Ok, I realize that’s a misleading title. Maybe it should read “Going back to my second home.” Nonetheless, I met up again with that first village I got to visit with. Remember Ruby? Luckily she remembered me too! I came with my supervisor, Ashish and another man, to observe programming. I tell you, as I sat with the women cross-legged on the floor rocking a three-month-old baby boy, I had to contain my frustration watching the three men on chairs give Ruby tips and suggestions for improving her teaching in a very abrupt and public manner. It really didn’t phase her. This is her normal and she is so respectful. If it were me, I’d be mortified. So I tried to not project my western ideals in an eastern setting and just made a note to add private professional development/feedback to my list of recommendations. Done. File it away and move on. Once plans were made for my return trip in a few hours’ time, the men left and the lesson quickly deteriorated. I was being swarmed. With love. And I didn’t mind at all. Would I like lunch? Yes. Come to my home then. Ok. Let me draw on you with henna. Sure, sounds great. Let’s chat using the 150 common words we have between us for an hour or so. Show us pictures of your family and travels in India. Did you know I will be married in 2022? Here, look at our goats; don’t worry, we are Veg too. Goat snuggles ensue. Three hours blasted by and my ride showed up. We left with hugs, exchanges of phone numbers and the words “friend” and “love” being tossed back and forth and all around. Since the man couldn’t take me all the way back to campus, I hitched a ride on an auto with the locals. Now, in this case, you pay RPS 10 ($.20) and they pack on as many people as humanly/mechanically possible in the tuk tuk. Well, by the time I got off, the count was up to 13! If I weren’t so squished, I would have taken a picture of our clown car. Really, though, I was just bursting with so much happiness. For the following two hours, I searched out property in India. Matt—I think I found a new goal to save up for.
1 Comment
Matthew
10/16/2017 11:01:06 am
Looking forward to our travels!
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AuthorAshley J.E. Hull Archives
November 2017
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