September Newsletter - Laura in India

COVERING THE BASICS
I have received several questions on the basics of life here in India:
food, my living situation, weather, etc. I hope the following will
satisfy such inquiries.

"Would you like your spicy a 1, 2, or 3?"
To my pleasant surprise, the food has not been uncomfortably spicy.
Either the cooks are going easy on the chili peppers, or my taste buds
are adjusting. I'd like to think it's the ladder. I refuse to be
that wussy foreigner. South Indian food is delicious. We are stuffed
with rice, curries, vegetables, bananas and other fruits, as well as
plenty of coconut. One favorite is upama: a cream of wheat like dish
that is drier and stickier than the soup like existence I've
previously known. Cooked with onions, green chilies, nuts or other
goodies, and served for breakfast, you mash a banana within the upama,
top with sugar and enjoy. Another bonus of Indian cooking: the
generous use of sugar. My sweet tooth and I are quite content.
"Singing in the Rain"
Though warm and humid, the weather has been generous to us, raining
almost every day since our arrival. This
heavens-opening-all-grandeur rainfall is unusual as the first monsoon
was to end in August. As we near October, though, we head into the
second monsoon season, bringing evening showers accompanied by thunder
and lightning. Though the climate has stayed relatively cool, I've
still managed to sweat profusely. I like to believe my glands will
eventually acclimate. Sometimes it's better to live in the dream than
face the reality.

"Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes"
Within days of landing in Kerala, we shopped for
culturally-appropriate attire, bringing home our first churidhars.
The top is a knee-length, cotton, tunic-like piece, with short
sleeves. This is accompanied by matching draw-string pants that taper
around the ankle. The final piece is the matching scarf or shawl that
is worn over both shoulders and scooped in front of the neck. It's
often used to cover the head when in prayer or other holy rituals. It
took a good week of frustrating scarf adjusting to realize most women
have their shawls safety pinned to their shoulders. Clever.

"Home Sweet Home"
Mandiram has several different complexes, including apartment-styled
rooms for well off senior citizens. I occupy room 14. My upstairs
apartment includes a bathroom, a small kitchenette with a gas burner,
a refrigerator, and a screened in porch. I am grateful for the cozy
home, and even more grateful for my lovely neighbors. Mayammachee and
her daughter Susan live below me. Mayammachee has the best smile, and
often welcomes me from her porch chair with an "Ohhhh!" which I gladly
echo. P.C. Thomas and his wife, Molly live a few doors down. They
often greet me with a Malayalam question to improve my conversational
skills. I spend more time deciphering the question than I do
answering it.
I will be doing a variety of activities throughout this next year. To
name a few, I will be tutoring and helping with the girls that live
here, visiting the many elderly men and women (appachens and
ammachees) residing at Mandiram, and playing the keyboard for both
chapel and Sunday services. I will also be leading a class in
conversational English with first year nursing students at the
hospital. The Mandiram community is incredible, and it is a joy to
share in the life here.
Each night, as my bedtime prayer unfolds, I find nothing but words of
gratitude-a thanks for the day, for all that I am learning, and for my
many instructors; a thanks for an experience that is shaping my
understanding of a complex world and our role within it; a thanks for
the blurring line between guest and resident, teacher and student,
friend and family.