all the pretty things.

“Look at all the pretty things

That steal my heart away

I can feel I’m fading

Lord I love so many things

That keep me from Your face

Come and save me”

-Tenth Avenue North, All the Pretty Things

This week something struck me.  It may be a silly and juvenile observation, but here it goes anyway.  I have been struggling so much with understanding Hinduism – how and why Hindus believe what they do.  It just hasn’t made sense to me.  How on earth does worshipping dolls make sense in any context?  I was listening to my music on shuffle, and an old song I haven’t listened to in quite some time randomly played – “All the Pretty Things” by Tenth Avenue North.  While I was listening to it, something inside my head just clicked.  Hindus have idols that look so incredibly wrong to me, someone who doesn’t understand the religion.  But, Christians have all sorts of idols (me included), the idols just are not as obvious.  Here, people may worship dolls, but back home, people worship (through idolization) things like money, food, relationships and hobbies.  I think that this hidden idolatry might be scarier than the worship of dolls, because it tends to be unnoticed. It just seems sad. 

---

In less than two months, I will be back home celebrating Christmas.  Reflecting on my time here thus far, I cannot begin to think that the end is even in sight, but it is.  It seems as though so much happens each week that my blogging doesn’t do much justice, but, here goes another week-long recap. 

As far as school is concerned, I suppose it is safe to say that it was “just another week.”  Although, we did have one notable strange and hilarious classroom experience happen.  It was evening and we had just begun religion class with a sweet (our professor likes to treat us to traditional Indian sweets – this time it had been masala banana chips with tender coconut to wash down the spice) and our professor told us that we would be watching a movie.  So, he popped a DVD into the computer and proceeded to fast-forward (in slow motion) through the whole two-hour movie.  Then, he ejected the DVD and made some comment along the lines of, “hope you enjoyed the film,” and began his lecture.  We were all a little bit confused as to what the point of watching him fast-forward through a documentary about Christianity coming to India was, but, as they would say in India, “What to do?”

Other than the normal class mix-ups and trips to the grocery store, it was a relatively uneventful week.  The weekend, however, was the eventful part, as seems to be an overarching motif of India.  Weekend travels usually tend to be packed full and exhausting but totally and completely worth it.   This past weekend was spent in Cochin, a city in Kerala (we finally left the state of Tamil Nadu!).  Kerala’s is known as “God’s Own Country” in the same way Montana is known as “The Last Best Place.”  Cochin is on the coast, so we were located right by the Arabian Sea.  We left Coimbatore on Saturday morning at 5 am, the earliest yet.  I had the terrible idea the night before that I would just stay up all night in order to get some work done and to be able to sleep on the long bus ride, so I was a little bit delirious by the time I boarded the bus, but as soon as we started driving, I fell right asleep.  It was certainly not the best sleep (India could really benefit from some road work, even chip-sealing would help) due to the rough and bumpy roads and traffic constantly slamming on the breaks and honking like crazy, but it was sleep nonetheless.  We stopped for a traditional Kerala breakfast about halfway through the drive, and had a very thin, bread-like pancake made of coconut.  It was pretty okay, although Indian breakfasts tend to be much more hearty than I prefer.  We finally made it to Cochin around noon.  We stayed at a hotel this time, and a classy one at that!  It was called Hotel SAAS.  Anyways, we checked into our rooms and then had lunch.  It was a traditional lunch comprised of rice, gravies, curries, and sambar.  But, we were a little spoiled at the hotel, and they also gave us fresh fruit and ice cream.  Its safe to say that it may have been a highlight of the weekend. 

After lunch, we heard a series of lectures on a wide range of topics including development, Christianity, and America.  The lectures were fascinating and really helped put things into a new perspective.  The lecture on Christianity was based on Mark 3-6 and the idea that if you want to follow Jesus, you must reject the logic of the world.  Basically, the world thought Jesus was crazy and if we are living like Jesus too, we should look crazy to the world too.  The talk on America was a little more disheartening.  The lecturer spoke of how America is a role model to the rest of the world, speaking of all American presidents (George Bush, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and Barak Obama, of course) as though they were worthy of worship.  It is a little bit heart breaking to hear America spoken of as a role model because of what a struggle our country is facing at this point in history.  It was good to hear, though, because it helps to further understand the way that Indians view America, which is so valuable when you are living in the middle of it. 

