This morning I walked out of my bedroom door, and it felt like I opened the door to the oven. Seriously, India? Its 7:13am and I’m already sweating. How is it already 90 degrees. I eat my breakfast and retreat to my room. I finish a book and do a little journaling. I don’t feel like moving. I agreed to go with father Joe to mail a letter I tried to mail 3 weeks ago. Its 10 am and we get to the post office and it smells like a farm and is crowded with very elderly people, with very few teeth. We get the postage, the kind you have to lick the back of the stamps. Apply postage and put it in the mailbox. Sorry friends, I don’t think any of you are getting the letters, ever. The mailbox was dusty and fathers aid it could take 3-36 weeks. Well that’s reassuring.
We head to the bazaar across the street looking for a soccer ball to take with us to the offsite place we are going all next week. We walk up and down the street. Butchers and produce line the roads as well as shops selling saris, medicine and bangles. We get a few snacks for the 4hr train ride tomorrow; I got some kit kats and crackers, woohoo. We look at the bangles and I have no idea what’s the big deal about these things, but I guess girls like them. No luck with the soccer ball, we head back. We relax the rest of the day.
Father Depak gave me his old carhbak, I think that the spelling, which is this long male dress kinda thing. It’s like a shawl that goes past your knees. It looks funny in it, but its kinda becoming of me, especially with my new hatJ. Still no luck with the soccer ball, father tells us a sports store in town. We head that way, and of course, no luck. Since it was only 4 we decided to go into town and try our luck.
We manage to get into town. Paid minimal fare and started walking up one street then we realize we have never been here before because its turning into a highway, so we turn back and see a sports store. Sweet. We go in and the store is about the size of the kitchen table. I asked the guy for the ball, and he asks his associate who jumps on the counter and crawls into the hole in the ceiling, the dude vanished! He said no ball but said go left then right then straight then right again and we’ll see one. Yah, ok.
So we go back the way we came go down the street for about 5 blocks and there are no stores besides electronic stores, phone stores, fan stores, and bike stores. No sports store. We head back as we feel we have never been on this street either, nothing is marked.
Some guy comes up to us, with a cane, and asks if we need help. He sort of directs us in the same direction we came, throws us in a cab and bids us Farwell. Thanks dude. We start going up the street and we see Vishals, the mega mart store! We’ve been here, we know where we are! And we know they have a ball. It 530, we hurry inside. Get the ball and I get a yoga mat, trying to find my inner chi while I’m here. We leave and walk back to the train station. Maybe half a mile. Humor ensues.
So we find a three wheel metal death trap heading back the way we need to go and we get in. well, a guy gets out so Mary Ellen can sit in the back, so he, I, and the driver sit in the front. It’s like playing musical chairs, with one chair; one chair that wide enough to fit one person comfortably, maybe 2 uncomfortably. I am very uncomfortable. We cross rail road tracks, my head hits the ceiling, and my knee bangs the dash board. This is awesome. We pull over, let someone out. Phew. Wait what! Were picking up 3 more? NOOOO. There are 6 in the back and 4 in the front. I repeat 4. Me, driver and 2 other men. The one day I forget my camera… if Kayleigh saw this scene, she would accuse me of having an affair with 3 people at once, all Indian men, yah we were that close. The driver kept flicking my leg, then I find out since my legs are against the dashboard it’s not the driver, it’s the clutch releasing from his motorcycle handle aka steering mechanism. So if I sneeze, cough, breathe, my leg is hitting the clutch. Great. We have 10 people in a vehicle made for 4. If you ever were young and played the elevator game, the game where you see how many people you can fit in the elevator without it breaking, this tops that experience. I’m sure the shocks were about blown. Claustrophobic, don’t go to India. By far coolest/most uncomfortable taxi ride I’ve ever had.
We had so much fried food for dinner, it was great.
I leave for an installation Tuesday at 415 am. I will not be able to update my blog until I return. I will be back Friday or Saturday. Have a great week.
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