It's not what you know its who you know!

It has been a whirlwind week getting ready for this trip. Biggest stress has been getting my travel visa approved. A visa is basically an addendum to a passport which some countries require. You can apply online or at the consulate. I chose to apply online through a service and methodically followed the direction to complete my application, faxed off the passport with all the other required items requested and felt secure that all was going to plan......thats when the emails started coming. "We need a letter from the organization you will be working for". "We need a government ID # of the organization you will be working for". "We need a letter of intent to collect no pay from the organization you will be working for". Holy smokes! I called India....woke the poor sisters from bed. They informed me that "sorry....we don't have any of those things and we can't get them to you". Then the precious sleepy nun told me that I should have filed a tourist visa application....another words.. LIE! LOL!  Back on the phone with Visa service for plan B which is to lie some more". Trip in jeopardy...stressed!

In the mean time I put a message out to Dorado employees for an emergency contact number of a relative in Kolkata and an email came in from my friend Ravi with his families contact information and at the bottom of the email a little miracle..."ps, if you need any help getting your visa let me know, my best friend is the Ambassador consul general for India". OMG! While sitting at the hair salon on Friday my hair dripping with dye and foil spiking off my head my cell phone rings and it is none other then the Ambassador consul general, A few questions and a polite chat later....Visa approved. Check that stress off the list!

Nadia is here visiting from LA this weekend, last night we had a beautiful night out in the city and ran into an acquaintance who is from India. I began to tell him about my trip and that the only thing that I felt concerns about still was that when I arrive at the airport in Kolkata that I will be all alone, won't have a car and I have no idea where I am going to stay. He said to me, " don't worry, my father is the President of the State of New Delhi and we have a car that will be there to pick you up at the airport and  I will help you find a place to stay too".

Conflicted about the idea of having a limo pick me up as this is not going to be glamorous trip but a humble mission I thought for a moment to say no but I feel it would be rude to turn down such a gracious offer and I could never offend the drop dead gorgeous son of the President of New Delhi for heavens sakes....thats not my style;-).

OMG!!! Are you kidding me? Does this stuff really happen? Apparently so..... I am now beginning  to think that there is a major conspiracy going on here and the universe is going to make me go to Kolkata, the universe needs me to go to Kolkata. It is my destiny..........Check!

28 pair of underwear...check!

My first thought while planning what to bring for a month in India was to buy all outdoor nature clothing like you would see worn by Angelina Jolie in Tomb Raider but being that I will have to hand wash everything for a month I am going with a more casual traveler look which includes what I already have in my closet, flip flops and a really cute new hat.  My only clothing purchase was 28 pair of $1.98 undies from Ross…. I couldn’t resist and darn it feels decadent. 

Most exciting purchase I made was at REI. I now own the most sophisticated water purification device around. This new devise is a light pen that you simply drop into your water bottle and within a minute it kills everything..like magic!! You know its good when all the checkout employees huddle around to admire your purchase with glassy far off dreamy looks in their eyes... This particular pleasure for me comes from being at the bottom of the technological food chain in my home for years, the recipient of the "hand me down" toys discarded and unwanted by the others, the IPad 1, Iphone 3G..etc. I have the power now!!!!!!!!

Learned something new....Did you know that major international airports have medical clinics where you can go and be treated by a doctor on staff. I was recently referred to SFO to receive all of my tropical desease vaccinations. So soaring through my blood stream today is a  bit of Hepititus A and B, Yellow fever, malaria, Tentnus, typoid, Japanese encephalitis, and to top it off polio. With all that I really felt pretty good after with only a mild fever and throbbing left arm from the tentnus. Hope it works.

My Mission of happiness

 "Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence." ~Aristotle

Happiness seems to be a popular subject these days, not just the pursuit of but the understanding of it and the importance to our health and well being. Americans are ranked 31st in the world in happiness which is a statistic I find completely shocking as we are so very blessed with abundance and security. What I am beginning to realize is that happiness is a choice and the only thing keeping it from us is ourselves.

I hope you will follow along with me as I  spend a month in Kolkata, India, one of the poorest cities in the world with a population of 5.1 million people as I volunteer for a month in the Motherhouse for Orphans and the home for the dying and destitute women founded by Mother Theresa.  Through this experience I hope to reconnect with my happy place because I truly believe as did mother Theresa that the shortest distance between you and Happiness and Peace  is through service and the choices you make.

Your friend,

Jille