First things first…wifi in Nepal leaves something to be desired. I apologize. But let’s not dwell on that (I’m not here for the wifi anyways), onto the fun stuff!
One month down, ten to go. Even though the “countdown” mindset isn’t a good one to get into, especially during an 11 month journey, sometimes it’s fun to remember where you’re at and how much you have yet to experience.
India was filled with new experiences, different culture, translation errors, people staring at the Americans, and rice. Lots of rice. But to simplify it much more is seemingly impossible, given how much was packed into one month. So instead of writing novels, I’ll let 11 words, faces, and descriptions do the work to paint you a picture of India.
[all pictures and video taken and edited by yours truly, with the exception of number 10. Thank you Allison Ashforth!)
1. BUSY Cars, trucks, tractors, motorbikes, and rickshaws are only the beginning of the traffic that crazy Indian streets see. And horns? Not only are they used to say I’m mad, but also to say hello, I’m changing lanes, I’m turning, here I am, and various other words of obscenity and notification. A chorus of horns greets you around every turn.
2. SPICY My mouth ended up numb on more than one occasion. No joke. But at least they pity Americans…while the Indians in our house put 10-12 chilies in each meal they ate, they only put 4-5 in our meal. Thanks guys.
3. LOST Temples big and small appear around every corner, with no shortage of idols present on top, next to, and inside of every one. To see people walk inside of those temples is heartbreaking, as we realized that those people had no idea there’s a real God who loves and knows them.
4. YOUNG Approximately 70% of the population of India is under the age of 30, and therefore every street and home is filled with children of all ages. Absolutely precious.
5. DOGS Seriously. Dogs are everywhere, and most of the time they’re chill and do their own thing…and sometimes they bite you while you’re on a run and the neighbors stone the dog while you get rabies shots every three days for the rest of the month. Landon takes the cake on that one.
6. WISE Although there are not many older people in India, you only have to look into one’s eyes to learn stories from seemingly one thousand lifetimes.
7. SMELLY Trash everywhere. No exaggeration.
8. COLORFUL No amount of pictures could show the crazy amount of colorful clothing that Indian women wear every day. Blue pants and a hot pink shirt? No problem. Rainbow sari? Love it.
9. DEPENDENT Indian Christians depend on prayer because they know that God is all they have. Being asked to pray everywhere we went was exhausting, but a great reminder that God has no language barrier.
10. TRADITIONAL India is steeped in traditions, many having to do with either family or religion. And each celebration has it’s own customs, like mahendi (henna) for weddings.
11. One more picture won’t capture everything. So here’s a video that hopefully will show you a little more of our Indian life, courtesy of me and my lovely Beloved Warrior teammates. Click, watch, share, repeat.
