God's little wake up calls... AKA Earthquakes

EARTHQUAKE

 

First and foremost for those who do not know I'm from Kansas y'all. Seriously we don't have earthquakes. If the ground is shaking its due to a really good concert, a cattle drive b/c hey we sometimes reenact things, a car that is in need of some serious work, a car with too much bass, or a tornado. And hey if its anything but the last we just shake it off and keep on moving. WE DO NOT DO NOR UNDERSTAND EARTHQUAKES. We do not understand people on the West coast who would rather have earthquakes over tornadoes. 8 times out of 10 you have a warning with a tornado it may not help but at least you get some warning. There is no warning with earthquakes. Let me repeat that in case you missed why this KS girl was freaking out... THERE IS NO WARNING WITH EARTHQUAKES.

One does not wake from a dead sleep with the apartment swaying back and forth the bed shaking so much you believe it was your flatmate trying to wake you up. Until you realize it isn't her cause you lock your freaking door at night. It is in fact the blessed ground moving and swaying the apartment too and fro. The ground should not move like that for any reason EVER (other than the above mentioned situations all of which I can handle with calm and dignity). What really disturbs me is the fact I was the only one freaking out. Oh it was just a 7.6 Sara no big deal... SERIOUSLY do you not understand what a ground shaking earthquake of that magnitude can do?

 

And not to change the subject but am I the only one who finds it mildly disturbing that I just now learned we have an earthquake survival kit. If its not that big of a deal why do I need a survival kit? Huh smart butt explain that? If it is not so big of a deal then why did God need me to wake up at 7ish in the morning? Obviously he wanted my attention and knew this would surely do it. (PS for those of you wondering I did in fact wake up. I did in fact call out for my flatmate and when I discovered she was still sleeping I called out to God. When he didn't answer me with anything super important I managed to make it to the bathroom and then well I did the only human thing I could. I went back to sleep until my alarm went off at 8).

Needless to say this KS girl is going to be happy to come home to a place where the earth rarely if ever shakes (please, please, please let this statement be true and not a way to jinx nor challenge God into making things interesting when I get home).

What in the name of all things holy is that smell...

 

Oh wait its me. Apparently I don't do well in heat. Wasn't sure if any of you were aware of that fact. I can only assume that when one is born in a country that has A/C on from the months of May to October (give or take people give or take) going to a country that does not in fact have A/C in most places that person is going to face issues. One issue I am apparently facing is the fact that I sweat... a ... lot. It is not cool here people. In my apartment it stays around 86 degrees constantly unless we get a rain shower than it drops to 80 and we rejoice. Usually I wake up to 86 and watch as the temps slowly climb to 90+ and then I run to the home at 7 sisters and beg to stand in the office where the A/C is. Needless to say I sweat a lot without applying a whole lot of energy. And when one sweats a lot one tends to have a certain odor.

The sad part of this entire story is that the first few times I smelled the odor I blamed the girls and made them re-bathe... until I realized that it was me. Then I just felt stupid. Seriously I put deodorant on daily and up to 3 times a day so I have no idea why this new stench has occurred nor do I have a way to prevent it. I have gotten to the point I plan my day around showers...

I'm up to at least 3 sometimes 4 a day and when one is in a country where there is a water shortage that is not something one can brag about. Add to it I am starting to suspect that the water that comes out of my shower might be from a well that is either where our rain goes and/or possibly our sewer. Now I know we have sewers that are uncovered along the house and I know our toilets drain directly to said sewers. But where does the water flow to? Because let's think about this if it didn't flow anywhere then it would overflow eventually in the streets (which is why one never walks through a puddle nor does one walk through the flooding of streets when the rains from Monsoon are bad just an FYI tip for you). Yet it doesn't overflow into the streets so where does the water go. And before you go all smarty pants on me keep in mind there are no underground sewers in India or at least in this area I am in. That is why the sidewalks are uneven b/c one lifts up the sidewalk areas to help with flooding which is where the sewer is... Needless to say peps its not that deep the "underground sewer" it is in fact barely 4 feet down. The only water I find in India is in canals which I have to image that is where the sewer ends up otherwise those puppies stink worse than me and that folks is saying something. Although when one passes something in India that stinks one who happens to wear a duppta can in fact cover ones face and smell in the lovely smell of perfume if one remembered to put some on.

So I ask again what in the world am I bathing in?

And if what I think is true I have a feeling I shall never feel clean again until I come home in July. Why oh why do I sit up at night and think of these wonderful mysteries in India?

