Day 1 1/2

We just got to Kolkata yesterday. It's been quite the adventure already. We spent two days sleeping in airports and planes. There are already many funny stories from the trip that I long to share but am afraid would be impossible to explain to anyone who wasn't there.

And the adventure has just barely begun. India is fascinating. It was on from the minute we stepped out of the airport. We were bombarded with new sites, sounds and smells. We met Venessa, who arrived the day before us, and got a taxi while all these people were clamoring for our attention. We packed into two stuffy cabs and waited for what seemed like twenty minutes while the drivers argued with us in broken English in regards to a discrepancy in the price added for luggage space.

Then we tore throughthe lawless streets, honking and dodging traffic and pedestrians by a hairs breath.

I tried to look around in the market but found it almost impossible. Everywhere you look someone is calling for you to buy from them. I was considering the psychology of this high-pressure approach to sales and it's effectiveness. I know that at least for me, I tend to be drawn to the shops where the people are not hassling me. So from that I concluded that they are faulty in their approach. But as I thought some more, I realized that I when I go out to look I do not usually plan on buying something, at least not in the moment. And when I do see something I like, I usually decide to come back, at which point I usually forget.

So the high-pressure method really is effective. It weeds out those who are uninterested and speeds up the sale for those who are. However, I do believe that there are those customers, like me, who require room and space to grow; ones that simply cannot be reeled in with impatience.

Another thing I have noticed is that the people from India have this very interesting head-swivel thing going on when they talk. They maintain eye contact with you while tilting their head slightly from side to side as if it were not connected to the body. It's very intriguing, and I've been practicing it myself.

I believe we start with the Sisters of Charity today or tommorrow. I hearthat we first interview with one of the sisters, who then directs us to the house where we will best fit in.

Thanks for all your continued prayers.