My first day in India...

The trip

My trip to Bangalore was really, really long but went off seamlessly.  I went to breakfast with my friend, Rachel, on Thursday morning and then she drove me to the airport.  I flew from Richmond to New York with ease.  When I had to go through the international security line at JFK, I was a little overwhelmed since it’s so chaotic but felt a little better since I’d done the same thing with Brent last year when we went to Europe.  So I at least knew what to expect.  While I was waiting in line, a security guard pulled me aside and said they needed me to come with them to the airline desk and confirm that I had my visa and such to avoid delays later.  I admit I was a bit annoyed since I’d lost my spot in a very long line.  The man at the desk was very nice and got me my boarding materials and also gave me a map of the Paris airport with directions on where I’d need to go once I got there.  Then the security guard, who was extremely nice, walked me back to the security line and took me straight to the front!  Not only did I not lose my spot, I didn’t have to wait at all!  Awesome!

The flight to Paris wasn’t bad at all, and they served great food.  I had no idea how nice first class was.  My seat literally reclined all the way back so that I could lay down flat, and it had a built in back massager.  I was blown away.  I watched a movie and was there before I knew it.  The only bad part was that the flight was about an hour late taking off, and I only had a two hour layover in Paris.  By the time I got through the lines and such in Paris, I was only at my gate for 10 minutes before I boarded the next flight.  Cutting it a little close! 

The gate in Paris was when it started to feel very real.  All the passengers were Indian, and it started sinking in that I was really going.  As strange as it was to be one of the only white people, I felt a closeness to these Indian strangers.  I knew that they’d been taking care of Brent for the past 5 weeks, and their big brown eyes are so kind.

The flight itself was extremely long (all in all, it was 1 hour to JFK, 7 hours to Paris, and then 9.5 hours to Bangalore), but I sat next to a man who lived in Bangalore and had a son and daughter-in-law in Richmond.  He told me all about Bangalore and gave me his business card.  He was really nice, and I actually got to introduce him to Brent while we waited for our drivers later.  I was so excited when we finally started to descend, because I knew I was about to see Brent.  I flew through customs and got both my bags (nothing was lost!!).  Brent had told me earlier that there was only one exit from the airport, so I should just come outside and he’d be waiting.  I didn’t have any way to call him, so I really hoped I’d be able to spot him.  As soon as I came out the door, I heard someone call my name.  He was waiting right there where he said he would, and it was so wonderful to see him.   

I got into Bangalore around 12 am and then we made the hour drive to the apartment.  Brent did such a great job getting things ready for me and making me feel at home.  He had a bouquet of flowers on our coffee table, bought groceries he knew I’d want (Splenda, skim milk, Special K, pickles, and canned tuna), got me my Dove shampoo and conditioner, and cleaned out the closet in our room to make space for me (he took the closet in the guest room).  I’m so thankful for him!  He showed me around the apartment and I caught him up on my trip, and then we finally fell asleep around 3:15 am.  After all that travel, I was completely beat!  

Our apartment is very humble, but it’s fun being here together.  It’s clean and neat but definitely not luxury by any stretch!  

My flowers

Our living room and breakfast area with bedroom door and kitchen on left

The kitchen

Opposite view of living room with bedroom on the right

Our little red fridge and supply of bottled water

My closet (that's all the clothes I brought for 4 months...impressive!)

Brent's closet

Our bedroom

Our bathroom

Brent chilling on the couch

The guest room

First full day

We woke up around 9:30 and went to breakfast at our apartment restaurant area.  It’s a great outdoor terrace just steps from our front door (pictures to come soon).  We’re on the third floor, so there’s a great view of the city.  Brent is still sticking to more “normal” food for a few more days after his stomach trouble, so we went basic today.  We had cornflakes, watermelon, and coffee for breakfast.  There’s a group of about 12 men who run the apartment (front desk, daily cleaning, cook the breakfast…we’re talking everything)!  Brent refers to them as “the boys”, so I got to meet them.  They were very nice but extremely submissive.  They wouldn’t really make eye contact with me and every response was followed with “yes sir” or “yes madam”.  So strange!

After breakfast we came back to the apartment and did our Bible studies.  Our church is studying Nehemiah, so I read the first several chapters to get caught up and ready for tomorrow.  We walked down to the market so that I could see the foods.  I think we’ll eat out for a couple days until I get my feet under me, but there’s definitely enough here that I should be able to cook.  We came back to the apartment, showered and got dressed, I blew up my hair dryer (I guess too much voltage), ate lunch (peanut butter sandwich, banana, and a couple of cookies from Brent’s self-titled “cookie kingdom” that he’s built up since he got here),  and headed out to explore the city.

