Last week Levi and I went to a garbage dump for the district. We didn't go for the trash, we went for the people who live amidst it. The scene made my stomach turn. Babies with nothing but shirts on playing in the garbage, kids chasing each other inside the dump and all you can see are their eyes and teeth. Moms with TB, Dads who are so thin they look as if they would blow away, the lastest story of a husband and father who died a few months ago by a snake bite from the trash dump....My heart was heavy. Earlier this year, I would have looked on this scene as a total outsider...would have seen these people as poor, sad, and helpless....But a year has passed and with the time, my perspective has changed. As I listened to the people speak in Hindi and as we spoke to them, I realized that they make plenty of money working at this dump. They just think they are saving the money by living in the trash! They don't HAVE to live like this! They CHOOSE to live like this! It comes from a lack of education mainly. They have to be shown why living in trash is ultimately the worst decision they could make for their family.
How ironic it is to see these situations in real life and then think of life in the States. How many people live in a "hypothetical trash pit"? They don't HAVE to live there, they do have a choice....but the trash makes sense to them. Perhaps they are more comfortable, perhaps they feel safe amongst the garbage in their lives....or perhaps they just need someone to come in and show them what life is like outside of the pit.
Holi is a holiday that represents the beginning of Spring. We were staying in the village during this celebration time and found ourselves amidst lots of friends and neighbors. We shared snacks, we danced, and we shared lots of color! This may be my favorite holiday so far. I LOVE the colors, the dancing, and the fun! Here are some pictures
Sometimes the Beauty of the Lord just amazes me! As we drove through our state the past 3 weeks, I found myself humbled and awed by the beauty of God's creation. Who am I to be able to have a relationship with such a Powerful, Amazing God?! Oh, how we love this place and how we love our God!
We will leave tomorrow to go on a one week trip with our American friends and then live with a national family for a week or two to practice Hindi. We are very close to this family and look forward to the time with them. They own a coffee shop that caters to westerners who live at an Ashram across the street. We enjoy helping them as well as partnering in other projects.
Levi's sickness is hopefully coming to an end. We are on week two and today went to get a heart test done because he was having pain in his chest. The tests came out clear and the doctor feels that it is just acid. So we have new pills and are packing our bags. I will try to capture the travel experience for all of you. It is pretty crazy!
Since Levi has been so sick, he has really been longing for a bathtub. We are bathtub people and rarely take showers in the states so living in a house that only has bucket baths can get old sometimes. Here is what I found this morning when I went into the bathroom downstairs.
So now we can sit on one bucket and pour water that we get out of the other bucket! The thing on the bucket is the floor mat. I have no idea why that is necessary.
This is for my sister Sarah. I tried to tell her that we have to turn on our hot water heater and let it heat for like 30 minutes before we get in. Sarah was so confused as to what this looks like. Well, this is it! This is our bathroom water heater inside the bathroom wall and the switch that turns it on.
Valentines Day is definitely one of my favorite days of the year. I love the fact that on this day you are completely free to tell all those who you love how much you love them without it being weird or uncomfortable. In the states, I love to call all those I love and tell them just how much I love them. I also love to go out on an awesome date. This Valentines day will be very different for us. We will probably be in the village and not even realize that it is Valentine's day so I planned on spending this night having a romantic dinner. I bought candles a while back and found a white sheet in preparation for this day. There is a flower shop about 20 minutes away and I had a plan to go there.
Unfortunately, plans change quickly around here. Levi has been so sick and we found ourselves desiring a lazy day since this is our first day with absolutely nothing to do in a long time. The new plan came from Levi and sounded great to me: Bar-B-Que nachos (one of my favorites), Dr. Pepper, and a football movie (the Game Plan...not your average f-ball movie but not many choices).
Here is what it looks like when we make nachos!
We make our own tortillas first and then cut them up into little pieces
Then we fry them. We boil the chicken, shred it and put it in the other pan.
These are our secret ingredients! The cheez whiz, barbecue sauce and barbecue spices are from the states but we can get the jalapenos in Delhi! (maybe you can use amul cheese spread in place of cheese whiz if you live overseas)
You then mix your barbecue sauce and meat together
You put the cheese spread on top and cover it in barbecue sauce and spices and then put it in the oven until hot. This is the finished product!
Most of the time in class, I don't get to talk much. I mostly get drilled to death about my verb usage, ect. But since today was my last class and we have finished the book, my teacher thought we could take an hour and have a real conversation in Hindi (and English when I didn't know the hindi vocab) It went like this:
Teacher: I noticed last night when you were around English and Hindi speakers that your Hindi and English are both slow. I think you are just a slow speaker.
Me: That is because I am from the south. If you think I speak slow you should hear my papaw speak! ;)
Teacher: what is the south?
Me: It is the states that are in the southern US. Mississippi is very southern. Our culture is very different from the culture of the north.
Teacher: we get a lot of people at language school from NY and California. What are they?
Me: Well, new yorkers are definitely from the North and most people from California are granola and that is a conversation for another day.
Teacher: so what does the south look like?
Me: Well, it looks different depending on where you live. I am from the village and to me it looks beautiful. Like home. My grandparents house is the staple of the neighborhood. It is where everyone just opens the door and walks on in. You can always expect a great home-cooked meal, a long conversation and a feeling of love from them. Not just for the family, but for everyone who passes by. You always have something to do outside. You can ride 4-wheelers, go fishing, hunt, just play outside because there is so much land. You know most people that you see in the store and if you don't speak, then you will hear about it from your family or your neighbor later because it is an unspoken rule to speak to everyone, to wave when passing others on the road, and to ask every store clerk how they are doing.
Teacher: I'm glad we talked about this. I always thought the US was urban only and that everyone had the same culture.
I'm just so thankful that I grew up where I did. I forget to be thankful until I am reminded by simple conversations about where I am from. They are good for the heart.
