Broken Heart

Dear Hindu Boy,


You break my heart.

You pray to gods and worship idols because that is what your family does.

You do not know any better because Hinduism is so deeply rooted in your culture.

You make me thankful to have grown up in a Christian home.

If I had grown up in a Hindu family would I be worshipping idols just like you?

You always look forward to Saturdays because a group comes to your village every week to tell you about Jesus.

For three hours you sing, dance, pray and learn about Jesus Christ.

The only reason your parents let you come is to learn good habits.

Other kids have to fight with their parents in order to come.

Will you get in trouble if you tell them what you learned or if they see you praying?

Is three hours a week enough to teach you about Jesus if Hinduism is not only your family, village, and country’s religion, but way of life?

I wish there was something I could do for you.

All I know to do is pray for all the girls and boys like you.

Happy Diwali

Yesterday was a holiday called Diwali. I don’t know the details of why it is celebrated but the 4th graders at my internship said on Diwali a Hindu goddess killed and demon or an evil spirit. It is called the festival of lights representing light defeating dark and evil. Even though it is a Hindu holiday, basically everyone celebrates. The Hindu religion is deeply rooted in the culture. For this festival new clothes are bought, sweets are made, and fire crackers are set off all day/night.

Last night our group went to a student’s house that goes to our college to celebrate. The fire crackers here are nothing like the home. You know the big ones that are illegal for us to have? Well in India, those and many more are set off next to houses, cars, trees, and power lines. Imagine a whole line of houses setting off these fireworks. I don’t think my ear drums have recovered yet. People started setting off crackers two days before Diwali and as I am writing this it still sounds like bombs are going off outside. 4th of July is going to seem like nothing compared to Diwali.

Diwali also marked the exact halfway point of my stay in India. I am not sure how I feel about it being halfway over. Of course, I am excited to go home, but at the same time I get sad when I think about leaving. What also makes it difficult is our two week travel at the end. We leave Coimbatore Decemember 2nd. Whoa! Just over a month away. I know I need to not worry about the future and enjoy each moment, but I cannot help but think how fast the first half flew by. I really love it here. I have developed a love for the people, culture, food, and so much more.

I have developed relationships within the ISP group and with the people of India that I will have a hard time leaving behind. I am surrounded by people who inspire me daily to learn and grow in more ways than I thought possible.

I have gotten accustom to living the simple life. What I call the simple life is actually a privileged life in Indian standards. Walking everywhere, limited internet, and having six outfits to pick from each day is something I have also learned to enjoy. The simplicity allows me to spend more time with God and with people, which is how I think it should be.

Lately, I have been finding myself craving Indian dishes…I never thought that would happen. I especially love the food we make in cooking class! Last week we made 8 different types of Dosa and 5 chutneys. I know most of you probably don’t know what that those are. Google it. Classic Indian breakfast. My favorite is plain dosa and coconut chutney. Don’t worry I am going to bring the ingredients home to make. After jet lag wears off everyone is invited over for dosa.

I have learned so much here and I thank God everyday for this experience. I am looking forward o the next half and cannot wait to see what is in store.

God's Own Country

Saturday morning at 5 am (well an Indian 5 AM, which means 5:30+) we boarded a bus and headed to the state of Kerala. Kerala’s nickname is God’s Own Country and is famous for its mountains and beauty. The bus ride was bumpy and long, but worth it.
We listened to some great speakers, ate good food, watch a Kathakali dance, and went on a boat tour.

On the way back there was a huge thunder storm and lots of rain. Let me tell you about monsoon season here.

