Done with Word Made Flesh

This morning I had a phone debriefing with Sarah, the short term coordinator at Word Made Flesh. I felt pretty good about it. I came out of the trip with some frustrations about how certain things had been run. I wasn't really sure which things were because of my unreasonable expectations and desires, and what I had good reason to be frustrated about. I think Sarah gave me some much needed clarity in that. I certainly don't have a perfect understanding, but I feel better. Especially during our last 6-week stretch in Kolkata, a lot of that stuff just became really hazy to me. Even some of the questions that Sarah asked helped me think about things a little differently. That phone conversation is likely to be the last thing to wrap up my Servant Team, especially after Sarah told me that the proposal is optional. I guess they're trying to ramp up to them being required, but aren't there yet. She told me that they love to get them, but that I shouldn't force myself to write one just for the sake of doing it. Honestly if I had a topic that was both something I felt might me useful, and was something I had the experience to actually write about, I probably would write one. Unfortunately, I doubt something like that will come about now that I'm back in the US.

In Pittsburgh

We (my Mother, my Father, and myself) arrived in Pittsburgh last night. We didn't do a whole lot other than pick up our rental car and go to spend the night with some of my parents friends in the area. Today (I'm pretending it is still Friday) I got to see a bit of Pittsburgh, including the Church I was baptized in. It was a giant old Church building with beautiful stained glass windows. It also has two pipe organs which are apparently used for pipe organ duets! I'd love to hear one of those someday. There aren't too many places that can manage something like that. Overall I kind of like the feel of this city. It doesn't feel quite the same as anywhere I've ever been on the west coast (although it's closer to that than it is to India).

Um... We Don't Make That Version

When I read my Bible often feel like I wander around a little, not really knowing what to read. I like to read a little bit from a lot of different places, but I also don't like flipping around all over the place and keeping a bunch of bookmarks in my Bible. The short version is that I decided to get a One Year Bible. This will also make sure that I finally get around to reading all of those Old Testament books that I've never gotten around to. I had a few disappointments when I went to get one, but still decided to buy it. First, I was hoping to find it in NRSV, but as far as I could tell they don't print it in that version. Second, they only print versions that start on January 1st. I was starting on June 22nd and they don't print a version like that. Oh well, I think I can manage. For the record though, I did not fall five and a half months behind, I just started in the middle of the year. If I stay on track (which it will be a miracle if I never miss a day) I should finish it on June 21st of 2006.

Presentation

Last night I gave a presentation about my trip to India and Sri Lanka at Church. I think it went pretty well. That was at least the feedback that I got from people. Thank you to everyone that made it there to listen about my experiences. At some point I'll probably get some sort of a wrap up letter out. I'm leaving for a week in Pittsburgh tomorrow, so hopefully I'll get around to doing it after I get back next week.

A Look Into My Future

On Thursday my parents are taking me on a week long trip to Pittsburgh. That's the city I was born in and spent the first couple years of my life in. This will be the first time I've been back since my family moved to Oregon, so I can't say I remember the place at all. I'm looking forward to learning a little bit about the unremembered years of my life.

When I get back from Pittsburgh, I'll be moving back down to Santa Barbara. Starting on July 11th, I'll be working at Toyon again. I've already lined up an apartment and a roommate, which should make the whole process a lot easier. I'll be living with a man who was in my high school youth group, although I haven't really known for the past five years. So far there is only one problem with our situation: His name is also Philip. I'll sure we'll figure something out... or just create a lot of confusion. My Dad shared with me that when he was my age, he also moved in with a roommate that shared the same first name. He also let me know that six months later he got married. For the record, I don't expect that part to happen on the same schedule.

Sunday

Yesterday was my first Sunday back in America. I went to Church At Andrew's Lutheran Church, the Church I grew up in. It was pretty good to be back. I received a lot of warm welcomes. Tomorrow night (Tuesday) I'll be back there giving a brief presentation on my trip. It's at 7pm if you're interested in coming to see and hear a bit more about my trip.

After Church my family drove down to Corvallis to spend Father's Day with my grandparents. It was great to see them again. My grandfather printed off this blog and kept the entries in a binder for the time I was in India. I had no idea how much I had written, but it pretty well filled an entire 2-inch ring binder. Hopefully at some point I'll get around to rereading through all of it myself. A good chunk of my journaling in India was done in the form of this blog.

Life Back in America

I haven't posted anything the last few days. I haven't really had anything motivating me to post. Life back in America seems a lot less eventful than it was in Kolkata. Then again, I haven't really been doing much of anything. I can't say I've noticed any violent reverse culture shock yet. Everything seems about the same as it was before I left for India. Sometimes it almost feels like Kolkata was just a long dream. America is just such a different world that it almost seems like the two couldn't possibly both exist.

