A World of Close Calls

It's Monday. We've been in Bangalore for a full week now and it feels like it's been about 4 months. Time certainly goes by slow as molasses here. Sometimes that's a good thing. Sometimes our homesickness takes over and we start counting down days til we get to go home.

Saturday we were supposed to go to the Mother Teresa home but it got postponed until Sunday so we got to sleep in and then the three of us headed to Commercial Street where all the best shopping is in Bangalore. We haggled for a couple hours, well Lauren haggled. The pollution and heat took over for me and I had no energy to barter and I didn't feel like being cheated so I didn't buy anything. That's what the Indian merchants do to us Americans. Their initial price is twice as much as the product is actually worth, so we have to barter it down to the proper price, but sometimes I just don't have the patience or the energy to haggle. We have two more shopping days before our trip is over and this time we will have Sharola and Chinky with us to help tell us what proper prices are for things.

Saturday after shopping we tried to go to this big open park in the city and we walked quite a ways to get to it, only to find that it was only open in the mornings and evenings and we got there just after 2 in the afternoon. We were devastated. Tired, cranky, and coping with massive headaches due to the intense pollution. I'm quite certain that vehicles don't have to pass smog checks anywhere in this country so the smog is almost unbearable. I never thought anywhere could be wors than the good ol' Inland Empire but here in Bangalore you can slice the smog with a knife, it's so thick.

Saturday after we finally made it home from shopping, we napped. We do a lot of that here. Napping. It's good for the soul. And for some reason we get tired after four hours of activity, no matter what we are doing. Maybe it's the food. Maybe it's the heat. Or maybe our fast paced American lifestyle just needs a good rest. After we woke up from naps, the whole YoungLife team came over for a potluck. Oh it was sooo good. And SOOO spicy. Everyone was laughing at me because I got super red and my nose was running and I had to keep taking deep breaths to relieve the pain. I really don't understand why people enjoy inflicting such pain upon themselves. It physically hurts me, but yet I eat, not only for sustenance but because it's rude to abstain.

After the potluck we all had a massive game of Nertz. I taught them all how to play and they are obsessed. Every night they beg to play. I love it.

Sunday we woke up to go to church with Sharola but she fell ill...just a little cold, so we ended up going to church with Sharola's parents, Sam and Beulah. They are so precious and I love them so much I want to take them home with me. We went to the Bangalore International Christian Church and it was pheneomenal. They have all seven continents aside from Antarctica represented there. The diversity was so incredible to see and Lauren and Taylor and I have been sitting in Romans 15:5-6 and being able to experience the miracle of so many nations uniting as the body of Christ was truly magical.

After church we had leftover potluck spicy food and then we prepared for the senior k club younglife club. So Fun!! It's been so amazing seeing all the different clubs here and how they are run and what's effective here vs. how we run club in America. Taylor, Lauren, and I were in charge of the mixer again. Then we played Nertz after club again of course.

Today was our fourth day of teaching. Five more days to go. We've resorted to counting down because our first standard children, the first graders, are out of control. They take so much out of us but we continue to endure and lean on the Lord for patience. The second and third standards are angels and have a true desire to learn. It's just the really small ones that we are struggling with.

And now for some fun stories...so the day before yesterday, Saturday it was, us three Americans ran out of clean underwear. We decided to take some dirty clothes to the laundry and we packed up some bags. We headed to what we thought was going to be a laundromat of sorts. Instead, we end up at the dry cleaners. The man that works there proceeds to empty out our bags on the counter. Keep in mind this business is on a main road in Bangalore. So here we are, three Americans, with our dirty underwear on display for all to see. We were mortified. And Chinky starts laughing at us because apparently her and Sharola wash all their own undergarments by hand. We were obviously unaware and it was comical to watch the man counting our dirty underwear and flicking them into a pile to be steamed pressed and starched. Guessing he doesn't get to do that very often. :)

Another funny story...this happened awhile ago. When Shekhar picked us up from the airport in Delhi a week and a half ago he had the most amazing mix cd playing. A song came on and we've been joking about it ever since. Elton John's Tiny Dancer was the song. Please keep in mind that Shekhar is this macho guy with a fast car and has default facebook pictures of him flexing. And then he listens to Tiny Dancer...but it's not the original version, oh no, it's like the rave trance techno version. So epic. So epic that we asked him to burn it on a cd for us along with some other amazing Indian hip hop. His reply to our request was "I'll give you the sweet and salted mix. Don't worry."

So side note. Apparently deodorant isn't a very big deal around here. People don't wear it. Ever. So last night at club us three Americans almost lost our cookies out the window when all the kids started jumping around and running and sweating and smelling heinous. But hey, we love them, stench and all...which brings me to my next story. It's hot. And I sweat a lot. Yes, I use deodorant and that prevents any odor, but it does not prevent the massive pit stains that I acquire on a daily basis. Today we had staff prayer where all the teachers from the YuvaLok school get together and pray and worship and grow together. Lauren, Taylor, and I were supposed to be in charge of the devotional for the meeting and apparently I was a bit nervous. When I came out of the meeting I was pitted out major. Story of my life. And they're always feeding us hot tea, which just perpetuates the issue. What can I say, I'm cursed with pit probs.

Every morning, without fail, we are woken up by this tiny bird that makes the loudest most annoying noise outside our window. It sounds sort of like a dog whining in a very high pitch. Yesterday the jerk woke me up at 7am. Lauren and I want to invest in an air soft gun to kill the sucker but since we are currently in a developing country I don't think those exist...so instead we are in search of a slingshot.

And as far as the title of this blog is concerned, India's roads are a world of close calls. I can't tell you how in awe I am of the drivers here and how they can get so incredibly close to other vehicles without touching...not even a little love tap. Well, I have been in one rickshaw accident so far, but nothing too major. It's wild. I've taken plenty of video footage to show you all when I get home. Also..horns are out of control here. Indians are horn happy. They honk unnecessarily and incessantly. So many times I've just wanted to scream...because the horns aren't your typical horns. They're extremely loud and high pitched. Harmful to my delicate eardrums. Ok that's enough ranting. I mean, I love horns. :)

Ok, That's all for now my sweet darlings. Thank you so much for reading and for keeping us in your prayers. Lauren and I are constantly talking about how we sometimes feel immortal here because we have so many people praying for us. So thank you again. From the bottom of my homesick little heart.