Scorpions do exist

 

Yep cause lizards, bugs, ants, mosquitoes, spiders as big as your palm, snakes, rats, and cockroaches the size of your foot weren't enough. Let's just go ahead and add in Scorpions. God I hate bugs or insects or whatever the hell you want to call them. And I really hate things that bite, sting, or well are just to big to squash without making a HUGE mess or you know might not squish cause they happen to be bigger than your foot and possibly stronger than your foot and they fly. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD ROACHES FLY. It is a very dangerous world we live in when a roach as big as your foot can fly and will attack when it has been sprayed with Hit AKA Bug killer that makes them go loopy before slowly suffocating the creature to death.

But once again I digress...

Back to the other creatures I shall enlighten you about roaches in another post. Scorpions are exactly like they look like in the books, Wikapedia (which sadly has become my BFF over here in India cause I just don't know as much as I should whilst I am living here and well hell it has all the answers), movies, and well nightmares.

Let me set the stage for you.

I went into the bathroom after a long car ride. Man I was tired all I wanted to do was bathe then go to bed. I shed my clothes I started in on my freezing cold bucket bath. Then realized I still hadn't peed (yes I'm graphic get use to it I have suffered a trauma and my God I just don't care any more). So over to the toilet I sunder thankfully it was Western style and well I did my thing. I slowly got up to look for my towel and saw to my surprise a black thing in the corner where my heel had been pretty darn close to. (FYI close enough it could've struck me seriously not exaggerating at all I was that close to it). Now I had taken my glasses off so I couldn't see that well I reached for my glasses and clothes only to nearly scream as I realized what it was. Refusing to pull another lizard scenario that you all laughed at me about. I calmly got dressed went out of the bathroom and informed my friend that there was a scorpion in the bathroom. To which she replied are you sure? I mean its probably just a spider. "Nope" I responded calmly at her the whole time COMPLETELY FREAKING OUT IN MY HEAD. "I'm pretty sure its a scorpion." She shook her head and walked into the bathroom like whatever this foreigner is cray cray. Then she came flying out said bathroom and said "Oh my God there's a scorpion in the bathroom." Mom you would be proud b/c I did not say nananana see I told you so. Nor did I act superior. I simply nodded my head yes and waited for her brother to dispose of the creature while my friend was freaking out verbally beside me.

Don't get me wrong I was freaking inside my head and I didn't sleep a wink that night b/c I kept seeing the damn things crawling up my bed under my mosquito netting to get me or dropping down from the ceiling to attack. Needless to say God is good and 1. I did not get stung even though I was close enough too and 2. I did not get attacked in the middle of the night.

Needless to say I am a WHOLE HELL OF A LOT MORE CAREFUL. I fully inspect every room, bed, corner, bathroom, shoe, and piece of clothing I put on. And I thank my lucky starts that this is yet one more thing I don't have to worry about in KS.

Update

Hey everyone,
I wanted to give a quick update on where I stand so far. Because of your generous donations I have been able to come over to India and stay for the last 4 months. I have been working with 8 different girls ages 7 to 17. Some of them I help counsel or give advice to the counselor while the others I have the privilege of teaching English to. Each of the girls have a certain learning pattern and it has been a challenge to come up with lessons to reach all 8 and get them caught up in school.

So first and foremost I want to thank you. Thank you for donating to help me these last 4 months and thank you for your prayers while I have been over here. I truly appreciate it. Everyday has been a new lesson discovered and a new joy found. The experiences that I've had so far I wouldn't change for the world. I have had to grow in ways I never imaged I would have to.

I do have a small request however, I am still 2 months away from being able to come home. During that time I am still needing to pay rent, health insurance, electricity, and food cost. So far I spend around 300 a month in those expenses. I am needing help once again. So I am sending out the call for the last time. If you would like to help me with these expenses I would greatly appreciate any and all support. Anything I raise over my monthly use will be donated to the home directly. If you would like to donate to the home instead that would also be appreciated as well they can always use your support! You can find out how to donate here

If you would also take some time to pray for myself and the girls while I am over here that would be a huge help. God is doing wonderful things in these girls lives and everyday I am amazed at how He works.

Thank you again from the bottom of my heart for all your help, your love, your support, and your prayers. I truly appreciate everything you have done.

Side rant....

India is considered the "call center" of the world. And with all those calls coming and going with all that information they need to transmit from locations in US to India you would think something as simple as the internet would actually be good.

Question: So I ask does the internet in really exist or is it a myth?

Answer: Myth

No seriously the internet is practically non-existed here. When it does work it apparently gets hacked regularly according the government here. That does make me slightly concerned cause I realize that computers get hacked but the internet?! I can say I didn't see that one coming. So needless to say after 3 months here I still can't figure out why my internet and skype only work in the back bedroom at 4pm on a night of the full moon.

In other words if I don't get back to you via email or call you via skype its not you its me. And honestly this time I mean it. Internet just hates me and is starting to remind me of the wonderful woman Kharma who also hates me but alas I shall save that tale of woe for another day.

