Lauren and I celebrated Sunday with more shopping and resting. It's amazing how tired we can be without working. I'm sticking to my theory that this place is just absolutely and totally overwhelming. Everything we see or do requires extra processing power that we wouldn't need at home. Today, for example, Lauren and I were in the department store near the apartment for another clothes-trying-on adventure. We went right after the store opened at 11, hoping it wouldn't be too busy. Wrong. It was as busy at opening as I have ever seen a mall at home. (Please note that I make a point never to shop with the crazy people on Black Friday or other such events, so my view is a bit skewed.) Still, this place was BUSY. We went to the dressing rooms, and the attendant started pointing and talking to us in Kannada or some kind of English we don't speak, clearly telling us something that we could not decipher. Turns out, she was telling us another dressing room was open around the corner, but we were at a total loss to communicate. Things like that wear a girl out.
And... And, if you want to walk anywhere (and we walk almost everywhere), you've got to either walk in the road and be alert for cars/buses/bikes/cows that might run you over, or you've got to pick your way down sidewalk. I wish I had a good picture of the craziness, but I don't. Most of the sidewalks, or "footpaths" here, are really just concrete slabs laid over the sewer. If a slab breaks or slides into the sewer, it isn't replaced or repaired, it is just left there, so this leaves gaping holes sometimes several feet across and about a foot or three deep. Sooo.... Needless to say, you really have to watch your feet and surroundings when traveling, but you have to weigh that against looking confident and knowledgeable about where you are walking so as too look less like a target. Plus, tree branches can be pretty low hanging, and quite often, cables/power lines hang very low or are just laying on the ground. I just said all that to say that everything here requires a little extra effort for me to participate in because it is so different from what I'm accustomed to, and I think I am finally starting to feel the extra effort accumulate.
When I tell you all that this city is polluted and a kind of gross, I'm not exaggerating. I've woken up/lived with a pretty sore throat for the last four or so days. At first, I was sure that I was getting a cold or something. No big deal, just annoying. Since it hasn't turned into anything, I'm pretty positive that all the nasty air is killing my sinuses and throat. I tried so hard with to avoid the value judgments, but you can actually see the pollution in the air and the garbage in the streets. Other people think the pollution is an issue too. All the autos were on strike on Friday because the government issued new, "greener" autos to replace the old smoke churning ones. The strike had more to do with the fact that the government required the use of these new autos without providing a way for people living hand to mouth to buy them, but I digress. Bottom line: this many people in this tiny space equals some differences in waste management and air quality.
On another, similarly gross note, this afternoon, we were reminded that it is indeed monsoon season. It rained a lot very quickly, and though we were inside for the worst of it, our bathroom floor reminded us of what was going on outside. The drain in the floor backed up again, and this time, there was lots of black stuff in the water. I don't even want to begin the conjecture as to what it was. I mean, I was raised with a temperamental septic system, but this is something else!
After reading what I've written so far, you all must think, "Gosh, she's really ready to come home," and if you thought that, you'd be partially right. I am totally in love with the work we are doing here, but it is a challenge sometimes living in a world where so many things are done so differently. I am ready to soon return to a world where I understand the ins and outs and I can function a little more effortlessly. Do I want to go home right now? Nope. Not at all. Do I want to go home on Sunday? Yeah, I think I'll be ready then. Until the next adventure at least. ;-)
You though I was done, didn't you? Not quite. I'm about to get real serious, so hold on tight. Lately, I've been well, almost convicted to notice and feel what the people around me are dealing with. Daily, we are in this mass of people: people going to work; people selling food on the street; people loitering; people begging. It's too easy to just keep moving forward along my way and miss these souls. I really shouldn't be able to fake ignore a woman moving from car to car, begging for food, holding her half naked baby. And when that same woman puts her hand on my leg three times, asking for food, I shouldn't be able to stand it. I was moved, sure, but, I did stand it, and I don't know quite what to make of the fact that I didn't break down crying and run off to find her food. I don't suppose I'm making much sense, but there it is. I can make excuses all day long. Perhaps I should be like this to preserve my safety. Maybe. But, maybe not. Maybe this woman's being pimped out, or maybe she's just putting on a show to get money. That's not for me to decide. Something awful put her in the position she's in, whatever that position is, and I should feel for her as a child of God. I'm trying my best to see everyone, but sometimes, it's too much. It's just too much. Not to get all Jesus-y on you, but I would covet your prayers this last week as I try to figure out what to make of all these people here and how best to see each and everyone.
