Travels part dui

When we were leaving the hotel in Delhi to go exploring, my parents and I hailed an autorickshaw. The driver saw the Obama pin I was wearing and got really excited. He said he'd take us anywhere for a reduced rate. We got in and as he was driving us, we started talking. We ended up hiring him to take us around for the whole day. Because it was sunday, lots of things, espeicially the shopping areas, were closed. He drove us by all the government buildings and then took us to the Gandhi Smriti (memorial). It's at the house where Ghandi lived the last days of his life, and where he was killed. The house has been converted to a multimedia interactive museum. The exhibits were some of the koolest I have ever seen. They were all so creative. I really wish we could have spent more time there. We spent most of the rest of the day going to different shops, but that night we went to a dance performace. It wasn't very good though. Overall, I liked Delhi quite a bit. I'd like to go back again when its a little warmer and when I have more time to spend there.

The next morning, we caught a plane to Kolkata. I took my parents to Park Street and New Market. My dad and I went to the Kali temple, which is supposedly Kolkata's holiest spot. Its hundreds of years old and possibly where Kolkata got its name. The temple itsself was really beautiful. It was painted silver and rainbow colors. A guide showed us through. We went through all the motions of a regular Hindu devotee.

The next day, we went to the Sunderban Tiger Reserve. The Sunderbans are the delta region for the Hooghly, the Ganges, and many other rivers. Its lots of very small islands that shrink and grow with the tide. It is one of the few places in the world where tigers remain in the wild. In fact, the Royal Bengal Tigers of the Sunderbans are the only man-eating tigers in the world. They are a threat to the local people of the Sunderbans, but they are being protected because they had been about to go extinct. Anyway, while at the camp, we rode boats through the waterways and looked at wildlife. It was a really nice change of pace from all the hustle and bustle of the previous days. One day we took a walk through a small village. There was no electricity or running water as far as I know. The people were of course very friendly. I spoke a little bit of Bengali to some of them. There was a Bengali family who lives in Canada that was on the trip with us and they translated for us too. They have a good understanding of Western culture, and obviously they have a good understanding of Bengali culture. Because of this, they told us lots of things about their culture that a Bengali who has never been to North America wouldn't think to tell us because they've never seen anything different. So it was really educational to be with them.
When we got back to Kolkata, I took my parents to Khardah and showed them around and introduced them to my students. Then I subjected them to the busy trains. We went to Howrah to see the Howrah Bridge and took a ferry to Babughat. From there we went to the VM.
My mom and I said or goodbyes to my dad that night, and we came back to Khardah as he flew home. It was a fun trip, but I'm happy to be back in one place again. I really did miss the students quite a bit.
We have two new volunteers here now; Aude from Switzerland and Imelda from Ireland/Australia. They're both really nice.
~m