my awkwardly beautiful place....

as most of you know sarah and i are in india. we flew into delhi and caught up on some rest and then 2 days later boarded a plane for kolkata or better known by the west as calcutta. delhi was not for me. although kolkata is my new found love.

tonight, we head off to varanasi (holy city on the ganges) for a few days by sleeper train. this should be a an experience. although. we've managed incredibly well thus far without hot water, with drivers more interested in watching us from their rear view mirror then doing their job, the always lingering smog in delhi and being female in a male dominated country.

the poverty is numbing at times. however, we push on and help where we see fit. india has a way of cracking egos, doubts and needs.

but, it does feel refreshing to be without normal routines and schedules of home. however, i do miss the smell of clean clothes and sheets. i also miss chris. hearing his voice yesterday helped to relive some of the home sick feelings that were creeping in. sarah is a delight to have around for many reasons like, her love of researching the historic sites, cities and wildlife. she is also very organized and i am finding myself trying to keep up. my bag is now way more organized then before i left on this journey.

yesterday, we found ourselves enjoying the food and sites of kolkata. we even manged to buy some clothes to replace smelly articles in our bags, however towards the end of our walk we found we were losing our voices from constantly telling merchants, "no thank you", "please stop following us" and "no we do not want to go to your store". but all in all the city of kolkata is close to the name it calls its self "the city of joy". i know i have experienced joy here. and plan to return again with chris.

some pictures at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sstorklipglossfool/