We have been on a social media fast. This has forced me to do a number of things. One of them is writing an extensive overview of all my experiences this past week. I'm sitting on a train that is rolling through the plains and mountains of the northern Indian countryside from a town called Haridwar. I have nothing else to do. You must realize that this is also an impossible feat but I'm going to try and you won't want to finish the post. It's fine. I'm sure my mom will at least read it all. I'll provide two posts and show you the areas where prayer is needed. One will be of my arrival and describing the culture. The other will tell stories of various encounters I had with people and what God has doen so far. So without further a due, lets get in to it.
We landed in India and not long after that we found a dozen others at the gate who were with us as well. All kinds of people from all over the United States joined together in excitement. Excited because all the anticipation that was built up in our hearts and spirits was reality. We had arrived in South Asia. Not all of us were going to India to work after this week. Some to surrounding countries.
I am intentionally not giving specific names or places for a reason. What we are doing us dangerous and there are security precautions that must be taken. I'm being vague on purpose. I'll tell you more when I get back.
We got into a cab and rode to the place we would all stay together. This can driver did not speak English and was, by any American standard, a horrendous driver. He was average in Indial. The lanes that have been marked off on the road are useless and were a massive waste of time to make. No one uses them. There is no order other than a traffic light every couple of miles and the fact that everyone drives on the left side of the road. I have been to England and South Africa before and they do this as well. You don't get used to it quickly and you are in a perpetual state of fear that a devastating wreck is ensuing. It never comes. These people are good at what they do. Why wouldn't they be? What else do they know? They're accustomed to this way of driving and living. It's remarkable to see the organization in the midst of the chaos.
We pulled up to the house which was in the middle of downtown. We were in the Capitol of India (hint, hint) and 20 million people inhabit this city. It sure feels like it too. Privacy is an American idea which I've found to be impossible to achieve here. They don't know what it is and they don't seek it. You are never alone in India. How do you fit billions of people in a country 1/3 the size (geographically) of the United States? You start putting people on top of one another. Asking for personal space is laughable.
Every smell is pungent and follows you like your shadow. We stereotype Indians as a people who smell like curry. Stereotypes exist for a reason, folks. They really do. The streets, no matter how clean they look on the surface, wreak of urine, dirt and curry. Anything you eat comes out of your pores in sweat and you adopt it's scent. I actually don't smell it anymore. This frightens me beyond words and means one or two things. I'm either used to the smell or I carry the smell permanently. It's probably both. In any case, my sensory demise has lead me to a place on comfort here and this is important. I needed to reform what normalcy is in my mind and match it with India's.
The streets are caked with dirt and have no beauty. There are several buildings that are interesting and a few parts of town that are Westernized. It's a mess. At first I didn't understand how these people live in such a way. The caste system is no myth or joke either. Your name dictates how you live and how you are treated. I have seen homeless people before in America and in other countries. This a level of poverty unlike anything I've ever known. On the other side of the coin I saw people of great wealth. Beggars and children fully expected to receive money or food from us because they assume we are sympathetic. Most of them are also working on the streets for someone and the real need is down in the slums. I saw people who are doing very well and have a great education that lead them to a profitable occupation. They have an arrogance about this that reminds me of people from the States. They still have a South Asian worldview and are trapped in that lifestyle in ways they don't know. I can see it though. My eyes have been trained by 20 years of being an American and by hours of sessions learning about these people. I know a lot more than they think I do. I understand what motivates them to make progress and what holds them back from doing completely as they please. Some rebel from their South Asian upbringing but only to a certain extent.
They view cleanliness differently. The have low respect for women (which disturbs and disgusts me). They find some things rude that we find normal. They find some things normal that we find rude ( i.e., cutting in line, honking your horn incessantly). They will more than likely get a job in the family business one day and rarely make their own path. Individualism is unwise and unwelcome (this one is growing on me). They have dozens of different languages in every city and state. Marriages are arranged. Homosexuality is illegal. Women don't look men in the eyes. They squat over a hole to do business and wipe with their left hands. These are a few things that we need to get familiar with.
We got stared at everywhere we went. You get used to that too. The bewildered looks on their faces were difficult to read. Some thought we were celebrities and took pictures and videos of us. Some scowled at us and were offended by us. One thing was common among them: They all wanted to know why we were there. It was a good question. We weren't in very touristy areas and often visited temples and mosques (more in part 2). This made it easy to start conversations (assuming they spoke English) and share the good news. Most who did speak English were extremely friendly and more than willing to talk and help us out. It is not uncommon for Indians to invite new friends into their homes to chai (tea, milk and sugar) which is a drink people socialize around. I prefer coffee; but chai's not half bad.
So now we are situated here in India. The customs, language, and pace of this part of the world is something I can imitate and emulate. Training week is over and we, like seed, are about to be scattered about South Asia. Pray that the cultural flow does not bend us to a breaking point but that we stay the course.
R*ch
