Today the women I am living with made me spaghetti and boiled vegetables for lunch. They are worried I am eating too many spices and that I might want food like I eat at home. I am having a hard time convincing them that I am absolutely loving the food here and that I do just fine with all the yummy spices.
So spaghetti it was!
Two of the girls, Taniya and Danish (pronounced with a soft “a” not pronounced like the pastry), were over for the day. It is Saturday and while most of the girls still have school these two had a holiday and so they spent some of it just sitting and talking with us. Taniya is 13 and Danish is 11. Danish looked at her plate very skeptically as Sumitra served her up some spaghetti.
I tried to watch subtly as she took her first bite. Her face twisted and her lips puckered and then she looked up to meet my gaze. At this point I was barely holding myself together. She unwillingly swallowed and then began to laugh which gave me the cue that I could also. Everyone else around the table quickly tuned in to what was going on and joined in on the joke. She ate the rest of the spaghetti that was on her plate but I assure you that it was a pure chore for her to do so. She kept saying, “No spice, no spice” and then would take, what were to her, very bland mouthfuls. At the end of the meal she said, “I know you have good food in America, but THAT was not it!”
They had put a separate portion of vegetables for me, which had no spice on them. While we were cleaning up lunch Annamma held a bite of non-spice vegetables out for Danish as she is every mother’s dream child and has nothing but love for veggies. So she very happily opened her mouth for the bite of boiled vegetables. Boy did she get a shock!
“Salt!” she yelped and ran to the cupboard. Annamma and I were on the ground in tears we were laughing so hard. Finally Annamma grabbed the salt and sprinkled it straight into Danish’s mouth. Ah, relief.
Danish swallowed and then looked at me in shock. “You eat that?!”
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Hard Day’s Work
I knew before coming here that the girls at Ashasthan worked incredibly hard but I didn’t truly get it until I got to spend a whole week with them seeing all they do. They wake at 6am sometimes earlier and get ready for the day. They then have devotion time and then group prayer with their house every morning at 7:30. I do not have all of their schedules straight yet as all day they come in and out going to school and then tutoring. Then they come home and spend some time with me working on English, then they complete their homework. Somewhere in this they complete their daily chores. The four houses are so clean all the time. They say it is their act of thanksgiving to always keep the things God has given them in such good condition. Plus they take turns cooking all of their meals. I am embarrassed at how little I can cook when some of these girls are 10 years old and cooking these amazing meals.
They have taught me how to make chapatti which is a whole-wheat pancake type thing cooked on a griddle. These girls love teaching. They tell me to write this in Hindi, say that in Hindi, stir this, taste this, and read this. They are so fun to be around and I am learning so much about India from them. More then that I am learning so much about what it means to have faith that is pure. They have so much they could be sad about but instead they smile all the time and fill every silent moment with singing. They talk about God in ways that would convince even the hardest heart of His love. They praise in ways that make even the saddest things fade away. I love being here and I love getting to know them more every day. I love getting to know God more through being able to witness their lives.
They have taught me how to make chapatti which is a whole-wheat pancake type thing cooked on a griddle. These girls love teaching. They tell me to write this in Hindi, say that in Hindi, stir this, taste this, and read this. They are so fun to be around and I am learning so much about India from them. More then that I am learning so much about what it means to have faith that is pure. They have so much they could be sad about but instead they smile all the time and fill every silent moment with singing. They talk about God in ways that would convince even the hardest heart of His love. They praise in ways that make even the saddest things fade away. I love being here and I love getting to know them more every day. I love getting to know God more through being able to witness their lives.
Hard Day’s Work
I knew before coming here that the girls at Ashasthan worked incredibly hard but I didn’t truly get it until I got to spend a whole week with them seeing all they do. They wake at 6am sometimes earlier and get ready for the day. They then have devotion time and then group prayer with their house every morning at 7:30. I do not have all of their schedules straight yet as all day they come in and out going to school and then tutoring. Then they come home and spend some time with me working on English, then they complete their homework. Somewhere in this they complete their daily chores. The four houses are so clean all the time. They say it is their act of thanksgiving to always keep the things God has given them in such good condition. Plus they take turns cooking all of their meals. I am embarrassed at how little I can cook when some of these girls are 10 years old and cooking these amazing meals.
