A motley experience

Indy Car.

(Beginner course)

I discovered the other day as I was weaving in and out of traffic, avoid certain death, dog poop and umbrellas, that I, YES I, Edward, am the Professional Driver amongst walkers. Give me any course and I'll beat ya to the end while reading a book, listening to music or eating a pomegranate (the last one is the hardest I think). It's not that I trained to be so good at walking, its just the hazzards of living and working in Kolkata that develop those skills... Indians are good at it, but their constant mentality of "Asti! Asti!" (translated as either "Slower! slower! or "Indian Pace! Indian Pace!") makes them barely better than amateurs. Put an American who walks with purpose into this country and you get the cream of the crop. I should start doing international competitions.

(Advanced course)

Varanasi.

India is scary. Tourists die all the time here (apparently India has one of the highest tourist death rates in the world). I was sitting with a woman the other day who had a friend watch the death of a tourist in Varanasi (a popular religious site in India that tourists go to). The person's throat was slit by a group of Indians. Have questions? So does everyone.

When in Rome...

(Count shoulders)

The other day I had to buy a ticket down the road a bit, and a friend of mine (who owns/runs the internet cafe, and is a travel agent "like everybody else in India") was going next door to the Tourist Rail office (where I could get cheaper tickets than through him). So he invited me to come along... I did, it was a new experience, because: 1. I've never been on a motorcycle in my adult life. 2. I've never been on a motorcycle in INDIA ever. It was really nice of him... On the way back we added another guy who had to near where we were going, so there were three of us on the back... CRaZy.

(the back of my helmet)

Bread.

So I've got bread on a wound of mine. The wound started out as a bug bite, but now seems to be a bug bite complicated by a heat boil... An EMT that has worked here in Kolkta for a long time (I think 19 years) suggested that bread would draw out the infection... apparently its a technique used with success at Kalighat, and also historically (called a poultice). I feel a bit odd wearing a bandage with bread in it, but I'll try anything once.


House Visit.

Yesterday, I was invited to go with Sr. K to her Sunday school class. It was really far from the Mother house and took a while to get to (and from), but I'm really happy I went. It's been a long time since I've done anything with kids, and once I started I was able to get back into it really easily. I like drawing people into learning. After the Sunday School class, we went on a house visit. Where I answered a young Indian's questions about America, and he answered mine about India. (Cable is 180rps a month here... thats 107 channels including HBO, Disney, etc. for $4 or in my Daily Indian experience terms, thats roughly two meals.)

I didn't bring a camera, so I was jotting notes about the house... four people living in a room that 1/3 of the floor space was constituted by a bed almost waist high (which I discovered has storage space under it). It like most other apartments/houses had bars on the windows, not for security, but out of price and practicality. Glass is a luxury and only for those who can also afford air conditioning. And when I say luxury, I mean that I put it on the same rarity as owning a Mansion in the US.

Courage.

Yesterday, was also my last visit with my spiritual director. I can't believe how fruitful it's been to have one. (I've tried others in the past, and never felt right with them, so it never went past the first one or two sessions.) But it seems a bit odd, everything I do is almost the last time or is the last time. I wish I could keep my spiritual director, but the flights would be expensive, and I also know that God has a great plan in store for my near future... wherever that might be and whatever I might do. He encouraged me to be courageous (a bit redundant huh? Well, I don't claim to be smart.) To do those hard acts of charity, to do those things that I don't want to do because they'd make me to be nice to people I don't want to be nice to. To strive to be heroic in doing good, not because I'll gain from it, but because I just might lose.


This is something that's always sat upon my soul, but these past few months has really become more and more obvious as the only path to true virtue... and boy does it suck. But I take refuge in knowing that virtue gets easier the more you practice it.