A full day in Berhampur

I apologize for being MIA from the blogosphere lately. The two weeks before Christmas I did a lot of traveling and lately we have been busy with all the Christmas festivities. I have so much to share from my travels. As I see new places and meet new people I continue to fall in love with this country. But one of the things I like most about traveling here is coming back home to Jeypore where I feel like a member of the family. Watching seven precious children become so delighted and excited to see you is a great feeling.

I want to share some photos from our trip to Berhampur, the second largest city in Orissa. We met some amazing people as we visited different missions in the city. The Missionaries of Charity, (the order of sisters founded by Mother Teresa), have a center where they take care of orphaned and abandoned children, the mentally challenged, and serve as a medical dispensary. We also visited a leprosy colony outside the city. While they live there, they are able to work in the gardens and grow their own produce. Another mission we saw was a home for deaf and mute children. They are clever, perceptive, and full of life. Finally, we visited a home for physically challenged girls. This was all in one day and it was a lot to take in. I continue to be humbled by seeing others' suffering and how they continue to live joyfully without complaint.

My first time seeing an elephant walking in the street among the traffic. Awesome.

The people of India

A few snapshots of the people of India with a little tribal dancing thrown in...

The small occurrences of daily life in India

I was inspired to write this post while eating yet another lunch of rice and vegetables. I unknowingly ate a green chili and half of my mouth still feels like it's on fire. It's a small thing that has become somewhat commonplace, yet is a distinctive part of my life in India. Some other common things that characterize life here . . . A small roach and a trail of ants running across the counter as I make a cake in the kitchen; making sure to set my alarm so I can take a bath with hot water before 8 when the power goes out for an hour; the afternoon siesta; playing outside with the kids and being called in for spicy chai and biscuits, decoding and correcting the chidren's "Yoda-like" inverted sentence structures -- (ie. "so many chocolates I have"); walking through the market and averting my eyes as a man relieves himself in the street; greeting curious, staring children in their own language (namaskar) and watching them smile with delight; women carrying loads of hay, rice, or vegetables on their heads; watching the gigantic bats (possibly Indian flying foxes) flying over the house as dusk falls; and of course tucking my mosquito net under the mattress before I crawl into bed.

Saree Shopping

My enculturation continues: I now have my first saree! The choices of fabric are seemingly endless and a little overwhelming when they start pulling out fabric and throwing them down in front of you. But definitely a fun experience. Once you have the fabric, a tailor has to use some to make a blouse. A week later it was all finished and I got to try it on. Easier said than done. There seems to be an art to wrapping the 6 yards of material around yourself. My goal is to learn how to do it by myself. Everyone here found it very amusing to see me in a saree and a small photo shoot ensued. Enjoy!