Phuket, Thailand: A Short Reprieve

Well, we made it out of India…about a week too late according to Trisha…and perhaps a few days late according to me…but we made it. It was extremely difficult at times and we are still decompressing. But fortunately (and with the blessing of Bob and DaAnne) we were able to spend a week in a timeshare on the coast of Phuket, Thailand.

WOW…We could not have went to a more polar extreme than from India to Thailand. The beaches are stunning, the people seem to love us, there are no “trash mountains” lining the streets, and people seem to like shitting in toilets instead of on the side of the road or in a public park (sorry this is really the only way to say it and yes, this is a very common feature in India).

The problem with this transition however, is that it is an almost sure way to get culture shock. Except this time it is the shock of being back to what you are used to. Civilization that is.

But we got over this farely quickly and enjoyed every minute of our week of relaxation. We got massages on the beach every day (sometimes two or three), ate western food (and sushi of course), and the only site seeing we involved ourselves in was staring at the ocean. Not a bad way to spend the week!

A Few More Photos of India

The family we stayed with in Chennai

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of the twins from the orphanage in Chennai

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The lizards hanging out with Jesus above our bed

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A miserable night...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Attempting to save our lungs from dust inhilation

The Religion, Morality, and Ethics of India

This has naturally been the most interesting and exciting part of the experience for me. India is arguably the most diverse melting pot of religions in the world. With a population of one Billion, they have everything here and they have it in mass quantities.

Whereas in America you are likely to encounter four different denominations of Christianity in a town square, in India you encounter 4 different religions. While I have spent the majority of the time focusing on the relationship between Christianity and Hinduism, every single religion in the world plays a pivotal role in the make-up of India. Hinduism, Christianity, Sikhism, Jainism, Buddhism, Islam, Baha’i, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Confucianism, and a plethora of others all mix and mingle to create an extremely diverse fusion of holy beliefs and rituals.

One of the hardest parts however, in discerning and filtering information here, is that virtually none of these religions have maintained their original foundations. For instance, it is not uncommon to meet Hindu-Christians or Hindu-Muslims. Within the very essence of Hinduism is the ability to adapt to and incorporate other beliefs. The same is true of Buddhism as well. So, if you are speaking with a Hindu, it would not be beyond comprehension for him to also call himself a Christian. So, he is a polytheist theist. And in India, this somehow makes sense. Or it is relative to the point that no one seriously asks the question of how this can be. It just is what it is. Nothing is absolute. Everything is complex and beyond comprehension in India (unless of course you ask them about the government).

This becomes especially difficult for Westerners when it comes to ethical and moral issues. What might be considered unethical or immoral in the West  is either relative to the situation or even considered an ethical or moral duty here. For instance, throwing babies off of buildings to toughen them up, a widow burning herself to show dedication to her deceased husband, and ritually sacrificing animals in the temples are part of everyday life here. And even more trivial issues such as cleanliness, healthiness, and timeliness are thought of in totally different terms in India.

I am uncertain whether we as Westerners can ever come close to grasping this way of thinking. I am slso uncertain whether they themselves really understand it either. It just it what it is. And what we believe to be reasonable questions and considerations are often pushed aside in light of tradition and duty. They do what they do because that’s what they believe they are supposed to do. And no seemingly reasonable argument can convince them otherwise.

As a religious studies major this fascinates me and haunts me at the same time. I have been blown away by a completely different way of thinking. Of course I have read about these concepts in books, but encountering them head-on brings them into reality. It is not just a concept in a book. It is a way of life for millions upon millions of people.

As we get ready to leave India I have much to think about. Fortunately or unfortunately I believe I am departing with more questions than answers.

Chaos, Confusion, Resolution: Tales from Delhi, India

We have been rocked. Our experience in Delhi had been the toughest part of our trip so far. Here we go…

Right now Corey and I are taking refuge in our hotel and recovering from culture shock. The last couple of days were extremely hard and I came soooo close to having a breakdown. Up until that point, we were having a great experience in Chennai with the family we were staying with (with some low points but they were minimal). Since we arrived in Delhi, we have been totally overwhelmed.

