Sometimes Things Don’t Go as Planned
We are coming to the end of our first chapter in India. Beginning in Delhi then moving to Kerala in southern India, we have sampled two extremely different locations and cultures in this nation. Delhi - huge, noisy, chaotic, ancient/modern at the same time, bustling, dirty, polluted, dusty, wild. Then Wayanad, Kerala - rural, forest and farm-covered, natural, cleaner air, simple, laid back, quiet (except for some of nature’s sounds), confusing.
Our week in Delhi, while quite the sensory overload and a maze of confusion, was pleasant because we were with Emily and Franklin and they could show us the way and interpret life for us. Our experience in Kerala has been completely different, though, because the region we’ve been staying in is farming and forestland with small, undeveloped communities scattered throughout. We found the villa we’re staying in on Airbnb by searching the Kerala region because Duane had been to Kerala 33 years ago and wanted me to see this place that had been such a great experience for him.
Google maps showed this villa to be located in a beautiful, lush region of Kerala, but it also showed a lot of restaurants, hotels, and guesthouses in the surrounding area. Once we got here, however, we discovered most of those places aren't here anymore or they're nothing more than a dinky little stall. There is nothing within walking distance - no stores, no eateries, nothing. Finding transportation is challenging because, unlike in Delhi, there are no apps or even phone numbers you can call to book an auto rickshaw, the local form of transportation.
So what we thought would be six weeks of exploring historical and natural sites mixed with days of relaxing/reading/writing has turned out to be mostly the latter. We enjoyed a few days of exploring the area, riding scooters, and seeing some incredibly beautiful scenery. We fell in love with the elderly ladies at a local nursing home, and we tried attending a local church one Sunday. We even enjoyed interacting with the local people even though we couldn’t speak their language and they didn’t speak ours.
Then, as we realized there just weren’t any local sights to visit, cool restaurants to check out, and we grew weary of not being able to communicate with anyone, we adapted and shifted our strategy to embracing the simple, quiet, daily life of what has felt like being a pioneer out on the frontier. And this has actually been quite awesome.
We found a rhythm for our days and enjoyed having time to be still in God’s presence with no time limit, going for long walks in our area and marveling at the incredible forests, gardens, and farms all around us, smiling and waving at people we’d meet on the road and seeing their stern faces break into smiles, figuring out how to make meals with the limited ingredients available to us, and enjoying using creativity and innovation to meet the challenge of getting things done in this scene (more on that below). We’re enjoying having unlimited time to read, research, plan for the future, and watch movies!
We are learning how to love each other well, how to work together, appreciate each other’s strengths, listen to each other’s hearts, and practice patience and forgiveness 24/7. When you go from being together only a few waking hours each day to being just the two of you 24 hours/day, it is quite a shift! One of my daily prayers is “Lord, help me love my husband well today. Help me see him the way You see him and hear him as You hear him.” It’s not easy, but it’s working!
Four weeks of this slow pace has been great, but it definitely feels like it’s time for a change of scenery, so we’re checking out two weeks early and headed to MALAYSIA! We’re going to spend a month in Penang then a couple of weeks in Kuala Lumpur. We’re super excited because we’ll get to see some good friends from Austin who live there - Mike, Stephanie, and Naomi O’Quin and Steve and MaryJo Rekedal - and there are tons of restaurants, coffee shops, places to see and things to do. This five weeks in India has taught us much that will help us as we continue on our journey. This time has been a gift and we wouldn’t trade it for anything. But, Malaysia, we’re ready for you!
Living in developing nation, one must learn to improvise.
Examples:
How to get your clothes dry when there are no drying machines and it’s rainy season. Solution: rig up clothes lines in the one room that has an AC.
How to wash and sanitize dishes when there is no hot water in the kitchen. Solution: fill a large bucket with hot water from the one place it’s available; ie., the shower.
How to use public restrooms that are nasty and wet - well, we won’t describe this one
How to make toast without a toaster. Solution: put slices of bread in a skillet on the gas stove with a tiny bit of oil
How to bake bread when there is no oven - this didn’t work out so well
