Half Kilo of Yogurt

My first five days in India have been full on - the positive way of saying 'overwhelming', I believe.

I can't yet read Bengali and my language abilities are limited to 'My name is ___', 'What is your name?', and, most importantly, 'half kilo of yogurt' (breakfast needs rank very highly for me). I have met dozens of people that I will be working with. For most of them I don't yet have a hook in my brain upon which to hang their names. A few names I'll remember, I hope, because I could hang them on a hook such as 'Ah, that means ___ in Swahili/Hebrew'.

I'm still trying to figure out how to be sensitive when taking pictures around the city, but I have managed to snap a few photos.

This fusion restaurant (that doesn't include any East African cuisine) felt like it was welcoming me to my new environment and saying, 'No Worries!'

I'm in the middle of a very large city, with few trees in sight, but I think I'll learn to see a different type of beauty. Like the green accents along the wall down this alley!

I'll also appreciate the trees that I do find, and that they aren't chopped down just because they are obstructing the sidewalk.

Apparently Kolkata got its first Starbucks recently - I guess in a city of over 4 million and with only one Starbucks, this is what the line can look like!

I have also been impressed with some of the wiring here. There might be as many wires in these next two pictures as in all of Musoma town (where I lived in Tanzania).

I'm coming up with a list of ways that life in Tanzania/East Africa has helped me thus far in acclimating to my new environment. Maybe I'll share that list next week!