 At first, it all started out great. When we arrived, we were greeted by William (whom we had already met in Chennai)

Kiids at the orphanage in Delhi

and two boys who gave us each a bouquet of flowers. We hopped in an air conditioned car and drove 30 minutes to where we were to be staying. The brother, William, and his wife, Priya, are both devout Christians and have committed their lives to run an orphanage (in which they also live). Right now they only have five children living there because they can only afford to take care of five. They receive 8,000 rupees a month (160 USD) in support from a pastor’s out-of-pocket money. Half of that money automatically goes to rent so they are only left with 4,000 rupees (80 USD) for the rest of their expenses. When they need extra money, Williams does computer repair work. They are such hard workers and so incredibly kind. They seem to always have smiles on their faces despite their very difficult lives. Even though they didn’t have much to offer, they fixed up a room in the orphanage for us to stay. William cooked wonderful Indian meals for us and did the best he could to make sure we were comfortable. 

 

Our first meal at the orphanage. It was delish!

Our room at the orphanage

While we were greatly appreciative of their hospitality, we were also overwhelmed by the living conditions. I’ll try my best to describe our experience but it really was one of those that is difficult to describe with words. To start, there was no A/C, frequent power outages, tons of mosquitoes and flies, a very small and hard bed, lizards crawling around on the celing above us, dirt and grime covering the walls, and a “shower” that consisted of a faucet and a bucket. There was a fan outside our room that, in addition to air, also blew dirt and who knows what else into the room. The first morning I woke up with a sinus infection and would have sinus problems whenever we were inside the room. Also, one side of our room opened up to the living room and they had a curtain hanging up. Unfortunately, there was a hole in the curtain and at one point we saw someone watching us through the hole (we found out later that it wasn’t anyone from the orphanage but some neighbors that were visiting). We had one window to the outside that was also opened to the outside so there was only one area in the corner of the room where we could change clothes. Being stared at all day while we were out and then having no privacy back at where we were staying was incredibly difficult. 

 

Our first night was our first “low-point.” The reality of our surroundings was settling in and as night closed in around

A miserable night...

us, the power went out. We were in a very unfamiliar place that was now pitch black and getting unbearably hot without the fans. I almost vomited from the heat. During that night, Corey and I didn’t do much talking. We kinda just laid there on our bed with our eyes wide open. When the power came on, so did the fan that blew air from the outside. We started coughing and then resorted to tying a cloth around our faces. All we could manage to say at first was “wow” and “this is rough.” Then we prayed.

 

The next morning, the power went off again and we woke up hot, sore, and surprisingly uplifted. It seemed that our prayers had been answered! How cool is that? I stepped outside for some fresh air and then the neighborhood children and I played with the cutest puppies. Meanwhile, Corey sat inside and discussed religion with a friend of William’s who is Hindu (which Corey loved of course). Despite the rough conditions, we were feeling great.

 

The immaculately clean and comfortable metro in Delhi

That day, Corey and I walked to a Metro stop a few minutes away and took the clean, modern, air conditioned metro about 30 minutes into the heart of Delhi. We walked around, did some sight seeing, and tried to make plans for the rest of our stay in Delhi. At one point, we got overwhelmed by the heat and constant hassling from the locals so we ducked into a restaurant for some Coronas and spaghetti bolognese. Yum! When we arrived back at the orphanage, William had a delicious meal of beef and potatoes waiting for us. Whereas the night before we were wondering how long we could last, now we were feeling a hundred times better. Before bed, William, Corey, and I made plans with the driver, who was one of William’s friends, to take an air conditioned car around for a nice tour of Delhi’s famous sites. Or so we thought…. duh duh duh…

 

This is where our second low point comes in (our breaking point if you will) that leads us to make the difficult decision to leave the orphanage and find a hotel room in the city. When we begin the tour, William tells the driver to take us to a school where the kids used to go and where the orphanage used to be. This was not on our original agenda and because we are paying for this tour, we thought it was a little odd. He walks us inside an office, tells us to take a seat, then leaves to find the school principal. While staying in Delhi, we had several experiences similar to this where we felt like our hosts were victims of “show-and-tell.” We know that most likely this was not their intention but it sure felt like we were being paraded around. After meeting several people at the school, we got back in the car and quickly learned that there was no A/C. William reassures us that it will be OK because the time between sights is only 10-15 minutes so we won’t be too hot. Turns out to be more like an hour to an hour and a half between sights because of traffic and getting lost a few times. The heat and humidity are overwhelming. It was over 100 degrees outside but felt more like 110 in the car. We stop at one historical site to snap a picture, and then drive Hindu temple which Corey loves. He’s in his element here and his spirits start to lift. I, however, am learning more and more each day that being a white woman in India is very difficult. Not only is there over-the-top staring, but people want to take my picture and make attempts to touch me. It’s exhausting.

