Everyday life

Well, It’s been quite a while since my last update. I was having problems with the internet here at our apartment, but here’s what’s been going on.

We finally moved out of our home stay…well that was about 3 weeks ago. It didn’t feel like much of a home that we were staying in. We stayed with an old widow and a 15 yr old girl. We felt trapped in our room most of the time, especially when family was visiting. There was an old man who stayed upstairs for a week or two, and he would occasionally come down for meals or to spend time with them in the living room, but if we came out of our room while he was there, he would immediately get up and leave the room. Sometimes we would watch TV with the widow and her granddaughter/servant in the evenings, but it was always some really weird soap opera that we couldn’t understand, or some vulgar music video that I wouldn’t even watch in the States. Other times when we would be out in the living room trying to practice our language with them, the old lady would just kinda laugh and turn on the TV. I guess she didn’t want to listen to us.

The hardest thing about living there for me was the reality of the religion they serve. I can’t talk about it here, but I have seen things that haunt my dreams and break my heart.

The highlight of our stay was the 15 year old who lived with us. She was like a servant there, but I think she was the granddaughter of the lady we lived with. Her name was Subo. She was so sweet! At first we didn’t think that she spoke much English. Then one night we were having problems with our shower, and she helped fix it. The next day the widow asked how we communicated with Subo because she didn’t speak any English. But later we found that the more we tried practicing our language with her, the more she would speak to us in English. She was great help with our language. She would correct us and help us. Subo’s little brother and sister were there for the last few weeks. That was fun too. They would joke around and laugh together. It made the atmosphere seem a little lighter in the house. On the last day that we were there, we even taught them how to play UNO!

Even though things were hard sometimes, these people we lived with do have a permanent place in my heart, and occasionally I miss them. We do plan to go back and visit them sometime this week.

Now Steph and I live in an apartment with both a girl from Kentucky that will be leaving in a about a week and a lady from Colombia. It has been so nice to live here together. We take turns cooking each day. It is starting to feel like home I think. Actually, today I got a real bed to sleep on! We had been sleeping on cots or on mats on the floor. BUT NOW, I have an actual bed frame, and even though it is a little harder than the cot, something about it is comforting. I put my pr rug on the small floor space next to the bed, pulled in one of the plastic chairs from the living room, and using a rectangular wicker basket as a night stand almost makes the room seem homier somehow. I will attach a picture of my corner of the room so you can see.

Every evening we teach English at the school for 1-1/2 hrs. These past two weeks, we have also been teaching accent training at a nurses training school for 3 hrs every morning. This has made our schedule pretty hectic. We had to stop our language lessons during that time, and we were worried that we would be behind! But it was so much fun to start language learning again! Our teacher has become our friend. She is so sweet! She is getting engaged next month and having a big party! We are all invited of course! And we do fun things together like go out to eat or watch movies in hindi, and of course we do lots of shopping. I could actually stand to do a little less of that. J The other day she was flipping through Hannah (the girl from KY)’s copy of my favorite book, and Hannah told her that she could keep it! It was exciting because all she said in response was, “Okay, I’ll read this.” It was so funny. Here was this huge study version of the book and she said she would read all of it. We’re excited to see how she will like it.

Language has been going well this week though. At first we were afraid that we might be behind, and we don’t have very many opportunities to practice since we teach English most of the time, but I’ve been excited about how much I have been able to understand recently. It’s coming slowly but surely.

Great things have been going on at the school we teach at in the evenings. Many of our students have been asking some though provoking questions. Some seem very curious to know about our Dad. So keep asking Dad to introduce himself to these eager students. J

One of the greatest things that you could pr for me about is friendship. I have a lot of acquaintances with locals, but I want really deep meaningful friendships where we can talk about anything and everything and trust each other with both our joys and sorrows and boredom... etc. I’m so glad to have Stephy here with me to lean on. If I had come here by myself, I might would not have made it. This week has been getting better though. Last night I walked home with two girls in my class, and they invited us to visit them next week! This morning a girl is coming over that wants me to teach her how to play guitar! Last night she came over to teach us how to cook pokura. It was pretty good. Next week we will learn how to cook another dish from another friend. These things are so exciting for me because I have been asking Dad about this for the past week, and it’s cool to see how He’s answered. Maybe it’s a bit of an attitude adjustment for me and recognizing their signs that they want to be my friend.

Another thing that you can pr for me about is boldness. Sometimes it’s easier for me to let others take responsibility with things as simple as going to the store to buy water, or calling the gas company to get a new gas cylinder for the stove. These little tasks seem scary sometimes when I don’t feel that my language skills are adequate, or when the people on the phone hang up on me because I can’t understand what they are saying.

I also discovered that I HATE bargaining. It makes me so tired. Of course I have to or else I get charged a hefty white skin tax on everything I buy. I miss going to stores like Walmart and just picking up what I need, paying, and leaving…wow, I never thought I would ever say that I missed Walmart!

I’m still trying to figure out exactly why I am here. I mean I know why I am here, but I’m trying to figure out why DAD wants me here. What He wants me to do while I’m here. What does he want me to do? What should I do for the 28 beggers I pass every day on the street, most of whom are deformed or diseased? Or for the 15 homeless children that ask for food/money every time I go the community center? How do I not grow cold to them without constantly being heartbroken? How do I show love to my friends and my students in ways that are culturally appropriate and understood? How do I talk about our Dad in ways that won’t make them want to argue angrily? How true it was when our Dad said that it is easy to love those who love us, but what good is that really?

