Letters from Francey Wattman

August 30, 2003

Greetings to all!

In case you haven’t guessed already, I made it safely to India on Friday morning and have been getting adjusted since then. The other volunteer, Jill, and I arrived in Mumbai (Bombay) Thursday night at midnight (1:30 in the afternoon central time). We went through customs and flew the hour and a half to Kochi in Kerala. Thomas John our coordinator was waiting for us at the airport and drove us to Alwaye to his home. Jill will be spending the year here in Alwaye while I will be two hours away in a town called Kottayam.

We were exhausted when we first got here but have learned how to eat using our fingers (right hand only, of course) and some choice words in Malayalam: rain, hand, thank you, God and umbrella. Essentials, of course.

The highlight so far was yesterday. We went to the girl’s hostel/dormitory at United Christian College a block away. They were preparing to have their celebrations for Onam, a harvest festival celebrating the return of a king. They had drawn an ornate design on the tile floor on the porch and were placing chopped up flower petals and died coconut in a rainbow of bright colors in the design. We jumped right in and talked with the girls about Onam and college and, of course, Monica Lewinsky. There were guests coming for the lunch feast- sadya- so all the girls were getting dressed in the traditional Kerala saree, which is white with colored edging. Then they asked us if we wanted to put on saree as well. Are you kidding? Of course we jumped at the chance. They had so much fun dressing us up, running to get bangles for our wrists and jasmine for our hair. It was so fun. The meal was huge and was served on banana leaves. We went home for the afternoon and came back for their evening show. There were dances and songs and skits. Afterwards, they asked us to sing and dance! We decided on Amazing Grace, the only song we could remember at the time, and then they put on this fast music and asked us to dance. . Let’s just say everyone laughed a ton!

This morning we went to church, in Malayalam, of course. They introduced us to the congregation and asked us to say a few words. Thomas John was co-conducting the service and told us later that he could have asked us to sing but didn’t. Jill and I are working on our musical repertoire for future occasions, like the evening church service. The weather has not been too hot. It is raining now so it is very pleasant. We will travel around some until the 15th when I go to my assignment in Kottayam. Tomorrow we are going to a big city- Ernakulum- to buy Churidar, which is what most women our age wear on a daily basis. There are very few women who wear western dress here so we are trying to fit in as much as we can, blond hair and all. Thanks for reading this small dissertation. I would love to hear from any of you, though I have limited internet access. Best wishes to all of you and will write again soon!

