Hello parents, family, friends, and anyone reading this!
The next part of our adventure was a wonderfully cramped train ride to Bodhgaya. We had ten seats reserved for ten people…and all of our bags. We ended up getting six seats for all of us and our things, but only after a dispute with other people about who was supposed to be where. Thank goodness the train ride was only a few hours.
Arriving to our guest house in Bodhgaya, everything was very clean and the first thing everyone was interested in was our running water situation. Not only did it work, it was hot, and while showering everyone saw the dirt caked on from Varanasi flowing down the drain.
For the next two days we made Be Happy Cafe our home. The owner/cook was Canadian, so there was never any confusion on what anyone wanted and it was always delicious.
On Wednesday the 5th, we began Erin’s birthday celebration by waking up extra early for aĀ Buddhist meditation at the Root Institute – one of the most beautiful places we’ve ever been. After meditation, the monk who lead us also indulged us in a detailed talk on Buddhism – something thatĀ fascinatedĀ all of us.Ā That night we went to Be Happy for dinner and ate home made carrot cake for Erin’s birthday cake.
The next day, after meditation and walking around, we all ended up at our favorite cafe where we saw a group of four, three ofĀ whichĀ had shaved heads (two being girls) which inspired 4/7 girls (counting Simone) in our group to shave their heads. Simone took full charge in this photo documentation.
That night there was a huge festival – among the nine day holiday celebrating the gods – where three massive paperĀ macheĀ Ā structures with explosives inside. Each were set on fire, one at a time, with loud music blasting and hundreds of people watching.
After dinner we went back to our guest house where four of us needed to use the bathroom. The lady who owned the guest house was mad at us for storing all of our things at her place, so she didn’t let us use her bathroom and we ended up going in a field across the road where I was lucky enough to step in cow poop that covered my feet and went past my ankles. Cobie being the sweetheart that she is carried me back from our bathroom run to wash off my feet.
About ten minutes later, we were all picked up and crammed into a jeep to be taken to the train. Arriving at the train station, Cobie got majorly sick and projectileĀ vomited across the tracks.
Our train was supposed to be at 10:20PM, but it was late. We got on a train at 10:40 to Calcutta, and went to our seats. The girls were supposed to be in an all girls section (minus one, being me, who was stuck with the boys). Getting on the train of course there were people sitting in our seats. When we showed them our tickets, we found out we were on the wrong train to Calcutta. A woman named Sonia, traveling with her two children, nephew, and mom, moved their things and made us sit down to explain to us what we needed to do. They all stayed up till two in the morning to make sure we didn’t miss the stop were we’d “get off and transfer to our original train.” Ben stayed up all night to watch our bags between two train cars just to make sure no one stole anything!
Getting off the train, all of us were more than half asleep which caused Mariah to Superman fly off the partially moving train. Jake and I were on another end of the platform where we thought this was downright hilarious until we realized she actually hurt herself and bruised her knees and newly shaved head. Somewhere along the way, Cobie found out she actually pooped her pants on the train. She was literally feeling so sick she didn’t realize it…
When everyone was off the train, Ole and Simone went to find out what we were supposed to do and ended up getting two awesome security people to escort us to our train, ride to wherever we ended up getting off with us, and told the conductor as well as everyone else questioning our presence, that it was okay for us to be there which allowed everyone to sleep for a couple of hours AND be woken up at the correct stop. When we arrived to the next stop, the two brought us to where we could find out our train time and made sure we’d get to our final destination.
The third and finalĀ trainĀ we took Ā get to Calcutta was a mess. Instead of us being in our usual sleeper car, we were in a seated section with way too many people. Ole also unfortunately gotĀ pick pocketedĀ here by someone who was watching us the whole time…
Arriving several hours later to Calcutta, we went to our really comfortable hotel that had air conditioning in the common room. A few hours later, everyone exhausted, we set off to ourĀ orientationĀ at the Mother Theresa House. There we each picked where we’d be volunteering the next week. Simone, Mariah, Bri R, myself, and eventually Cobie and Kat chose to work with mentally and/or physicallyĀ handicappedĀ women who’s families abandoned them for various reasons. Ole, Ben, and Jake were set in one of the two or three options for men to work. Erin chose to work in a far away location with mentally handicapped children who can hardly communicate.
While exploring the city, we’ve encountered tons ofĀ BangladeshiĀ andĀ Bengali places to eat. Jake and Ben found new friends to play cricket with. Overall everyone has found tons of streets to roam around with both Indian and Americanized Indian shops.
With our adventure not even close to an end, there will be more soon.
Love, Briana