Hello dear friends! I am sorry to say I have been shirking in my resolution to write a blog on a weekly basis! it's now week four, day 27, and I'm ready to update you again on what I've been learning and experiencing here in Kolkata.
First of all I thought I'd share with you a few cultural quirks I discovered that might be of interest. These fall into two categories: things India believes in, and things it doesn't. So, here goes:
Things India Believes In!:
It's been a big time of transition for me. The way of life is, as expected, radically different for me here in comparison to the US. I live in a four room flat with five other people. Myself and the four girls live in one large room, sleeping on thin pallets on the floor, and keeping all our belongings in a cubby holes on the far wall. We have two working toilets (praise Jesus), but no showers, we wash by tipping water over our heads from a bucket (see photo demonstration). Our kitchen is tiny, only about 3' by 6', with only a sink and a two burner gas stove- that is JUST a stove, no convection oven, just burners. We take turns cooking and cleaning, and so far things have gone very well among the five of us. I am having to do a lot of internal adjustment though mainly because I am not used to being around people for so much of my day. In the US I spend at least 65% of my day by myself. This is my recharge time, the time I use to process my thoughts and feelings and recoup my energy. I am a fairly outgoing person, but this doesn't mean I'm an extrovert. Just being around people for hours and hours tires me out. I must spend that time worrying about others, their wants, needs, and desires and make an effort to fulfill them to the best of my ability. It's hard to keep that up 24/7. I am, by nature, selfish. In a healthy way sometimes (when selfishness is my time to withdraw and be at peace within myself) but also in a detrimental way (in that I sometimes begin to resent catering to others when I want to just have my way). I think God is teaching me about what servanthood really means when it is lived 24 hours a day 7 days a week. I am being convicted about some of my more blatant selfish inclinations and trying to begin to discipline myself to engage community living for the long haul. It's not going to be easy, but I think in the long run I will have an ability I never knew I was capable of and it will bless my life immensely. I know God has plans to prosper me and not to harm me, so this community living thing has to be good right? Haha, well if not good-feeling at least good for me as a person. I plan to try hard to live well in community with this team and Word Made Flesh overall. Please pray for me to find the balance between nurturing my soul through alone time and meditation, and allowing my selfishness to melt away in favor of a stronger community bond. It's going to be a long road, but I think the journey will bring me joy. The lyrics to a Death Cab for Cutie song have been on my mind as I begin this journey toward a self-effacing, community building lifestyle:
First of all I thought I'd share with you a few cultural quirks I discovered that might be of interest. These fall into two categories: things India believes in, and things it doesn't. So, here goes:
Things India Believes In!:
 |
| Sarah models the teeny tiny Cha |
- Shoving- In many Asian cultures because of the huge number of people you are competing against, if you don't shove, you'll never get anything you want (literally or metaphorically). The Indians adhere to this philosophy with gusto.
- "Cha Time" twice daily- Cha, or black tea with milk and sugar is served twice, morning and evening, at all workplaces, and tiny communion-sized cups of the stuff are available at all times of the day and night on street corners and train platforms throughout the city.
- Using umbrellas for sun, but hiding from rain- this makes sense if you think about the strength of an Indian monsoon shower. Those storms don't play around.
- Having unpronounceable phonetics- You try to figure out the difference between the "gh" consonant and the "kh", I can't.
- Using completely garbled syntax- A sentence from a prayer we learned translated exactly states, "thanks us India bringing for, help do please dear Jesus so that us Bangla quickly learn."
- Non-committal head motions- a dip of the head to one side can mean yes but often morphs into the head "waggle" which can mean both yes or no.
- Ovens- everyone cooks on one burner stoves I don't know what they have against baked goods.
- In-house Bathing- If you are Indian (or at least 90% of Indians) you wash either in a communal bathroom in your housing complex or a side-of-the-road water spigot where twenty other people are lathering up as buses and cars whiz by.
- Personal Space- Cuz in a country with this many people, I guess they figure "why bother?"
- Utensils- Not a fork in sight. No idea why.
- Toilet Paper- Might be a waste thing? I don't know, but boy had you better carry your own if you want it!
- Giving Change for more than a 100 Rupee Bill- No idea why. Surely someone has a use for the 500s and 1000s
 |
| My teammate Nathan modeling our bed |
 |
| Annie models the bucket-shower |
 |
| The Jones and Salley Surprise (aka dinner) |
It's been a big time of transition for me. The way of life is, as expected, radically different for me here in comparison to the US. I live in a four room flat with five other people. Myself and the four girls live in one large room, sleeping on thin pallets on the floor, and keeping all our belongings in a cubby holes on the far wall. We have two working toilets (praise Jesus), but no showers, we wash by tipping water over our heads from a bucket (see photo demonstration). Our kitchen is tiny, only about 3' by 6', with only a sink and a two burner gas stove- that is JUST a stove, no convection oven, just burners. We take turns cooking and cleaning, and so far things have gone very well among the five of us. I am having to do a lot of internal adjustment though mainly because I am not used to being around people for so much of my day. In the US I spend at least 65% of my day by myself. This is my recharge time, the time I use to process my thoughts and feelings and recoup my energy. I am a fairly outgoing person, but this doesn't mean I'm an extrovert. Just being around people for hours and hours tires me out. I must spend that time worrying about others, their wants, needs, and desires and make an effort to fulfill them to the best of my ability. It's hard to keep that up 24/7. I am, by nature, selfish. In a healthy way sometimes (when selfishness is my time to withdraw and be at peace within myself) but also in a detrimental way (in that I sometimes begin to resent catering to others when I want to just have my way). I think God is teaching me about what servanthood really means when it is lived 24 hours a day 7 days a week. I am being convicted about some of my more blatant selfish inclinations and trying to begin to discipline myself to engage community living for the long haul. It's not going to be easy, but I think in the long run I will have an ability I never knew I was capable of and it will bless my life immensely. I know God has plans to prosper me and not to harm me, so this community living thing has to be good right? Haha, well if not good-feeling at least good for me as a person. I plan to try hard to live well in community with this team and Word Made Flesh overall. Please pray for me to find the balance between nurturing my soul through alone time and meditation, and allowing my selfishness to melt away in favor of a stronger community bond. It's going to be a long road, but I think the journey will bring me joy. The lyrics to a Death Cab for Cutie song have been on my mind as I begin this journey toward a self-effacing, community building lifestyle:
Burn it down till the embers smoke on the ground
And start new, when your heart is an empty room
With walls of the deepest blue...
The flames and smoke climbed out of every window
And disappeared with everything that you held dear
And you shed not a single tear, for the things that you didn't need
'Cause you knew you were finally free...
I Love you all! Please feel free to leave comments and feedback, I'd love to hear from you!
Be well friends!
Beautiful. I love the song. I am sending you a recipe for "baked" goods you can make on the stovetop! : )
ReplyDelete