To begin I will tell you a story-

On Wednesdays I go to an internship at a local school. This particular Wednesday had been a little difficult to say the least. My day at school ended with a huge confusion with which school bus I was to ride to get me back near college. Long story short it took all the bus drivers, bus helpers, and a few teachers to decide that I needed to ride bus #13, which I was almost sure was NOT the bus I was suppose to ride because I was told bus number 11 by my internship advisor. Thankfully, I eventually made it back. I had a little ways to walk back to the apartments and was looking forward to having time to just think and relax and clear my head after a long day. This Wednesday at about 4:00 marked the start of monsoon season. It poured! The most rain I have ever seen! If it has started 5 minutes earlier I could have took cover at college, but I was already on the race course walking path and just wanted to get home. After all it couldn’t last too long right? Along the path there were overhangs for when things like this happened, but I was not comfortable stranding around with a bunch of men. I tried taking cover under a tree, but that didn’t help for very long. So basically I walked 15 minutes in POURING rain. I’m pretty sure everyone that I passed hanging out under the overhangs got a good laugh. By the ime I got he the apartments, the streets were flooded up to my calves. Walking in to the apartment building, the ladies at the entrance laughed at me, wrang out my scarf and attempted to dry me off with a towel. Yep, so that was my introduction to monsoon season.

Also, later that week I was woken up by the loudest thunder I have ever heard. Seriously, I thought it was the end of the world and Jesus was returning or something. Not only was the thunder SO loud but he lightning was crazy bright. It was really scary, but kinda fun.

This Wednesday is a huge holiday here called Diwali. Post about that hopefully coming soon. Also Wednesday is the halfway point of the trip…crazy!

Weekend trip to Madhurai

Madhurai is a city built around a huge Hindu temple.

On Saturday we visited two NGOs

1. Granny and Grandpa home-

It was basically a retirement home. We talked with many of the men and women there. They all expressed how happy they were, but it was heart breaking to realize that these women and men are a minority. They have it extremely good compared to many other elderly people in India who are abandoned because they cannot take care of themselves and are a burden to the family. As simple roof over their head, a metal bed to sleep on, and people to care for them makes these Grannys and Gramps very blessed and thankful.


2. A women’s home-

This was a home who takes in widows and their families. In order to fund the organization, the women sew, weave, and make things to sell.

Saturday night we went to palace and watched a light show.

We stayed the night at a seminary school that was very interesting. In order to graduate seminary students have to spend a total of 1 year in a slum. The first six months they live in the slums then go to classes. The second six months they live and work in the slums. Cool huh! Talk about getting to know the hearts of the poor.

Sunday we went to the Meenakshi temple. It was HUGE!

Then we visited a Gandhi museum

My favorite part of the trip was our visit to a HIV hospital and orphanage.

 

A Much Needed Weekend

I wrote this last week, but did not want to post it:

Lately I have been missing home.

I am enjoying it here, but there are some a lot of people and things I miss.

I miss the view of the mountains.

I miss the smell of Central Oregon.

I miss fresh well water.

I miss my garden.

I miss my friends.

Most of all, I miss my family.

During the five day weekend God knew what I needed:

In the hill station of Ooty I sew plenty of mountains and beautiful scenery.

The air was fresh and pollution free, and there were lots of cows and cow smells, just like home.

I still miss fresh water…

I also still miss my garden, but my host mom made lots of good food!

I made a few new friends this past weekend and am continuing to grow close to the friends within ISP and at BACAS.

I got to spend two days with an amazing family that treated me like their own daughter. I now have a family here in India that lives right across from school!

My Auntie, Uncle and Sister!

What to do?

A fellow ISP'er wrote this blog I thought I would share. Crazy things happen like this all the time :)
Hope this makes you laugh as much as it made me.

What to Do…

-You go to the bathroom and realize you forgot to bring your toilet paper…

-You travel on a 5 hour bus ride through the mountains with lots of “hairpin” turns. The bus driver beeps the horn and prays no one is coming around the corner as you fly around it..

-You go to the bathroom and find a colony of ants, freak out, and go to the other bathroom..only to find a frog.

-Your host mom asks you if you want more rice. You politely answer, “No thank you, I am satisfied.” She gives you more rice.

-You eat only a little at the church lunch because you are still so full from the extremely large breakfast you were made just 2 hours ago. You get back to your host home. Your host sister tells your mother that you barely ate. She responds with, “My God!” and makes you eat a 2nd lunch.

-Nap time, but you don’t take naps…

- You go to the festival event at the apartment complex even though you are extremely tired from your trip. You sit down to watch. They come on the microphone, look right at you and say “the people sitting in the chairs need to join.” You grab 2 sticks (traditional dance of the North that uses 2 sticks in their dancing) and begin to dance.

