India in my pocket

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I did wake up. It’s an other day. I’m so tired and my face so disintegrated. I wish I got an other one in my backpack. I wanted to wake up and feel only happiness and excitement like last year when I arrived to Kolkata. Instead I had fewer and runny nose. I was just sitting in that classroom, wondering what happened. A year is gone since I left India. Now I’m back but I don’t really feel it. What I only feel is the pain in my body. And incredible tiredness. So let me rest on that bench and let’s get back now to the January 2011. to Kolkata. My Lovely friend Beverley waiting at the gate of the airport.. air..port.. another continent. I saw it on the map. It was much smaller. It was as small as my hand. And now I’m on that map.

Arrived on the 7th of January, after spending and sacrificing 5 months from my life to earn lots of money in a short period of time, very intensely, by doing a slave job in the United Kingdom. The country's name explains the situation easily. Life doesn't change just because facebook is everything for the young population. ...Anyway.. I Arrived to Kolkata on the 7th after flying through the night and a change in Dubai airport.

Morning in kolkata starts at 4am because the Muslims start their prayers. You can hear the sound all over in the city.. My journey starts here with my friend, Beverley,, who came from Canada, where she is studying to become a medical doctor. She grew up in Papua New Guinea. She is a sweet girl. blond and white, calm an peaceful. We met in Cork whilst doing voluneering work in L'Arche. 3 years prior to today...Amazing that now she is picking me up in crazy Kolkata.

We went by taxi to Mother House, which is kind of the heart of Kolkata, through the meaning of Mother Theresa. Close to her convent I got a bed in a big dormatory. My friend Beverley stayed in a flat near by. She is researching for her studies about the work of Mother Theresa. Writing an essay. Smart one.

So to be honest, the nice feeling to meet her and the little bit of shock of the taxi drivers, traffic jams and rule-less driving made my eyes go from one place to the other. I could not focus my attention solely on Beverley to have a nice conversation. I heard her talking to me with her cute, calm voice but just said Őh my God” and looked at the dirty busy streets, poor people and smelled the huge smog whilst listening to the horns of the cars and buses and all the vehicles ... Rickshaws.... even bicycle rickshaws moved by the legs of a man.

Honestly I expected what I saw quite well, because I knew it would come. Not exactly, because how can people imagine heaven or hell before being there?...Some ideas we get. In Kolkata I stayed until the 12th of January. Already a few months before my journey, I contacted a guy from Puri, to couchsurf at his place. It turned out we started to communicate every day through Skype. While I was working in the UK I was lonely, and it helped switch my mind to something positive, like a red sky, sun, and peace.... He picked me up from Puri. After spending just few days in Kolkata I really felt ready to leave the city. When one goes for a walk, it's more like trying to survive from A to B. You must not hastle. You must know when you step out from your door what your reason is to do so, otherwise you will be lost. Many people come to you to get some information or money, or infact anything. So if your head is up, you in turn walk straight and fast . Brave people will look at you, but at least they let you do your own thing. After a few days aimlessly wandering the streets, I knew where and why I'm going somewhere. I knew the place for the travellers to hang out and shop locations, and got to know the foods. I knew where Beverley's place was, and the Mother House where I felt safe while the Sisters did their evening prayer. Sometimes I just stayed in the garden of my hostel. It was huge, sunny with some palm trees and not as noisy as the street, or at least I didn't see the life of Kolkata.. I slept so much, that I got a guilty feeling about it, but than people told me that this is normal because of the intesity of the city. One hour walk followed by a 2 hour sleep. I slept nearly all of the time. I didn't even eat, because I was afraid of some stomach problem. Of course I got one, quite a bad one, ironically the day when I had to find the train to Puri. On the 12^th, all day I was on the loo, my friend Beverley had a high temperature, so she was in her place sleeping a lot. I had a fear inside, because all of the seven girls in my room had caught headlice from the children. At 8pm, I got to the train station and headed to Puri, in Orissa through the night.. First time travelling on a train in India... Loved it.

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Photos

India 2011
to reach a childhood dream

India 2011
to reach the childhood dream

India 2011
train:)