Hot...Very very hot

Day five of construction here at the Hugelli School project and while we have had some challenges with the construction we are moving along quite well. One of the three class room buildings finally looks like it should and the other two are not far behind.

Our biggest challenge is the heat. After lunch it seems to just suck the energy out of most of us but with Terry's always positive leadership and encouragement this school WILL be finished!!!

Pix later today.

Humbled and Inspired

Our first Sabbath in India....and it is an experience I will not soon forget.

We set off in our our 7 jeeps to join a congregation at the Chandapur Seventh Day Adventist Church for their service and what an experience awaited us.

A few minutes after we turned off the main highway we came to a large gathering of people and very old looking "ox carts". I say that because it is the only description that comes to mind. They may very well have been Water Buffaloes but for the sake of description we'll call them ox carts.

These were the church members here to welcome us about a mile from the actual village. We hopped out of our jeeps and joined the church members at what is the site of their camp meetings and had prayer with them. The adventure was about to begin.

Following the prayer we were told we would board the ox carts for the ride to the village led by a small band of drummers and one trumpeter......along with lots of firecrackers and other fireworks.....no kidding.

I chose a cart with what appeared to be a rather spirited team of Oxen...or is it Ox's....and, hoping I hadn't made a huge mistake sat back and off we went.

I don't know how often a group of North Americans come to this village but I can only imagine what the folks there must have thought as we paraded through the village taking pictures of just about everything and everyone.
We finally arrived and the group dismounted and into the church we went.
We were ushered to chairs along the sides of the church while the church members sat on the floor....separated with the males on the left and the females on the right. Don't see that in North America.
Shortly after being seated the church members began to present each of us with a beautiful flower lei....men presented the lei's to men and women to the women.
What surprised me most about the church service was the music. I guess I expected a
very traditional service with hymns....but the music was very Indian and was accompanied by drums and small cymbals. Not a drum set we are accustomed to seeing in the west but one played with the hands. It was a delightful taste of Indian culture!

As I reflect on this day I am humbled and inspired. I find myself asking would a church in North America be this excited about a visit from a group from India? Would we greet them like honored guests and celebrate their visit? I have my doubts...and that troubles me. We have so very much to learn from other cultures.....

A School Takes Shape

Day two of construction here in Sangareedy India and the school is going up fast. It's a different structure than the typical One Day School but comes to together nicely.

On our Thursday, our first day of construction the church leaders met us early before we left for the job site and greeted us with beautiful hand made flower lei's(don't know the Indian name). Then when we got to the job site the school children greeted us with still more of these beautiful flower lei's.

It has been very hot but thankfully it is a dry heat similar to California so at least we don't have the humidity to deal with.

We'll take a much welcomed break for Sabbath and then back to work early Sunday. ''

It looks like we may very well be finished with the school by Wednesday.....=)

Change of pace

So yesterday was a transitional day. I met up with the Maranatha group I will be part of for the next couple of weeks here in Sangareddy, which is about 45 minutes outside of Hyderabad. We'll build a One Day School campus that I believe has 6 classrooms.

I did get to the Hyderabad Hard Rock Cafe however and added yet another t-shirt to the collection along with the Delhi and Bangalore additions.

We'll get to the job site today and I should have some pix up soon.

Who am I?

Have you ever been in situation where you got that feeling that people think you are someone else? I just had a huge case of that as I checked out of the Palace.

The checkout went like any other....until the gentleman handling my checkout told me I would be taken from the palace to the main hotel not by golf cart but by a 200 year old horse drawn carriage that was driven by a third generation driver...his grandfather worked for a king as a carriage driver as well as his father...and now he is my chauffeur.
The feeling got stronger as I got ready to walk out and the checkout guy asks for a picture of me...with his camera.....then with the carriage and staff.....and I'm like who do you people think I am????!!!! It was all I could do not to laugh and blow my cover. This has been one of the most interesting experiences I have had in my years of travel.