Our second stop on the sightseeing tour. Finding it difficult to smile at this point.

This all hits the fan when we visit the Lotus Temple, a Baha’i place of worship and meditation. The temple itself is beautiful but I found it impossible to admire the building with everyone around me hassling and staring. I begin to feel the tears coming and tell Corey that I need to escape. When I felt like this back in Chennai, we had a private room back at the house for me to recover for a while. But here in Delhi, there was no such refuge. After much discussion, we made our decision to leave and find a room in the city.  If it weren’t for the crazy sightseeing tour, we most likely would have stayed and toughed it out. We really wished to stay with Williams at his orphanage but honestly felt too overwhelmed. They took everything really well and we left on good terms.

So the good news is that I feel back to normal now… Ok, almost back to normal. Today, we took an excursion to the Taj Mahal. Not as easy as it sounds. Without going into all the details, things are just more difficult here in India. Our 6 hour round trip car ride turned into a 12 hour round trip car ride. On the way there, we had traffic and road closures and on the way back, we ran into the monsoon. Yes, the monsoon. The one that lasts two months and wreaks havoc on the country. It’s basically a torrential downpour that causes severe flooding and lots of problems for the people of India. Within minutes of the rain starting, the flooding began and after 30 minutes, the flooding had reached up to a foot in some areas. We could actually feel the water sloshing up beneath our feet on the floorboard. Fortunately, we made it to safety and have no flooding here where we are staying. Tomorrow we fly out to Kolkata and then leave for Phuket, Thailand on the 31st.

Us at the beautiful Taj Mahal

There are many more stories but there is just not enough time in the day to post them all. I look forward to seeing you all soon so we can catch up on everything. Also, I just posted some pictures on Facebook so check them out when you get a chance!

I hope everyone is well! Miss you guys!!

 

Pictures, Pictures, Pictures

Hindu Temple

Beautiful Sunset in Pulicat, India

Dosai...one of our favorites It's a thin, crispy, salty pancake filled with mashed potatoes that you dip in sauces

Chennai, India Sewage System

The view from our hostel balcony in Interlaken, Switzerland

Children's Home in Chennai, India

Children's Home in Chennai, India

Random Cows in the Road...Part of Everyday Life Here!

Random Goat at St. Thomas Mount, India

35 kids, 6 adults, 1 small bus...

This is a "hotel" Corey stayed at in one of the villages

One of the village churches we visited

Corey receiving a shawl as an honorary guest...to be honest it is because I was the only white person within 200 miles

Trisha playing with the kids at the beach

Beautiful Indian Woman

Typical Indian Village Huts

Homeless Children Receiving Plates From the Organization we are with

Pastor's Meeting at Chennai Church of Christ

Handing Out Betty Crocker Brownies to the Kids

Typical Indian Street

Old Cemetary

Helping Distribute Rice To Refugees

I love pork sausage...(Switzerland)

Interlaken, Switzerland

Interlaken, Switzerland

Indian Style!

Little Indian Girl!

Drinking AMAZING Orange Juice with our Irish Friends in Morocco

The Djemaa el Fna Square in Morocco

Trisha’s Thoughts on India

Greetings Friends and Family!

I know many of you were very curious to see how I’d hold up in India and I am pleased to say that overall, I’ve really enjoyed my experience here. Of course, there have been some trying times but I have really felt like I’ve learned and grown more from these experiences more so than suffered from them.  I will start by telling you all the aspects that I have loved and then tell you about the not so good stuff.

THE FAMILY – Since arriving on July 6th, we’ve been staying with a family here in Chennai. We have privacy, comfort, and cleanliness in our room. As Corey said in an earlier post, it truly is an oasis. The family has had westerners stay with them before (at one time they had 14 Germans staying at the house!) and they have done everything possible to make sure were are comfortable. I have gotten along really well with Mercy, who is Roy’s wife, and Janet, who is Roy’s mother. They both speak English pretty well so I have talked with them a lot and learned many things about their culture.

THE CUISINE – I have also really enjoyed the food. It can be spicy at times but mostly it’s just really tasty. The dishes are mostly rice and some kind of sauce. I have cooked with the women a couple of times and am learning a ton. One night Janet asked me what is our main dish in America. I didn’t have an answer. Hamburgers and hot dogs are usually thought of as American food but the truth is that we eat such a diverse variety of foods. For Corey and I, one night might be Thai food, the next night Mexican, and the next night Japanese food. When we cook at home, it’s usually just pasta or fish with veggies and rice. Here at the house, they only serve Indian food. Even the restaurants we’ve been to have only  served Indian food. One day we had McDonald’s for lunch and it was great to have something different and familiar. We are getting used to this food though and it’s beginning to be more and more familiar to our palates.

