March 18, 2010

3/18/2010
Who ever said this Calcutta excursion was going to be stressful couldn’t have been farther than the truth. I’m on vacation right now.
Today we slept in and then had a delicious breakfast at the hotel. We went to a small paining village afterward which was incredible. The entire village painted all over their walls and all of the houses were covered in paintings and color. Every man kept bringing me to their house and showing me their hand painted art which was all so detailed and beautiful. It was incredible to see the young children paint the paintings I was buying right in front of my eyes. It made me feel good that I was supporting not only the arts but their entire village. I would have bought from each family if I could afford it but sadly money doesn’t grow on trees as I am quickly finding out.
South India is completely different than North India in every possible way. South India is exactly what I imagined India to be before I came here… jungles, rural villages, monkeys… everything here moves at a much slower pace. It is almost like a time warp. Sometimes I forget not everyone lives in a city and has access to electricity or let alone running water. Visiting South India has definitely been a humbling experience so far.