Solar Eclipse

Yesterday was a unique and event-filled day! I woke up at 4:30 AM, took a much-needed shower, and scampered to the roof of my hotel to catch a view of the solar eclipse that I've been hearing rumors of ever since I got here. I guess this sort of eclipse only happens once every 100 years or so. Needless to say, I chose the right time to come to India! The Kolkata skies are always filled with clouds that seem to be on some sort of mission as they race accross the sky. Consequently, the eclipse was often shrouded by these clouds, but I definately still caught a glimpse of the sun looking more like a sliver of the moon than the golden ball I'm used to seeing.
At 6:30 AM, we gathered all of our duffle bags full of supplies to be donated and hired two rickshaws to carry them to Mother House which is where all of the volunteers meet for breakfast and announcements before heading off for work. The sisters there were so thankful for all of the supplies we brought and I have no doubt that they will be put to good use. Breakfast is provided for all volunteers every morning and it consists of bread, bananas, and chai. After breakfast, a prayer is said and we sing a song together. Then, anouncements are made and the doors are opened and we all leave in mass exodus to catch our respective buses.
I love working at Shanti Dan more and more each time I go. One woman I work with always wants to borrow my pen and paper and every day she writes a page in Bengali for me. I go through a bottle of nail polish every day because there are so many women who want me to paint their nails. Every day the music is turned on around 10:00 am and I often spend some time dancing with the women. The women love to dance and they also like to laugh at me when I join in! One of the women came up to me after dancing and said, "Sister, you are very sweet. I will miss you when you are gone!" I knew the feeling was mutual...working with these women has truly been eye-opening and inspiring.
After our shift was over, I went out for Chinese food with Clara & Theresa (both from Spain) and Allison (from L.A.). Allison is staying in the home of an Indian woman who rents out a room in her home to volunteers. She offered to take us shopping for suits (a typical outfit worn by Indian women here) because she knows how the process works and what things should REALLY cost!!! When we got to her home, she made us chai and cookies and was so excited to go shopping with us. She even put on her jeans for the occasion which she was really excited about! We then went to pick up her friend who is apparently an expert on saris. She showed us her home which was no bigger than a closet (i'm not exagerating)! She sleeps here with her two daughters and son. Her husband is deceased, but when he was alive he used to sleep on a cot just outside the door. The woman who was taking us shopping kept saying, "My friend is very poor, but she has a big heart!" She also whispered... "she's a Christian too." I had noticed that she had a picture of Jesus up on the wall. In the State of West Bengal, this is significant because Christians compose less than 2% of the population. We then spent the next couple of hours shopping which was quite the process of going from shop to shop, examining materials, bartering, and learning when to walk away!
Upon returning to my hotel, I was needing some rest and a bite to eat. So, my friend Grace and I escaped to the Spanish cafe where I had a salad, fresh mango juice, and half of a cinnamon roll. The electricity went out, but everyone continued to hang out in the dark like it was completely normal. One of the girls from my team is leaving early because she has to be back for her brother's wedding, so we went to the bakery to get a going away cake. But, when we got there, there were a bunch of men outside with communist flags who were chanting and seemingly blocking the entrance. Apparently, the bakery owner had fired six workers and the protesters were demanding that he rehire them. But, our friend Brian snuck in anyway and escaped safely with a chocolate cake in tow! We devoured the cake on the roof of our hotel (which honestly was really not that great!). It was still a fun celebration though! If you can't tell by my writing, I'm very tired at the moment, so I think I'm going to go get some rest! Until later....