Indian culture-Cleaniness

Another major difference in India from home is in the cleanliness . On the outside environment one would find trash, feces, sand, dirt and whatever . There is no such thing as public toilets, trash cans, landfills, and water faucets. Garbage is piled up at road edges and then burned when its gets to be high and in the way. Rats are around and eat the garbage.We fling our garbage over the balcony into a green looking pond. No wonder we have rats and bugs.
People use the bathroom outside wherever they are. Streets, fields, sideways etc. so one has to watch where they walk. They do have Street cleaners and try to clean up somewhat . There is no garbage truck or day here. I noticed at the airport that they had cleaners doing the streets outside the airport .
Now once u get into ur private space the cleaning begins. You have outdoor shoes and indoor shoes. U wash ur shoes and they stay by the door.inside shoes never go out. 

We hand wash clothes and hang the on the roof top. We let the sun and wind do the rest. Now we have clean white clothes. 

We have noticed no matter how small the home it's always clean. They are honored to have u in. Just make sure things u drink hot-like chia tea. 

Indian culture 101

India is a culture that stimulates ones senses in many ways.  The eyes see bright colors in the buildings, fabrics and clothes and in their fresh fruits and veggies. The eyes are also irritated from the smoke and pollution in the air. It is the smell that is hard to deal with. We long for the clean, fresh smell of the US. The ears are always  being stimulated by noise. It can range from the Muslim call to worship which is on one side and the Christian loudspeaker on the other side of us. Once we are out in the city we hear horns on the cars and trucks making way though the traffic , people and animals all in tight spaces. It will be quiet going back to the US.    
Eating here is a sensory experience. The dishes are colorful and flavorful. The basics are rice, beans and lentils. Onions and garlic is added them spices and veggies. One can use everything or very little. We use tomatoes, sweet and white potatoes, eggplant, carrots, green beans and whatever we find in the market. Spices we use can be curry leaves, black pepper, black mustard seeds, cumin seeds, chilies, turmeric, cinnamon.
We can get sliced , dry white bread as well as local bread. Rosti is like a tortilla but more flavor and nor is like a flat pita. We have loved Rosti because we can have our version of burritos.
Animal protein available is only chicken, eggs and yogurt. One goes to the chicken place and watch them kill the chicken, takes the skin and feathers off and hands u the bird. Warm and fresh! We cook them in a pressure cooker and uses the broth for stews and chicken for stews and burritos. There is very little beef and park available. The cow is sacred and the water buffalo is used for milk. It maybe available in large cities but not here. 

Lesson- we bought canned chicken from Costco here. But they don't have can openers because they don't use that form of food preservation. It's a good thing we have veterans on this team. They can get them open. Funny but difference in culture! 

I will address shopping in another time.

Food pre p takes a long time. It's fresh but lots of work. Chopping, cleaning, simmering,sautéing and making sure it's safe to eat. It's time to go and make chicken and dumplings.

India

We arrived with out problems . Our flight was fine without any problems . The issues are the same as in the states. Crowded, small seats, hot or cold temps, and rude people. In Holland we saw snow and had to have the airplane deiced . We arrived in Delhi on time and it's was 115 am.  Where did our weekend go? It was already Sunday.
Our trip to hotel ( only) 5 min cab ride took 2 hours. It took forever to get bags and a cab.
Arrived at the hotel at 430 am and we were exhausted and in bed by 5 . We forced ourselves up to a shower and lunch at 3 .
We made our way to the airport at 8 Pm to meet the team.  They were 2 hours late so we had the experience if people watch! Fun and interesting. We were excited to see them and off to the hotel we went. Bed came soon after.
After a brunch , we headed to the airport to go to Chirala. We loved our Air India flights- big seats, good food and great service. Andy and Elaine meet us and off we went with baggage on the roof of two vans and 14 of us stuffed in two vans. What a sight to see! We stopped at a KFC for supper which took forever!
We arrived at our house at 11Pm. A bunch of exhausted people. We got settled and off to bed. 

Here we go again!

Friday, January 13,2017

Off we go on a new adventure! India here we come. It's our plans to build an Aquaponics system for an orphanage.  But then God may have different plans or alter them. It will be an challenging trip from the cultural standpoint.  Our trust is in our Lord.
Please prayer for us:
Safe travels
Good health
Safety as we move around the country
Team unity

I will work hard to keep the blog up to date.
Thanks for all ur love and support.
The Kramers