India was awesome! My team and I lived in Ongole, a town 7-8 hours car ride away from Hyderabad, living and serving at a children’s home for mentally and physically handicapped orphans. This was my first time in India and I definitely enjoyed it in various ways. And to sum it up for you what it was like living in India, I made a list on things I learned in India.
- People drive on the left side…haha who am I kidding, they drive on both sides!
- Sometimes there might just be a lone, black cow standing in the middle of the street chilling like he don’t care.
- India chickens have tall, long legs, which are kind of creepy.
- It is possible to cram 7 people in one atul (or tuk tuk), with the driver.
- I had to switch my dominant hand to the right hand to eat and it took some adjustment. One of the boys living at the children’s home called me out when I was eating with my left hand at our place and he got sassy about it.
- Western toilets are a blessing cuz there’s no way you’d miss haha.
- You call older women ‘aunties’ and boys and girls ‘brothers’ and ‘sisters’.
- It took me 50 laps, 10 pigs running away from me, 5EVER, and an auntie who couldn’t stand watching me attempt to fly a kite anymore to realize that it will never work out between me and the kite, but it’s okay.
- Women, young men, and children love it when you wave at them; their excitement and smiles show that you waving at them has made their day.
- Indian people are dance machines, trust.
- If you can’t finish your food, the pigs in the courtyard will.
- Flirt to convert? Show your ankles and smile!
- I was the only Chinese person in the entire town.
- Contrary to popular belief, one is not destined to get diarrhea in India…maybe until the very last day.
- Indian men will watch you swim in the water for an hour.
- A flock of goats, with one that was painted hot pink, may walk out of nowhere on the beach.
- And a flock of cows come out to the beach too.
- You can buy tube of henna/mehendi ink for about $0.25 at a local shop and get three arms worth of henna with it.
- If women and kids really like you, they will grab your face like “I can feel my face when I’m with you”, but you might not love it, you might not love it.
That’s all I can think of for now. Ongole, Hyderabad, and Delhi were absolutely incredible; however, there’s still so much more in India that I’d love to explore and experience.
When you couple this living experience with working with handicapped teens and children, it’s really hard to put into words what this month meant to me. I’ve learned and came to truly believe that in whatever form or personality one is, God loves him or her deeply still. The Lord revealed to me that everyone of us is His dear child, even if he or she will grow up to still rely on others in order to survive. I saw so much joy and confidence in God’s love in the children I worked with and it inspired me to forget about the flaws in me and in others and just lean back on Him.
When you watch this video, try to look past their physical limitations. I invite you to instead, find joy within yourself because we are so lucky and so blessed to have the ability to choose–our desires, our thoughts, our agendas, our friends, and joy. These children cannot choose–all that they know is that there is Someone who loves them all the time.
