It is Monday morning, my first morning in Kolkata, and I am composing my first blog entry at (of course) 5 a.m., having opened my eyes at 4. That was, as you may know, 6:30 p.m. Sunday evening in Cleveland Ohio, given the 9 ½ hour time difference. At 5, the sky is getting light and the streets look wet—not a surprise, as it is (of course!) monsoon season. I did bring Olivia’s cute umbrella, her brightly striped rain boots, and Lindsay’s rain jacket.

The hotel, The Oberoi Grand (http://www.oberoihotels.com/oberoi_kolkata/index.asp) is, indeed, grand, and will no doubt be a welcome oasis for the nine of us participating in this project.

The staff at the hotel, and our the USIEF hosts, Dr. Diya Dutt, the Deputy Director and Ms. Shevanti Narayan, the Regional Officer for USIEF Kolkata, and Mr. Sumanta Basu, program manager, have been warm and helpful.

I am, by far the oldest remember of my group. Ashu Saxena, a math teacher from Charlotte, North Carolina, in his early 40’s is the closest to me in age and the only man. I am the only one married, the only one with children. Subha, my teaching counterpart here, is my age and has a daughter approximately the age of my daughters, so I do have a compatriot. My group is lovely and warm, but they have a great deal in common, and I sometimes—only sometimes–feel the distance when we socialize. That may lessen as we get to know each other through this experience. I feel it lessening at times, and then it comes back. The young and single bond is a powerful one in American culture. Three of the group have India ties—another bond that I do not share. It is a wonderfully diverse group, including Audra Agnelly, a chemistry teacher from Dundalk Maryland, Keturah Kendrick, an English teacher from The Young Women’s Leadership School in New York City, Mari O’Meara, an English teacher from Eden Prairie High School in Minnesota. (Mari, 31, was born to a 14-year-old girl in India, adopted as an infant and raised Irish Catholic in Minnesota.) Laura Poeppelman teaches 8th grade English in a suburb of Columbus, Ohio; Aysha Shedbalkar teaches math in suburban Chicago; and Lena (pronounced Lay-na) Tashjian teaches English in Baltimore. Heavy on the English (2 math, one science), heavy on female, predominantly young, suburban, a mix of public and private schools—it’s a smart, friendly, engaged and engaging group.

As I am the first to experience an upset stomach, I miss the day one shopping trip for salwar kameez (the tunic and slacks worn by worn here when they do not wear the more formal sari). It is compounded by exhaustion. I spend a restless night in my room, but skype Mark and Olivia, and work on my blog—so all is not lost.