Saturday, January 24, 2009

1/24

I held class today, even though it was Saturday, because Monday is a holiday. If I am going to hold 40 classes (which I am supposed to) by the time I leave, then it is important that I hold class as often as possible. And in India Saturday is only half of a weekend, usually people work half of the day on Saturday. We did tongue twisters in class today, to work on correct pronunciation. We had so much fun, laughing at the funny things that were said. After class, I spent a large part of my day reading or dinking around on the computer. I am learning how to take life slowly. I think a lot of that has to do with becoming comfortable. There is no way to relax when you are uncomfortable; the two things are complete opposites. But since I have begun to settle in, and become comfortable, I have also been able to relax. The goal of my time on the computer was to upload some photos, which ended up taking much longer than expected. But I had plenty of time, and after I uploaded mine, Sr. Anisha needed help uploading photos, so it was perfect timing that I had just learned how.
The Missionaries of Charity were at SWI today; they were passing out free medicine. From what Father Herman said the medicine was for common sicknesses and the people were poor and couldn’t afford such medicine at the store. There were lots of people around, and they all stared, and some smiled. The Sisters were very nice, and all acknowledged me and asked me how I was doing.
After tea/coffee time (one of my favorite times of day, because we always get sweets and it reminds me of Grandma Hewitt’s teatimes) I spent a couple hours working at the Sudoku (they are the most difficult in Saturdays paper) and watching some TV on the English channels. There are 4 or 5 English channels, and they play pretty good movies and some primetime TV shows. Today I watched High School Musical 2, and completed 95% of a Sudoku.
When the Fathers returned from their outing, we all went to dinner at a friends home. The family consisted of a mother, father, and two children, a younger boy and older girl. They attend St. Xavier School, and the family all spoke English. We had appetizers, and joked around for a bit. Then we had dinner. The food was delicious! The parents did not eat while we were there, which Father explained to me again, is the customary treatment of guests.
Father Markus noticed earlier that I was working on the Sudoku, and he asked what it was. I explained to him and he scoffed and said that is easy! He asked for the family’s paper and started to work on it. He spent a good hour and a half of our time there working on it and wasn’t able to make much progress. I was teasing him the entire time and we were all laughing!! Father Herman has taken to doing the Jumbles and he is quite good at them. Even Sha-na-watch has started contributing to the Sudokus. I think I have started a new craze--newspaper games 
Monday is Republic Day in India, a celebration of all of the states agreeing to join in on the Indian constitution. There is no school or work. I am very excited to see what a Patriotic India looks like. The family we had dinner with invited me to tag along on Monday while they go and visit a village. I am very excited to go with them; they said there will be fishing involved!
On the walk home from dinner tonight, Father Herman asked if I am feeling more comfortable here. I said that I am feeling very comfortable here and am grateful for all of the people who have been so nice to me. He said that they are feeling at home with me as well, and appreciated my friendliness and willingness to joke around. I think that is one of the best compliments I have gotten so far. I have sure blossomed as an extrovert during my time here, and I think it has been for the best.
That is all for now. Loves.

2 comments:

  1. Chelsea, I just have to say I'm so impressed with your daily blog posts. Enjoy your time in India!

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  2. Hi Chelsea, I saw some of your photos on the Facebook... Those are fine!

    How's life in Raiganj? Enjoy the Republic Day events... But if you are not in Raiganj, you may not get to see much of parades... Bye.

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