i (heart) power cuts!

quick update again, and here's to hoping the power stays on long enough for me to post it this time: we have a mobile phone as of the 4th of july (3rd of july evening where ya'll but sundararajans are). the number is from the US: 011 979 813 871. we have free incoming calls, i believe... free for us. so in case anyone wants to say hello or needs to get a hold of us, there you have it. :) and also, we're on a 12.5 hour time difference from michigan and a 10.5 hour time difference from denver... ie, right now it's 9.46 pm on sunday the 29th here. it's 10.16 in michigan on sunday morning, and 8.16 in denver, also on sunday morning. thanks for not waking us up. :)

love you all!

... my life as a dance party.

that's right, you read that correctly. just when i think i have no news to report, my life turns into a dance party. those of you that know me know how much i ABHOR dancing. this night, however, was pretty amazing! (did i just admit that out loud?) we went to a program just after my last update- a closing ceremony for the village health care workers who were trained here at BIRDS. they spent the past 6 weeks in this place learning about diseases and how to both prevent and cure them. one of the amazing things about BIRDS is how culturally relevant they are- they taught these women about dowry and female infanticide/ gender selective abortions, the importance of seeing a doctor while pregnant and how to cure child diarrhea all in skits, songs and dance- things that are very, very relevant to indian culture. it was awesome to see what these women had learned! at the end of the program, a few of the women danced to some film music. this "few women dancing" idea turned quickly into 'pull the white kids off their chairs and make them dance with us'- boys and mamma k included. after maybe 5 minutes of this (during which i strongly resisted and stayed glued to my chair) the girls were successful in getting their instructors up off their chairs and making them dance, too. before long, every single woman, child and white kid (myself and one other gordon student NOT included) (there were about 100 of us in a room about the size of our denver- kitchen and a half) was on their feet shaking their shoulders and jumping up and down with the rhythm. even for someone who doesn't dance, it was a pretty crazy and awesome experience! one of my favorite parts was a banjara adivasi woman, complete in costume, dancing her head off. she's about 4.5 feet tall, and at one point hugged mom around the waist and started jumping up and down with her.

last night we met the kids for an art program. mom's super happy to be back here and see them all again, and i'm so excited to meet them all for the first time! they are SO sweet! there's one little girl in particular who has caught my heart- i want to take her home in my pocket she's SO precious! the kids loved painting and coloring and learning letters, but i think they loved most being photographed, hugged and doted on. they're so sweet! ah!

yesterday we took a mini-tour of the compound. there's even a little weather station here where the farmers-to-be learn about evaporation, sun intensity, wind direction and temperature, all to help them grow crops more successfully. (side note: it was 95 degrees farenheit in the shade during this tour... woot.) it's so good to see how much education is stressed here at BIRDS- a little knowledge goes a LONG way here in rural india.

and now a few words on two lighter subjects- rats and other rodents, and our menu here. first, the gordon students from the SMP trip from this summer are here (they're on the same trip i was when i was first introduced to all of these organizations here in india), and we were all hanging out on the porch. we're sitting and talking about the next orphanage we'll go to (bapatla), where they just came from, and while we were sitting there, we watched a big ol' rat saunter into mom's and my room. my initial reaction was to scream my head off and stand on my chair- jonanna and stefanie (gordon student) had different reactions. stef grabbed a badminton racket and jon grabbed a bucket, and they went in after him! stef screamed and did a rat dance (screaming and running in place) as she tried to swat at him while he jumped in mom's open suitcase, and jon, displaying his fabulous rat-catching techniques learned during his childhood years in africa, tried to trap him in a bucket. at one point they caught him, only to have him do a nose dive out of the bucket... after about 5 minutes of this chaos, he finally ran out of the room and down the hall. we laughed our bums off for at least an hour afterward, and mom's stuff looked like a tornado hit it- a rat shaped tornado. and finally, why i lose weight in india- our menu here at BIRDS has consisted of the following: boiled potatoes, beet burgers (paul called and said 'make them burgers with beef.' i think they misheard. we have 'beets' here on the farm), hardboiled eggs, noodles with random spices in them, and a few other barely edible but very comical things. love it! :) (they look like beef burgers, but don't be fooled, friends. those are beets on them there hamburger buns. and the next night? beans. beets, beans, beef. it's all the same here...)

more to come later- until next time, my friends!

