SIM Cards and Cow Heads

WARNING: At the bottom of this blog there are pretty gross pictures of animal brains and a cow's head being chopped up.  I gave you fair warning.

Last night, my roommate, Solfrid (from Norweigh) and I went for a stroll to Sudder Street, an area where tons of folks set up shops and you can find pretty much anything you're looking for.  Well, on our way, the clouds started rolling in and the sky darkened.  We kept our pace as the rains began.  We though it would be just a little bit of rain, but that rain soon turned into full blown monsoon.  Lightning cracked across the sky above us and booming thunder pierced our ears.  We took shelter on the steps of an entrance to a nice bank with several other people escaping the downpour.  This is where we met this kid, a student from elsewhere in India doing a tour in Kolkata.  He wanted pictures with us.  Feeling like rockstars, we obliged.

The rain let up, so we decided to head back to BMS, our guest house.  On the way I saw a stand that sold Indian SIM cards, so I decided I'd try to get one (I had heard they were difficult to get).  After a while of taking photos and making copies of my passport, I finally got one. Solfrid got some of the action on camera.

After my SIM card fun, we passed through an obviously Muslim part of town.  How did we know it was Muslim? Men with big knives were chopping up cow heads to take out their brains. Delicacy?  I stopped to take a picture and the man with the knife was so proud he posed nicely for the picture, then pointed toward the table of brains next to him so I would take a picture of those as well.  

Well, after that experience, we headed back to the guest house and showered up for bed. Not that showering helps. You remain dripping wet at all times because of the humidity. 

The lunch bell is about to ring and I am heading out with a group at the guest house to buy some Indian clothing. 

Thank you for your continued prayers.