Road Trip

This is the road trip for which we left a day late…

 due to my fever they said we should wait.

This is my travel companion thank goodness she came… 

without a friend on this journey I just might complain.

This the spot where one hour in.. 

the vehicle stopped and would not start again.

This is the hose that sprung the leak.. 

causing us not to reach the school till mid week.

But while you are waiting - might as well meet someone new, 

which is especially easy when everyone’s watching you.

So these are the women planting the rice, 

who stopped for a photo.. Wasn't that nice?

These are the men who offered to help push the car,

 but it was not possible 6k is just too far.

This is the balloon we hoped would mend the hole 

but the balloon and the tape couldn't accomplish the goal.

With the help of the balloon we moved a few feet

 but when we stopped again we were smack in the heat.

With water low and heat so very hot.. 

I wanted to guzzle but I tried not to drink a lot.

This the shop where we went and sat.

 We found water and chips.  I was so thankful for that.

There was other food they said that I shouldn't try.

 If you watch the cooking process long enough you will understand why.

This is the driver who tried to save the day. 

  He thought he could fix it so he sent the rescue car away.

More time passed and it was not to be.  

So he called them again and we hope they reach us by three.

So for now people watching is all there is to do.. 

and to record this adventure and tell it to you.

So this is the story as we sit here and wait.

 Adventures in India are always great.

Who's Coming to Dinner?

So here are my thoughts.. it’s a swirl of things wrapping their way into one. 

I am reading a book called Bread and Wine. It’s about the life, laughter and the friendship that happen when you join together for a meal, around a table.  It is inspiring me to want to do that more...to have a house where old and new friends gather to cook and share a meal. This book makes me want to savor foods and savor life.

Paralleling that, I have been witnessing a beautiful thing in India, where I am staying.  Each week a group of people visit neighboring slums.  They visit, talk, and encourage.  Many of us try that.  We step into circles (different than are own) and engage in a “service project” for a little while before stepping back out and going on our way.  But what I am observing here and what I love is that the involvement doesn't stop there.  It is much more inclusive.  Meals are shared, kids play together, and homes are visited.  The walls that divide shrink.  When you eat and fellowship together - the walls that divide begin to crack. I like that.. and I love watching it.

I woke up this morning to unending news feeds about the Trayvon Martin case.  Since I am currently in India I have not had much access to U.S. news so I have heard nothing of the trial. All I know is what I am seeing on Facebook and I know the trial has raised a lot of questions and here is mine. How do we change our communities? I am going to suggest something that may seem insignificant in light of a much larger problem…but what if it starts with having dinner… because I believe this....

"Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding."  –Albert Einstein. 

I have to imagine that understanding begins by talking - and where better to talk than around a table filled with food. I am hoping this is not a passing phase in my heart.  Soon school will start and busyness will begin.  It is easy to settle into a routine.  But I am praying my routine begins to include more meals around my table with old and new friends. 

So, who’s in… who's coming to dinner?

Today

While I am sure last night’s sickness cannot really be blamed on rice.. rice is the last thing I want to eat right now and I am in the wrong country to be having this issue because rice is a twice a day staple.  I have prided myself on my tough stomach. In five years of coming to India I have never gotten sick.  I guess my streak is over.  I felt certain last night that I would still be fine to got to school today but after breakfast I was still feeling achy, tired, and weak.. so, I spent most of the day in bed except for one brief trip to the store.  The only thing I was craving was soft serve vanilla icecream.  Probably not the best get well food but it sure hit the spot.  Tonight I am going to spend some time visiting with my new Australian friends.  They live in another part of India but have been visiting here for a few days.  I have so much appreciated their fellowship and will miss them when they leave tomorrow.  

Belly Laugh

When I entered the house, the old man in the corner didn’t even look my direction.  He uttered no sound as I was introduced to everyone else.  I figured the years had simply taken their toll.  Several minutes into the visit his son stood over him speaking in Hindi.   The old man’s eyes slowly turned to look at me and he let out a deep belly laugh.  “I told him you were American,” his son said. “He has never seen one before.…only on T.V.”   I am happy to be his first.

Just Being

 

I saw this on another blog but it just fits. It fits here when I show up in an unsuspecting house of Hindi speakers. It fits when I am in the U.S. and I enter a room filled with fast talking Arabic women. It fits when I smile and try to guess about a conversation. And it fits when out of those times when I think that I am really doing nothing...relationship begins. Sometimes it is just about being....I like that.

They are speaking Arabic. And I know absolutely no Arabic words, so I smile and nod a lot. I wonder why I’m here.

I excuse myself and wander over to the kid’s bedroom, but they are engaged in a video game and barely acknowledge my presence, so I go back to Najah’s room, and I sit. Smile and nod.

 I sit here feeling useless and helpless, and it occurs to me that this is okay.  It occurs to me that grace opens a door nothing else can open. I don’t have to be useful and helpful all the time. The one thing I worry I'll risk if I’m not— love and acceptance—is already a given. I don’t have to perform, to contribute anything. I don’t even have to know what’s going on. I can just be here. And I think Najah, without hearing any words to this effect, understands.

Signs of Promise

The road to reach the house we visited was winding. There were high walls on both sides of the narrow walkway we traveled. We passed door after door after door - many opened, portals leading to one room dwellings. While I didn’t want to invade privacy, I couldn't help but notice people cooking, sleeping, playing, washing...a glimpse into their lives. Some faces jerked, heads snapping and eyes wide, as they saw a white face passing...others never noticed.  After several turns we ducked inside one of the doors. The kitchen utensils lined one wall.  A raised platform in the corner served as a bed at night, a table at meal time, and a work space during the day.  But what I loved seeing were the signs of promise.  Several shelves were built into the wall and they were STACKED with books.  There was one stack for each of the five children in the home.  Three of the children are young, still in grade school, but two are pursing higher degree in a university.  Hope can rise anywhere and everywhere....and even right here....in this very home.
Way to go mom and dad for encouraging your daughters.. Way to go girls - I can’t wait to see who you will become.  I am reminded once again of the value of an education.  When you can read, and you have the confidence to believe in your potential, all things are possible. 

Engaging

I made a mistake today.. I think it is one I make frequently.  I keep choosing disengagement.. and from now on, I will stop.  A friend went to a baby orphanage today and rocked sweet newborn babies.  I opted to stay home. I was tired. I’m still jet-lagged.  It’s a reasonable excuse and rest IS good.. but I didn’t really rest.  I did rest a bit, but much of the day I spent on Facebook reading about what is going on thousands of miles away, when right outside my door is a world from which I chose to disengage.

 

I used to have a sign in my classroom that said, “Do the BEST thing.” I wanted it to be a saying that I upheld. I think I need to remember that.

Sometimes, the “Best Thing” really is checking Facebook. I like knowing what’s going on.  Sometimes the best thing is editing pictures.  I love posting beautiful things.  Sometimes the best things is rest… and when rest is needed it SHOULD be taken.  Today, I did need some quiet downtime but now, at the end of the day, I realize how little time I spent engaged in what I actually needed.  AND.....I spent no time rocking sweet little ones.  Tomorrow if I need to rest.. I am really going to rest. If I need to read and to process, to think, or to pray I am really going to do that.  I am going to "Do the BEST thing" .. and hopefully, I will be more engaged.  Because India is a pretty great place..there are so many opportunities to engage...the United States offers many as well. :  )