They have taught me how to make chapatti which is a whole-wheat pancake type thing cooked on a griddle. These girls love teaching. They tell me to write this in Hindi, say that in Hindi, stir this, taste this, and read this. They are so fun to be around and I am learning so much about India from them. More then that I am learning so much about what it means to have faith that is pure. They have so much they could be sad about but instead they smile all the time and fill every silent moment with singing. They talk about God in ways that would convince even the hardest heart of His love. They praise in ways that make even the saddest things fade away. I love being here and I love getting to know them more every day. I love getting to know God more through being able to witness their lives.
They have taught me how to make chapatti which is a whole-wheat pancake type thing cooked on a griddle. These girls love teaching. They tell me to write this in Hindi, say that in Hindi, stir this, taste this, and read this. They are so fun to be around and I am learning so much about India from them. More then that I am learning so much about what it means to have faith that is pure. They have so much they could be sad about but instead they smile all the time and fill every silent moment with singing. They talk about God in ways that would convince even the hardest heart of His love. They praise in ways that make even the saddest things fade away. I love being here and I love getting to know them more every day. I love getting to know God more through being able to witness their lives.
Hmm, I think I just became a teacher
It turns out there is a greater need for me to be teaching English then they let on. They said I would tutor in English a bit but it turns out I am spending about 15 hours a week teaching the girls. At first they said it would be with large groups but now I have set it so that I am teaching anywhere form 1-6 girls at one time. It is hard and something I have never done before but it is becoming easier as I get to know the girls and we manage to laugh and talk as we work.
The school system over here teaches them all how to write and read English but not what any of it means. They will read a story out loud and have difficulty with the pronunciation but still manage to speak clearly enough so I can understand. Then I ask them what it means and they tell me that they don’t know. The saddest part to me is that all of them are so enthusiastic and want to understand English so much but just don’t have anyone helping them.
While this is not my strong suit and not what I would have picked to be doing the Lord has really been stretching me through it. Each day it gets a bit easier and as it gets easier it also becomes more and more of a joy. I came with a bit of a different agenda as to how I wanted to serve, but be picky about how I serve is a bit of an ironic concept. Serving is being willing to fill a need for someone else and that is what I am trying to do. They need an English teacher so I will take my 17 years of speaking the language and zero training in being a teacher and give it my best shot.
The school system over here teaches them all how to write and read English but not what any of it means. They will read a story out loud and have difficulty with the pronunciation but still manage to speak clearly enough so I can understand. Then I ask them what it means and they tell me that they don’t know. The saddest part to me is that all of them are so enthusiastic and want to understand English so much but just don’t have anyone helping them.
While this is not my strong suit and not what I would have picked to be doing the Lord has really been stretching me through it. Each day it gets a bit easier and as it gets easier it also becomes more and more of a joy. I came with a bit of a different agenda as to how I wanted to serve, but be picky about how I serve is a bit of an ironic concept. Serving is being willing to fill a need for someone else and that is what I am trying to do. They need an English teacher so I will take my 17 years of speaking the language and zero training in being a teacher and give it my best shot.
Church Trip to the Beach
We went home from the wedding and had a short night’s sleep before leaving to meet up with the rest of the church congregation. We all piled into four buses and started our drive to the beach. We were going for a picnic!
They said the drive would be maybe 30 minutes. By the time we left it was about 8:00am but this did not stop them from handing out the spiciest samosas I have ever eaten. My tongue was burning and forehead sweating. Sumitra, one of the other Ashasthan staff, took the samosa from me. She laughed and said she would help but I cold tell it was not an extra burden as she ate the whole thing in one bight with no sign of pain.
The bus ride was so nice. It ended up being three times as long as they said but with all of the girls singing in Hindi and all the things to look at out the window I did not mind the extra miles. They kept telling me to sing along so I went for the universal clap to replace my nonexistent Hindi.
When we got there we had a short church service and then we all went for a swim. The water was so nice. Everyone in India swims in normal clothes, jeans, t-shirts, saris, whatever. The girls didn’t want to get out when it was time for lunch. We all went to eat. I always sit next to Sonam, yet another staff, when I eat because the chances are I cannot finish my meal it is so big and even though she fits in child sizes she is always ready to scrape my plate clean for me.
We spent the rest of the afternoon sitting, talking, playing football (soccer), and then having big group games. A lot of it felt very familiar to COSC, same family setting. They pulled me out of my chair and made me join in the relay races! I got paired with this very very elderly woman who seemed to think we would win. She was so ready and was beaming at the challenge ahead. Truth is we lost miserably as her shoe fell off half way through. It was a disappointment she took very well. : )
After games we piled back into the bus and everyone fell asleep for the ride home. Annamma, the oldest of the Ashasthan staff, assured me every weekend was not as busy as this!
