To be honest, India and I have not been getting along so well lately. Well, there is so much I love, but the people are often, and this is probably due to this being a BYU program, suffocating. And I love so many people here, but sometimes I just want to scream "give me some space! please..." So, there is my rant, now on to cooler, happier things.
So, while Indian people can sometimes be overwhelming, they can also be so loving and giving and kind, which is really fun. They just want to give and include and share the things that make them happy. At least, I can say that is true of the Devipuram devotees. Last week, I was invited to participate in a Puja at this young woman's house, and it was so beautiful. I mean, the worship was cool in and of itself, just because it was done around a yantra (again, pictures will be posted... sometime...) that was built out of flowers. Nine rings of flowers, each a different type and color, each sacred in its own way. But what was cooler was how this girl, Sirisha, was so excited that we came to her Puja, and how she made sure we took Prasadam (fruits, bananas and mangos) with us when we left, and how she gave us her phone number and said to call her anytime we needed a visit or a place to stay. So kind, and good. And, I think I have said it before, but the smiles in the faces of these women I work with each day are so beautiful and sincere and they truly carry light on their faces. Oh, I love all that they teach me about happiness.
And then there are my 'brothers'. Next door to the BYU house there is a small family with three boys, ages 16, 14, and 9. And they come to the house all the time, just to hang out and help where they can. They play with Momoksha and Sidu, and they always walk me home at the end of the day to make sure I get there safe. It is a two minute walk at the most, on brightly lit and still active streets, but they walk with me anyways. And, the other day I got home and my house was FULL of bugs! Like, they were these tiny flying things, and they were swarming around any light that I turned on and there were literally thousands of them. I try really hard, when living in the third world to not be overly affected by the ants and cockroaches and lizards on the wall, but oh.my.heck. They were everywhere, and I knew I would never fall asleep with them there. So, I called on the aid of my brothers. We got some real powerful roach killer from the BYU house, and then they told me to stay outside while they took care of the issue. 15 minutes later, well they had sprayed my house DOWN (seriously, I had to leave the windows open for a good while after they left because there were some serious fumes going on) and then, when the bugs had all died I grabbed a broom but they took it from my hands and swept all the bugs out of my house. I mean, it was a 14 year old boy sweeping my house, so I may have had to re-sweep in the morning, but they got 90% of the dead-bug-confetti (seriously, these little guys were EVERYWHERE!!!) out of my house, and I was so SO grateful! And, then my neighbor/translator Rajyalakshmi asked if they would do her house and they did, but told her she needed to pay. I, on the other hand, told them "thank you" and their response was "no thank you, sister. Friends." I loved that moment SO MUCH!!! Man, they are just such good boys!
Anyways, I also went to this super cool temple last week, that was centuries old, and there was all of this stone carving within the complex, and I can only imagine how that was done so many hundreds, or even thousands, of years ago. So beautiful. I will try to post pictures of that, too. Anyways, there is my taste of India for the week. I do love it here, and am so grateful for the opportunity to be here, learning and growing each day. I feel like the "adventure" part of my post is a bit overkill, as I have fallen into a routine, but its fun! Til next week, I love ya all,
Emilee
So, while Indian people can sometimes be overwhelming, they can also be so loving and giving and kind, which is really fun. They just want to give and include and share the things that make them happy. At least, I can say that is true of the Devipuram devotees. Last week, I was invited to participate in a Puja at this young woman's house, and it was so beautiful. I mean, the worship was cool in and of itself, just because it was done around a yantra (again, pictures will be posted... sometime...) that was built out of flowers. Nine rings of flowers, each a different type and color, each sacred in its own way. But what was cooler was how this girl, Sirisha, was so excited that we came to her Puja, and how she made sure we took Prasadam (fruits, bananas and mangos) with us when we left, and how she gave us her phone number and said to call her anytime we needed a visit or a place to stay. So kind, and good. And, I think I have said it before, but the smiles in the faces of these women I work with each day are so beautiful and sincere and they truly carry light on their faces. Oh, I love all that they teach me about happiness.
And then there are my 'brothers'. Next door to the BYU house there is a small family with three boys, ages 16, 14, and 9. And they come to the house all the time, just to hang out and help where they can. They play with Momoksha and Sidu, and they always walk me home at the end of the day to make sure I get there safe. It is a two minute walk at the most, on brightly lit and still active streets, but they walk with me anyways. And, the other day I got home and my house was FULL of bugs! Like, they were these tiny flying things, and they were swarming around any light that I turned on and there were literally thousands of them. I try really hard, when living in the third world to not be overly affected by the ants and cockroaches and lizards on the wall, but oh.my.heck. They were everywhere, and I knew I would never fall asleep with them there. So, I called on the aid of my brothers. We got some real powerful roach killer from the BYU house, and then they told me to stay outside while they took care of the issue. 15 minutes later, well they had sprayed my house DOWN (seriously, I had to leave the windows open for a good while after they left because there were some serious fumes going on) and then, when the bugs had all died I grabbed a broom but they took it from my hands and swept all the bugs out of my house. I mean, it was a 14 year old boy sweeping my house, so I may have had to re-sweep in the morning, but they got 90% of the dead-bug-confetti (seriously, these little guys were EVERYWHERE!!!) out of my house, and I was so SO grateful! And, then my neighbor/translator Rajyalakshmi asked if they would do her house and they did, but told her she needed to pay. I, on the other hand, told them "thank you" and their response was "no thank you, sister. Friends." I loved that moment SO MUCH!!! Man, they are just such good boys!
Anyways, I also went to this super cool temple last week, that was centuries old, and there was all of this stone carving within the complex, and I can only imagine how that was done so many hundreds, or even thousands, of years ago. So beautiful. I will try to post pictures of that, too. Anyways, there is my taste of India for the week. I do love it here, and am so grateful for the opportunity to be here, learning and growing each day. I feel like the "adventure" part of my post is a bit overkill, as I have fallen into a routine, but its fun! Til next week, I love ya all,
Emilee
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