A Christmas Buffet

Picking up where we left off last post, we went to a volunteer Christmas party. It was organized by an American guy named Ryan and we weren't sure if it was going to be a bunch of people, or just us and him. We showed up to the top of the Paragon hotel to find a table that was probably 15 feet long covered with food, and around 40 people from a vast range of countries. It was the best surprise of the day by far. There was even a guy who had grilled some burgers with a cooking stove he brought with him. I'm not real sure where he got the ground beef, but I wasn't asking any questions. It was great. We also gave and received our last secret santa gifts there. My secret santa was a french girl that I hadn't really met before. She told me her name and I couldn't really understand, so she said, "Sorry, it's French." Good point. She got me a wall hanging that is pretty cool. Kristen's santa was a Korean guy named Wonil who we are actually pretty good friends with. He said that he'd forgotten to bring her gift the day before and just gave it to her then. She got a santa hat from the day before and some earrings for the big gift. The party lasted for a few hours and we stayed up later than we have done our whole trip (around midnight). As we sat there, we talked about how it was kind of like a movie because there was a huge table of eaten food with little candles all over it, a bunch of people from all over the world, some french guys playing drums with a japanese guy's guitar, and everyone laughing and having a good time. I guess you would have had to see it yourself to catch what I'm saying, but it was cool. Coutries represented at the party included, but were not limited to: Japan, Korea, France, Belgium, Spain, Ireland, England, Australia, and the States. There were probably others but I didn't get to talk to everyone. All in all, it was a great end to a strange Christmas. We still missed having christmas dinner and being with family, but it made it a bit more special. As we walked home, we stopped and tried to call our respective parents' to say merry Christmas, but either the phones were jacked, or we just missed them, and we had to leave messages.

At the party, we heard a rumor that as of January 1st, the city of Kolkata was banning rickshaws as a means of transportation. If the rumor is true, it will be an interesting time to be here. For those who don't know, rickshaws are human pulled carts that people can take (very cheaply) in place of taxis and such. Kolkata is the last remaining city on Earth that still allows them to operate, and there are many. The people who drive them are very poor and often come to the city from their farms because they can't make enough money to feed themselves farming or other similar reasons. If the rickshaws are actually banned, it will be good because it is the end of an inhumane form of work, but at the same time, hundreds, or thousands will be instantly without work, which could make for an interesting scene. Of course, this rumor came from a big irish guy who said that an indian friend told him about it, so who knows. We'll keep you posted, though.

Last night, the 26th, we decided that since we didn't get each other Christmas presents, that we would go eat dinner at Pizza Hut. Now, you might be thinking, "That's not much of a present", but here, Pizza Hut is a nice resturaunt. When I say nice, I mean that the hostess took us to a table, pulled out our chairs, placed the menus in front of us, and asked if we'd be comfortable at this table. It was just as good as american pizza too, and cheaper. It was funny because we were all dirty and wearing tshirts from work, and everyone else was dressed in button down shirts and saris. We were underdressed at Pizza Hut. Imagine trying to do that in the states. You'd have to wear a black trashbag and not bathe for a week. It was great though, and a delicious christmas present.

At the end of Christmas, I have this to ask; Mom and Dad, can we have a pseudo Christmas dinner when we get back and say Merry Christmas at the airport? That's all.

Stephen