Today was a day meant for fellowship and really bonding with the ladies that we went to church with yesterday. We drove in a rickshaw, which is sort of a bike with a bench on the back, for the first time. Karishma led a wonderful morning devotion before we played a few warm up games. One of them involved taking off your shoes and then finding the owner of a different pair, and it was certainly amusing to see older women running around with someone else’s shoe in their hands. This was followed by a wonderful tea break (during which I discovered cheeslings, which are kind of like Gold Fish but square) and a picture slide show that I had put together the night before.
One of the most impactful experiences yet was the long discussion that we had next. We split into smaller groups in order to better discuss some things that each side, American and Indian, wanted to know about the other. My group talked a fair bit about prison ministry, as well as helping women and children who are in far off villages get an education and better medical care. A saree tying demonstration followed, and then shopping. I’m not going to lie, I got some wonderful shoes.
Once everyone returned from shopping (which was later then scheduled, since we were all women, though I’d like it to be known that I was on time) we had a closing devotion. It was very sad to have to say goodbye to all the women that we had just gotten to know, but luckily I didn’t have to say good bye to Karishma quite yet. She, Paula, my mother and I went to a chikan store. Chikan is a type of stitching that is exclusive to Lucknow and quite beautiful. Mom wanted to get a saree, and Karishma offered to escort us there to help us get the best prices.
My least favorite experience of this whole trip (even worse than the feeling that steam was coming out of my ears from the spicy food) was definitely having to tell Karishma goodbye. Since it is her dream to travel, I hope to one day help that to come true by bringing her to the United States to stay with me for a week or two and let her experience our culture.
Tomorrow we are heading to Varanassi, which we recently found out is actually pronounced vah-rah-nah-see instead of vare-ah-nass-ee. As we get closer and closer to the end of our trip, I find myself more and more upset that we have to leave.
One of the most impactful experiences yet was the long discussion that we had next. We split into smaller groups in order to better discuss some things that each side, American and Indian, wanted to know about the other. My group talked a fair bit about prison ministry, as well as helping women and children who are in far off villages get an education and better medical care. A saree tying demonstration followed, and then shopping. I’m not going to lie, I got some wonderful shoes.
Once everyone returned from shopping (which was later then scheduled, since we were all women, though I’d like it to be known that I was on time) we had a closing devotion. It was very sad to have to say goodbye to all the women that we had just gotten to know, but luckily I didn’t have to say good bye to Karishma quite yet. She, Paula, my mother and I went to a chikan store. Chikan is a type of stitching that is exclusive to Lucknow and quite beautiful. Mom wanted to get a saree, and Karishma offered to escort us there to help us get the best prices.
My least favorite experience of this whole trip (even worse than the feeling that steam was coming out of my ears from the spicy food) was definitely having to tell Karishma goodbye. Since it is her dream to travel, I hope to one day help that to come true by bringing her to the United States to stay with me for a week or two and let her experience our culture.
Tomorrow we are heading to Varanassi, which we recently found out is actually pronounced vah-rah-nah-see instead of vare-ah-nass-ee. As we get closer and closer to the end of our trip, I find myself more and more upset that we have to leave.
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