When it isn't raining, I've been enjoying just walking around the neighborhood. Sometimes I'll talk on the phone, sometimes I'll just think. There are so many ways that I just couldn't get this simple experience while in India. It is so quiet and peaceful. The temperature is comfortable, rather than 100+ F and humid. Above everything else, strangers don't stare at me everywhere I go. I love just being a normal person again.

Back in America

I made it back to America safely yesterday. I've already enjoyed a few good American meals, and things taste about the same as I remember them. Here are a few other things that I've noticed since getting back:

• The computer I'm using seems pretty fast (it's actually about 6 years old). The internet (dial up) feels as fast if not faster than most of the connections I used in India. The monitor can support a resolution above 800x600. I'd forgotten how much more that lets you fit on a single screen.
• The tap water is safe to drink again! I got to use tap water instead of bottled water to brush my teeth last night. I even drank a little bit of it without any fear of diarrhea.
• I'm back to using western style toilets and American toilet paper. I'm sure I'll get used to it again, but right now it seems weird. I can honestly say that I like the Indian system better. The combination of squatty potties and Indian "toilet paper" leaves me feeling a lot cleaner than the way we do it over here.
• I can control the temperature of my water again. In India, it was rare to have taps with more than a single knob. If the weather was hot and sunny, then you got hot or warm water. If it was cold, then so was the water. Our hotel in Darjeeling was supposed to have hot water, but it didn't work most of the time. After taking cold showers in Darjeeling, taking a hot shower on a cool morning has never felt so good.

Last Post From India

This morning our team arrived by train back in Kolkata. Our retreat in Darjeeling went pretty well. The first part of it was kind of rough for me, but by the end I think I got what I needed to end this trip. It wasn't what I expected, but it showed me what I needed to see. I will probably have a lot more reflections on this trip once I've returned and had some more processing time. No promises about what will make it up here though.

In about ten hours April, Kristen, Rachel, and myself will be on a plane out of Kolkata. On Tuesday night we should all be sleeping in our own beds back at home. Thank you again to everyone who has been praying for me during my four months in Asia. I definitely needed the support.

Almost at the End

Tonight is our last night of debriefing. Tomorrow we will leave Darjeeling and catch a night train back to Kolkata. We will arrive back in Kolkata on Monday morning. Our flight out of Kolkata is late that evening. Tuesday evening I'll be able to sleep on a real American mattress for the first time in four months. Well, I'll be able to lay on it anyway. Jet lag will decide if I'm able to sleep...

It is so crazy to realize that my four month trip to Asia is nearly over. I wonder what it will be like getting back. I've heard that reverse culture shock can be pretty nasty after a trip like this.

Little Adventure

The past few days haven't held a lot to share about. We've been having team meetings every night. Our mornings and afternoons have been free for whatever else we want to do. Today Kristin, Melissa, Todd, and I went for a bit of a hike. We caught a share-jeep (crowded jeep with a fixed route at a reasonable price) to the beginning of the trail. We hiked up to the top where there is a wonderful view of the Himalayas... at least there supposedly would have been if we hadn't been stuck in the middle of a cloud.

Right as we were about to head back down, it started raining pretty heavily. Between the four of us we only had two umbrellas, and that just doesn't work well for long distances. We hid under an overhang for a while, then had four Indian men invite us into their home. They maintain a cell phone tower at the top of the hill, and live in an apartment up there. After talking with them for about fifteen minutes, the rain let up, so we started back down. It wasn't long before the rain started back up, so we shared umbrellas as much as we could, and rushed to a little shack we had seen on the way up. The rain wasn't light, but it started coming down even heavier within thirty seconds of entering the stand. We waited and waited but the rain didn't seem like it was letting up. A jeep came along (it was a wide vehicle accessible path), and we hoped that they could give us a ride down. Unfortunately they were already packed with people.

We waited longer, and eventually the rain let up to only a light drizzle. We decided to take our chances with this, knowing that it was probably an hour or so to the next shelter. After walking for about ten minutes, a small van came up behind us with an unoccupied bench seat in the back! We motioned them to stop and were able to get a ride from them. The seat was only side enough for three, so Melissa laid down across the other three of us. It reminded me a bit of trips to 21 Choices back at Mudd... It wasn't the most comfortable drive, especially on a bumpy road, but we were grateful for it. After about fifteen minutes we reached the bottom and caught another share-jeep back into town.