BIRDS farm

dear all,
we have arrived safely at BIRDS farm in muthyalapadu, AP after a long, warm train ride where we managed NOT to sleep through our stop. yay us!

we'll meet the kids in an hour when they arrive home from school. i can't wait!

we had breakfast with dear latha auntie and her and paul's 3 beautiful daughters this morning. they're another set of amazing women i love in this country.

sat in a meeting this morning where women who have been able to take out microfinance loans with BIRDS came to report on what they're doing. all i have to report is that micro lending really is amazing- these women who used to be sex workers, whose children stayed at government hostels (free meals), are now sending their kids to college with the money they've generated through businesses funded by BIRDS loans. amazing!

will update soon... as soon as i have some content. :)

siven swamy and ashraf

i love how in a country of 1.6 billion people, we're still able to (somehow) keep track of people we have met and have grown to love- people without email addresses, whose phone numbers we don't know and some of whom don't even have official residencies.

our friend siven (pronounced 'stephen') swamy, pictured to the left, is one of these people. siven is an old, old man who we have had the incredible blessing of keeping track of for the past 3 years. as some of you may recall, he speaks fluent english and rides his hand peddled bicycle through the streets of egmore talking to people. we ran into him today (mom noticed him before i did!) on our way to the post office. he saw us, his face lit up and he said, 'praise the LORD!' what a greeting! he was so happy and thankful to God that he "ran into [us] people." he told us that he can die 'now that God has let him see us people again'. siven is a sweet, sweet man whose whole face lights up when he smiles. we bought him some bananas and will hopefully buy him lunch before getting on our train to the farm tonight. he looks like he could use some new glasses again (we bought them for him last time we were here), and he also looks like he's aged quite a bit. i can't imagine life is too kind for people like dear siven swamy. this is the third year in a row we've been able to run into him, and i am so amazed and so glad that mother india lets us keep the friends we make here. :)

our other friend, ashraf, owns a shop in one of the malls near where we stay. i think he likes us because we like his pashminas, but he always has us in his shop where we sit down, drink tea, look at what he has for sale, talk about kashmir and the US and eventually get around to talking price. every time we come back to his shop he greets us like it was only yesterday that he last saw us.

and also, as if anyone had any doubt, please let me confirm that shiamala auntie and her daughters are SO wonderful and sweet. i love them SO much!

thank you jesus, mother india and chennai for allowing us to keep in contact with these dear friends of ours!

which village you are from?

auntie took us to visit two different villages yesterday. when the villagers (or, "village people"- ha.) asked what we do and where we're from it was humbling and so amazing to be able to say that i'm from the village of denver and that i work for dalit rights. i'm so, so deeply thankful for my first trip to india and for all of the different things in my life that brought me to that village last night, where i could sit there in front of a group of beautiful dalit women and children, and say to them that i work so that they have rights.

last night we were sitting in auntie's bolero after our visit. the villagers didn't speak any english, and despite jp's parents best efforts, to say my tamil leaves much to be desired is a gross overstatement. while we're waiting to pull away, amidst shouts of 'hi! bye!' and things i can't make sense of in tamil, we heard this tiny little voice shout "shut up in the mouth!" i have never laughed so hard- man, oh man. globalization, you will be the death of us all!

as for a recap on our last few days in bangalore, one of my latest reasons for loving jp sundararajan as much as i do (as if i needed more!): while riding through the streets of bangalore, he sees a muslim woman in a black niqab and says with a little smirk on his face, 'hey look! a ninja!' i can't ride by a muslim woman now without laughing to myself. oh, jips. i love you in my life! :)

we were able to spend some time with jeevapants on monday. she took us shopping on commercial street in bangalore (always better to shop with a local!) and to OM's favorite place to take us white kids- pizza hut. we'll get to see jeevapants again on the OM base in hyderabad. woot!

have i mentioned lately that i just absolutely adore jp's family? when we first arrived at their house, his mom hugged me and said quietly, 'my daughter.' i felt my heart melt instantaneously. it was so good to see them again, and to spend time in a home filled with the deep, honest and genuine love of christ. it was also fun to see james and anita and their cute little 'i'm married now' interactions. oh, sundararajans! i love you all! :)

we have one more day here in chennai before heading to the farm- i'm really excited to meet all the sweet little kids there! and now, we're off to catch a commuter (! read, overly crowded trains you see photos of that mom warns you not to even think about riding!) train to auntie's house.

for here or to take home?

while standing at a sweet shop, jp asks for 20 gulab jamuns. we walk over to the sweet vendor and he looks at jp and asks, 'for here or to go?'

