Sleeping with the Khandelwals

A letter I wrote to my friends while I was in India....which we talk and laugh about till this day.

****************************************************************************************************************************

Dear friends,

We finally got some downtime for a few hours. Nevertheless, we will be meeting the Rotary Distract Governor tonight for a formal dinner at 9pm. Yes, they eat very late here. The big dinner typically starts with lots of yummy appetizers like tomato soup. kabobs, tandori meat and fish that melts in your mouth, little fried stuff (potatoes, cauliflowers), whiskey (they love it here), and maybe beers. The appetizers are accompanied with a lot of socializing and then you eat the main course, which is usually curry, rice, naan etc. at around 10:30-11pm. Typically, the dinner is served in buffet style and everyone eats sitting around the living room or standing up. I have only seen them use the dining table for breakfast. After the meal, there are always dessert, whether it is breakfast, lunch, or dinner. And if your plate is empty, they will keep filling it up. I have pigged out a little on the first few days but I am definitely suffering today. Since it's buffet style, I scope very little of everything and leave some on my plate so there is less pressure to eat more. My stomach did very well the first few days but unfortunately, I had to pop a few pills this afternoon to deal with indigestion and bowel movements. I am not really looking forward to having that big dinner tonight. I can't believe I am saying this but I wouldn't mind fasting for a couple of days.

The reason we are eating so much is because the people are so hospitable here. A couple of days ago, we arrived at the city of Rampur at around 8pm. We had a Rotary meeting with the local club and then we had the dinner with them. Soon after the dinner was over, I was bused away by my host. They were mostly speaking in Hindi or whatever Indian dialect so I didn't know what was going on. They put me in a car, took my luggage and was quickly driven off. All off a sudden, I was by myself and my host (an older Indian couple) asked if it's okay to drive around a little. They drove for about 5 minutes, we saw a wedding celebration on the street and that was it. As I entered the host's home, the wife showed me around the house, showed me where I will sleep, the bathroom, and then she said she'll sleep with me on the same bed. I was already a little devastated from being separated from other team members and now, I am told I am sleeping with a stranger. Needless to say, I didn't sleep well that night and that partly has to do with that wedding party outside which lasted until 1am and started again at 6am. I finally had to get up to go to the bathroom at 7pm and my host mother brought me tea and cookies to eat in bed. I decided this would be a good time to sip tea and write my journal in bed until my host mother and father hopped in bed with me and covered themselves with the same blanket I was covered in. What could be an extremely weird and intimidating situation actually made me feel like they treated me as one of their daughters (their daughters were grown up and are now living in the city). After this little incident, my host mother took me for an early morning walk around their posh neighborhood. Then I showered (remind me to tell you about the Indian shower) and had breakfast. My host father already had breakfast but he joined me at the table anyway. It was a very nice experience and even though it was shocking at first, I really got what I wanted to come here for - which is to learn about the culture of the people and to experience the life of an India person.

So far, we have visited so many places that I felt like I have been away for more than 2 weeks. The schedule is very hectic and they are a lot of road traveling, which are some very rough and bumpy roads. Luckily, we will be staying here in Bareilly for a few days. Today, we visited a rattan furniture shop, an embroidery business that exports to the US and Canada, and an eye hospital which helped thousands of poor villagers get free eye treatment. The hospital visit was so humbling and it really made me want to do more humanitarian work because I feel so fortunate to be Americans and we really do have it good with our freedom, lifestyle, social support, wealth etc. Though India is changing so much and so fast, the class difference here will take another 10-20 years to improve, poverty level will continue to rise, and corruption in government will likely still be a big part of how things are being run here. However, Indian people are one of the most flexible people in the world and if they want something done, they have all many hands and they can make things happen quite quickly. The hardest is that they will need to juggle which is the most important to take care of first and there are still so many socio-economic problems at large such as polio, healthcare, illiteracy etc.

It has been a very tiring trip but it has also been so exciting that my adrenaline is constantly running high. I have requested to visit a university and an orphanage (for you my dear Camilla), and I know we will be visiting many other industries since this is an industrial region of the country. Anyway, I hope to write more soon and hope this is not the last time I get to find some down time. This has really been an experience of a lifetime and I cannot wait to tell you all the exciting and wonderful things I have seen and done.

I will try to post a photo album up soon.

Namaste,

tiff

************************************************************************************************************************************

Mr. and Mrs. Khandelwal, the host family in front of their home at Rampur. Yes, that is the woman whom I shared the bed with. :)