THE KIDS - Another aspect of this trip I have enjoyed is the children. We have visited two children’s homes (orphanages) so far and whenever I am with the children, I feel so joyful, comfortable, and content. I can’t stop smiling when I’m around them. Last week, we made Betty Crocker brownies for 55 kids (all in a microwave oven!) which was quite fun. Today, I taught about 15 children how to do the Macarena dance. They loved it! They kept wanting me to teach them more dances but I couldn’t think of any… We played volleyball and they taught me how to play a kind of tagging game that I never really did understand. I always get so dirty and sweaty playing with them but I don’t care. I love every minute of it.

OUR HEALTH – We haven’t gotten sick! yet… So far we have only had very minor nausea and indigestion but nothing too bad at all. We are so grateful for this and sincerely thank God for this blessing. We pretty much expected to have violent food poisoning the first week we got here but now we’ve been here over 2 weeks and are still in good health. We owe a lot of this to the fact that most of our meals have been eaten in the family’s home where they are very careful to prepare the food in a sanitary manner. There have been some times when we visited a remote village and we ate the food that people prepared for us. That surprisingly didn’t make us sick either! Crazy! We still have over a week in India, 2 weeks in Thailand, and one week in China so there is a good chance it will still happen but we have counted our blessings so far that we are in good health.

So now for the not so enjoyable stuff…

THE STARING – I have to say that my least favorite part of being here is the constant staring. Oh man. It’s hard to even put how this feels into words. For the first couple days it was fine. We stayed either at the house or inside the city limits. People stared but it was minimal. Once we went outside the city, it got bad. One day we were at an amusement park with the kids from the Chennai Children’s Home (that is another story in itself). There were many people there and pretty much everyone would stop and stare at me as I walked by. And many wouldn’t stop looking until I walked out of eyesight.

So after a few hours of this, I am getting extremely uncomfortable. We had groups of men walking up very close to our group and they would just stand there and watch me. Many came up to ask if they could take a photo of me and many others would just take photos without asking. The guys that were in our group were very protective of me and would do their best to shield me from the stares of the others. They were the heroes of the day. If it weren’t for them, I probably would have just stayed in the van all day.

When the men stare at me, I feel so degraded and actually feel energy being sucked out of me. I even find it hard to smile. If it is a group of women that are staring at me, I just feel very self conscious but I can get over that much more easily. When a group of kids stare, it feels more like curiosity. But it’s when a group of men stare that I feel the worst. I try to not think about it but it’s almost piercing. Since that day at the amusement park, we have been outside the city limits 3 other times. Each time I encounter the same problem. On Thursday we leave for Delhi and I’ve heard that I shouldn’t have as much of a problem there. I’m so looking forward to that!

THE HEAT – It turns out that the worst part of the summer is over now which has been quite a relief. We were expecting the worst. Last month, we were told that the temp got up to 120 degrees! Fortunately, it hasn’t gotten up to that temp since we’ve been here but it is still very hot. Whenever we step outside, we instantly start to sweat. And when I cook in the kitchen, I am profusely sweating as there is no air conditioning and we cook next to a very hot stove. It’s been very difficult to adapt to this hot weather and I’ve been told that even the native people here even have a difficult time adapting to the heat.

THE DIRT/FILTH – Being a clean freak that I am, this has been difficult for me to get used to as well. That microbiology course I took has scarred me for life. People just don’t have the same hygiene/sanitary standards that we have been taught. Fortunately, the house we’re staying at is very clean. Right outside the house, however, it is very dirty. Trash lines the dirt road. We just found out that the trash dumpster on the street is fairly new and has only been there for the past 3 months. Before that, people just dumped all there trash on the street outside and it is apparent that people living on our street still have that habit.

The unusual thing is that it is like this everywhere. If we see one nice building, the area around it is clean, but right next door it looks like a landfill. Coming from Valencia which is the extreme opposite of this makes it stand out even more. After we had McDonald’s the other day, our driver took our trash and tossed it out the window. Corey and I looked at each other with our eyes wide open and we fought the urge to yell “Nooooo!”   When in Rome….

So that is the gist of my experience here so far. Corey is working diligently on getting photos up now and I have a feeling it might actually work this time. Yaaay!

Thank you for all your prayers. I love and miss you all!

