village day

villager

truly I am a villager at heart...this weekend I visited a village with two other friends and I was totally lovin' it! There was an array of crops and livestock to look at and green stretches of land as far as the eye could see. We rode into the village in a car and rode out of it on a tractor. I couldn't help but sing the "Green Acres" theme song in my head while riding the tractor.

the value of life

...haven't been much of a poster lately because frankly Z and I have been a little down in the dumps. I usually don't prefer to post about the sad times here but I think sad posts are unavoidable...frankly because the majority of the population here live in poverty, there are more people who are illiterate than literate, top to bottom political corruption, and rampant starvation. Every day we are faced with the real Curry Land and some days our perception can not help but become grim.
This week (and probably many more weeks to come) my heart goes out to a family I have never met, nor will I be able to meet. This family recently lost their son in a highway accident last week. Z was the first to stop at the scene of the accident, there were two boys, one standing and shaking from fear and the other laying on the side of the road slightly breathing. A car had hit the boys while they were on a bicycle and did not stop. Z stopped and was able to draw enough attention to get others passing by to stop as well. Out here there is no such thing as 911, Z attempted to administer CPR but people would not let anyone touch the dying boy, so there on the side of the road he died. His father was reached and the man carried the dead body back to his village in his arms. Our hearts ache for this family and our thoughts and prayers go out to them as well.

mmm...

We are eating mangoes, cantaloupes, watermelons, and lychees to our hearts delight...pounds of it all because it is so cheap! Just wanted to rub it in.

Can someone tell me...

Why do they call the common cold a cold when you can catch one in the hottest place on earth?!?I wouldn't mind this "cold" that I have had for the past 5 days if it actually made me feel cold...it is in the 110's here.

coffee crazed

Since Z and I have been enjoying coffee every morning this week I thought it appropriate to give a shout out to our coffee suppliers - B Mania - thank you so much, and S bro thank you for transporting the precious beans.
However like every post on my blog there is a crazy story to be shared...this story is about a coffee crazed pooch. Z and I are in love with a wonderful coffee from Costa Rica called Cafe Brit. We discovered it on our honeymoon and recently ordered a box from the Internet and had it shipped to B Mania. Just for the record 9 1lb bags of coffee are in one box. The shipment arrived to the B Mania residence when all were at work so the box was left in the carport. When Z's mom arrived home coffee beans were scattered throughout the carport. Samson, the B Mania family pooch tried to ingest about 8 bags of coffee, the 9th bag was mysteriously nowhere to be found...
Another shipment was ordered to replace the doggy demolished one...and a few days after the incident the 9th bag was discovered intact on the doorstep. Apparently Samson felt a little remorse.

sssllloooowww week....

seriously slow week full of work and more work. In between the work days though I got to do somethings that simply were just good for the soul...

• Made a name plaque for our house out of tiles.
• Went to the salon with some friends...it had been 5 months since my last hair cut, yikes.
• Took some lunch to a hospitalized friend and his pregnant wife.
• Sat around with women and children and shared stories in Urdu.
• Drank coffee every morning this week instead of chai.

In a lot of ways I am thankful for the slowness.

kids do the darndest things

I barely understand why children do the things they do in my own culture let alone children here in Curry Land. Friday night we had friends over for dinner. They have two boys; a quiet 13 year old, and a extremely mischievous 8 year old. After dinner the youngest boy kept going into the kitchen...I started paying attention to what he was doing. Most the time he kept opening the fridge door...I got really suspicious when he entered the kitchen one time and did not go for the fridge. Instead he stood in front of my sink and PEED in and around the floor drain! I was trying to maintain composure in front of my dinner guests...but the whole time I was thinking "I can't believe a kid just peed in my kitchen!"
Anyways this sad but true story is for all you moms...Happy Mothers Day! And on the really discouraging days take heart, at least your child is not peeing on the floor of other people's homes.

blind leading the blind...

Today I followed a CA friend into a part of town I had never been before to meet another friend...and we got lost. So we called our friend and stayed put until she found us (this girl scout wilderness survival principle works well in big cities and large crowds as well). While we waited we attracted A LOT of attention...and a large crowd formed. A couple of men and young boys tried to help with the crowd control by pushing people back...I am guessing this is how movie stars feel. Finally our barely 5 ft tall friend arrived, got us trough the crowd and navigated us through a labyrinth of allies...no wonder we got lost! When we got to her house she told her family we were easy to find...once she saw the large crowd she knew we would be in the middle of it. So when lost in Curry Land no need for a flare gun.

Cinco de Mayo...

I miss you! In college A and I celebrated this Americanized holiday quite ritualistically. However to A's dismay I did not even eat a tortilla...I ate curry instead. Its a little hard to be in the Cinco de Mayo spirit here in Curry Land. Although I do slip in some Spanish in with my Urdu from time to time.
One thing that happened today that warmed my Latin loving heart... Z's brother is visiting us, he has been great with people here and has learned so many phrases on the fly. But for the most part Z has been translating for him, until...S bro said a Spanish phrase, Z does not even pretend to know Spanish...so for the first time I translated for someone from Spanish to Urdu. So basically that is all I did in commemoration of Cinco de Mayo...

Happy (early) Mothers Day!

So for Mothers Day M...I will ship you over a friend for Newman. Here are your choices:
A) A much bigger and furrier dog than Newman.
B) A baby goat

C) A playful puppy

I can not guarantee that they have had all their shots.

The Hills are alive...

Crazy Hike

On the weekend we kind of spur of the moment decided to hike a 10,000ft peak...we managed to talk another couple into joining us...it didn't take much coercing they have the same spur of the moment crazy streak. The only problem with spur of the moment hikes...we did not have proper footwear. Z and I hiked up and back for 12 hours in our chacos...which are great sandals and you can do so many adventurous things in chacos...however I would not recommend wearing them for steep climbs on goat paths.*At the start of the hike...fresh legs, blister free tootsies, and a trusty stick at my side...by the end of the hike I was using the trusty stick as a sort of crutch as I hobbled down on my battered feet.





*Once we reached the top I ate, took a nap, and then drank some Starbucks Via



*It was cold at the top, Z had to wear his man shall :)

The long day of hiking was so worth it. Great views and peace and quiet.

Thats a hill !?!

Z and I were taking a two week language intensive course in a city that is referred to as the "hill station". I think their definition of a hill is quite different from mine. First of all for this Appalachian GA girl hills do not start at 7000ft. Secondly walking up a hill should not put someone in cardiac arrest! Anyways whether a Mountain or a mole hill we have really enjoyed ourselves and had some laughs, oh and also had plenty of people laugh at us :) Incidents include the following:

• A four year old schooled me up one of the so called hills...so embarrassing she was barely over 3ft tall.
• One day we were caught outside during a hailstorm...hail hurts!
• We finally got to shelter from the hail and randomly got to see the Curry Land Michael Jackson impostor...seriously the dude had Jerry curl and all.
• A monkey tried to steal our loaf of cinnamon bread...I really am starting to hate monkeys! Z was my hero and pelted the little thief with rocks, my loaf of cinnamony goodness was saved.
• While driving through mountainous roads Z got car sick...which has not happened since he was four...luckily our driver stopped the car just in time, whew!

Surprisingly we still had time for language classes amidst all the fun.