So many ways to wear it!

Shae gets a doti

All 3 at 9 months

Things that no longer shock me...

• Sparks flying every time I unplug the computer back up and plug in the printer.
• Not have water for hours without warning. (no washing, toilet flushing, laundry, sink, etc.)
• Little geckos scurrying in and out of the house
• The mosquito fogger guy on a bike spraying ddt every evening
• Cows, dogs, chickens, bullocks, goats and the occasional monkey impeding traffic
• Multidimensional traffic coming/going wherever it can, organized by a set of rules that can't quite be articulated or abstracted... not unlike the flow of water.
• Public urination.  (Still don't like it, but am no longer shocked.)
• Having household help.
• Eating perfectly ripe pineapple... for 36 cents.
• Keeping the windows open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year (excepting the occasional monsoon downpour)
• 15 varieties of mango available during mango season.
• Having beer delivered to your house. 

Just your average Indian brithday party

Ups and downs

Though it’s a cliché, it’s true that life here is often a rollercoaster.  Today held both peaks and valleys.

It may sound insignificant, but I was feeling really tired of India after a terrible haircut experience for Hannah and myself (not being listened to, being stared at by all the stylists and the patrons in the salon at the mall, being overcharged by 3 times, and leaving with precisely the same hair problem we came in with) then haggling with a rickshaw driver and being overcharged by more than 300%.... being laughed at by the whole line of drivers, all unwilling to turn on the meter or agree on a fair price (even twice what Indians would pay).  It’s hard to feel like you’re always being taken advantage of and all people see is a white face = money.

I’m happy to report that the end of the day was a highlight of our time here.  Rani, who cleans for us and cares for Sarah in the evenings, invited us to her new home for dinner.  We were able to help her secure some affordable housing for a long period of time and she wanted to thank us for our assistance.  It was a sweet time of fellowship with her family—her widowed mother and three daughters.  We prayed blessings for her new home and enjoyed a delicious meal prepared just for us, with each of our favorite dishes and beverages.  Her mother wept with gratitude, I cried tears of amazement at God’s goodness to us and to others, and the children played happily around us.  It is a simple place but spacious by Indian standards, spotlessly clean and cheerfully painted and decorated. 

As I savor the evening in recounting it, the most salient part is the deep happiness I felt in spending the evening there.  Before we left, she showed us the rooftop where washing is done, shoes are stored and chilis are dried.  The sun was setting, palm trees waved, raucous temple music wafted in and out, trucks and rickshaws sputtered on the street, an occasional goat bleated and Sarah waved to the passersby staring (read: gaping) at us from 3 stories below.

Rani’s life has truly touched ours (see previous post) and I am grateful.  Her love for us and our children, especially Sarah, has been a great joy and comfort to us on this rollercoaster.  I will truly miss her presence in our lives..

Rewind: blogs converge--"Lives that touch ours"

Just to keep everyone on their toes, I tried to start a blog at a different address because of the ongoing problems we'd had with blogspot, but it's working now and this is the easiest place to share, so we're back.

Here's a post I wrote weeks ago on the other site...  It's relevant because of what I will write about next, a wonderful evening we spent with Rani and family.

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I have floundered a bit, trying to decide how to begin… where to start.  There are months of photos and travels to share, stories to tell, recipes to post.  I will do my best to chronicle the adventures we’ve had but for now I will leave you with what’s foremost on my heart and mind: the pain, joy, suffering, hope and hopelessness, and intensity in the lives that touch ours here.

I could write a novel about some of these things but this is not the place for that.  Rani, the lovely woman who cleans for us and helps with Sarah when I am putting the kids to bed, has grown increasingly dear to me over our time here.  Last night she shared about a time when she was 6 years old.  She was awakened at midnight by her mother (father had abandoned them early on) and taken to a lake in the center of the city.  In utter desperation, her mother had sewn rocks into her sari to weight it down and she waded into the lake to drown herself, calling for Rani to follow.  “Come, we will die, ” she said.  Blessedly, Rani ran scared and encountered 2 people walking near the shore who then coaxed her mother out of the water, preventing both of their deaths.

Rani began cleaning houses at age 10, was married to an awful, awful man at age 13, and has an amazing story of heartbreak and courage.  She is 31 years old, has 3 beautiful daughters (14, 16, 19), and is the sole provider for her household (separated from husband 10 years ago).  Though she herself is illiterate, she has ensured that all of her daughters continue with their studies.  I am so grateful for a chance to know her and am challenged and blessed by her life touching mine.