-You turn into the main attraction at Tamil Nadu’s highest peak tourist spot. How do you respond? Pretend to not speak English. “No speak English.”

- Every time you walk into your apartment building the security man points to the lift even though you use the stairs just about every time. Just because I am white does not mean I am lazy. =)

-Church starts at 8am, you arrive at 8:30am. Perfect.


-Your director requests a small campfire for worship. You show up to find a 8 feet tall wood pile doused in gasoline.

- The bus is stopped and everyone is asked if they want to try a special mountain cookie. Everyone says no. 5 minutes later everyone is given 3 cookies each and the trip continues.

-You find a kurta you love at the mall. Your host mother tells you, you can not wear it. “Indians don’t wear things like that.”


-A 7 person jeep pulls up. All 12 of you pile in.

-The professor assigns you a 8 page paper and then precedes to ask you if that is okay. What is the proper response?

-You are on a safari. The bus seems to speed up anytime an animal is spotted and you try to take a picture of them. Awesome.

- “You’re up already from your nap!?” You never slept.

-Elevator limit=20 people. You count 24.

-You go out to dinner and upon the owner seeing you, an American, enter the restaurant, Oops I did it Again starts to play.

Gujarati Dancing

Weekends in India

Some weekends we travel and others we stay here in Coimbatore.

This weekend was a “rest weekend,” but there was not much resting being done.

Friday night we went a Gujarati celebration. We ate food then danced all night long. All the girls taught us how to dance. The celebration lasts for 9 days. The girls were telling us how fun the dancing is on the last night. Too bad we will be out of town.

Here are some of the awesome girls who taught us their dances:

It was so fun!

Saturday a few of us took the public bus to go shopping.
On the way there the bus was not too bad.
On the way back it was quite crowded

*I did not get a picture when it was the most crowded because I couldn’t move

Saturday night I went to a professor’s house where we learned how her family celebrates Puja, a Hindu holiday.

I got back to the apartment and was reading peacefully in my room when I heard a scream. There was definitely a GIANT cockroach in our kitchen. Read previous post for details.

Sunday I went to church. The church is called All Souls and is located pretty close to the apartment.

Sunday was also Gandhi’s birthday, so the sermon was based on non-violence and love for enemies.


27 “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29 If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. 30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.

32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. 35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
Luke 6:27-36

After church I got to Skype with my family for a little bit. It was so good to talk to them!
The upstairs apartment has internet at times so that is a huge blessing!

Later that day I went to a home goods store to pick up a few things.

Then I watched Slumdog Millionaire for the first time. It was so cool to understand things that I would not have before coming here.

After the movie I tried to do a little homework.

When I got tired of home work I made spaghetti. It actually did not turn out too bad. Making homemade spaghetti sauce it not as hard as I thought it would be.

Sunday night the assistant directors had us over for a yummy dinner of lentil soup. They also had a Bollywood movie for us to watch but I decided to do homework instead.

When homework was finished I took a shower, read my Bible, wrote in my journal, and went to bed.

Because of Puja, our last day of school for the week is Tuesday.
We leave on Wednesday to go to Mudumalai and Ooty. We are going on a safari and visiting an organization called Freedom Firm which works with girls rescued from human trafficking.

When we get back we are going to do home stays with families from All Souls church for the weekend.


Thank you for all your prayers for me and my group. A few things that have been a struggle lately:

Health- many people have been getting sick

Communication- Communication with professors has been an issue

Patience- Everything here takes twice as long as you expect it to… so I have to learn to stop expecting and just go with it. Not only do things take a long time, but suddenly what should be simple things are made so complicated. Patience is something I am working on.

Hope you all are enjoying fall because I sure miss it!

How to Kill a Cockroach

Supplies:
1 fry pan
Toilet Paper
3+ people

Steps:

1. Scream
This ensures that people will come running so you won’t have to kill it yourself.

2. Smash it with a frying pan
The long handle works well for keeping distance.

3. Clean up the smashed cockroach with toilet paper
Paper towels are not commonly used here. But I guess toilet paper isn’t either.

4. Wash pan
Bug guts are not good fried.


I am really good at #1 and occasionally I do #4.