Snapshots From India

Well, it has already been quite an experience. We have only been here a few short days, but it seems like forever…in a good way  The weather has actually been farely mild…although when I say mild I just mean that it has not hit 120 degrees!

We are so blessed to have AC in our room, so that definitely helps us to survive the times that it is scorching outside. Our room is like an oasis because the culture can be overwhelming at times.

We have already been to two weddings and Trisha and I have been asked to bless them both times! We even cut the cake with one of the couples and we had just met them. And after the wedding, we were asked to join the banquet and had to eat the food with our hands. Quite exciting!

The people we have met have been so hospitable to us. Even those with literally nothing to give us, but a smile. One day we went to visit some of the areas that were affected by the tsunami in 2004 and a very poor mother offered us bottled soda. I am sure that was a rare treat for her, but she still gave us her best regardless.

However, even though they are hospitable, the Indian culture is extremely different. For instance, being on time in India is not common. If they tell us we are leaving at say 2PM, it will most likely be at least 3PM. Perhaps even later. There has not been a single instance when we left on time!! And they don’t mean to be rude, but that is just how they operate.

As well, they are not very good about telling you plans in advance. We often arrive at places with no idea that we are to offer a blessing to the people or even speak in front of them. For instance, I just found out that I am to preach to 3 congregations on Sunday! And Trisha was given only a few minutes to speak to a group of women. And once again, they do not mean to be rude, that is just their culture. For some reason, they just assume that you know what is going on! And it can be very surprising, but we are adapting well!

The city of Chennai is extremely run down. Everywhere you look it is dirty and full of trash. And the people are mostly very poor.  It  can be very overwhelming. It is so difficult to keep things in perspective coming from the states. It is just so drastically different from our everyday lives.

I also have to report that we saw our first white person today. It only took all of five days to do so! And he looked very lost indeed…like he did not belong here! Including us, I think that makes about 3 white people out of 10 million!

We love you all and hope to update you again soon!

Chennai, India

Well, we made it safe and sound to India last night! And all of our luggage made it as well, so we are relieved!

Despite a mix up at the airport, we have had no problems. Our contact family thought we were flying directly from London and so they went to the international terminal to pick us up. However, we flew into Delhi first and took a domestic flight to Chennai. The result was that we spent an hour outside the airport with no idea what to do! There were no phones or internet or anything for us to contact them with. Fortunately however, they had the sense to come looking for us in the domestic terminal. And mind you, this was after about 36 hours of total travelling time, so we were just about to go sleep in the streets at that point

Anyway, we are doing well and hope to update you more later! As always, we are in a time crunch, so we don’t have a lot of time!

Picture Situation

Hello All!

Most of the computers we have access to do not have usb ports. This means we often cannot upload pictures from our camera. We will however upload a bunch when we can. I know pictures are the best way for you to share this experience, so we will do what we can when we can!!!

Corey and Trisha

Interlaken, Switzerland

This is probably one of the most beautiful and romantic places in the world. Luckily, I had Trisha and…errr…my sister-in-law, Sherene along to truly appreciate the enchanting qualities of Switzerland

No, but seriously…Switzerland I have decided is even better than you’d ever imagine….even better than the postcards if you can dream up such a thing.

It is however, expensive. I mean really expensive. For instance, if you think you might be able to get a cheap meal at McDonald’s, think again. How about paying $9 for a double cheeseburger. And $16 for that quarter-pounder combo. There is no where cheap to get by here, but the beauty of the place lures you in and causes you to forget about things like money and real life.

Our first full day we took a bike ride to both of the lakes that surround Interlaken. It was no easy sailing and Sherene and I got so hot we even jumped in the lake. This literally took our breaths away due to the fact that it was snow melt! Nonetheless, totally worth it!

However, even though biking in the alps was great, the best part of my time in Interlaken was spent on a canyoning expedition. Canyoning is a mixture of rapelling, mountain climbing, jumping from extremely high rock ledges into pools of water, and sliding down natural rock slides. It was honestly the craziest thing I have ever done in my life. Even though I was with professional guides, I thought that I could possible die or be seriously injured on multiple occasions. There was one particular jump the guide pointed out and said, ‘If you hesitate even a bit…you could get seriously…’ And then he followed by using a slew of swear words that I will save you from at the moment. Luckily, I did not hesitate once throughout the day and I am all in one piece!

Even though the experience pushed me beyond belief, it was one of the most exhilarating experiences of my life. I will always remember this day and I would do it again in an instant!