After the lectures, we were served tea, which is completely normal now (tea ALL the time) and then went to a Kathakali dance exhibition.  Kathakali is a dance that is native to Kerala – it is basically acting through dance and drumming.  Only men are allowed to be dancers and they are required to complete a minimum of seven years of training to become a dancer (so, just like Shakespearean times, women are played by men in drag).  They are in full costume and their faces are made up with brightly colored concoctions of face paint made from coconut oil and dust from different kinds of rocks.  With the makeup on, the performers look almost fake – their face paint looks like a mask.  There is no talking throughout the telling of the story, and much of the drama is told through hand gestures and eye movements.  It was really neat, although I felt like I had gone down the rabbit’s hole in Alice in Wonderland for a while; the dance was kind of surreal feeling because the dancers looked like huge dolls.  After the dance, we attempted to get Italian food (Kerala is a tourist destination so there are attractions and restaurants to cater to such), which turned into a fiasco because basically nothing on the menu was available and everything that was turned out to be extremely overpriced.  I ended up getting a piece of bread with melted cheese.  I regret to inform you that it was not the best Italian food I’ve ever had and it was even worse than much of the Indian food that I’ve had.  By the time we left the restaurant, it was around 9.  The bus got very lost on the way back to SAAS Hotel so it was after 11 by the time we got there – another late night. 

Sunday began at 8 with breakfast at another place traditional to Kerala.  I had Bombay Toast, my favorite Indian food ever.  Its basically French toast but made with ghee and sugar so it is super sweet and delicious.  Of course tea followed and then we went on a boat tour of the outskirts.  We saw many things from the water – cruise ships headed to Sri Lanka, cargo boats, chinese fishing nets, and a great view of town.  Our boat took us to a dock where we got off to look at the Dutch palace (a landmark from when the Dutch ruled India).  I felt so at home there. Kidding, of course.  We also saw a synagogue in Jewtown.  Yes, it really is called Jewtown, which would be completely and totally politically incorrect at home but stuff like that works here.  After the boat tour, we went to a spice market where many people bought spices.  Then, it was already time to head back to Coimbatore.  We stopped on the drive back for tea and hot banana chips, another thing Kerala is famous for.  Banana chips are the Indian version of potato chips.  We finally got “home” around 9 and our school had brought us dinner to our apartments. 

Again, I am sitting here thinking about how incredibly blessed I am.  Today, Monday, was another great day.  Although it was a school day, we had to be at school early to hear a guest speaker.  Thinking it would be boring, I was not all too excited about it.  Its crazy how God knows what you need to hear though.  Our guest speaker was Dr. Myron Augsburg, from America.  He planted churches as well as he was the president of the CCCU for many years.  He spoke about Jesus’s life and the importance of association with other people for Christians, as well as the uniqueness of grace Christianity (an element that all other religions lack).  He had such wisdom and I hope that I can have even a small fraction of that kind of world knowledge later in life. 

This week is bound to be an eventful one.  Wednesday is Diwali, a national holiday.  Apparently, it is close to the most celebrated holiday in India.  It’s a big deal and we plan to embrace every minute and celebrate a lot.  

Kathakali Dancer #1.

Kathakali Dancer #2.

Chinese Fishing Nets.

Beautiful Cochin. 

day by day.

Most of the time, I would much rather be busy than bored.  To put it simply, India has been keeping me busy with no thought of ever being bored.  It is crazy for me to think that I’ve been here for a month and a half and that in two months, I’ll be on a plane back to America.  In the time that I’ve been here, I feel like there hasn’t been even a minute to take a breather.  Some days, of course, are busier than others, but honestly, having one full day off (a day with no mandatory commitments and nothing to do) in almost two months makes me feel as though I am running a marathon.  Considering I’m no runner, at this point in the race, I’d really like to reach a place to rest.  At the same time, however, I’m not sure what I would cut out and get rid of – I’m so thankful for the amount of the country and the culture that is being seen.  I guess, after a long week of school and weekend of travel, I’m exhausted.