In Darjeeling

Our team arrived in Darjeeling yesterday. I'm glad to be here, just getting away from Kolkata is enough to boost my spirits. Since Darjeeling is way up in the mountains, we couldn't take a train all of the way here. We hired a jeep to drive us from the train station to our hotel. The drive up the mountain was gorgeous, although a little unnerving when we had to pass other vehicles on a road that seemed almost too small just for us. At least once we had to back up to a wider part of the road to let others drive by. When we got into town, the driver stopped somewhere that wasn't at our hotel. He told us that the road our hotel is on is closed to traffic. This seems to be true of many roads in Darjeeling. They found a man to guide us to our hotel, then turned around and drove off. As we started to walk with all of our luggage, it started raining heavily. We hurried on, certain that our hotel couldn't be too much further away. After our guide stopped to ask for directions for a third time, we decided to try our luck using a map in a Lonely Planet guidebook. It turned out that we had been going in a sort of wrong direction, although our "guide" hadn't taken us too much off course. Eventually we did find our hotel and checked in. We hung our clothes to dry, putting on whatever seemed to be the driest. It wasn't the best way to start our trip, but I'm glad we're here. From now on I'm going to listen to my Mother's advice and take the time to pack in plastic bags when it is important for my clothes to be dry on arrival.

Done with Kolkata

Last night was my final night sleeping in Kolkata. This morning was my last time at Nabo Jibon. Tonight our team leaves for Darjeeling for a week long debriefing retreat. We will arrive back in Kolkata next Monday, and I will have part of the day in the city before catching my flight back to America.

I feel like there's a lot of potential for this retreat to really help me come out of this trip well. I need that pretty desperately right now. Ever since we came back from Sri Lanka I've felt like Kolkata has just been wearing me down more and more. Don't get me wrong, there have been good things, but everything seems like I go one step forward for every two steps I take back. This past week I've seen that a lot. I've been getting frustrated and angry a lot more. I've lot my patience with some of the kids at Nabo Jibon. A single interaction with a beggar left me fuming internally for two days. It wasn't that it was particularly different than other beggar interactions I've had, I just can't handle it anymore. I've closed off a lot with my team. I have to force myself a lot more to interact with them. Things that I was once passionate about I hardly care about anymore. Multiple times I've wondered to myself what the point of me coming here was, or at least the point of anything after returning to Kolkata from Sri Lanka. I think about going back home and just trying to forget that this place even exists. This isn't the way I want to be ending my stay in India. I want to get some good processing of stuff before I return. I know that I've gotten roped up in a bunch of lies and that I'm blind to the truths that I desperately need. Please, please, please be praying for me. I know God can do a lot for my heart in a week and I need it so desperately.

New Team Members

Our team has gained a few members recently. Actually the new members have probably been around for a while, but we only recently found out. Their names are Mobo, Jimbo, and Flobo. They are an amoeba, giardia, and worm respectively and are living inside three of the people on my team. They are all taking medications, but the combination of the parasites themselves, and the medication can really wipe them out. Please be praying for fast and complete recoveries for the human members of our team.

Daya Don

Today Todd and I skipped out on Nabo Jibon to visit Daya Don, the Missionaries of Charity home that Rachel and Kristen have been serving in during our time in Kolkata. The home is for young handicapped kids. The kids are generally younger than the boys at Nabo Jibon, although there is some overlap. Daya Don also contains a mixture of boys and girls. The home is run by the Missionaries of Charity sisters and resides in a building in the heart of Kolkata.

Although it was nice to see the place that they have been serving, today wasn't a normal day. Instead of having an unstructured morning to just play with the kids, there was an Indian worship group that came in and sang Bengali Christian songs for them. They also gave a small sermon that must have been intended for the volunteers. Once they had left, we had a little unstructured time to play with the kids before lunch. Kristen and Rachel told us a bit about different ones. Soon it was time for lunch, after which we changed them (if needed) and put them to bed. That was the extent of our morning at Daya Don. Although it was a nice experience, I'm glad that Todd and I have been going to Nabo Jibon. I feel like it is a much better environment for me.

So That's Where it Comes From...

[Warning: The following post may be a little more descriptive than some of you will appreciate.]

Yesterday I was with someone when they bought chicken to cook for dinner. This was my first experience buying uncooked chicken meat in India. Now if I remember correctly, in America we grow chicken inside of styrofoam trays with plastic wrap on the top. In India, they grow chickens into these funny looking birds that are alive and flapping about inside a little enclosure. It seems like a funny system to me, but perhaps those styrofoam trays are hard to grow in this climate, so growing chickens in bird form works better for them. Who knows?

Anyway, my companion told the chicken salesman the weight of chicken he wanted, and the seller found a chicken of approximately that weight. The chicken was flapping around like crazy, but the seller held it tight with only one arm. Using his other arm he used a knife to slice halfway through the chicken's neck. He then dropped the chicken in a large bin, placed a board over it. We listened to the chicken flop around in there for about five minutes. My companion explained to me that this was to let the blood drain out of the body. Eventually the noises stopped, and the salesman pulled a red, lifeless chicken out of the bin. He finished cutting the head off, and then chopped off both feet. I then watched as he pulled the feathers and skin off of the chicken as if they were merely a wrapper. He sliced the body up, put the pieces in a bag, and handed us the bag. A few hours later we were eating a wonderful chicken dinner.

They may have a different system for it here in India, but the chicken still tastes pretty good. You just need to learn to get over seeing it butchered in front of you.