I'm doing pretty good here in the city so far, my stomach is adjusting to the food but I haven't found anything I don't like...except for some slimy fruit that refuses to go down your throat without some extra effort, in the future i will try to avoid that. You eat with your fingers but only on your right hand, the left hand is dirty. (its the one they wipe with, we have toilet paper here in the city though, its pink) My finger nails on my right hand have a yellow tint to them from the sauce they put on the rice, this is normal.
My only complaints so far are the weather and mosquitoes! It is so humid here everytime I go outside I am soaked in my own sweat. Yuck, but its my new way of life. Hopefully I get used to it soon. We have a fans in the building but no AC but you cannot believe what a difference just a fan makes. We have a little shower head that just sticks out of the wall, the whole thing is like a shower then you just push the water to a drain on the floor. There is no hot water, but a cold shower is wonderful =] Our power and our internet are a little bit unreliable, but it makes you thankful for it when it is there.
I also found out I am allergic to some kind of bug. I don't know what it was but I had HUGE swelled bites. They have went away already. I've never been allergic to anything so that was an experience in itself. I did pretty good, didn't even freak out.
When we walk down the street everyone stares at us. They are not used to seeing white people. No one comes here for vacation or anything. It's kind of like being celebrities. There are random goats and cows everywhere, no one really builds pens. We pretty much walk everywhere but when it is too far we take an auto. I love autos they are hard to describe, kind of like a motorized box that has a spot for the driver and a backseat for about 3 people legally.
We have already started a little learning language. I know how to say my name is melissa and thank you so far, but am working on more. We have had a lot of orientation type stuff over living here and being safe, cultural norms etc. I bought my first pair of clothes at a store called Pantaloons. I look pretty good =]. Yesterday we went to the Big Bazaar (like a wal-mart) to get some material for the taylor to make us more suits. The bottoms are called pajamas and that's exactly what they remind me of except oversized, they are very comfortable and are made of light fabric so they are cool. Then you have to get a scarf or dup-pa-ta that you have to wear and then just a long shirt. My pants are yellow with little flowers, they remind me of sunflowers from home.
I have met ALOT of people, there are tons of people that work here. I really like the team so far and am excited to work with them.
I learned that Hinduism is not actually a religion, that is the western definition, but it is not belief based it is community base. interesting isn't it? That means they can still be hindu and believe whatever they want and that is good for us. We were actually able to attend a hindu worship service that one of the teams' national friend had in her home. The family invites a priest to come over for the new year and bless their families. He offers flowers and fruit to the God and prays in Sanscript, which is a language that no one but the priests understand. This experience made me so sad. These people are so sweet, told me I was their daughter, but they do not know the truth. There is a lot of darkness here, it is very real. This is a huge city and 99.8% of the people I pass walking down the street are lost; they do not know the father or have the assurance I have.
Tomorrow we are headed for our homestay. We take a 12 hour train ride to a little village. We are staying with the principal of the school private believing school there, and will have a chance to work with kids. She is one of the most important people in the city everyone respects her, and since we are staying with her we are automatically accepted into the community. Her husband lives in the city here and runs a tea company so she is in charge of everything at home, which is very rare for women here. The school she runs is a great opportunity for Jade and I! It is a small village and they will be very excited to have us there, it will be hard to get alone time, that is my biggest concern. I am very excited about this experience, I know I have a lot to learn and a lot of people to meet. The city is fine, but I am a country girl at heart, and going to the village will be good for my heart. They are farmers there and I hope that is a good connection between them and me since my family farms.
I will not be able to post again until we get back from the homestay at the beginning of August!
