namaste

we are back in the city for a couple of nights to regroup, get some clothes washed and eat some solid canadian food at the McMillan's. They are doing a great job feeding so many mouths and we truly grateful for their hospitality.

it is crazy to think that a huge cyclone has hit so close to where we are and I have heard almost nothing about it. please keep those people in your prayers. for a read about the country and what has happened, click the "Kori and Lisa" link on the right. they visited the country very recently and have some good insight on the situation.

our time here in kalapani / guwahati has gone by both quickly and slowly. we decdided that we would stay in the village, sleeping in a room at the back of a school and paying a local nepalese woman to cook meals for us. we call her "didi," the respectful nepalese term for sister. she is a little taller than my waste level and her face lights up when we try to communicate with her through the little hindi and nepali that we know. i like to think of her as our own oompa loompa, without the singing and dancing unfortunately. every meal is complete with rice and dahl (boiled lentils, chili's and some sort of spice powder) complimented by a small dish of another type of curry. In the mornings she cooks roti, which is a small chipati or naan bread along with a curry. the food is delicious. we have been taking a risk by drinking the water there, and a lot of it, as it flows down from the surrounding mountain somehwere. THey put it through a slow sand filtration system, and then it is filtered again in an indian equilavent to a Brita Filter, except it looks like a church coffee urn. Boiling the water would be best, but so far we have been safe. I will not be suprised if we have some nice stomach parasites upon returning to Canada. Worth it.

every morning we wake up at 6, have tea and then work on the fence for two hours. breakfast is served around 8:30 and then we try and work for a little while longer in the heat. most days have been 30 plus with 100% humidity. the school starts at 9, and we teach the older students english from 11:30 to 1 and then eat some lunch. the afternoon usually consists of a nap. everything shuts down in the hot hours of the day. if we feel like it, we do some more work around 4, or play cricket and football with the local kids that come up to the school in the afternoons. tea is served around 5, we have a small devo for whoever wants to sit down with us and listen to us speak in a language they don't understand, and then we hang out by candlelight until dinner at 8.

the village people seemed very shy at first, but everyone is becoming more friendly as they get used to us. many of the men in the village drink heavily at night, which has been causing some problems. none for us thankfully.

we will stay in kalapani until saturday and then head to another city, Aizawl on the 19th for a visit. on the 23rd we will come back to Guwahati in order to catch our 30 hour train ride to Dehli on the 24th. 4 days spent in Agra and Dehli will be followed by a 6 day visit in Oman.

emotionally and spiritually, we have all been feeling the same things. the short term mission dilemna has hit again, all of us wondering if we are being more of a pain than help. it is interesting living in the village. you are constanty dirty, sweaty and hot. We wouldn't have it any other way.

India is such a diverse country, with so many different cultures and languages. All of us are pretty bummed that we only get to see a small portion of the country. You could easily spend 4 months travelling around here and still not be bored.

Check out Nic's blog (link on the right) for some good stories too.

peace and love from everyone here in India. namaste.