O beautiful land, at last, in India

our eyes are adjusting to being open after a long flight,
the click and whir of another airport fills our ears, and we gather together

with our backpacks
bibles
and water bottles,
we are an interesting group of 26
women, children, husbands, mothers, daughters, and a son

bright colours, splashes of bright, soft and light -- we don our punjabis and breathe in deeply!

O, we are here!
O, we are in India!

the outside air is cool
I think this place is amazing

it seems that all of my life i have been waiting for this moment, for this feeling, of being here..
i had been hoping and praying and wondering about this since childhood,
dreaming of going to India, that far away land -- where my name Orissa comes from

it feels good, and full
to finally be here

walking here, breathing here, talking to them
to them in their bright colours, selling fruit on the corner
or zooming past on their fast motorcycles - a whole family on one bike!

near us i notice a group of deaf people signing to each other,
i am captivated by their animated conversation and wish to join in
later over dinner i sat next to one deaf man and we signed to each other!
they are so beautiful, their speech movements so captivating

standing in the courtyard, in the hallway, on the stairs..
i love them, these deaf men and women who i watch,
and i want to learn more so that i can join them in laughing over the joke that's just been told -- this is my welcome to India!