May 3, 2012 Kolkata, Bagdogra, Pannighatta

Walking into Pannighatta to register as foreign visitors

Natalie on the way into the village of Panighatta

Today was moving day. We had planned to leave Baptist mission at 9:30, but the bus came ahead of schedule so we left in a hurry hoping we hadn’t left anything behind. Going through security at Kolkata Airport was an experience. There were separate lines for “Gents” and “Ladies” and  every single person was lead behind a curtain and padded down. To everyone’s delights, especially there was a Cafe Coffee Day at the airport and we indulged in cappuccinos, tea,  and samosa.

After a short and comfortable plane ride, we were met at Bagdogra by Sister Sabrina. We stopped at a store in Bagdogra to stock up on snacks and then drove north towards Panighatta. We passed through an army base; teak forests with felled trees ready to be taken away for milling; and jungle where elephants, tigers and leopards live. We arrived at the school that was to be our home for the next week. The Principal, Sr. Salina greeted us and showed us to our rooms. The girls and Jane had their room on the first floor, while Jan and Les were on the third floor. Les’ room was an unused classroom, complete with a few desks on the side, chalkboard and a camp bed. The room overlooks part of a small cluster of homes. There are pigs and goats roaming the yard beneath the window. Looking to north from the building are the foothills of the Himalayas. They rise quite suddenly from the plain. With tea plantations in the foreground and mountains in the background, the setting is idyllic.

After a late lunch, Sr. Salina gave us our teaching assignments for the next week. We were confused and apprehensive. We knew what grade we were teaching, but not the subjects. We were also told that some students have up to 54 students in each class. After the meeting some children walked with us into the village. We were to register with an official who had to keep track of names of foreign locals who were living in this border area (we are close to borders with Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan and China). The village has a few small shops. There were both Hindu and Buddhist shrines and symbols in places.

When we returned, Sr. Sabrina led us in a traditional welcoming ceremony that included elements of Buddhism and Hinduism. Sr. Loyola first placed a tiki sign on our foreheads. Sr. Sabrina presented us with a yellow scarf called a kadah. She led us in a guided meditation. From there Sr. Jane led a debrief of our Kolkata experiences. We named our experiences, our feelings and our learnings. Dinner followed. Sr. Sabrina oriented us to the region, telling us about the tea plantation and the work of the school. We were also told that elephants and leopards often come into the school yard at night. As the meeting was ending, the power went out and stayed off all night. We were reduced to groping through our luggage by flashlight to set ourselves up for sleep. We later learned that the thunderstorm had caused a tree to fall down taking a power line with it.