Until tomorrow...
And... And, if you want to walk anywhere (and we walk almost everywhere), you've got to either walk in the road and be alert for cars/buses/bikes/cows that might run you over, or you've got to pick your way down sidewalk. I wish I had a good picture of the craziness, but I don't. Most of the sidewalks, or "footpaths" here, are really just concrete slabs laid over the sewer. If a slab breaks or slides into the sewer, it isn't replaced or repaired, it is just left there, so this leaves gaping holes sometimes several feet across and about a foot or three deep. Sooo.... Needless to say, you really have to watch your feet and surroundings when traveling, but you have to weigh that against looking confident and knowledgeable about where you are walking so as too look less like a target. Plus, tree branches can be pretty low hanging, and quite often, cables/power lines hang very low or are just laying on the ground. I just said all that to say that everything here requires a little extra effort for me to participate in because it is so different from what I'm accustomed to, and I think I am finally starting to feel the extra effort accumulate.
When I tell you all that this city is polluted and a kind of gross, I'm not exaggerating. I've woken up/lived with a pretty sore throat for the last four or so days. At first, I was sure that I was getting a cold or something. No big deal, just annoying. Since it hasn't turned into anything, I'm pretty positive that all the nasty air is killing my sinuses and throat. I tried so hard with to avoid the value judgments, but you can actually see the pollution in the air and the garbage in the streets. Other people think the pollution is an issue too. All the autos were on strike on Friday because the government issued new, "greener" autos to replace the old smoke churning ones. The strike had more to do with the fact that the government required the use of these new autos without providing a way for people living hand to mouth to buy them, but I digress. Bottom line: this many people in this tiny space equals some differences in waste management and air quality.
On another, similarly gross note, this afternoon, we were reminded that it is indeed monsoon season. It rained a lot very quickly, and though we were inside for the worst of it, our bathroom floor reminded us of what was going on outside. The drain in the floor backed up again, and this time, there was lots of black stuff in the water. I don't even want to begin the conjecture as to what it was. I mean, I was raised with a temperamental septic system, but this is something else!
After reading what I've written so far, you all must think, "Gosh, she's really ready to come home," and if you thought that, you'd be partially right. I am totally in love with the work we are doing here, but it is a challenge sometimes living in a world where so many things are done so differently. I am ready to soon return to a world where I understand the ins and outs and I can function a little more effortlessly. Do I want to go home right now? Nope. Not at all. Do I want to go home on Sunday? Yeah, I think I'll be ready then. Until the next adventure at least. ;-)
You though I was done, didn't you? Not quite. I'm about to get real serious, so hold on tight. Lately, I've been well, almost convicted to notice and feel what the people around me are dealing with. Daily, we are in this mass of people: people going to work; people selling food on the street; people loitering; people begging. It's too easy to just keep moving forward along my way and miss these souls. I really shouldn't be able to fake ignore a woman moving from car to car, begging for food, holding her half naked baby. And when that same woman puts her hand on my leg three times, asking for food, I shouldn't be able to stand it. I was moved, sure, but, I did stand it, and I don't know quite what to make of the fact that I didn't break down crying and run off to find her food. I don't suppose I'm making much sense, but there it is. I can make excuses all day long. Perhaps I should be like this to preserve my safety. Maybe. But, maybe not. Maybe this woman's being pimped out, or maybe she's just putting on a show to get money. That's not for me to decide. Something awful put her in the position she's in, whatever that position is, and I should feel for her as a child of God. I'm trying my best to see everyone, but sometimes, it's too much. It's just too much. Not to get all Jesus-y on you, but I would covet your prayers this last week as I try to figure out what to make of all these people here and how best to see each and everyone.
Until tomorrow...
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