The first morning in India I woke up around 8 when Mary, the cook, came into the room looking for my roommate, Sarah. She had left early this morning along with Father Felix and the boys who live here for a wedding in a nearby town, so James and I were the only ones at breakfast. Mary made us what appear to be rice cakes, and an orange spicey sauce along with a chutney sauce. It was delicious, but I think will take some getting used to for breakfast. I couldn’t help missing my morning Kashi just a little bit. The spices here are going to be killer until I get more used to them.
After breakfast James and I decided to go out back to visit the cows and then we walked toward the little town nearby named Vikravandy. It was a small dusty street crowded with motorcycles, bikes, and big buses coming through, all blaring their horns at the people trying to walk down the street as well as the occasional goat, cow, or dog who ran across the road. Chaos would be too mild a word. We don’t have any Rupees yet, and there was no ATM or bank in town, so we just browsed the market stalls and open-air pharmacies set up alongside the road.
The local people wear a colorful dress, the women in saris that have beautiful colors and patterns integrated into the fabric, and many complete the ensemble with flowers in the hair and long braids. The men wear long pants and a button down shirt or a type of wrap-around skirt that I haven’t learned the name for yet. The clothes serve them well in the near 90 degree heat (and this is the mild, winter season!) It’s not appropriate for women to wear shorts here, so I plan on getting a few saris or long skirts as soon as possible! For the most part we garnered curious stares from the locals, occasionally an enthusiastic “hi!” from a group of young boys, or an “I’m hungry” gesture in hopes of a handout. Eventually the chaos and novelty of everything was combining with the jet-lag to make our heads spin, so we returned to the compound.
When the others returned from the wedding I was introduced to little Sinou (pronounced “sinew”) a 9 year-old orphan who lives here at the compound with Father Felix. This little boy is absolutely adorable. He is full of energy and life, but has also been taught really good manners and is the sweetest little kid. We spent a lot of time this afternoon playing with the paint program on my laptop, and the play-doh that I brought has given him hours and hours of entertainment. The stuff he comes up with to do with the play-doh is incredibly inventive and creative. The thing that is most amazing to me about a lot of the kids I’ve met in third world countries is how they can take the simplest thing, maybe something we wouldn’t even think of as a toy, and enjoy it so thoroughly and completely.
We had a big lunch of sambar, tortillas, rice, vegetables, and various sauces. I had a crash course in how to eat with my fingers like Indians do. It actually requires a lot of technique and skill to be able to put the rice into a ball-like shape and then scoop it into your mouth with the back of the thumb. And it is counter-intuitive because my whole life I’ve been taught NOT to play with food and not to use my fingers. But I think once I get the technique down it will be fun, and the food is really good, if a bit spicy.
After a long afternoon nap we went into the town of Villapurum for phones and local SIM cards. Father Felix has been great helping us to get adjusted and making sure we have everything we need. Everyone we’ve met has been so friendly—this afternoon we met Nelson. He is a 17 year old boy orphan who also lives with Father Felix. We played a few rounds of Slaps (Egyptian Rat Tail) and Rummy. After our trip to town we met Agne, a local boy who goes to school with Nelson and came all the way over here to meet us. He wanted to chat and learn about us, even though their English isn’t the best.
So far being in India is completely different than anything I’ve done in my life, and although its overwhelming and there are plenty of minor inconveniences along the way, I’m really looking forward to spending two more months here.
Pictures will come soon!
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