Pictures Not to be Forgotten

I was ordering some prints and noticed I had a few more pictures I wanted to add to the blog. This will be my last official post for awhile I suppose : (


Kolkata is the last place in the world where men still pull rickshaws by hand. Talk about back breaking work. And I think I could walk faster anyway so I don't know why people use these.




This is the charming loft of our hotel suite in Kolkata.


This is the lobby where they served us breakfast of baked beans and toast, fresh papaya, omelete and toast with orange marmelade everyday. And only $45/ night!


It was absolutely wonderful.


A couple that knew some of my mom's friends (The Fairbanks) in Anchorage.


This was a sweet little branch in New Delhi. It had been about six weeks since we had attended church service.


Iqram had insisted we take three coconuts home to America to share with out family. (We told him how much it costs here to buy a coconut in the store and he was shocked) So fortunately customs let us through all the way with three big coconuts in our bag and we enjoyed them in Utah!!

Reflection

Well we are home at last in the great state of Utah. I have to admit at times (usually once a day) I come back to our blog and reminisce or look at pictures. I think we both miss the people and the place we called home for one short month. On the contrary I think back to a question a Bengali man asked me once in conversation: "Is America like heaven?" and being back here I feel like I would honestly tell him yes, that it probably is close to how one imagines heaven in the third world. I came to this conclusion simply through observation. I can't help but notice that the roads are spotless here. The mountains are awesome. The air smells fresh and clean. The people are generally genuine and wealthy. The grocery stores are stocked with all kinds of conceivable cravings. School is ... well school. I love it. I don't understand however why I am so blessed when others are denied my same opportunities. I makes me wonder if we were in the same desperate situations most of the people we saw were in, if we would treat our opportunities differently and take more full advantage of them?

Kolkata/Calcutta

So we made it out of Bangladesh!! And we got to spend a few days in Kolkata before we headed to New Delhi. We had such a great time there and it felt so nice to stay in a hotel with a warm shower and clean sheets. We also got to eat Pizza Hut and see G.I. Joe. This pretty much felt like a vacation to us!!


One day we went to Mother House where Mother Teresa lived, worked, and died. This is her tomb.


"Love one another as I have loved you." I can't think of a more perfect quote for her headstone.


"We have been created for greater things, to love and be loved!"


This is Queen Victoria Memorial Park in Kolkata. It was built for Queen Victoria of England and houses a ton of cool artifacts and paintings.




This was a good restaurant we went to! We had Burmese food...

Ichi's Family

We became adopted by a certain family in the short month we were in Bangladesh. Zacharia knew them previously and was helping them. When we first met them they took us in to their modest home and immediately became our friends. Thereafter, I think we would usually get daily visits : )


The family's income comes from selling tea and fried foods in a shack. The father is paralyzed so the whole family has to pitch in. This is the mother and one of the daughters. They would always give us free food when we walked by. It was really hard to refuse.


Lots of people gather at their two bedroom home. There is always lots of laughter and fun and no one seems to be phased by the dirt floors, leaky tin roof, and animals wandering about.


The second room is where the animals are kept - mainly goats, cats, and chickens. There is only one bed that everyone piles onto.


The girls loved to comb my hair and put their jewelry on me.




Eventually, they got me into a sari also.


They kept saying "sooo beautiful!" haha


Meet "big smile". Jason first started calling him this and it stuck (can you see why??). Now everyone calls him this and when we come around he says it. There are a few phrases the kids like to say. Some others are "sit down" and "stand up" and "how are you"


They love to feed us of course...


S P I C Y


This is the star, Ichi. She put on a dance performance one night for us and she is really an amazing dancer.


This was on the last night there. We had fun taking pictures together.







The girls had such a good time dancing with Jason always. We will miss this family alot.