The past week was packed with presentation, papers, and other assignments.  Every single day of school is still an adjustment, especially in regards to the work that must be carried out.  Because of the cultural hit-and-miss, it is incredibly difficult to judge expectations.  This results in either feeling on top of the world, because, by chance, you got the expectations right, or makes you feel like you are slowly drowning in sinking sand because you thought you hit the nail right on the head when realistically, you hammered that nail right through your own thumb.  Long story short, we were supposed to give group presentations in a class.  Every single presentation, however, was ripped to shreds by the professor, leaving each one of us feeling vastly inadequate in the classroom.  The week as a whole followed that theme of frustration and inadequacy a little bit too much for comfort, and by Friday, I think exhaustion in all of its possible forms had set in – mentally, physically, and emotionally. 

This past weekend has been not exactly relaxing, however, we did get a small vacation from Coimbatore, as we headed to Madhurai for the weekend.  Madhurai is known as, “The City of Temples,” and, come to find out, it is accurately named.  The weekend was purely educational, once again opening our eyes to the challenges faced in everyday Indian society, as well as the great diversity encompassed in Indian culture.  We stayed at the Tamil Nadu Theological Seminary, a seminary focused on social justice – each student spends a whole year living in a slum, having their eyes opened and their hearts molded.  The seminary students have various work projects within the slums and we spent much of Saturday seeing such projects.  We went to a rest home where some of the students are part of an “adopt-a-grandparent” type of program, where we spoke to the residents and gave them cookies.  It was eye opening to see the poor living conditions that the elderly live in when there is no one to take care of them; they sleep on metal slabs and have only a small box holding their possessions.  Next, we went to the Indian equivalent of a women’s’ shelter, where women with nowhere else to go can go to live and learn vocational skills, such as sewing.  Again, it was heartbreaking to see the way that those in society with no family for whom to turn are treated, and good to see that there are places for them to go.  It is interesting for me to look at the importance of family in India, especially in comparison to America.  Family is so important here; without a good family here, one is doomed, as they have no one to care for them. 

Later Saturday night, we went to a historical palace, where we watched what was called a “light show,” but was basically a story told in the dark with certain parts of the palace illuminated by multicolored lights.  The show gave a broad overview of Madhurai and how it came to be the city that it is. 

Sunday, we visited one of the largest and most famous Hindu temples in India – the Meenakshi Temple.  It was gargantuan.  Hinduism confuses me and I am still unsure what to make of it.  On one hand, I am baffled that people can believe in a religion where they are allowed to worship literally anything they want – from a doll of Santa Clause to an air conditioner to an elephant.  On another hand, I am genuinely scared any time I am near this idol worship because it is deemed so wrong Biblically, and really gives me the heebie jeebies.  One of my friends said, as we entered the temple, “Can you imagine what Jesus would do to this temple if He were here right now?”  I would presume that the temple would be overthrown and demolished.  The temple is full of statues of Shiva, Brahma, and Vishnu, the three main and pivotal gods.  Other than that, there are sculptures everywhere.  Many of these statues and sculptures are worshipped by the placement of “puja powder,” a fine powder made of cow dung (keep in mind that Hindus find cows to be holy so this is of utmost respect to the gods), offered bananas, coconuts, and other food items, or offered burning candles.  It is hard to explain the feeling of the temple, but to me, it felt very tribal.  After hours at the huge temple, we went to the Gandhiji Museum; adding “ji” to the end of one’s name is respectful, so Gandhi is known as “Gandhiji” here.  The museum was informative, though not like museums in America.  I suppose that is to be expected, however, considering everything here it seems stands in opposition to home. 

After the Gandhi museum, we returned to TTC for lunch and then left for Coimbatore.  We made one stop on the way back though, at an orphanage for HIV positive children.  This was certainly my favorite part of the weekend trip, and possibly one of my favorite parts of India thus far.  I can’t pinpoint as to why it was so great, but it just was.  There was so much joy in the children at the home, even though they know full well what their desolate futures hold.  They sang songs with us and played on the playground.  As we left, one of the girls that I played with the whole time we were there said to me, “I pray to Jesus that you will come back.”  As tears filled my eyes, I hopped on the bus, unable to put that beautiful girl with that beautiful faith out of my thoughts. 

It was a long bus ride back to Coimbatore, but I was glad to be back “home.”   

