Dear Lord, the Great Healer, I kneel before you, since every good and perfect gift must come from you. I pray give skill to my hands, clear vision to my mind, kindness and meekness to my heart. Give me singleness of purpose, strength to lift up a part of the burden of my suffering fellow people, and a true realization of the privilege that is mine ( Read more... )

First off, I have less than 8 days left in Kolkata. I'll put that out there. It really, really freaks me out. I don't like thinking about it, really. I have so many mixed emotions about this, it's crazy ( Read more... )

I know I promised an entry while in Darjeeling or Sikkim, but... I didn't. Sorry. When you're out and about exploring a new city, the LAST thing you want to be doing is to spend an hour or two sitting behind a computer screen ( Read more... )

This American Thanksgiving started out with a long, homesick email to my mom. To be honest, I have been rather sad these last few days, missing my family, friends, and community back home. It's been over 2 months since I've seen the people I love more than the world itself. The tiniest things will remind me of somebody and get me thinking about ( Read more... )

Today was my last day teaching at Daya Dan, unless when I return to Kolkata in December there are not enough teachers on the 2nd floor. It was basically a normal teaching day, although the tea I had at break made me feel really sick so I sat out part of the afternoon. It's strange to think about how much of an impact these children have had on me, ( Read more... )

The US consulate is freaking out about the cyclone that is headed toward Kolkata tonight. They are the only consulate that has issued warnings to all US citizens in West Bengal, going so far as to send representatives to every hotel on Sudder Street to warn us. I keep on putting off registering with the consulate (my bad, oops), so I haven't been ( Read more... )

I know it's been a while with the entries... sorry for that. I intend to make it up this time around ( Read more... )

Today is Thursday! Which means today is my (and all of the volunteers) day off. What a pleasant feeling it is to sleep in! I got some laundry done, including the sleep sack that hasn't been washed since I was in the States, which is very exciting ( Read more... )

Thanks so much to all of you who have been replying to my journal entries. I've been reading all replies, and it's been wonderful hearing from you all. I promise, when I'm not feeling rushed for time at the internet center I will make an effort to respond ( Read more... )

Hello from India ( Read more... )