... we wanted badly to tell him we were going to stand at the restaurant (standing room only!) and eat them all, but we were too busy laughing about it. :)

james weds anita ... and on a different note, motorcycles and hijras.

it's good to return to the india of 3 years ago. it feels so much less novel and so much more permanent than the last time i was here. it's good to learn that india, and my life as it relates to it, doesn't necessarily depend on the people or the organizations with which i've experienced it.

highlights from the wedding (in no particular order):
- (to james) do you take anita to be your lawfully wedded wife ... so long as you both shall live?
james: "yeah, i do."
- james: "i'm a married man now, and i'm excited to have someone to ride on the back of my motorcycle."
- i wish i could describe in words how sweet james and anita were toward each other. i mean, i don't really know them at all. and they didn't touch each other, but it didn't matter. james sang to his bride as she came down the aisle, and the way that they both looked at each other- joyfully, with hopes and dreams and excitement and expectations and so much deep gladness- was precious. i felt a little like i shouldn't have caught the smiles on their faces that i did, because they were so meant for each other.
- the band. woo! there was a whole band (think monsoon wedding soundtrack main theme song) playing some fun music on big clarinets. and the super cool part- there were two men who played this huge drum (close to waist- high) using maybe two foot long strings around their wrists with a ball at the end and then a huge ribbon attached. they swung the strings to hit the ball against the drum, and the ribbon followed- sort of difficult to describe but it was awesome! i believe it's called dollu kunitha (google it!) and jp said it's a traditional form of south indian music but it's so fascinating that even indians will stay and watch it. will post photos later (most likely from the US), but i wish our photos had sound. it was amazing!

it was wonderful to be at the wedding in general. jp said to me afterward that it was a family affair, and that it was only right that we be there. i love his family so much, and i love that we were included in family things. i know it's custom to call everyone brother, sister, auntie or uncle here, but i feel like when sundararajans call us those things, when they call me sister and daughter, they really mean it. they mean it like i belong here, and not just like that's what you're supposed to call someone when they visit your home. i'm blessed to have attended my brother james' wedding! here's a link to jp and katy's blog about the wedding: http://jpsunda.wordpress.com/2008/06/22/a-few-photo-highlights-from-the-wedding-weekend/

also, we found jon! he managed to find his way to our guest house from boston, so really we had the easy job of finding him once he made it to our compound. he's here, though, so onwards and upwards we'll go!

and lastly, i got my long-awaited motorcycle ride through the streets of bangalore with jp. it was awesome (google 'india traffic' if you get a chance to see what we were up against). we motored around the city for about an hour and a half, past the government buildings, down commercial street and around a few parks. i love traffic in india- i'm fully convinced that the reason i don't get carsick here is because there's so much going on around me. a few highlights from that trip:
- a man carrying a metal bar stool on his head (so that his body was inside the metal frame and the seat of the stool sat on his head.)
- a big red wooden futon much like the one we have in our house in denver (shmem, i laughed to myself about your story about being out running when you found ours).
- the amazingly beautiful (and huge!) government building which reads, in kannada and english, 'government work is God's work.' love it!
- oh, yeah, and i was "blessed" by a hijra then took a photo of me with his/ her cell phone. amazing. and weird. but jips says when you're blessed by a hijra, you're really blessed. we'll see what happens. ;)

we'll be in bangalore for at least two more days before heading to chennai to see shiamala auntie. i do love it here- it's so fun to be here with the sundararajans! they're amazing. (jp's mom about melted my heart when we first arrived here and she hugged me with the words, 'my daughter!'). their family is all milling around after the wedding, and we've made friends with ranjith, jp's 8th standard cousin, who's as curious as anything. we'll see what sort of photos he took on my camera as i'm in here typing this entry! also, his grampa ('tata' in tamil) is about the coolest old man ever- i'm pretty sure he doesn't speak a word of english but if he did, i'd love to sit down and listen to the 1,000 stories i'm sure he has to tell.