We rode the bus into Bangalore and looked around a mall.  They had several American stores that I recognized and plenty that I didn’t.  I found a couple of kurtas (long tunics) that I wanted, but I’m going to pace myself and explore a bit more before purchasing anything.  On Brent’s first day in Bangalore, he went to a store to get me a scarf.  The owner was a nice Muslim man that Brent talked to and actually shared the gospel with.  He’s met back up with several times since then and went to lunch with him.  He took me by the man's store today to meet him.  We sat with Amim for at least an hour, sharing tea and talking about his family and the gospel.  It was such a real conversation and not forced in the least.  He told us about his Koran, and we pointed out the differences and truths that we believed as Christians.  He was very open to listening and talking, but it’ll take the Spirit’s work to open his eyes.  He seemed to keep circling back to the fact that he didn’t believe that there were that many differences.  He’s a neat man, and we’ll continue meeting with him while we’re here.

After that Brent took me to a coffee shop where we sat and talked for a while.  It was pretty Western, and Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” played in the background as we sat.  I got a laugh out of that.

A pretty Christian church we passed in the city

We explored the city a little more and got me a pair of walking shoes.  Then we decided on dinner at a place called the Empire.  Brent said they had really good mutton.  We got there around 7, but the meat slow roasts and wouldn’t be done until 8 so we ended up splitting Hawaiian chicken at Hard Rock instead!

Dinner at Hard Rock Bangalore

We rode the bus back to the apartment, and I was able to call and talk to my parents for a while.  We’re about to head to sleep for the night.  I’m exhausted but am excited about going to church in the morning.

All in all, it was a great first day.  I went through periods of sensory overload (smells, sounds, sights, etc) and feeling a bit overwhelmed, but I have a strange peace and feeling of being at home here.  Partly that’s due to Brent making me feel welcome, but I know that God has prepared the way and is here with me.  I love these Indian people, and I’m excited to see what He’s going to do.

Here are a few general observations and funny stories of my first day in the city:

1. Dogs are everywhere!  You can’t pet them, which is so hard for me (I just want to love on them!).  Brent said there’s one that’s always around our apartment that we’ve decided to name Rory, but I haven’t seen him yet.
2. Cows are everywhere!  I’ve never seen anything like this.  You just drive down the road and see random cows everywhere, including in the middle of the road.  They're sacred, so no one will ever hit them.  Traffic just halts until the cow decides he's ready to move.
3. The weather is really nice.  It gets warm in the day, but the evenings are perfect.  There’s a great breeze, and it’s actually cool!
4. Brent wasn’t kidding about crossing the street and running for the bus.  Each time you cross, you take your life in your hands.  Those cars just don’t stop.  I hold Brent’s hand and wait for him to yell “go”, and then we just take off.  And the bus is about the same way.  We were walking tonight after dinner, and all of a sudden Brent just starts sprinting and yells at me to come on.  He’d spotted the bus and didn’t want to miss it.  So we ran at full speed until we realized that we were just too far away and would have to wait for the next one.  It’s so funny!
5. Last week was Ganesh’s birthday (that’s one of their main gods).  People have been celebrating and are doing fireworks in the background as I type this.  Visually it’s very pretty to look at their lights and the colorful statues all lit up.  But when I think about what’s underneath, it’s very dark and sad.  They’re praying to this cartoon-like elephant god who has absolutely no power to do anything.  I’m so thankful for a powerful, very alive God, who speaks to me personally.
6. India is very dirty.  There’s trash and mud everywhere, but somehow it adds to the uniqueness and charm of the city.  I’m glad I can go home at the end of the 4 months and not have to live here permanently, but it’s actually not that bad.
7. Calculating the rupees is going to take me a while.  Brent gave me a formula, but I’ll be counting on his skills for a bit until I get the hang of it!

My closing thought for today:

As I was riding the bus back tonight, I just reflected again on how India is dirty and there seems to be so many germs all around.  It makes me a nervous wreck.  This is a big hang-up for me and something that God is going to have to work on.  He gave me a good way to think about it, though, that really challenged me.  Whenever I get a new outfit, I never want to wear it because I don’t want to get it dirty.  I’ll leave it hanging in the closet for months because I want to take care of it and leave it "perfect" with the tags on.  But that’s so dumb, because I don’t get to enjoy it and use it.  It’s the same thing with my body.  I’m so scared of catching a disease or something, but God gave me this body for a very temporary time to do His work.  If I leave it “in the closet” and don’t take it out to the areas that He’s called me to, I won’t get any use out of it even if it stays “clean”.  I’ll certainly take precautions to stay healthy, but ultimately I must be willing to sacrifice my health and life, knowing that what awaits me is His voice saying, “well done, my faithful servant.”  I wait expectantly for that day and want Him to delight in me in the meantime.   

Oh and as promised, here's a before and after picture of little Ella with her lion cut.  Enjoy!

Before (so fluffy!)

After (just pitiful!)