Goodbye Kolkata!

As I was walking down the street one morning, I saw a woman approaching me. I nearly jumped when I saw she had a snake in her hand. I ducked under a gap in the fence running between the footpath and the road. I walked on with my heart thumping in my chest. Kolkata is scary. I try not to be too negative when I talk about living here. There are plenty others who have already written about the horrors of living here. I don’t feel the need to add to it. Yes the pollution is terrible and I may have lifelong respiratory problems to look forward to. But I’m still delighted I came here. I think of the alternative, sitting at home, freezing to death while looking for work and listening to everyone else whining. I’ll take the black lung over that any day. As I was walking to one of the projects another morning, I met some of the children I teach on the pavement. They took my hand and walked with me to the coaching center. Normally, I manage to remain pretty inconspicuous when I’m walking through the city. But suddenly everyone was looking at me. One man even uttered my perennial favourite, “where are you going?” I laughed and replied “Tollygunge!” The other night, a truck wobbled slightly on a bump and deposited a large quantity of dusty bricks ten metres from where I was walking. I raised my eyebrows slightly and continued on. I can add almost being buried under a pile of bricks to my ever-expanding list of near-death experiences. Most of which have occurred while riding in an auto-rickshaw. I’m going to miss autos. I get a peculiar thrill out of them. Mary swears off them ever since she thumped one for driving like a lunatic. When I asked her how hard she hit him, she replied, “not hard enough!” I need things to laugh about. It keeps me sane. The last few months have flown by so quickly. Some of my highlights include being doused in purple powder after being dragged into a crowd of dancers. Last week, I met Declan O’Rourke, his girlfriend Eimear and his brother/manager Edward. After feeling slightly star struck, I got on great with him and he’s managed to convince me to go to Australia. So many places to see, so little money. I’ve my bags packed and I’m wondering if I’ll be able to survive out of a thirty-three litre rucksack for the next two months. I fear I’ll forget something important. I’m afraid I’ll lose something I can’t do without, like my camera. Just like before, I’m apprehensive about leaving here. I know that once I get moving it won’t be so bad. I’m going to miss some aspects of the city. People are so friendly and helpful even if they have no idea how to give directions to where I want to go. I’ll miss the craic I had with my fellow volunteers. I’ll miss the smiles I get from the children and their inimitable cries of “Uncle!” I will be back here in April to fly home but for now, I say goodbye to my daily life in Kolkata.