Goodbye Varansi

Leaving Varanasi in a couple of hours and after almost a week of non-stop sight seeing and flying around India today's relaxed morning was really quite nice. I slept in and then took a leisurely stroll around the beautiful grounds of the palace. Then a yummy Indian breakfast followed by a relaxing cup of Masala Chai tea. Quite a nice way to start the day.
Varanasi has been at times frantic and at other times simply awe inspiring. It has been steeped in culture and history and I feel blessed to have been here. Having said that I am also a bit unsettled by the stark contrasts here.
India seems to be a country of contrasts. The folks that have, have alot, and those that don't aren't simply poor, they appear destitute. As I had my breakfast from the buffet earlier I found I had taken too much food....and was acutely aware that the amount of food left on my plate while minimal by western standards, was perhaps more than many of the poor here in India would get for an entire day....and I felt guilty. I am reminded that I need to much more conscious of things like this.
I believe what I find most disagreeable is being waited on. I realize that much of this apparent concern for my experience may be cultural, but I find it very unpleasant that because I happen to have more and earn more than many people that I am somehow entitled to deferential treatment...as if I am somehow above others. That just is not right...and yet one can't refuse all the fuss without offending and creating a fuss....so I go along with it and feel uncomfortable.
Next stop Hyderabad.

Pandit Nehru slept here...and other things that happened today in India

It humors me at times to think about the random things that seem to happen when I travel so I thought I would share some highlights from today in Varanasi, India.

Saw a restaurant sign that read.....Hari Barf.....I kid you not. Guess you can enjoy the food going both ways....

There I was just minding my own business waiting by the car for my driver....and as a group of young students walked by one of them pulled out his cell phone and took my picture. I just started laughing....guess it's only fair.....

I got chased away from one of the Ghats(funeral pyres along the Ganges)for taking a picture.....oops!!!!

But the biggie was getting moved to a different room at my hotel. Well...room would be an understatement.
I returned to my hotel from a tour and was informed I was going to be given a better room so that my experience would be "pleasant". I was actually having a fine time and my room was very nice....but apparently someone didn't feel the way I did. I was asked to pack my bags...in a very nice way and be ready to move within the hour. Fine, I thought...not being one to ever turn down an upgrade.

They told me I was moving to room 701. I was already on the 5th floor which appeared to me to be the top of the hotel.....so the dude comes and gets my bag....and I had to laugh he stopped and looked at me and asked.."only one bag sir?"....like I was supposed have more I guess.....
Next I head to the front desk to turn my old key and get a new one....but wait....the manager comes over and shakes my hand and tells me how happy he is that I'm here and I would need to go out and get on a big golf cart to go to my new room...and it sounded like I was going to some other hotel......getting a little sketchy at this point....I'm thinking oh great they are actually moving me to some dump across town.....but oh my was I wrong.
We drive across the parking lot to a guarded gate that I had actually thought was some kind of service exit/entrance. The guard opens the gate and it was like I entered this tranquil tropical garden with a huge beautiful Mansion like structure off to the left.
We pull up to the front and there are these guys all decked out in traditional Indian clothing. Some guy in a pricey suit greets me and as we walk pass this entourage they start chanting/singing and throwing flowers on me. This does not happen to me all that often so I am naturally at a loss as to what to do or not do...so I just smile and keep walking.
At the door is a beautiful Indian woman in a stunning Sari. She greets me and places a dab of paint on my forehead and a lovely necklace around my neck that I am told is made of dried mud from the Ganges.
Now the dude in the pricey suit introduces me to his assistant(apparently I don't rate his time) who then also welcomes me and summons the three or four other underlings to bring me a cold towel a silver platter as well as a crystal glass of juice on yet another silver pallter. Mind you I have just returned from a tour that started at 6am and while I don't believe I was looking totally ghetto I was definitely not dressed for this.
Now the assistant ushers me to the left of the lobby to a set of beautiful hardwood double doors. But before he opens the door and hands over the keys he points out the large brass plaque that reads "Pandit Nehru Suite" and informs me it is named in Honor of the former prime minister of India because he STAYED here!!!!
Finally the doors are parted and I am ushered into a suite that is three times the size of my house. It took ten minutes for the assistant manager to walk me through all the amenities.......so here I am typing away at the very writing desk that Mr. Nehru may have used in 1952.........ah the random things that happen when travelling.