Something that has been tugging on my heartstrings this week is Romans 13:11-12.  It reads, “The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.  The night is nearly over; the day is almost here.  So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.”  I don’t know why these verses struck me so much, but they did.  

Palace.

Temple.

[let it rain]

I always thought that the saying, “Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass; its about dancing in the rain,” was really lame and super cliché.  Today, however, my mind was changed.  I still don’t like the quote, but I learned that it’s more the principle of the matter. 

Soon after I returned to my apartment after a ridiculously long day, it began to rain.  The water fell slowly at first, and the fresh smell of rain seeped into my nostrils.  It didn’t take long until myself and three other girls jumped on the opportunity to run around and dance in the rain.  As we let the fat water droplets soak our clothes and smear our makeup, flashes of lightning began to streak across the sky, followed by what seemed like sonic booms of thunder.  The raindrops began to fall faster and with more force, soaking every inch of our bodies and clothing.  Before we knew it, we finally began to comprehend why these months are known as “monsoon season.”  Today, the rain was something I needed.  It was beautiful and it was powerful and it made me feel so alive. 

 It should be noted, however, that this was some serious rain.  Really though.  It was a monsoon.  Streets were completely flooded to the point where cars couldn't drive and people were walking in puddles past their knees.  I think I can really learn to love monsoon season! 

all of it.

Its hard to think that a geographical location could hold a place in your heart.  But, I think it is possible, if only for the people who occupy the location.  I hate to think about the fact that it has taken me over a month to get to this point, but I am beginning to finally give India a piece of my heart.  The past week has been a game-changer and I am so thankful for the many things that changed many of my perspectives on India. God really is good.

Last week was part of the Puja holiday, a long and drawn out Hindu holiday.  A perk of living amongst India's religious diversity is that because there are so many religions, there are seemingly countless holidays.  We all know what lots of holidays mean...less days of school! So, as a result of Puja, we didn't have class Wednesday-Friday, meaning, we got to travel.  Bright and early Wednesday morning, we all boarded a bus and headed towards Ooty, one of India's hill stations.  It took longer than anticipated to get there, but that seems to be a motif of life in India - everyone and everything is always late, all the time.  The drive, however, was great.  It reminded me of home, if that is even possible considering how far away home actually is.  You see, Ooty is a village in the mountains.  Because of the mountains and elevation change, it was also about 30 degrees cooler there - we were happy to have our scarfs and even wished we had brought sweatshirts at times.  The mountains are filled with tea plantations because Ooty thrives on the manufacturing of tea.  Anyways, we spent our short time in Ooty (we were only there on Wednesday and Thursday) doing many things, none of which I would have changed a bit.  When we got there, we went to a chocolate shop.  Chocolate is another perk of Ooty; apparently, it is one of the only places in India where you can buy chocolate at all, and the reason you can buy it there is because the air is cool enough that it doesn't melt.  In turn, we all went a little bit crazy at the store, realizing it may be our only taste of chocolate until Christmas, and considering that it was our first taste of Chocolate in over a month.  It was delicious.  Then, we went into the jungle to a wildlife reserve.  We waited and waited and waited, unsure of what we were going to do there; as we waited, crazy little wild monkeys jumped around and swung from tree to tree.  At about sunset, we boarded a rickety old bus (kind of like the one that the Wild Thornberrys drove around in, but much less homey).  The bus drove us through these little jungle paths and we were able to see wild elephants by sunset.  We also saw many deer, boars and bison, which would have been more cool had they been more foreign creatures.  I was thrilled enough, though, by the elephants.  It was so neat.  After that, we headed back to the place where we stayed, a quaint little place that may be India's version of a K.O.A. Kampground, but I'm not positive.  We all really wanted a campfire, and our wish was their command.  We got a campfire and we were able to worship around it with sparks flitting through the air like fireflies.