so, all for now from india's i.t. hub. tomorrow it's church with the sundararajans (and maybe another motorcycle ride??), maybe some shopping/ wandering down commercial street/ m.g. road and who even knows what else. :)

bangalorious

we made it. after 2 or 3 (i loose track) days in transit, and 5 flights, we're in bangalore! we made some friends from taylor university, chicago, and a few other places around the world... "slept" countless hours in airports/ airplanes, guessed (correctly) on our cab and driver, and we're here.

jon hasn't made it yet, as his flights were delayed. we're hoping he's in transit right now and will be here in the morning.

our dear friend jp met us at our hostel and took us to his parents house for james's wedding, where we'll most likely be assumed to be his wife katy's relatives (it's that whole white skin thing...)

anyway... all for now- we're off to feast with some wonderful friends! ( i get the feeling that i might actually gain weight on this trip... ha!)

chi-town with mellie furtado

quick update- i made it to chicago safely, and have had a fabulous evening with a dear friend from college. it makes me wish i flew through here more often! :)

thanks to all who have been reading. i'm surprised there are so many of you! just a quick update from the mess that is my bedroom floor- i'm packing my bag BEFORE i have to run out the door in the morning! this is a new leaf for me. just thought i'd share. :)

and also, i feel like God has provided for me in some serious ways lately, and i'm very thankful for that. i'm actually a little bit sad to leave denver for india this time- not because i'm not so excited to see all of my friends, brothers and sisters, familiar faces and places i love, but because i feel like i'm really going to miss my community while i'm gone. it's a really good feeling to know that i'll be missed, and to know that there are some genuine, true friendships waiting for me here when i get back.

so there are my thoughts- no more blogging now to avoid responsibility. it's high time i got my bum in bed.

oh, and also. this is not a further attempt to procrastinate, i swear. i'll make an attempt to post the rough dates of where we'll be and when so you can all be informed friends and family, and so that if we disappear in india, you'll at least have an idea as to which cities we were in when we decided to junk our western, american lives in favor of the chaos of india. :)

love, love,
kk2

packing list

my life for the next 48 hours will consist of lists. i thought i'd share two of them with you (that is, if anyone is reading this.) ... and my snarky little comments to myself after some of the items make me laugh. i'm so vain sometimes.

to do list:
get photos printed and find a frame
card for the bride and groom!
list of backup hotels (eek.)
addresses of peeps who want postcards
get fruitsnacks and oatmeal!
get phone service suspended (contact me via email/ this blog)
figure out how to find eric's house from o'hare (yay l train!)
figure out what in the world to do with that chair i started to strip and plan to re-paint
call everyone. ever.

to pack list:
salwaars/ sarees
long skirt (dang, it's going to be so hot there.)
patagonia pants
1 pair shorts
1 tank top
undies
1-2 t-shirts
chacos (india is such a sweet chaco tan op! ;))
miPod
book (s)
sewing kit
clothes line
tp/ hand sanitizer
camera! battery! memory sticks! charger!
face wipes (mmm. pollution...)
toiletries
"gorp or something"
those funny little neck pillows
LYSOL.
sleep sheets
big ol' swiss army knife (for defending myself against bengal tigers, of course.)
saftey pins
journal/ bbl/ bcp
PASSPORT, you fool! (make copies!!! leave them with people!!!)
pack towel
headlampy lamp
paper to write on, and pens to write with (what else would you do with these things???)
1st aid kit (sadly, there isn't any cipro or malarone in here. i <3 not having insurance. here's to hoping.)
watch (we americans have the watches, the indians have the time.)
nalg (that's PoMo for 'nalgene'.)
marmot
grey jacket
day pack (non awkward with a salwaar!)
sunglasses (frick, it's going to be so hot there. oy.)
frisbee

currently, instead of doing anything about any of these things, i am baking cinnamon vanilla banana bread muffins. nothing has changed since college- i still look for creative ways to avoid serious responsibilities.

jon pinckney, my fellow lover- of- chaotic- mysterious- countries- and- of- traveling- through- them friend, just started a trip blog. you can find that here.

and also, je vais en Inde mardi! :) (thanks to the french friends for that one.)

i leave denver in 6 days.

i am not prepared.

t minus 8 days.

i am le stressed.

AHHHHHHHHH!