Peace,
Francey

~~~~~

October 6, 2003

So, I have been in India for a little over a month and I wanted to write and update you on my time here since I have actually begun work at my site. Please feel free to read, skim or totally disregard as you see fit.

I am working at a destitute home – Mandiram – outside of the city of Kottayam, in the state of Kerala. There is an orphanage, hospital and nursing school associated with the home. A normal day looks something like this:

I wake up sometime around 6 or 6:30. The kitchen staff bangs a spoon on a pot at 6 to wake everyone up, so I can’t stay in bed much after that. I am staying in an apartment in a motel-style old age home within the Mandiram. People ask me if I am lonely being –gasp- all by myself for the 10 hours a day when I am not surrounded by tons of people talking to me in Malayalam and asking about every possible thing. Indeed. Back to breakfast, I usually eat a little while after the residents. The kitchen staff makes sure I am eating enough and getting what I need to stay healthy. Then I make rounds to the women’s ward and the men’s ward, which are set up kind of like cabins at a summer camp. We “chat” for a while in Malayalam using a lot of hand motions and me saying “manassilayilla” a lot, which means, “I don’t understand.” I also go up the hill to the hospital to visit patients or the Mandiram residents who have been admitted for one reason or another. I will go more often when my Malayalam gets better. I can handle basic conversation about food, sleep and church. But “do you need me to call the doctor?” is a stretch for me right now.

A side note on Malayalam: this language has 56 characters in its alphabet and a different pronunciation for each one. I muddle through with the limited number of vowels and consonants I am capable of making and hope the other person understands. And they are surprised when I say that French was easier to learn.

The lunch pot clangs at 12:15. I usually like to go and help serve the food. It gives me a chance to see the residents and gives them yet another reason to laugh at me. Sometimes the family who sponsors the meal will come and visit the Mandiram. I usually eat with them. Many of them either live in the US or have children there, so we have something to talk about.

After lunch I check my email 2 or 3 times a week, and then go back to my room for a nap. This is the hottest part of the day and only sleeping is possible. Tea time is anywhere from three to four o’clock, and then it is back to my duties. I teach a conversational English class to the nursing students in the afternoons 3 times a week and an evening Bible Study once a week. The students are 18, 19, and 20 years old, so we have fun together.

Chapel is at 6pm and I usually like to go, even though I hardly understand any of it. I have started taking my Bible along so at least I can follow the verse they are talking about. If nothing else, it gives me a chance to sit quietly and meditate on the passage. Last week was the 70th anniversary of the Mandiram, and in preparation I would go after chapel to practice a Malayalam song I was going to sing with the 8 girls from the orphanage and some home nurses. The electricity goes out every evening for 30 minutes to save power. During that time after practice, we would sit and tell stories or sing songs. When the lights came back on, I made my way to the dining hall to have my dinner. I usually have bread and milk. I like to think of it like cereal. They had been serving me heavy meat, rice and onions but I said I wanted something lighter. Bread and milk works for me.

By now it is about 8 or so and things have shut down at the Mandiram. I go back to my thamasassthalam (room) and read, write letters, or do some washing. I find I sleep a lot more here than I did back home. It takes such an effort to do anything that I think my body needs more time to recuperate.

My email access is very limited, but I would love to receive letters! I’d love to hear form any of you as to what you are doing. No promises to respond quickly. Thanks so much for reading this far. I know this is long, but I wanted to share a taste of what I am doing. I appreciate your thoughts and prayers.

Namaskaram
Francey

~~~~~

November 3, 2003

Greetings!

Good news from Mandiram Hospital (where I work) there is a free surgical camp here from the US. They are working on children, mostly, born with cleft lip/pallet. They start surgery today and will be here all week. It has been a great opportunity for me because I have been able to welcome them as a pseudo-member of the community and I get to visit with some people from back home. They have invited me on tours with them and meals. Normally, I do not have much - any - contact with Westerners of any kind so it is actually a kind of relief to have people who understand what Halloween is, etc. They are mostly from the Houston area and a few from New York. I actually have been “translating” between Texas English and Kerala English because they can’t always understand each other. I’m getting a real kick out of it. And, some children are getting a bright future out of it as well.

I would like to devote at least a little ink to the topic of power- that is, electricity -and its availability here. There is a mandatory, nightly power cut lasting 30 minutes. They rotate the time every week. So, this week, the power is out from 8:45-9:15. Next week it will go back to 6:00-6:30, I think. Usually people have a rechargeable lantern that they use for light or some really well-to-do people have a generator. Besides these set times, the power is very finicky and may go off for periods during the day. The afternoon is the absolute worst time to be without power because the most blessed invention known to mankind (the fan) needs electricity to do its heavenly duty. If it goes out in the middle of the night and is still off in the morning, there will also be no water because the pump operates on electricity. If it is off for only an hour or two, there will still be water from the tap. I’m not exactly sure why but I’m just thankful its there. The hospital has a generator for important machines, like respirators (thank goodness) but not fans. The rhythm of things continues almost exactly the same without power. They have learned to make do with what is available and adjust accordingly.

In general, many things here are done by hand: washing clothes, making a fire for cooking, grinding spices, building buildings, etc. The resources to do things otherwise are simply not available. Infrastructure is such a basic thing that we take for granted. Many people assume that it is necessary for things to function properly. It has been interesting for me to watch as people here go about their lives and yes, actually, get things done without things that I would think would be necessary. I realize I am being a little abstract in my description. But I’m sure I will write more about this later when I observe more.

