Morgan Wissel:
After 40 hours of traveling, the group was more than excited to leave the airport and hit the ground running in Kolkata. James, our Carpe Diem leader who has been here for several months, greeted us at the airport. He knew we were ready to explore, so we explored the streets near our hotel (PS: for all the parents, our hotel is very safe, with 24-hour security, and full of other Mother’s House volunteers.) Our first hours in Kolkata were full of eye opening encounters. The smells, the street vendors, the beggers, the rikshaws. It was exactly how we had imagined (or at least how I had imagined it). We ate some street food, drank some chai in little clay cups, and visited markets.
It feels like we are the only tourists here right now. And we probably are (just kidding). May is not high-tourist season for Kolkata because of the intense heat and humidity. We stick out, and when we walk down the street, people stare. When we stop, locals love to begin conversations with us, asking us where we are from (they normally guess California or New York), why we are here, and if we like the city. A few of us have actually made a few friends that we talk to each day. The people here are so warm, so happy, and so welcoming. Personally, this warmness and hospitality is something I hope to bring home and share with visitors to our country.