Oop, there goes that horn again. And there Reenu goes with that pot again… Funny it’s taken me three weeks to figure out that this daily routine I’ve observed almost everyday since I’ve arrived is the milkman coming by and making his rounds. There are so many horns going off nearby and so many people coming and going and bringing and taking in this household that I simply assumed that the horn was some driver on their scooter and coincidentally someone needed to borrow a pot. Now it’s all coming together! I also realized recently that the obnoxious music that plays (the same song everyday!) outside every morning is the garbage collection. So many rituals here are just so different from what I’m accustomed to that I’ll never run out of new things to learn.
Sometimes it seems like time is going pretty slowly here. I think the pace of life and heat have a lot to do with that. But, when I realize how slowly I am adapting to life here, I appreciate that. I sometimes feel a little couped up here, stuck at the office for eight hours, stuck inside at night, but it makes me more appreciative of the times I get to explore the shops with my host mom and go around the BEAUTIFUL Old City with my host sister and relax in an air conditioned cafe with my host brother and explore a peacock sanctuary with my host father. I couldn’t be more grateful for how my accomodations turned out. Not only is my host family so accomodating and caring, but they’ve even recently taken care of me at my worst.
I must have gotten too used to living here that I forgot to be extra cautious about the heat. After being out when the sun is strongest at midday and hanging around the old city until evening, I only just realized I had barely had anything to drink. When sitting down to dinner, it hit me, and I got sick. I felt awful and even worse that my host family would have to deal with me like that. But right away my host brother came up to me and pushed a pressure point in my head that made me feel slightly better. I laid down and my host mom came over and placed wet towels on me to cool me down. They accomodated me downstairs where it’s cooler than my appartment and my host mom kept my towels wet until I was falling asleep. I was more thankful than I’d ever felt. When I’m sick it feels better than anything to be taken care of. I thanked everyone tremendously in the morning (after a long sleep… which I continued most of the day and the next night) but my host mom only said that there was no need for me to thank her, it’s what you do for family. This is the best thing I have found in India so far, something I wasn’t even expecting to find, family.
As for the heat, it is more dangerous than I thought, and I am taking extra precaution now. But it keeps climbing! Highs of 110 are coming up… Luckily I will be headed to cooler grounds and the Himalayas this weekend. Will give updates afterword!!
As for the pictures I promised, I’ll attach.