The following day, we went back to the reserve and watched some of the trained elephants' feeding.  Wow, they sure can eat! We left after the elephants were full and we went to visit an NGO called Freedom Firm.  I think I could talk about (or, write about, I suppose) the organization for hours, but I'll cut it to the shorthand.  In affiliation with International Justice Mission, the people at Freedom Firm work throughout the whole country of India trying to rescue young girls (ages 16 and under) from lives of prostitution.  It was fascinating and I am so incredibly glad we got to hear about it.  India really is the right place to learn about all kinds of social justice issues.  After that, we went to a little place called "Willy's" and got pizza.  Although the pizza was no Padrino's or Papa Murphey's, it was alright.  Then, we were told that we would be going to the highest peak in all of Tamil Nadu.  Being the Montanan that I am, there was no doubt in my mind that it meant we would get to go on a hike!  I was ecstatic.  The bus just kept on plugging away, though.  As it turns out, in India, you can drive to the top of mountain peaks.  Not to be a mountain snob, but it was no Castle Rock; it was really breathtaking, though, to see all of the mountains of Tamil Nadu, packed with field upon field of tea.  Doddabetta Peak was our last stop, and then we began our long drive back to Coimbatore.

We finally got back to our apartments around 9 pm, completely exhausted.  Jon and Kandyce, however, had made baked potato soup for us upon our return.  Honestly, in that moment, I don't think anything could have tasted better.

Now, let me remind you of the power cuts.  Remember how I said that the power goes out for a couple hours each day?  Well, due to political unrest (according to "The Hindu," our local newspaper), the power was out all day on Friday, from dawn until dusk.  Literally, all day.  Thankfully, we left again on Friday.  This time, however, we didn't leave Coimbatore, rather, we departed for 3-day long "home-stays."  Essentially, two of us ISP-ers were paired up and then randomly assigned a family to stay with.  Don't worry, the families were all selected from All Souls Church, the place where we have been worshipping here in Coimbatore.  We found out our pairs and then our assignments.  Amanda and I were told we would be staying with the Chief of Police.  After waiting for quite some time for he and his wife to pick us up, we found out that he had been called into work for duty and we wouldn't be able to stay with him.  Originally, we were incredibly disappointed, but it turned out being an enormous blessing in disguise.  Because the change was so last-minute, Sheila, a professor at BACAS, offered for us to stay with her sister.  Just like that, we were off for our home-stay.  Sheila's brother, Rajesh, actually picked us up and brought us to the house.  When we arrived, we found out that because Sheila is not married and Rajesh is not married, they live in the house with Grace, their sister, who is married and has two children.  We found out that the house they live in had been in the family since 1920.  When we arrived, we were greeted by Grace, Sheila's sister.  We were served tea and our bed was made for us.  We also got to meet our little siblings, Susan and Samson.  Then, we got to hang out with the family.  Grace told us about their lives and Samson made us "juice," which means tang here.  As we were getting acquainted, Grace told us about her husband and we were shown her wedding album.

Its a sobering moment when you realize that an opinion that you have held for your whole life is wrong and based solely on ignorance.  Grace explained to us that her marriage had been arranged.  I had never even thought of arranged marriages as anything but wrong and doomed to fail.  But, I was proved very wrong.  Learning this lesson has changed my perspective and challenged many of my other beliefs.  Basically, we probed and asked as many questions as we could think of trying to see why arranged marriages wouldn't work; but, we were not given any answers supporting our hypothesis.  It was during that discussion that Grace said something that I don't think I will ever forget.  I bluntly asked, "Do you really think that arranged marriages work?"  She said to me, "Absolutely. If God is at the center of anything, it will work." I was blown away.  She could really honestly tell me that, even though her and her husband's marriage had been arranged, God had paired them together and they were very much in love, even after 20 plus years.  If God is at the center, it will work. 


The only thing that could have made that night better, happened.  Grace asked us if we would like to go with her on Saturday night to an arranged Christian marriage wedding engagement.  Obviously, we were ecstatic, especially after having heard her story (She told us that before her and her husband were engaged, they had only met once.  She prayed and fasted for three days until she knew that God wanted her to marry this man that she didn't even know).

