5 things I have learned in India:
1) Always watch where you are stepping.
My beloved teammate/roommate/squadmate and dear friend Anna Bonita says, “Never look down while you walk because it makes you look like you don’t have confidence.” But she has stepped in like 3 mudpies and trips over rocks all the time (Sorry to call you out AB, I love you.) You never know what you could step into. There’s animal waste, potholes, puddles, piles of trash, loose gravel, and actual literal holes in the sidewalk. Look down when you walk because you won’t have confidence when you get cow poop on your foot or fall face first on the dirty road.
2) Cows will cross your path, anywhere, anytime.
The other morning we woke up and they were eating grass in the graveyard next to our dorms. One morning they ran across the road on the walk to breakfast. They graze the local soccer field soccer field. Watch for cows.
3) Squatty Potties are actually better than our toilets.
You don’t have to sit your rear end down on a questionable toilet seat or hover over it, and it actually helps move your bowels. Sorry not sorry, it’s science and it’s great.
4) Always bring your rain jacket.
Even if it’s the sunniest day you’ve ever experienced. Nothing is worse than hiking to your dorm or to the dining tent dripping wet, soaked to your bones. It’s a great way to get a cold and to have zero clean laundry for a few days.
5) Be prepared to be moved.
My second night here, a little girl ran up the road and gave me a flower. These moments happen often. At least for me. Even hearing children’s voices singing at the school or the church choir makes me tear up. Or a small child clutching to their mother and is smiling and waving at me… that stuff makes my entire day. I love that I can walk down the street and be walking by someone with a solemn face, and all you have to do is smile and their face instantly lights up. Your energy and your mood effects those around you. BE THE LIGHT. At least for me, I’m moved when I least expect it. Anna Bonita’s birthday was last Sunday and we got her pastries from the market, and she teared up. Then I teared up. It’s a pattern.
Thank you all for getting me to this point in my journey. It has only been a week here in India and I already feel myself changing and seeing the joy in people’s faces that I come across. The Lord is moving me and I’m loving every second of it.