Rice, Rice, and please Lord no more rice

So some of you may know my woes of rice. For those few lucky enough to not hear this complaint I shall try not to come off as spoiled as I apparently am. In India the staple food here is rice. That means that every meal minus breakfast usually has some form of rice with it. The point of rice is the full effect you get after you eat it. I've heard and seen natives eat a WHOLE lot of food, noodles, chicken, rote, and beef only to go home and cook rice because they were hungry. Now don't get me wrong there are numerous ways to cook rice, and even more different flavours, textures and smells that rice have. And yes I am becoming very familiar with rice the differences, the things to look for, how to know if its fresh or not based on smell and etc...

 

So basically at lunch and dinner you are served rice which is considered a dry dish. This means that you will need dal and/or a gravy dish because you can't just eat a dry dish. Just like rice dal and gravy comes in many forms sometimes the gravy or dal is mixed with the chicken, but not usually. Usually you have a another dish of meat. So you eat rice, dal, and chicken for lunch everyday. No joke here and no offense meant when I say this but COME ON. Seriously?!?! Must we have that again? Can we mix it up with pork? What about no dal or rote whatever happened to serving rote? Or, or, or, could we just have some noodles just once? *crickets* No? I guess not.

 

Scary part the other day I had gone almost a week without rice at any meal... and you want to know the crazy part... I missed it?!?! Shocked yeah so was I its not natural I'm telling you. Luckily I got over and I'm now back to wondering if I really care that my rote isn't perfectly round or if I can live with semi-round rote in order to just not have to eat rice at this meal...

Umbrellas not just a fashion statement

Who would've thought that the last question you ask yourself when leaving in the morning is which umbrella should I take today? Do I take the hot pink one or should I go a little more toned down with the hunter green one with palm trees on it? Yet that is exactly what I find myself asking daily. Cause you know what that question can determine a lot. Okay, okay not all that much, but the point is umbrellas are important in India. They serve a person in numerous ways. First and foremost they protect you from the elements. And no I am not just alluding to monsoon season which has officially landed in the Northeast. Bring on the rain baby I need some rain... with just a little less flooding and mud. If possible but give me the rain any day it keeps the temp to a balmy 86 degrees instead of the normal 95+ so yeah I'm totally a fan of rain. Especially when I have my handy umbrella.

Then again when it is the sweltering 95+ an umbrella can come in handy as well to help block the sun from you. Side note and fun times for trivia... Did you know the sun rises in the East? I did and I am reminded of that every morning at what was 5 to 530 has now started its lovely rising at 4:30am. Yeah you read that right and here's more trivia did you know that when the sun rises that early so does the temps meaning that most mornings I wake up at 4:30 to a balmy 86 degrees in my room with no A/C. Take that Midwesterners take that.

Where was I? Oh yes umbrellas can block the sun making your sweaty walk to work a little less sunburnish. When one is walking without an umbrella one can not help but remember those stupid ants one tried to fry with a magnifying glass until her little heart couldn't take how cruel she was being and began to cry. Cause the poor little ants didn't deserve that and well was fine until they tried to climb on her. But I digress again. So the sun in India would be the sun (duh) and the atmosphere is the magnifying glass and well you guessed correctly I am the bloody ant. And if you happen to be the stupid ant that goes around without an umbrella even for just a moment you quickly realize the sun doesn't have a heart like you did when you were a child.

Also no amount of sunscreen can help you in this situation its almost like you are just daring the sun to see if it will still burn you when you wear it. The only thing that stops that sun from baking you is your handy dandy umbrella and well rain but we've already discussed the rain and the mud that comes with it causing brown spots along the back of your genie pants.

So when you are leaving in the morning the question still remains should I take the purple one, the palm tree one, the green one, or the pink one... I wear pink genie pants when I'm feeling sassy so I guess today shall be the hot pink one cause one can never have enough sass in India.

God's cruel joke...

Many of you have asked if I can get English movies over here. And yes, yes I can sometimes when I am super lucky (which I'm not very often) I can even get new releases like the new Die Hard movie and Argo (both I enjoyed the first mainly b/c it was in English and I'm a Die Hard junkie the second was actually a really good movie). Of course any English movies you get here or see in the theatre have subtitles in English and if you happen to have ADD like me you might find you watch them more than the actual movie. Then at the end of the movie you start wondering just why in the world was I watching the subtitles I speak English for pete's sake. But alas I digress so back on topic.

God's cruel joke --> For the first 2 months I was here the only movies I could find in English were (and I kid you not) The Mummy and Jurassic Park. That was it. Seriously I couldn't find an English movie that would play on my computer other than those 2. Now don't get me wrong both are really good movies in their own right. Both have a great story, good writing, and an excellent plot. But, seriously for 2 months that was it.

