Finally...Jamshedpur, India

Now that's some serious traveling! It took over two days, but I finally made it to Jamshedpur, India, through a configuration of car rides, jet flights, trains, and buses. We did have a little free time in the city this morning, and had a chance to experience some of the sights (and smells) of old Kolkata. I took a taxi into the city and roamed around. The city is such a juxtaposition of the old and the new, e.g., the Colonialization influence, and the age-old Indian ways. Here are some photos representing this.

Of course, the poverty is staggering. Some of my colleagues from New Delhi tell me this is one of the poorer parts of the country. The orphans are ubiquitous. Here are a couple who were begging at my taxi. The only English word they knew was, "Chocolate," which they kept saying and then brought their hands to their mouths.

Although all of this traveling is tedious and tiring, we start our real work tomorrow. We will begin screening our potential patients. We have a cornucopia of volunteers from ten different countries. It will be great to begin working together. Things will be a little challenging, as we were unable to get our supplies through customs, so we will need to start sorting through the leftovers from the recent "mega mission" held in Guwahati, India. It's going to be an interesting day, to say the least!