One Week In

Hello Everyone,

Well, it has been nine days since I left Iowa. Sometimes it seems like I left just yesterday and other times it seems that I have been here for a whole lot longer. In a good way.

Here is what I have learned about India so far:
-If you want to stay sane/alive, hire a native to drive for you. I swear there are no "rules of the road." I can't have my eyes open when we are driving. First of all, they drive on the left side of the road here. And then there doesn't seem to be a speed limit. There are speed bumps - lots of them - and cars slow down for them. Otherwise, if the person in front of you is going slower than you would like, you simply honk and pass them. When passing, don't worry if there is a car coming from the other direction. Simply pass, play chicken with the oncoming car, and then cut back into your lane at the last second. And if it is impossible for you to get back into your lane - no worries! The oncoming car will drive on the shoulder of the road. The streets are narrow and windy and. . . I keep my eyes closed.
-As a pedestrian, when you hear a honk (and you hear lots of them here), move over! The driver honks to warn you he is coming and if you don't move, he doesn't either. The narrow roads don't leave a lot of maneuvering space anyway. I've had cars closer to me than I would have liked.
-When walking in the mountains, no matter the distance, you need to set a steady pace. You can't walk like an American. You get winded and your muscles die. So take your time.

Backing up a bit, travel to India was blessedly uneventful and smooth. We caught a train from West Palm Beach to the Miami airport (2 hours), then a flight from Miami to London (7.5 hours), then a flight from London to Delhi (8 hours), and then a Jeep ride from the Delhi airport to the village (8 hours). We did lose one suitcase (it has been found though!) and one of my teammates spent a couple of hours being questioned by the airport security because of all of the vegetable seeds he was carrying (per request of the missionaries). But we finally got everything figured out. We were all super tired when we got in, and happy for some down time.

The past three days have been quiet. We've slept a lot and just spent a lot of time together as a team, continually growing closer as we get to know each other better. I can't imagine a better team than the one I have. Everyone meshes really well and we all bring something different to the table. With us together, I don't think anything can stand in our way.

While in this village, we stay with two missionaries, a married couple. The house is a lot nicer than I expected. The team has the whole second level while the missionaries and a couple of other long-termers live downstairs. There is wireless internet upstairs (definitely wasn't expecting that), so keeping this blog updated shouldn't be a problem! They also have indoor plumbing with only a few small hitches. I would talk more about them, but I don't want this post to get too long. Ask me about them later!

The first day, we went into the village (the house is a good 30 minute hike from the village) and the girls picked out cloth and visited the tailor. We went back today and picked everything up. I feel a little spoiled having clothes tailor-made for me. But everything here is cheaper than back home - one complete outfit (shirt and pants), pick out your own cloth, have it tailored = about $20. Very awesome.

The food here is delicious. I've decided that I'm not a big fan of curry. But the bread and rice and fresh fruit are all amazing and filling. And the scenery is amazing. I think this is the first trip that I haven't been able to take a picture every time I think "Wow, that would make a really pretty picture." If I did that, all of my cards would be used up in one or two days!

This entry isn't doing my first week any justice at all. I'm forgetting a lot of details and cutting out other stuff in my rush to get this written and posted for you all. If you want to know more, you're going to have to come find me in August and be prepared for a long conversation! :) We leave for our first camping trip tomorrow morning. We'll be gone four days, sleeping in tents and visiting area villages. I am really looking forward to this! But, I better go for now. Bedtime.

Prayer Requests:
-Continued health and unity for my team.
-Safety as we hike into the mountains and prepare to live out of tents for four days.
-Anything else you feel inclined to pray about. :)

Current total number of pictures taken: 34