We have been in India now for two weeks!
It is full of life & colour and just like every country we have been to in Asia, entirely different from the last one. Here are some thoughts from our first half of the month in this fabulous place;
- Curry for breakfast is really strange and kinda good at the same time, although I suspect by the end of this month I will never want to eat curry again. It turns out the word curry can really mean about 50 different dishes though, so we have learnt to really expect anything.
- Most of the villagers in India have rarely seen Westerners, they serve us cold drinks and tea even if we are just stopping, by as a sign of respect, and they listen to every word we say intently.
- I think some of the people we have been meeting here believe that touching us or our garments will provide blessing or healing, much like people believed with Jesus. That is a humbling thought, and one we love to try and break the mould of when we speak to people.
- When it begins to rain they will automatically usher the 8 of us inside, as the rest of the community remains in the rain. That’s hard.
- Little children will touch your feet as a sign of respect.
- India isn’t as wildly hot as you would expect, in July at least that is. My phone tells me it is 37 degrees, but maybe TWR has just me really resilient to heat because we feel good.
- In saying that, ceiling fans are the best invention ever. Praising Jesus for them!
- Chai is the world’s most delicious tea drink and ‘chai time’ at 10.30/11am is my favourite time of the day. Also, chai that I have had at home has absolutely nothing on chai here, in fact it tastes entirely different.
- You haven’t finished dinner until you have eaten 4 plates of rice, 8 chapatis, multiple types of curry, an egg, dahl & some more rice. This is an exaggeration but seriously SO MUCH FOOD.
- India is home to 1.3 billion people, which is 4 times the population of the USA, in 1/3 of the land space. It holds an incredible 18% of the world’s population.
- I have never prayed so much (that’s an exaggeration but it is a LOT and it is incredible).
- If I don’t have a lot to do during the day, I can become really complacent. Hello Enneagram 9. I have moved to making a list of daily things to accomplish so I stay productive.
- Kurtas and loose trousers make up the world’s most comfortable outfit. I think I’ll wear them always.
- I already know I will come back to India someday. There is too much to see and too many wonderful people to meet to not come back. I would absolutely have never thought that before the Race, it’s incredible to be so surprised by somewhere.
- Indian people are some of the friendliest I have met thus far on the Race. They genuinely light up when you are around and are so incredibly respectful and hospitable.
More to come but these are my rainy Wednesday afternoon thoughts.
Love,
C xo
