Circles

“We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.”
― T.S. Eliot, Four Quartets

Dear Carolyn,

Thank you again for a place to stay while I was in San Francisco, Your hospitality is something I look forward to with every visit. I posted the above quote to give you a sense of my feelings as I return to Kolkata, and while I am far from finished exploring there is a sense of knowing Kolkata for the first time. Of being able to name what I see, even though I don't understand it. I think that is the trickiness of Eliot's phrasing, to know something does not necessarily mean you understand it, as in I know how to get from Haight St. to Market, but I don't understand all of the politics and issues that play out as I travel along those streets.
Perhaps I am jumping ahead a little; perhaps Eliot's idea of knowing here is a deep understanding that can only come with experience and contemplation.
What I do know is that I am more alert as I move around the city, grasp more of what I see, and definitely feel more comfortable.
We arrived at the hotel Sunday morning after two arduous hours at the airport, waiting for luggage and getting our money changed. The Oberoi staff greeted us at the airport with our own personal transportation and were off through flooded Kolkata streets to the Oberoi Grand Hotel.
Just as I was amazed and over-whelmed by the luxury and opulence of the Oberoi last year, so this year's teachers were stunned that this would be our home for the next five weeks. I am again on the 4th floor, but not in the same room, and walking down the hall, I felt a little nostalgic for last year's group. As I walked past Brianna's room I expected her to come popping out, ready to do Insanity workouts in the gym; or for Kyle to come strolling down the hall in his plaid cotton button-up.
I suppose this is what it is like to return to a place, to know it, remember what it was like when you were there before, but to put those memories into context.
Now that I am in charge of this year's group, I have a new respect for what Brianna did last year, and I understand a little more what it means to be a leader.
The other teachers have gone off to their first day's assignment, and I will start school on Thursday, eager to see my colleagues and students, to meet new students, and to know a little more than I did last year.