Thanks so much for all of your letters! I so enjoy so much having them with me and rereading them when I feel separated from people I know. I’ll sign off for now will write again soon.

Peace,
Francey

~~~~~

December 17, 2003

Happy (really) late Thanksgiving!

November just kind of flew by but better late than never. Please feel free to read or not as you wish.

For Thanksgiving, I decided to celebrate this American holiday the way Indians celebrate holidays. I wore saree, which girls my age usually save for special occasions, and passed out sweets. I went around the destitute home, orphanage, old age home and hospital giving out candy to everyone I saw. I had to learn the Malayalam to explain the entire history of Thanksgiving Day to people who know little or nothing about American history at all. “What are American settlers?” It was interesting. They have here a harvest festival that includes a big feast. So if I just couldn’t make myself understood, I said it was a similar holiday.

Celebrations are beginning for Christmas. Instead of trees (every tree is always green here) they put up big 3-D stars that are ornately decorated in different colors and materials. You put a light inside the star and put it in a prominent place in the house. Pretty neat! We have a few of them placed all over the Mandiram. The orphanage got two. :) We have also recently put up a pool kooda (nativity scene) in the dining hall. The Christmas spirit is everywhere, even if there is nothing resembling snow on the ground.

I just got back from a 3 day trip to the state capitol, Thiruvananthapuram. (Try saying that three times fast) It is a beautiful city with parks, zoos, beaches and nice government buildings reminiscent of the colonial era. But we went to visit the fisher communities outside of the city. Fishers (men and women) are among the poorest in India, though those in Kerala are doing comparatively well due to many state-wide reforms. One of the main problems is over fishing by huge multi-national companies and electric trawling, which destroys not only the eco-system of the ocean but the deposits of fish eggs as well. With recent organization into unions, the individual families have more of a bargaining power now. But the situation is still somewhat grim for future situations. There is also some discrimination against them by some other Indians who seem them as dirty, smelly, poor people. This is not widespread but it does affect the way they are treated as a community. Thanks to the Portuguese, they are almost all Christian. Most of the other poorer groups in India are Hindus. We met some students and a few Catholic nuns who were working with the union and a women’s group providing alternative employment through card-making. To make a long story short, I learned a bunch and met some really great students who are taking a stand. We are going to see if we can go back there again sometime.

Back at the Mandiram (destitute home) things are going well. I’ll be singing with the girls from the orphanage this afternoon for a Christmas celebration. They get a kick out of my mispronunciation of Malayalam when I sing. If all else fails, I can at least hum the tune. The girls are in exam period right now and have been busy with studying. The three younger ones just play around and try not to distract their busy “sisters.” Yesterday, they were pretending to be a train, holding on to each other’s shirts and walking all round making train noises. I joined on the back as a rather large, pale caboose, much to the amusement of the girls who were supposed to be studying.

We got a new arrival at the Balika Mandiram (girls’ home) this month: a baby girl just 4 days old when she came! The child’s young mother brought her to us. Earlier this year, she had gone looking for a job at a Coca-Cola factory nearby. She asked some men outside if there was work for her; he said there was. She went into the factory and one of the men followed her. The baby girl is a result of that day. At least here, she gets a chance at a good education and a future. Not to mention that everyone fawns over her to no end. She is adorable but a handful for the girls my age who are taking care of her. Her name is Leah, after the Mandiram founder’s sister. She will be baptized on Christmas morning and my supervisor has asked me to be one of the child’s god-mothers (traditionally, there are two for girl children). This Christmas will not be like any other Christmas in the past, but it will be very special to spend it with the people around me. May God bless you in this holiday season and in the year to come.

Peace on Earth,
Francey

~~~~~

January 4, 2004

It is hard to believe that more than three months have gone by already. So much has happened, but it seems like the time has flown by so far. India can be very overwhelming at times. I had heard before I came that life here could be "in your face" and I have found that to be pretty much the case. At Mandiram, the destitute home and hospital where I am living and working, everyone always wants to know where I'm going, who I saw, what I'm carrying or why I'm in a hurry. Indian women especially have a tendency to give instructions in an overly exasperated tone of voice, which I take seriously, unlike other Indians. I only get frazzled and frustrated then laugh at myself when it's all over.

