the distracting pigeons

so everyday here is always an adventure. its part of the reason i don't want to leave. on monday we went to see this new lady. i will call her Suma. we walked by her room and she called us in. and on top of her head was a pigeon.....for those of you who have been here she was sitting in her small little room in the gatch with a pigeon on her head.

and for those of you who have known me for a while, you would know how i feel about pigeons. they lived in our flat here for nine years before we moved in....and we cleaned up their crap. lots and lots of pigeon crap...and then for a year we fought for our flat from the pigeons. i do not like pigeons. they are the rats of the air.

however, this lady had called us into her room. we look to our right and she has cardboard boxes with pigeons in them because she keeps them in her room...not in a cage...but in boxes so they can fly around and stuff.

she invited us to sit on her bed. she has it covered in plastic so the birds won't ruin her bedspread.

i am trying not to be grossed out.

we start talking and she starts telling me her story....

"i was trafficked at 13 to bombay and then trafficked again to Dubai with a fake passport. here take a look at my passort"

and this whole time she is talking i am thinking

"oh gosh that pigeon is on her head! am i sitting in pigeon pooh? oh gross how can she love these animals? oh gosh...the pigeon is pooping on her. oh gosh...she is cleaning the poop off her back as she is telling us her sad story. oh gross, her hand touched the pooh."

and this continued.

she did tell us that she keeps the birds as pets because she is really lonely. the man who is keeping her lives in nepal and only come once in a while to give money. so she like the company of the birds.

and i felt......bad. bad for her story and bad for being totally grossed out by the rats of the air.

she invited us back next week for lunch. in her room with pigeons. can i say no????

i love how you can never plan a day the unexpected always happens. i love listening to classical music on my ipod while take a boat ride in kolkata. i love how good friends know you. i love that today there was a strike so we have a day off. i love shane bernard. i love i got a long email from my dad today.