Yet, every pr that I have continues to be answered. Please also pr for the school that I work at. By this time next may there might not be any teachers left. What happens then? Also they are starting a new branch of the school in another city. Pr for blessings in this as well. And there’s opportunities for more teaching at the nurse’s training school where Steph and I had been teaching the last two weeks. This would be good for the school, but will they have teachers?

On Tuesday and Thursday evenings we have conversation groups at the school. Some nights these go really well and other nights they are just boring / uneventful. I think that the more the students get used to me, the easier it gets. On Tuesday the power was out at the school so we went to the park for conversation groups. We ended up playing games like Two Truths and a Lie, and Truth or Dare. And then last night we talked about marriage and I had to share about divorce and abortion and other things. It was really cool to be able to share that my parents have been married for 30 something years and that I didn’t think that it was okay for people to get a divorce. But it was a really good conversation. Any time I get to talk about our Dad is a good day. And at the end of the time after we had discussed qualities we wanted our future spouses to have, they wanted to know if I would rather marry an American or an Indian! I told them probably an American because then our families would live closer to each other and it was important to me that my family gets along with his family. Considering that my group consisted of all men, I’m sure that if I had said Indian that I probably would have had plenty of proposals.

I been thinking a lot about my future the past few days. What will I do when I come home? What kind of job should I get? How long should I stay at home? Where will I go next? Will I come back here? These are all questions that I have. But I know that these are things that teach me to trust our Dad more and more!

We went to Agra to see the Taj Mahal this past weekend! That was pretty cool! It was my second time to see it, so it wasn't as exciting as the first, but it was still pretty neat! Our train home was 3+ hrs late. That was a little scary, and then the train was way over croweded when we got on it. It made it a really long night, but then we were able to rest most of Sunday so it was okay.

Things really are going well here. Anyway, that's all for now!

Three weeks later...

Well, I've been here three weeks now.
We made several new friends! Most are great!
One is a little... well... clingy.
When she calls and we don't answer, she just keeps on calling. Yesterday she called 13 times in an hour and a half while we were taking a nap. Then when we still didn't answer, she came over and woke us up. It scared me! I felt a tap on my shoulder and expected it to be Steph, but it wasn't! I opened my eyes and couldn't figure out who it was, so I closed them again! And then I heard steph talking to her and realized that it wasn't some scary monster that came to eat me, just our friend who won't leave us alone!
But then again, we have had the BEST conversations with her friends. That has been a great enouragement to us.

Stomach problems are an every day reality for us. There's also a cold going around! How a person can get a cold in 120 degree weather is beyond me, but it happens! I had a runny nose all week, and when it finally stopped, steph seemed to be getting it. I've made great friends with some fellow americans here too. One girl will be teaching at the same school we are. We will live with her and a girl from Columbia when we finish our homestay. Last night we watched a movie in the local language together. Not that we really know that much of the language yet... There were subtitles. I think it'll be really fun to live with those girls next month!

We begin teaching ESL tomorrow evening. I'm a little nervous, but i think it'll be good. A girl who went last year discovered during her six months that she really hated teaching ESL but there was nothing that she could do about it because she had to graduate. All I'm worried about is figuring out how to appropriately teach 15 men in a culture where I should not even look them in the eye...

Things are finally becoming more normal. Every day seems to be a little less stressful. And the rain came early this year, so this week has been really cool... by which I mean in the 80s. Pray that it'll continue to stay that way. I decided that I love the rain!

Well, that's all i have for tonight. God bless!

So much to do, so little time

ONLY 2 DAYS BEFORE I LEAVE!!!
Honesty: I'm sure that you're not supposed to be honest about such things but here it is anyway:

Current feelings about leaving: (in order of most prominent)
1. excited!!
2. very alone...well almost.
3. not wanting to say goodbye
4. stressed
5. sad
6. scared

It's weird because the only thing that I have to talk about to anyone right now is my trip. I'm sure I keep going on and on about it and people who listen to me get annoyed, but I can't seem to think about anything else.

Why do I get the feeling that I am finally going to have to grow up? I have to become a responsible adult that can handle being on her own. It'll be good. Hard, but good.

The End? or just the Beginning?

Wow. What a crazy week. I finished all of my finals, with the exception of a few papers still due. I said so many goodbyes too. It's going to be hard. My school has been my home for the past two years, my dorm for the past one year. I have so many friends there that I love. I am so thankful for everything that has happened.

I realized on the long drive home as I listened to a goodbye CD that my friends had made me that this is it. My dream for the past 5 years has been to go out there, just to get to another country and tell the people of the love that I found back home. Now it's finally happening! I leave in less than a week! That CD meant so much to me! It was so perfect for my drive home!

Before I left, a friend's family prayed over me that I would be able to be joyful during my trip. I was so thankful for that. It is hard to say goodbye and it's easy to complain when life gets tough, but to have joy really means something...

A wise friend named Paul once said:
"Rejoice in the Him always. I will say it again, Rejoice!"

Almost there

Only one week of finals.
Then one week of goodbyes.
Then it's off to South Asia for 6 months.
My how time flies.