel so anxious I can't sit still. I think it's the malaria pill I'm taking. Apparently it has all these wacky psychological side-effects. Since taking this stuff my stomach has been so tense. It feels like this ball of knots. I'm so glad Nick is coming. Hopefully he'll make me laugh my head off on the plane, which will relax me somewhat. He came over yesterday and completely changed my mood. I have to admit, I'm very grateful to live with a comic. I have also been feeling nauseous. I'm not sure if that's a result of my anxiety or the medication. I've been feeling it since Saturday. Malaria pills suck.

good times

I can't believe how much fun one can have shooting potatoes from a makeshift canon. Thank you Jason Bivall for that fond memory.

Gettin ready

I had my appointment with the specialist and it seems that nothing is wrong with me. Weird. So now I am off the meds and totally in the clear to travel to India. Even after hearing the good news I was still uncertain that I was really going away, but after paying my final installment last night at church I can now feel free to get really really excited. Oh.... I am SO thrilled about this trip. It feels like I'm gonna burst. What's odd is that I can't pinpoint exactly what I am so excited about. I just want to see God do amazing things, not only in me and my team members, but in the people that I meet. That sounds so corny. Meh...

Anyways, last night I went to a goodbye party for Jason and Chuck and you'll never guess what happened on the way over. I was walking with Jon on Queen Street and guess who just happened to be sitting in a stretch SUV right in front of the restaurant?!! None other than Nick Carter of the Backstreet Boys!! I laughed so hard I thought I would cry. If this had been 8 years ago I would have been overjoyed to walk by his car and maybe, just maybe, catch a glimpse of his fabulous blond mushroom cut hair. It's strange how things seem to change and yet they don't. I still felt a tinge of excitement about potentially seeing this person. It's like I still have remnants of my teenage fantasies still creeping around somewhere in my psyche. I never actually got to see him, no one would come back out with me to check it out. Too bad... if I had met him I think I really would have made an impression.

last week

Tonight I had a most hilarious conversation with an old friend. I must say, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I don't think I have had such a good time on the phone. We talked about the last year and what I was doing. We briefly touched on my India trip. It feels weird to talk about India. It's coming up so soon I can hardly believe it. In less then a month I'll be away in Calcutta, experiencing new things and having new adventures.

Since my last post, nothing interesting has occurred. Well... that's not entirely true. I went to see a gastro-interologist (sp?) on Wednesday. I'm going to have a endoscopy and sigmoidoscopy done. I have no idea how to spell those terms correctly or explain what they entail. All I know is I get to see the inside of my digestive tract on camera. I have to say, I'm rather curious to know what that looks like. Who gets to say they've seen the inside of their gut? I do... woo hoo.
I also got my vaccinations for India on Friday. That wasn't really exciting except for the fact that I had some mild side effects from my typhoid vaccine. I was hoping to have more obvious symptoms of typhoid so I could have at least taken a day off work. I would have totally had a valid excuse.

Anyways, tonight I had my second India meeting at church and we had to do all these team building excercises. Now, I know these types of things are important, especially for spiritual reasons, but I find them so lame. Do people really care if I like sweet things over sour things? We had to pray afterwards and I have to admit that I was SO not into it. I really wanted to leave and get out of there. I had this desire to get out and see someone, a certain person, but I can't figure out who this person is. Who am I looking for? And why I am looking for someone when I should be concentrating on God and my trip? Lately I have been so distracted. It's weird. Maybe tomorrow I can sit down and take some time to focus on what's important. Let's hope I can keep my mind on that.