Challenges

Before I came here, I was told that living and working in Kolkata would be a challenge. Well, it has but not in the way I expected. Things that shouldn’t pose any difficulty to me are causing me a lot of frustration lately. Things like my phone for example. Seeing as I started a rant about my phone last week, I might as well continue. I hate phones. I hate phones that don’t work even more. What could be worse than a phone that doesn’t work? How about a phone that half works? My phone can make and receive phone calls. It gets text messages but can’t read them because the screen has stopped working. People are actually starting to feel sorry for me. Perhaps this is a good thing. It’ll teach me not to carry my phone around when washing paintbrushes after a hard day’s work. Yes, I have come to India to paint. As another volunteer said, “I do what I’m told.” One of the projects needed a good cleaning and a lick of paint. The chicken coop also needed to be moved out of the playground. It sounded simple in theory. Naturally, it wasn’t. Before knocking the chicken coop, we had to build a new one or else the poultry would be eaten by the “white cats.” We knocked the old hen house with a combination of hammers and logs. Then it started to rain and the ducks came racing from their pond into what they thought was the shelter of their house. But they got drenched and so did we, as we had to finish the new coop before nightfall. A little thing like rain wasn’t going to stop us despite the stares from the locals. Once we completed the hen’s new home, we began painting the living quarters. We used a type of paint called “distemper,” which had to be diluted. On the first attempt, it achieved the consistency of water. One of the rooms was tricky because it had a high ceiling and the rollers couldn’t reach the edges. So I found myself inching up a wobbly ladder, which was balanced precariously on an uneven floor. I guess all those summers spent trimming hedges on a stepladder were well spent. I got it done without incurring any grievous bodily harm. We were just about to head home when we saw flashes in the sky and heard the distant rumble of thunder. We decided to stay put under the gazebo rather than get stuck in traffic. We were there well over an hour and the heavy rain and lightning showed no signs of abating. So Gora came and picked us up. I was hoping he’d show up in one of the jeeps but instead, he arrived in a tiny Tata Indica. There were five of us crammed into the back of a car designed to seat three people comfortably. I had the door handle sticking into the back of my leg. Still, it was better than getting soaked to the skin. I went to bed before nine and passed out until around 7am. I needed it. Now if I could only clean the clothes I shouldn’t have worn painting…