Life Amidst the Mother House
Departures and Arrivals
First, I had no idea leaving the U.S. would be harder than arriving in India. The process of obtaining a visa was impressively inefficient, bloated in parts and understaffed in others, and overall an absurd display of organizational negligence. I spent three days at the Chelsea office, arriving before they opened and staying past sunset. I ate my meals there. I learned the names of the employees. I became friends-by-circumstances with many a traveler stranded in the same situation. Around 7 PM on Monday, when they located my passport among the 9000 poorly organized passports in their possession, I immediately started crying. I was leaving on Wednesday. There was nothing left to do but go.
Of course, arriving in India was its own meditation on the minor frustrations of foreign travel. My guesthouse forgot to send their driver to pick me up, which I only learned after about 300 Rs of international calls to my family in NYC. Immediately on arrival, I was greeted with apologies and a large water bottle (water here is not safe to drink) by the staff at the Baptist Missionary Society Guesthouse. I had slept quite a bit during nearly two days of joyfully surreal air travel, so I spent my first afternoon gathering groceries and attending the Friday volunteer orientation at the Missionaries of Charity.
Missionaries of Charity is an organization founded by Mother Teresa with charity endeavors around the world. Their website offers the single best resource I’ve found for my stay here, complete with where to eat, where to stay, and local tips and tricks for life in the City of Joy. Registration was simple and I was joined with volunteers from the US, Scotland, and Italy. Of the six houses run by the Sisters, I chose to work with Shishu Bhavan, the home for abandoned children. In the evening, my sleep was heavy and restful, filled with expectation and promise for the more than 9 weeks to come.
My travels thus far have been filled with uncommon friends and I believe this hospitality will continue to greet me here. All that is required from me is an openness to the openness of others.