My experience at Mandiram has been somewhat different than my encounters with India at large. The people here are really poor. It has taken me a while to actually see their poverty. I have walked by their beds and seen all their worldly possessions in a small cupboard, but it is quite another thing to see the world through their eyes. There is one ammachi (title of respect meaning grandmother) whom I saw sewing a blouse the other day. I later found out she was not making it for herself but for one of the other residents who didn't have one. She said, "Isn't that what Jesus tells us to do? If we have two coats, we should give on to someone who doesn't have any." It was a very humbling moment for me; I have never made a shirt for anyone.More...

A similar experience happened a few days later when one appachen (grandfather) asked me to come sit by his bed one afternoon. He has limited mobility on one entire side of his body, but he opened his little cupboard and brought out a package of dates. He had a difficult time opening the plastic wrap and then the container itself. He had one spoon that he cleaned so thoroughly with some cotton, a towel and some water, even the ancient Israelites would have been satisfied with the cleanliness. We shared the package of dates and he told me about his brother who comes to visit him sometimes and about his nephew who has a high position in a company somewhere in the gulf. When I turned down yet another spoonful of dates, he said, "Don't worry! I can get money from my brother anytime and buy some more. You eat up." I immediately thought of how much I treasured any fruit I had in my room, especially pineapple, and how I had not once invited anyone to share it with me. Of course, I cannot claim a lack of funds as the reason for my stinginess. This appachen, Phillip appachen, had a blissful smile on his face every time he popped one of those dates in his mouth. I had often heard stories of people who had very little and yet were generous with what they did have. But something about seeing it face to face not only deeply touched me but challenged me to look at the abundance and the selfishness in my life.

I definitely get special treatment at Mandiram. I get different foods, housing, expectations and treatment. Sometimes it makes me think how I would feel if I were treated like everyone else. What if I didn't have next August to look forward to, to be united with my family, to go "home"? What if Mandiram was all I had in the world? The place looks very different when you think of it that way, through the eyes of people who have been there for years and who know they will be there until they die.

For some reason, I had always thought that people who suffered in far away places were somehow better equipped to deal with it than someone like me. Indian mothers must be ready for their children to die at any moment, I thought, so when they do, it must not be such a tragedy after all. But, the more I know about their feelings and dreams, the more I find my former hypothesis to be false. Someone with a broken leg is in as much pain in India as in Europe. Someone paralyzed in India is just as bored, frustrated and lonely as someone in the U.S. This may seem really obvious to some, but I just hadn't seen it before.

One of my greatest joys of my time at Mandiram is spending time with the girls at Balika Mandiram (Girls' Home/Shelter). They were really shy at first but they have opened up now. They are always laughing, shouting and playing. It does my heart good to be with them, to hear them and to watch them. I have to say that as someone who was never spanked as a child, I cringe at the severity with which they are sometimes treated, especially when it comes to school work. I guess it is just one of those things I have to file away under cultural differences and move on. Things definitely used to be the same in the U.S. and are very similar in Europe today.

Each girl is such a joy in her own way. They are always happy to see me, calling to me from far away, waving to me and running to meet me. My favorite time to go visit them is between 5 and 6 pm. By then, they have come back from school, had their tea and are busy playing. It's the only time they can play outside because it is less hot. Something about listening to them laughing as the sun goes down gives me some hope for this world. So much joy is there. If they can have it, why can't we?

