A Quick Update

Sorry I haven’t updated in a while, I actually tried to post something on Tuesday but the internet was down so I lost everything I had written! There isn’t really anything new and exciting to report, things have settled into a daily routine. On Sunday I visited the family down the street and talked with their daughter, Jinsy, for a few hours. Her mother showed me how to make banana chips and coffee from beans. She also made me two fresh dosas with chutney curry. I didn’t really feel like I could refuse the dosas, so of course I didn’t eat dinner again that night! I’ve come to realize that the life that women lead here is quite difficult and I don’t envy them in the least. Most women don’t work, even if they have been educated, but instead stay home taking care of the children or sending them off to school. Then they work in the yard, picking the vegetables and plants that they will use for dinner that day. Then they literally spend the entire day over a firepit preparing fish, chicken, vegetable curries, dosas, etc. To make a pot of coffee takes an hour of continuous stirring and tending to the fire beneath the pot. Most of the women here also make their own butter and pepper…which takes hours in itself. I don’t think I could ever manage as an Indian woman here, I don’t even know how to cook in America!

Yesterday we went for high tea at our Pastor, Victor Nathan’s, house. I was smart and decided not to eat beforehand! We had fresh coffee and then around 9 different snack items. They served us halwa, which is quickly becoming my favorite Indian sweet. It’s the same consistency as a fruit cake but it’s so much better. It is made from flour, sugar, and different kinds of fresh fruit. I asked someone if I could learn how to make it, but it takes an entire day to make 1 kilogram. I don’t think that will be happening!

Kim and I have also been invited to another faculty member’s house on Saturday for dinner. I am really looking forward to this because it’s a big deal to be invited for dinner. It takes a lot of preparation and all the stops are pulled out for any foreign guest…meaning I will probably have to stop eating after dinner on Friday!
Not too much else is happening. The bible trivia didn’t work out as planned, so I think we are going to try to do it on Saturday morning instead. We’ve had some trouble communicating our intentions with the children’s home supervisor. He doesn’t understand a whole lot of English and we’ve realized that when he says yes to something he doesn’t always mean yes. The children are also kept on a strict schedule and we aren’t allowed to deviate from it, even for bible trivia. I’ll update sometime next week to fill everyone in on the weekend!