Annamma (the oldest staff member) taking a swim with the girls.
Sonu (the baby of Ashasthan) and Shireen
An Indian Wedding
On my second full day in India I got to go to a wedding! It was beautiful. Because it was a Christian wedding it did not have a lot of the traditional customs you would see in a Hindi wedding. The bride wore a gorgeous ivory sari and the groom an almost metallic looking tux. There was worship both in Hindi and English and then the pastor brought a word for the newly married couple.
There were two power outages during the ceremony but the service continued in the pitch black without the fans working and with the preacher making up for the microphone loss with a full volume yell. Just as the power came back on and everyone’s cheering subsided, I kid you not, a marching band came right beside the church. Not even the microphones would help the preacher now. Every word he said was lost in the clanging symbols, but he kept on preaching. It was a valiant effort but I am pretty sure no one heard him.
What made the day really wonderful was that it was the first time I got to meet all of the girls. They were all dressed up in their best dresses, which had been given to them as Christmas gifts. Some of them were so shy and would not even look at me but others were not at all. I think the funniest moment was when Tara who is 16 came to introduce herself. I thought she was much younger. It is so hard for me to read ages here based off of looks or actions. Usually when I think they are young they are older and vice versa.
Anyways, Tara came to sit next to me during the wedding. The first thing she said was,
“So when are you getting married?”
I was stunned speechless and then laughed a bit.
“Um, I’m not sure.”
She moved on to the next question,
“Ok, then what do you want to be?”
I was looking at her thinking; you’re kidding me right. I have no idea what the answers are to these questions. She could tell I had no answers so she went on to describe what her life plan was. She said she was going to study to become a doctor, then marry off her oldest brother, then marry off her next brother, and then get married herself at age 28. “Well maybe 27,”she said.
Tara’s was the first introduction of many that day and each one was different from the one before it.
After the wedding ceremony we went downstairs for the reception. The number of guests seemed to double when mealtime came. Everybody grabbed a plate and pulled up a plastic chair to eat and talk. The bride and groom entered again and were showered with small foam balls of every color. The bride was now changed into a fiery red sari. It was a wonderful evening, full of color, laughter, and incredible food.
My first Auto-Rickshaw ride was on the way to the wedding! (This is Sumitra who is another Ashasthan staff)
Here are some of the girls awaiting the ceremony to begin.
The bride and groom
Most of the Ashasthan girls with the happy couple
There were two power outages during the ceremony but the service continued in the pitch black without the fans working and with the preacher making up for the microphone loss with a full volume yell. Just as the power came back on and everyone’s cheering subsided, I kid you not, a marching band came right beside the church. Not even the microphones would help the preacher now. Every word he said was lost in the clanging symbols, but he kept on preaching. It was a valiant effort but I am pretty sure no one heard him.
What made the day really wonderful was that it was the first time I got to meet all of the girls. They were all dressed up in their best dresses, which had been given to them as Christmas gifts. Some of them were so shy and would not even look at me but others were not at all. I think the funniest moment was when Tara who is 16 came to introduce herself. I thought she was much younger. It is so hard for me to read ages here based off of looks or actions. Usually when I think they are young they are older and vice versa.
Anyways, Tara came to sit next to me during the wedding. The first thing she said was,
“So when are you getting married?”
I was stunned speechless and then laughed a bit.
“Um, I’m not sure.”
She moved on to the next question,
“Ok, then what do you want to be?”
I was looking at her thinking; you’re kidding me right. I have no idea what the answers are to these questions. She could tell I had no answers so she went on to describe what her life plan was. She said she was going to study to become a doctor, then marry off her oldest brother, then marry off her next brother, and then get married herself at age 28. “Well maybe 27,”she said.
Tara’s was the first introduction of many that day and each one was different from the one before it.
After the wedding ceremony we went downstairs for the reception. The number of guests seemed to double when mealtime came. Everybody grabbed a plate and pulled up a plastic chair to eat and talk. The bride and groom entered again and were showered with small foam balls of every color. The bride was now changed into a fiery red sari. It was a wonderful evening, full of color, laughter, and incredible food.
My first Auto-Rickshaw ride was on the way to the wedding! (This is Sumitra who is another Ashasthan staff)
Here are some of the girls awaiting the ceremony to begin.
The bride and groom
Most of the Ashasthan girls with the happy couple
Monday, February 9, 2009
I'm alive, all is well!
I literally have all of 30 seconds to write. So I am basically posting to say I will write again soon.
So much to tell!
missing you all!
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