letters from south asia

Thursday, July 1, 2010

a flat, a monsoon, and other thoughts.

Some miscellaneous updates:

1) I finally have a flat! I've been staying on the couch (the tiny, kidney-bean-shaped couch) at another intern's flat for the past 2.5 weeks. But yesterday, another intern, Liz, arrived and we moved into our own place - and it's fantastic! My bedroom is...wait for it...PINK! Wall to wall, my dream room. I was meant for this country! And we have a cute balcony, a/c in the bedrooms, a hot water heater for the showers, and an unbelievable view from the roof!

2) I've definitely learned patience and flexibility here. For example, I STILL don't have internet access for my laptop. Once again, I've been told it will be set up within a week. And then, I'll have pictures of my flat, the monsoon flooding, videos of the commute, and FINALLY I'll be able to skype! I miss your faces!!

3) Speaking of monsoons, on Tuesday a storm let loose while I was in an auto (rickshaw with a motor) on the way home from work. Of course I didn't have an umbrella, and the streets were flooded past my ankles within 5 minutes. I doubt an umbrella even would have helped, really (please, just try to picture me trudging - wading - through a road that looks like a river, with rain coming down so hard it feels likeI'm in the shower, and shop owners laughing from their dry little enclaves). By the time I made it home, I was completely drenched, and I learned a Very Important Lesson: don't wear white kurtas during monsoon season.

4) Work: I LOVE MY JOB! I recently completed a memo on consular relations and the legal aspects of repatriation processes because...FIFTEEN girls are going home to their home country! These girls were trafficked across the border (tricked by promises of education opportunities) to work in brothels here. We rescued them 2 years ago, and they've been staying in aftercare. The paperwork and court orders have finally come through, and these girls get to go HOME. It's truly an extraordinary thing to see these girls, who have suffered un-imaginably, experience restoration and hope. Keep them in your thoughts during this big transition - expecially that they would arrive safely and be protected in their home country (re-trafficking is a huge threat).

XOXOXOXOXO

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