Hey readers! So, today I'm feeling compelled to share with you a warning. And that warning is this-that every scary and intimidating thing you hear about India is true:
It smells funny. And by funny, I mean bad most of the time.
It's dirty. In ALL senses of the word. The pollution literally makes my boogs grey, most roads are made of dirt and sand, and there's trash everywhere. There's actually a field of trash right across from where we live. Seriously, everywhere.
Roid raging mosquitos. Never in my life have I seen such giant, psychotic mosquitos. There are huge swarms because of all the stagnant water and I'm pretty sure they're immune to insect repellant. I have an insane amount of bites and they itch, BAD. On the bright side, my reflexes have vastly improved and I'm quickly becoming a mosquito ninja. SMACK! Got 'em.
Roid raging mosquitos. Never in my life have I seen such giant, psychotic mosquitos. There are huge swarms because of all the stagnant water and I'm pretty sure they're immune to insect repellant. I have an insane amount of bites and they itch, BAD. On the bright side, my reflexes have vastly improved and I'm quickly becoming a mosquito ninja. SMACK! Got 'em.
Squatty potties and bucket showers. Enough said.
Don't drink the water. You never know what might be living in it.
Cows are treated like royalty. Because in Indian culture, they ARE royalty. I've honestly seen cows in fancier dressings than I wear myself. And beef is NOT what's for dinner.
Cows also roam the streets and do whatever they want. Picture stray dogs + a few hundred pounds and increased privileges. Street cows in India.
Wild pigs. They're HUGE. They're all over. And I'm constantly nervous that one is going to decide it wants to chase me.
Do I have you talked out of ever visitng India yet? No? Let me go on…
Goat herds. More than once we've been delayed by huge herds of goats casually strolling across the road. Annoying? Nah. The prominence of shepherds, even if they're shepherding goats, makes the analogy of Jesus as our shepherd slightly easier to portray. Score one for team J.C.
We're in the VAST minority (other than the fact that we're foreign). In the last census on record, only 2.3% of all of India claimed Christianity as their religion. A lot of people actually do believe in Jesus, but along with their coconut and banana leaf hand-made idol that swings from their porch and any other number of gods and idols they may worship (which can number up to like 3 million!).
It's really stinkin' overpopulated. India is the world's second largest country, with 1.2 billion people, but only the 7th largest country by area. It's one of the most densely populated countries on the globe. I come from a state of about 1.8 million people, so you can imagine that the overcrowding is an issue for me.
A whole new level of modesty. Women don't show their ankles or their shoulders and must keep their heads covered while in church or praying. This wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't for the sweltering heat, but try being in an over-crowded church (no complaints there), no A/C, head and neck under a scarf, getting Holy Spirit hot flashes while praying over scads of people. Your internal prayer while praying for them out loud quickly becomes to not pass out from heat stroke. Plus it gets embarassing; I'm pretty sure I've turned a head or two while sweating uncontrollably. Luckily, we learned from watching the Indian women that the head covers can double as sweat rags.
A whole new level of modesty. Women don't show their ankles or their shoulders and must keep their heads covered while in church or praying. This wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't for the sweltering heat, but try being in an over-crowded church (no complaints there), no A/C, head and neck under a scarf, getting Holy Spirit hot flashes while praying over scads of people. Your internal prayer while praying for them out loud quickly becomes to not pass out from heat stroke. Plus it gets embarassing; I'm pretty sure I've turned a head or two while sweating uncontrollably. Luckily, we learned from watching the Indian women that the head covers can double as sweat rags.
Traffic. All I'm sayin' is that I don't have to drive myself anywhere and I bet my momma is too. Although with all the chaos on the streets, due in part to the complete absence of stoplights and/or signs, its's slightly nerve-wrecking to leave your life in someone else's hands who's behind the wheel.
Life is hard. The electricity is regulated for conservation, so it's off a lot. It's hotter than a sauna outside and even hotter in the room where we stay. There are children begging and giving them money doesn't help because all they do is take it back to whoever sent them to beg. The internet is unreliable (shocking). The language is difficult and you can't even begin to read a single thing because it all looks like random squiggles.
Whew, glad I could get that out there. Now, before you jump to the conclusion that I'm just ranting and raving and totally throwing the country under the bus, because I know that's probably what it seems like, click here and find out the things that are true about India that you don't normally hear. You might be surprised 🙂
