I'm in India!

I don’t even know what to write right now. I’ve been doing so much reflecting already and I can’t remember what I’ve written and what I’ve only thought. I can’t believe I’m in India! The thought hits me almost every day. And I can honestly say that one year ago I didn’t even know this could be possibility. It’s amazing how God works!

Things have begun to feel like I’m actually living in India now. Up until this point, we’ve been setting up our flat and lots of loose ends needed to be tied up, and my clothes were at the tailor for a month. Now, I have my salwar suits, our flat is mostly finished, and things just seem to be falling into place. It has been a whirlwind for the past month, traveling from place to place, and right now, I get a bit of a break from moving around. Unless something comes up at the last minute, I’ll be able to get used to living in Ranchi for the next few weeks.

My Hindi has been improving, very, very slowly (bahut dhire dhire). I wish I could type in Hindi. The script looks very cool, but I’m told that typing it is very complicated. So I’ll just settle for typing with my usual alphabet.

Lately, I’ve been thinking about what it means to be a foreign woman in India. Most of you have no idea how complicated that sentence just was. It’s one thing to be a woman. It’s another to be foreign. It’s completely confusing to be a foreign woman. Just walking down the street, everyone’s always looking at me. I’m getting used to it. I’m actually somewhat amused by it. I often wonder if they stare just because I’m foreign or even more so because I’m a foreign woman. Things that I can’t just go up to people and ask. I’ve seen people elbow each other so that their friends won’t miss seeing the “amriki” (American) walking down the street. On the up-side, I’m extremely recognizable. Like when I went back to the fabric store where I bought all of my salwars, he knew exactly who I was (and he asked “why only one suit? last time you bought 13!”) The tailors knew exactly who I was and what my clothes looked like the last time I stopped by to pick them up. I didn’t even have to try speaking Hindi to them. The guy at my usual phone booth takes really good care of me too. He’s very kind and even offered me a little breakfast after I called my parents. Then again, I don’t think he gets many long distance phone calls to the US. He’s sure to want my business again!
Thanks to everyone back home who has been praying for me and writing me notes and sending birthday cards. It apparently takes about a month for mail to get here, so I’m now celebrating my birthday all over again! You have no idea how wonderful it is to have all of your support and encouragement. It makes me feel like I’m not so far away from home. And then it hits me again – I’m halfway around the world. I’m in India!