At my going away party in June one of my friends seriously asked me what I was looking forward to most going to India, what my first most goal would be during my year-long adventure. My retort? “I want to ride an elephant.” I guess I can come home now!! Last Thursday I climbed atop an elephant which meandered around the Mysore Palace during a famous festival called Desara. It was fun. Last week we had a few days of touristy stuff! We visited the palace, which was magnificent. We went to see gardens distributed among an array of fountains. We hung out at a hospital, which definitely gave me an adrenaline rush. During the last few weeks we’ve utilized a plethora of transportation methods: crowded buses, trains, elephants, horse drawn rickshaws, an auto crammed with 12 people, boats, and we’ve crossed a rushing river. We’ve driven through countryside speckled with rocky hills, rice patties, coconut trees and cows. We’ve eaten off of banana leaves. We’ve seen temples, cathedrals, and mosques.
I’ll never be able to adequately describe the things we’ve seen, the people we’ve met, the smells that have reached our noses, the taste of freshly made dosa, the sounds of horns outside our window or waking up to a cow mooing on the street outside. Every once in awhile it hits me that I’m in India. I was sitting on the balcony yesterday journaling. I was on campus waiting to leave for Tamil Nadu. Sometimes I forget that I’m in the middle of a huge adventure. When you’re living in an adventure, that adventure becomes daily life in a way that I never expected to have happen.
I would also like to describe to you a few more things going on in India that have been important to me these past few weeks. October is a big month, with a lot of short term international teams coming in. Most of the teams we meet and hang out with and help the Indians with ‘cause they insist that we can explain certain aspects of India to them better than the Indians can. Me and Elise don’t believe them, but we help where we can. Anyways, one team in particular has blown us away. They are a team of mechanics. They aren’t actually mechanics by profession, but volunteer at their church every week fixing the cars of single parents. They are working on cars for two weeks here for the organization. I was outside before breakfast the other morning just meandering around campus. I was shocked to see them already at their work. They work all day and put their full energy into their tasks, but still have managed to have a lot of fun and build relationships with most people on campus. Elise and I have both been encouraged and challenged by their work ethic and servants’ hearts! I would also like to tell you about my favorite little boys! They are brothers and are simply adorable! Usually 11 year old boys are awkward and don’t know how to carry themselves, but this boy is poised and well spoken. He takes care of his little brother and they are very sweet to each other. And Jeffrey, the older brother explained cricket to me. I’ve had a bunch of people try to explain it to me before, but I never understood it until this kid explained it! I know kinda understand the game and its interesting!
I hope this post finds you well and you enjoyed hearing a bit about the things I’ve been up to lately!
No comments:
Post a Comment