So far much of my day to day reflections have been about life after India: what will I be like when it's over? How will I tell people what I learned, how I grew? Will I act in different ways? Make different choices? And a broader question, what is the root cause of poverty in India? What is the Indian government doing about it? What is the rest of the world doing about it? What can I do, if anything, to alleviate that poverty? What is my role as an American, a representative of the richest country in the world? I can't say I've come to many conclusions so far. But, this is only the first quarter. I've got a lot more India to live before it's all said and done. I thank you all for taking the time to read this rather lengthy reflection.

I wish you all the best in this New Year.

Peace on Earth!
Francey

~~~~~

February 16, 2004

Hello to all!

I am a little late in writing this month's later because of our mandatory trip to Sri Lanka at the beginning of February. Our visas are good for one year but we cannot stay consecutively in the country for more than 180 days. So, we took advantage of our time off and enjoyed ourselves in Sri Lanka.

We visited Colombo, the capitol, and even got to see a full moon procession that only happens once a year. There were elephants, dancers and all sorts of performers. It was a spectacular event.

We also went to Kandy, the former seat of royalty before colonization and one of my favorite places in the world so far. The mountains make it much cooler, and there are pilgrims from all over the world who come to see the Temple of the Tooth in the center of town, which houses a relic of one of the Buddha's teeth. The lake in the middle of the city makes it a beautiful sight to behold. As a student of religion, I enjoyed seeing the temples and learning about the history of the people in the area.

We also spent a few days at the beach, it was a vacation after all, and went snorkeling one night before sunset. As someone who grew up in Oklahoma, I had never been snorkeling before. We saw some beautiful coral off the coast and even caught a school of some rather large fish lazily making their way out to sea. How beautiful is God's creation!

Even though India and Sri Lanka share a lot in their history and culture, there are a lot of differences in the two countries today. Coming back to India has made me look at things here in a new light after seeing one of its neighbors. Here are a few things In Sri Lanka that you don't find normally in my part of India

-Escalators
-Women wearing western dress
-A mall
-Coffee shops
-Young and old Buddhist monks walking around in bright orange robes
-Men and women (gasp) holding hands in public
-Chocolates

In short, there are many differences between the two countries. Sri Lanka is more westernized than India in many ways, and it has made me start thinking about whether that is good or not. Yes the average person in Sri Lanka is probably better off financially but they have caught the consumerism diease that is so prevalent in our part of the world. When people found out I was from the US, they would usually say things like, "Oh how wonderful! the greatest country in the world!" or "Your country is so rich and powerful." This kind of west-emulating, and sometimes almost worshipping, I think is happening more in Sri Lanka than in India. It has made me start thinking about where society is going, what is the ultimate goal? Is it good for the whole world to become like the West? What is development for anyway? Who is it for? I'm not sure if I'm making myself clear or not. Here's another example. In the souvenir shops in Sri Lanka, they sell this "traditional Sri Lankan spoon" that is made out of a polished coconut shell. In my place of service in India, they use that exact kind of spoon when making food for the 150+ people at the home. To people in Sri Lanka, tradition is something that tourists want to get a taste of and that grandparents talk about. But in India, it is just who they are. They like having their own music and film industry that reflects their tastes and standards. There are still people in India who listen to Britney Spears and other imported musical wonders. But, most people still prefer things that speak to them by people from their community. They don't think about it; it is just who they are They don't package tradition and polish it to make it marketable to a foreign audience. I got the sense that people in Sri Lanka want so badly to be just like the West whereas that is not the case so much in India. I'm probably making huge generalizations that are not completely accurate. But, that is how I see things at this juncture.

Speaking of junctures, I am officially half-way through my year of service here. It is hard to believe so much time has passed but on the other hand it seems like I've been here forever. Thanks so much for all of you that sent letters and e-mails. Because of my recent trip, I have not been able to respond as quickly as usual, but I wanted to thank you for keeping up the communication. I often go back and read letters I received a while ago. It's great to hear from people you care about.

Peace to you,
Francey

~~~~~

March 13, 2004

Hello again!

