We All Just Want to Smile and Laugh

Post By Joel Smus

As anyone who knows me or in the case of the eleven other members of this wonderful group, I am one who smiles and laughs a lot. Either through my mannerisms, jokes, sayings, comments, stories or any other sort of conversational piece. Before arriving here, I was very nervous that I would not find to many ways to smile or laugh. Not knowing how many people would be in the homes, what sort of illnesses they might have, what I would see in the streets, or how I would perceive everything. Working in the homes though has been a wonderful blessing as to how in the face of great adversity and pain, anyone can still smile and laugh. The men I have encountered at Prem Dan have become friends to me. Sharing stories, exchanging words in both English and Bengali, washing dishes or hanging laundry; it has all been smiles and laughter. Today a man beckoned me over to take him into the home to sit on a bed. I led the way by him holding onto my shoulders and me walking towards the bed slowly. He motioned towards one bed and jokingly I pointed at another. In perfect English, he told me not that bed but the other and that if I wanted to joke, he would play along. I was shocked at his English. I asked him how he learned and he explained that his grandfather had been a soldier in the British army and had fought in World War I, in France and Germany. I was so shocked that I sat on the bed with him for the next half hour and through good English he told me his grandfathers story and parts of his. I learned of his life and what encompassed it. I believe that from the expression on his face, he was truly happy to be chatting, had a genuine smile. For the first time, I felt like I had become friends with someone at Prem Dan.

Yesterday we went to Titigar, the Leprosy Colony. We learned so much about leprosy and all of its history and treatments. While walking through I chatted with a few of the workers who were working on cloth production. It was nice to know that I could chat with them and it not be like I was looking at them through a window. I got to see the homes and the people and gave them that smile letting them know that I was truly appreciative to them for letting me into there home. Later in the day we visited Kali's Temple. Although it was a bit on the aggressive side to see the image of Kali, after I walked out a man asked me where I was from. I said America and he asked how I enjoyed seeing Kali. I asked why so many people are pushy and he laughed explaining it is because people want there gifts excepted, in order to appease Kali. He also said its for dramatic effect, which I laughed at...he smiled. We ended our evening by going to see a Bengali film. Although we were all excited to see the film, it had been a long day and I know personally that I would have struggled a bit to have to read sub-titles the entire time. So when Pirates of the Caribbean came on, we were all a bit confused. Not till a few minutes in did we all understand that we had entered the wrong theater and were now seeing the wrong film...which was alright by us. We smiled, laughed at our mistake and watched Jack Sparrow once again improvise his way out of trouble.

Calcutta has truly been an eye opening adventure thus far. What I have come to realize in this city of idioms and oxymoron's is that now matter how much you might want to plan for something, this city has a life of its own and will spin its own tale for you to follow. Following what I told Ann some days ago, "Yesterday is history, Tomorrow is Mystery, Today is a Gift." Let us all start every morning as if it is Christmas morning and we are opening that first gift.