just between us

randoms to start the new year...

2011-01-11T21:44:00.002+05:30

some great moments from the past few days...1. yesterday's traumatic sighting: two crows picking apart a parakeet, which i recall being in a cage beside our office not too long ago..of all things, an innocent half plucked tropical bird...meeting its demise next to the dump pile beside sari bari...oh cruel world.2. today i accidentally told one of our ladies i wanted to have her baby...language

2010-12-13T14:03:00.002+05:30

some folks have asked about my mailing address here, so i thought i would just post it for convenience...my address has changed, so anything you'd want to send can be mailed to the following address...thanks so much!peace.Beth Watermanc/o Peter BurrellSwapandeep Apartment520 Dum Dum Cossipore Rd.Flat No. A3 Surer MathKolkata, India 700-074

suffer the kindness...reflections of receiving...

2010-12-09T14:06:00.004+05:30

listened to a beautiful sermon this morning by Dan Allendar...on suffering kindness...giving me much to think on...especially in these weeks where I have the gift of space and the chance to recreate rhythm in my life...you have to listen to his words in their entirety to get the fullness of the message...but as i think on what it means to suffer God's kindness...i think on the family who lives

December Update...

2010-12-03T17:31:00.001+05:30

I’ve spent the last two weeks with brain malaria, and now, after a lot of pain, hospitals, medicine, and lots and lots of your prayers…I find myself reeling and exhausted, but on the way back to being healthy. As I make the slow journey toward recovery, I see an old and persistent message hunting me down, waiting ever so patiently for me to fully grasp the meaning of…taking space to be…For the

reflections...

2010-11-05T17:34:00.005+05:30

Outside, the noise is picking up...fireworks coloring the sky...bomb like explosions echo through every little alley...small children holding flaming torches...i'm jumpy in this city...explosives do not help...i'm alone in our fifth story flat this weekend and learning again how to take a deep breath and step back...reflecting on the way i like to keep my mind and life busy, distracted from self

2010-10-19T23:49:00.002+05:30

tonight, after some herbal research i realized the best growing herb in my flourishing garden...are blades of grass...and no, i did not plant them.my question...what happen to the rosemary...hmmm.

2010-10-05T21:43:00.002+05:30

kyle just said as he walked in the living room...i don't mean to freak you out, but we have a little friend in the kitchen..." that only means one thing, the rat is back. might be little now, but boy those guys grow fast. seriously, 5 stories up...can't they just visit the folks on the first floor instead...it's been an exhausting and busy few weeks. but a few nuggets remain...1. yesterday it was

2010-09-18T12:34:00.014+05:30

Just a few sweet birthday reflections from last week...My community takes such thoughtful care in celebrating one another...it's one of the things i find most beautiful here, in a place that's so easy to forget there's much worth celebrating...Fellow WMF staff member Upendra sent me this amazing text...such a kind, thoughtful, hard working man, up there with my best birthday greetings in 29 years

You Look Like A Disheveled Crow

2010-09-11T12:33:00.004+05:30

Housemate Melissa taught us a new phrase this week...A true treasure nestled within the Bengali language...literally translated, "you have the appearance of a crow after a storm". A remarkably accurate description for how one feels so often in this city... i'm not sure how i feel about being compared to a disheveled crow, but it does make me laugh, and sadly after looking in the mirror at the

2010-09-05T14:35:00.003+05:30

well, back into the swing of kolkata...rainy sunday afternoon...listening to NT Wright's dialogue on hope...eating homemade granola...waiting for my pizza dough to rise...making an herb garden for my veranda...trying to remember each moment to take this place slow, to advocate for self care, to pray for our ladies and our community, and celebrate the place i am right now...not too bad for a

2010-08-20T19:05:00.008+05:30

A few days back i was compiling a list..."Things i could never do in Kolkata", as i blended homemade chocolate chip cookie dough...and the list began...Also making the list..."quick jaunts to the store"...where my travel-to-check-outtime-and-back-home-again clocked in at an hour tops...i really do marvel at the simple things...low population road density andpersonal automobiles...Let's also not

2010-08-06T20:03:00.003+05:30

Already Friday...already anticipating my reality shift...less than two weeks and a take off, landing, re-entry...and a welcome back to Kolkata.But alas, i'm not leaving, at least not quite yet. So, as difficult as it is, i'll attempt at the being...where i am, when i'm there...Today is an open slate. Cafe Verona Bold is keeping me company to my right... Mumford and Sons

time away...

2010-08-04T20:04:00.002+05:30

time in florida, has been, to say the least, surprising...with questions of deep significance rising, stirring to the surface....i find myself unable to manage all the plowed up ground...and for once, maybe even the first time, i'm realizing that this is a good space...with good food and bold coffee to satiate my hunger...library cards to supply my entertainment energy...parks and beaches to keep

2010-06-12T09:38:00.003+05:30