Well, March is upon us and frankly I can't decide if it came in like a lion or a lamb. It's hotter than blazes in the afternoons - what else is new? - but the evenings are really nice. I've started to have to take a mid-afternoon shower as well as my evening one. Actually most people here shower more than once a day during this time of the year. The upside to this weather is the vegetation and the fruits. There are these huge fruits here called jackfruits that can get about as big as my torso. They hang heavily on trees all over the place and do not need the slightest cultivation.

Pretty amazing! I was trying to explain to someone here that the fruits we have in the US usually have a thin skin and get eaten up by the bugs before we can get to them, if they grow wild at all. But jackfruit has a thick spiny skin so nothing can get to it. Inside there are little pods with seeds in the middle and sweet flesh around it. There are all sorts of dishes that people here make of these and other fruits. They are the advantage of this time of the year.

Earlier today, I went to a prayer meeting for sick people in the area. They had diseases ranging from cancer to diabetes and gather together once a year for a meeting. Otherwise, they pray every morning for each other and for the health of the group. Though most of it was in Malayalam, I enjoyed being present. The preacher was a pastor who had been paralyzed from the chest down in a car accident in Philadelphia. ( I was somewhat surprised that he survived the roads of India only to get in an accident in the U.S.) He spoke so passionately about the story in the gospels where Jesus was asleep in the boat while the disciples were afraid for their lives. They thought he was just sitting by and doing nothing about their suffering but really he was there WITH them in the suffering. It was a very inspiring message.

As is expected in such settings, he preached for an hour and a half. People in the US - especially my beloved Presbyterians - would have found this somewhat difficult. But Indian Christians absolutely love long sermons. It's something I still struggle with from time to time, though I'm getting used to it. They also usually speak without notes, or at least using minimal notes. The preacher most often has a few days or hours to prepare for a talk and most preachers give messages multiple times a week at prayer meetings and other functions. Seeing the requirements of pastors here, it make me glad that I will have comparatively minimal responsibilities when I get ordained.

Thanks so much for your continued correspondence. May God be with you all in the coming weeks!

FranceyPeace,
Francey
~~~~~

April 3, 2004

Rain Dance anyone?

I am quickly discovering that the term April Showers does not at all apply in India. It is summer time here- children are out of school, watermelons are in season and the sun is as intense as ever. We are experiencing an acute water shortage right now, but have altered life accordingly and are getting along. You don't think of all the things you need water for- washing plates and utensils, cooking, washing clothes, cleaning floors, not to mention flushing the toilet. Every drop has to be conserved very diligently. I have started re-wearing my clothes because there often is not enough water to wash them by hand as well as wash myself. So I have to choose. Drinking water is of course the highest priority, for me at least. At the home where I live and work, they have a well that provides the majority of drinking water. I still boil it before I drink it, but it is very clean water. People ask me a lot now if I have a well at my house, when the dry season is in the US, what we do when there is a water shortage and if we boil water before we drink it. Someone asked me where we get our water from without a well. I honestly had no idea. It just comes out of the tap.

Water shortages of this extent did not used to be so common in this part of India. The major reasons for the worsening drought conditions are population growth, extreme deforestation and changes in lifestyle that necessitate more water. Ground water is significantly less than it has ever been because there is less unpaved ground to soak up the water and places like paddy fields which hold water have been converted into cash crop fields. When it does rain, there is often flooding and soil erosion because about 60% of tree cover here has been cut down, again for agriculture and other forms of development. Topics that environmental groups always talk about are now becoming real for me. What if we as humans really are completely destroying all natural resources?

Well, I am starting to get thirsty talking about water so much. I preached last week about Jesus offering the woman at the well living water so that she will never have to draw water again and will no longer thirst (John 4). I think I could use some of that about now. I love hearing from all of you. I have been pretty slow to respond but I do appreciate you keeping me updated with the things in your lives. Keep it up!

Peace,
Francey

~~~~~

May 17, 2004

Hello!