 Let me jump ahead to the next day and the engagement party.  It was beautiful.  Sheila came with us too and the first thing she said when we walked in was, "They are both very nervous," talking about the bride and groom-to-be.  They were seated next to each other on a couch, each holding a Bible.  The service was composed of prayer, reading of Scripture, and mini sermons given by 4 different pastors.  The bride-to-be looked gorgeous, wearing a very ornate sari and lots of jewelry.  Midway through the service, two really neat traditions took place.  The bride-to-be is given a new Sari to change into, gifted to her by the groom-to-be and his family.  The groom-to-be is given a doti (man-skirt) and jacket, gifted to him by the bride-to-be and her family.  They leave, change, and return wearing their new clothes.  When they return, they switch Bibles.  Both of these things, I think, hold significant value and beauty.  Of course, when the ceremony was over, there was a feast filled with rice and many other rice products.  But, there was cake and ice cream also, so that made up for the obscene amounts of rice and chutney (gravy).

Now, let me backtrack.  Our host family had an awesome dynamic, being that we got to experience a joint family firsthand.  Our "little brother and sister" treated us like family, teasing us and eating our snacks.   Samson, our "brother," taught us how to play Cricket and Carom and Susan painted for us.  Sheila fed us copious amounts of food.  I literally thought I was going to explode.  So much rice and so much chapatti (these fried pancakes that they fed us because they could tell we liked it much more than rice).  We were also fed dosa for breakfast, another fried pancake-y thing.  You are supposed to put potato chutney on it.  I didn't love the chutney but I was forcing it down.  Sheila saw right through my act and proceeded to dump a huge pile of sugar on my dosa.  She told me that I might like that better because it is what they feed children.  Of course.  Even in India I prefer the simple kid's food to the fancy adult dish. But, boy, was it good.  We also went to church with Rajesh on Sunday morning, as well as out shopping for earrings and to the parlor with Sheila.  We were really treated like family for three days, and it was so great to feel that dynamic.  Leaving Sunday night was surprisingly difficult.  I feel as though in the three days that I lived with Sheila, Grace, Rajesh, Samson and Susan, I learned more about India and its beautiful people than I ever could in a classroom.  God's light shone so brightly through them and I can only hope that one day I can have a light that bright.

I am so thankful for last week and the weekend.  Like I said before, I wouldn't change it for the world.  Last night, I was sort of on cloud nine.  Today, we had class at 9 and pretty much all day.  We only had a lunch break, but other than that, we went straight through until 6.  We also had presentations comparing Christianity and other world religions (I compared Christianity and Sikhism).  Every day at school, I'm pushed to the point of what, I think, is breaking point.  But, after speaking with Kirk and Hannah (the ISP director and his wife) last week, I was struck by something that they said.  They told me that, "Everything is preparation for something."  Even though school in India is a huge challenge, its preparing me for something else that I may do in the future.  So, I feel as though I have a new perspective.  I can make it through the challenges because every single day, I am reminded of God's goodness and His grace.  Even throughout the daily struggles, He is faithful.  My struggles were put to shame today by the huge smile put on my face when I got not only a big and wonderful care package filled with loving, supporting, reassuring notes and delicious snacks from my family, but also an encouraging card from my Dad.  The evening was complete with a huge thunder and lightning storm, with falling rain making it feel like Seattle and lightning streaking across the sky making it feel like Bozeman.  I'll say it again.  God is so good.  

Elephants are huge creatures. 

Breathtaking landscape of Doddabetta, Ooty.

First outfit.  Pre-Bible switch.

Mid-Bible switch.  Post clothes change. Outfit number two.

There are some days that I wish I could have this whole experience on video because writing about it does not do any justice.  Yesterday was one of those days where you just have to keep praying for continued sanity.  Having to print papers at a designated "printing shop" is fine until the shop decides to stay closed on the day your paper is due. In class, projects and 8-page papers were assigned, and expected due on Tuesday, giving a mere four days.  The thing was, though, that we had no idea that we were going to have these assignments.  It was another classic example of cultural confusion.  There have been so many times where we, the Americans, just completely miss something so blatant to other Indians, and vice versa.  Its those days that are the most frustrating and its those days where you have to delight in the little things.  My delight yesterday: a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for dinner, and clean laundry.

On another note, Coimbatore's electricity comes from wind energy.  Cool right? Well...maybe not so much. There hasn't been wind for the last few days, meaning there hasn't been power; the power will be on for a little while but out for hours at a time.  So, I've been learning to appreciate heat and silence.

This coming week is a holiday week so there will be only two days of class. This means more traveling, as well as home-stays.  Life in India is never dull!