Hopsitality Central

So seriously. I live in the land that could teach Martha Stewart a thing or two about entertaining guests. South Asians treat their guests like kings and queens, and it totally doesn't matter if you have a prior invitation; just stop by! I love it! Last week Danae and I went to a SA family's house on an island right off the coast of our city. As soon as we arrived, we could tell that the family was so excited we were there! They immediately turned the fans on in the room when we arrived, and the two older women went straight to the kitchen to make something for us. The older daughter started doing henna on my arms, and the two older women brought out a special mango drink. Unfortunately, it came with only a spoon and since I had wet henna on my hands, I couldn't pick up the spoon to eat it. But my hostesses couldn't possibly have me not be able to enjoy my drink! The sweet Auntie came over to me and started spoon feeding me the smoothie. I felt so humbled and so loved that even though I was trying hard not to gag getting the drink down, I didn't want her to stop. After the last spoonful (I was praising the Lord that I had not thrown it up! South Asians don't drink cold drinks so think hot mango smoothie consistency with cashews in it! It just kinda made me gag), the Auntie then walked into the kitchen and came back with her hand wet to wipe my face. Y'all, she literally wiped my face using her hand as a napkin. As weird as that sounds, it kind of reminded me of the humility Jesus showed when he washed the disciple's feet. I just can't describe how absolutely loved I felt at that moment. I just wish someone could have videotaped the whole thing cause I am sure it was a sight to behold!

But anyway, since that day, we have gotten to go back to the family's house uninvited (the Lord totally allowed us to stumble upon them). But the lack of a prior invitation didn't stop them from inviting us in and feeding us rice, fish, and giving us some amazing chai (it was the best I have ever had). And when we were ready to go, the mother even asked us to spend the night!

Danae and I have also been invited inside people's homes after meeting them on the street. Seriously, the other day I started playing with some children on the street and sure enough a few minutes later, we were being given chai, a girl was offering to put henna on my hand, and they even invited us back to lunch next week! What I am about to say next is no bash against the US, because really, I am beginning to realize what a great country the US is to live in. There is a reason foreigners are flocking to live there. But sometimes it makes me sad that people in the US are so closed off to others. No way in the world would I be invited to dinner after having met somebody off the streets. But here, that is normal. Danae and I discussed the other night about how if we could combine the efficiency of the US with the (for lack of a better word) relational-ness of South Asia we would have the perfect country. But the more we discussed and thought about it, the two just cant go together. The reason why this country is able to be so relational is because they put way more emphasis on people than on getting things done. And although it can sometimes be frustrating, the Lord is using it to teach me a lot of patience. And you know what? I simply feel loved and taken care of here. I love my new home :)

The Thieves of K-Town

So Danae and I have definitely made an impression on this place. Not only are we some of the only white people that live in this city which brings about many stares and comments, but we are now the town thieves. Don't freak out yet. This story is quite funny. Or at least to me anyway :) So there is this awesome little grocery store a short auto ride away from our apartment. It is called Ashish Super Market. It has most things that we need, and it has a pretty good produce stand outside. Danae and I were in desperate need of groceries so off we went to Ashish. We shopped for a while buying things like flour, olive oil (the price was so steep I almost died. Imported things are NOT the way to go if you can help it), my favorite Indian chocolate cereal, boxed milk, etc. Before we knew it, our tiny buggy was filled to the brim and we hadn't even gotten produce yet. We checked out because you purchase groceries and produce separately at this store, and headed outside to get some fruits and veggies. The only problem is that by this time, we were loaded down with a couple of heavy, heavy bags with no hands to spare. So I left the bags beside Danae and started picking out fruit that I wanted. I paid for the produce and Danae and I grabbed our bags and headed outside to get an auto, sweating the whole way. We hailed an auto and piled in, thankful for the break for our arm muscles. When we finally got back to the apartment and were putting the food away, Danae pulled out a mysterious bag of salt and said, "Did we buy salt?!" I said no and then we continued searching the bag. Beside the salt we also found dosa mix, a ton of okra, some weird looking purple veggies, and carrots. We both started laughing hysterically, feeling really sorry for the person whose groceries we took on accident. We contemplated keeping the food because we didn't know if it would be worth it to go back and we had no idea how we would explain because of the language barrier, but my very wise roomie said that the best thing to do would be to take the groceries back the next day. And good thing we did.....

So we couldn't take the dosa mix with us the next day because we were stopping by the market after a lunch date with some friends, and the dosa mix said it had to be refrigerated. We had a lovely veg lunch which consisted of curries and rice served on a banana leaf. Danae and I grabbed our bags and ventured toward the market. When we arrived, we grabbed the nearest veggie lady and attempted to explain what had happened, showing her the bags of groceries. We just kept saying "I'm sorry. Accident!" over and over, hoping that they would catch that we did not steal on purpose. The lady continued to rattle things off in Malayalam, and finally left us to go grab the boss man that worked at the produce counter. He came up to us and rattled some more off in Malayalam, and I picked up that he was asking about where the dosa mix was. I tried very hard to explain to him why we didn't bring it, and when it was clear that he wasn't getting it gestured to my wallet to show him that we would just pay for the dosa mix. He finally went and grabbed a bag from the store and then I paid him for it. Danae and I both smiled at him, and walked out. As soon as we left, we just laughed and prayed that the incident wouldn't harm any relationships between them and us.

So incidentally, we needed groceries again. And since we really like this grocery store, we went back. Right before we left, we stopped at the produce counter to grab some fruits and veggies. As soon as the ladies at the counter saw us they smiled and started laughing at us. Then the big boss man saw us and started laughing too. It was a tad humiliating. I just knew they were thinking, "Oh, what dumb American girls." Danae paid for our food, and before heading out, I purposefully checked our bags to make sure that they were indeed ours. The ladies saw me do this and laughed at me again. I just smiled back and said, "Namaskaram!" When we got into the auto, Danae said, "this place definitely strips you of any pride." And it does. There is no place like it! :)