I have been traveling around Northern India for the past few weeks and have been out of communication. I am glad to be back at my home away from home with my community and people I know. Seeing different parts of India has really made me appreciate the wide diversity in this one country. It actually reminds me more of Europe than anything else. There are distinct differences in language, food, traditional occupations, religions, the list goes on and on. Actually, India may be more diverse than Europe in some respects. I have also started to appreciate the uniqueness of Kerala, the state where I serve. People there are more educated and there is much less of a rural/urban divide. I also found that the people are nicer and more helpful, but that could just be because I know the language.

The other exciting news right now in India is elections! (I can just hear your hearts racing). Actually a real upset has happened. All of the pre-election polls were showing the governing party- a nationalist, Hindu radical group- would be re-elected to power. But, what has happened is that the Congress party (moderate) and Left parties have done much better than predicted and will have an easy majority in the parliament. I suggest reading up on it further, if you are interested. People are calling it one of the biggest upsets in 30 years and a good sign that democracy in India is alive and well. It's very exciting to be here during this time.

Summer is winding down and rain has started to trickle in. The monsoon doesn't start for real until June when it rains constantly. Should be interesting. The only bad thing is that the mosquitoes are coming out again- and so is my Deep Woods Off!

Peace,
Francey

~~~~~

June 7, 2004

Greetings to all!

Now that the monsoon is upon us full tilt, I'm learning a little bit about life, more specifically, about the green growing kind. It rains at least a little every day and some days there are heavy showers for hours at a time. Green plants are sprouting up in all imaginable corners of land, even stone walls along the roadside are growing moss. The world is fresh and new: life in abundance.

Though it can be a little too abundant at times as I discovered the other day when I pulled my leather sandals out from under the bed only to find them covered in a mossy-fungus like substance. Thankfully, it comes off when wiped with newspaper. I also pulled out my one long-sleeved shirt that I have barely used all year. While it wasn't covered in moss, it did have a rather dingy, rotting smell to it. I plan to wash it along with a thicker sheet soon and hang them on my clothesline inside my kitchen out of the rain. There is so much moisture in the air that clothes take two days to dry and my self-adhesive envelopes have all adhered.

Since there is no real temperature separation between inside and outside, the nights can get a little chilly. Some of the older men here have started wearing their knit caps and sweater vests in the mornings, though I don't think it has reached below 70 F once! I guess cold is relative. After 9 months of heat, I am enjoying the change in climate along with the new challenges.

My time in India is starting to come to a close; I'll be leaving in less than two months time. I have already started thinking of things I want to do or get before I go back. I'd be lying if I said a part of me wasn't looking forward to going back, seeing family and friends. But, it will be very difficult for me to leave the people here whom I have grown so close with. At the destitute home where I live, I have so many grandfathers and grandmothers who confide in me when they are down, tease me about my Malayalam and give me advice about life. I also have many younger sisters in the orphanage who call me over to show me things they have discovered and run over to me to wish me good morning. Then there are my English students who pretend to be shy but know more English then they let on.

When I meet people for the first time, they are sometimes surprised that I have adapted to life here so much. (They might not be saying that if they'd seen me last November) Part of my ministry here is showing people that a foreigner can live like them. In a time when all the young people here are going crazy over jeans and Brad Pitt, I am here wearing Indian clothes, eating Indian food and speaking an Indian language. Some things have been harder than others and I have by no means adjusted to all aspects of life. But I get a certain satisfaction out of living a given Indian experience without the emotional/cultural overload I had before. Standing in line is one example. I used to wait patiently in my place and watch, slightly annoyed, as people cut in front of me left and right. Then when they started pushing me I used to get really flustered and angry- don't they have any manners? Now when I get in line, I push my way right up to the front, feeling rather smug, take my ticket and don't get bothered or angry at all. This kind of experience only comes with time spent in a culture. You start to appreciate its quirks and love its richness. I have made a place for myself here. Once you reach that stage, it is really hard to leave your new found home.

Peace,
Francey

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