Thank God those 2 months have passed I have since then hooked up with other travellers who have a vast collection of English movies old and really old. Then I downloaded ITunes and now I have an unlimited supply of English movies for the small fortune of 12.99 a pop. Needless to say I own none. I just borrow from ex Pats moving through the area. That will teach you that when one is traveling learning to download movies on a pin drive is a useful thing.

Squatty potties and dirty feet... it explains so much

Warning the following is not for the faint at heart or stomach....

Alright ladies let's discuss the bathroom situation over here in India and why I thank God daily that I can hold my bladder for upwards of 8 hours when needed. Healthy no and I will remedy this when I get back to the good Old US of A, but in the mean time I will hold it as long as it takes to get to a clean western style toilet unless I am absolutely certain I won't find one between point A and point B.

Now you have read the train story I'm sure if not you can read it here first then come back I'll wait. What I left out of that lovely adventure is the picture above AKA the dreaded squatty potties that all trains and most places in India have. Now the few that do have a Western style potty do not stock toilet paper. So it is almost pointless to go to them unless you enjoy being sprayed by water that would put a fireman's hose to shame. Or you learn how to use a cup that has water in it. Of course you can always carry your own toilet paper which is in fact what I have chosen to do here during my stay. I never leave home without! Whose says you have to be a boy scout to always be prepared? My mad toilet skillz would amaze you at best shock you at worse, but I'll leave that up to you to decide as we progress.

So one learns to carry (to quote LOTRs) "my precious" toilet paper everywhere one goes. The train is no exception. Let me walk you through a typical train ride... after one holds their bladder for as long as one can you slowly wiggle your way out of the middle bird, drop down from the top bird or simply stand from the bottom bird (see now you understand why I covet the bottom bird) and slowly make your way through the narrow walk ways to get to the potty that you share with a thousand other people currently on board and who have travelled before you. Cause I'm betting they don't clean the potty at all EVER... (I told you, you have been warned)

As you make your way down to the potty you read a sign that says please do not flush when at station... as you determine why that is you walk into a suspiciously wet floor that is in a small room slightly bigger than an airplane bathroom but a whole lot dirtier. You look down and see a hole in the floor and two skid plates where your feet should go. There is a handle bar to help you squat and to hold on to as the train is a rockin back and forth. There is also a very dirty looking cup filled with what I am only hoping is water.

Now the goal of this is to not get your pants, kurta, dupatta, feet or any part of your body wet with well you know. So you go ahead and roll up your jeans to at least the tops of your knees. You then proceed to place your feet where the anti-slip skids are. Then you squat whilst using the handle bar which happens to be on the left hand side (this is important as you will note that you never take anything from someone nor give anything to someone with your left hand. This is one of the many reason why. The other is due to not having toilet paper)

Now you are going to want to grab on tightly to that handle bar cause as I mentioned before the train is rocking back and forth (to and fro to and fro that's the way the wold rolls) Now once you are in a squat position you are going to need to aim for the hole. If you do not hit the hole you will spray your feet. I am not saying that I've done this or anything per say I'm just asking you to trust me on this little bit of free information. Aim men and Aim women if I knew everyone was aiming as good as me then I wouldn't question the wetness on the floor so much. Aiming is the key to using a squatty potty.

I hope during this whole time you have remembered your toilet paper. I hope you were smart enough to keep it under you chin because at this point digging it out of your pants is not going to happen and using that cup is very questionable. So memo to you always bring toilet paper and carry it under your chin. Next you have to remember while in India you will be wearing a kurta. That is a VERY LONG SHIRT that goes at least to your knees. It does have slits in the side to help but its still very long. So not only do you have to wrestle to keep your pants from touching the "wetness" on the floor you also have to prevent your kurta from touching anything or getting sprayed when you are squatting. 

Personally to help with this I tuck my kurta into my bra or up to my shoulders sometimes under my arms. Then I tie my lovely dupatta (another positive attitribute) around my middle to hold my kurta in place or to tuck my kurta into it or around my shoulder on one side. Either way it does help with the kurta dilemma you will face in this situation.

If you do happen to forget your toilet paper at any point you can use the cup usually beside the squatty potty. I would forgo it on a train but in other less questionable areas it is perfectly acceptable. Now you use the cup by either pouring it down or splashing it up. If you pick to splash it you forfeit your pants and everyone will know how much you struggled with cleaning yourself after using a squatty potty (again not from experience per say just a general observation *throat clears*) On a plus side if you do splash and forfeit your pants your feet become clean. However, you will have to squeak back to your seat/bird/car all while trying to pretend that the water was in fact from you "washing your feet on purpose" and not from missing with the cup and splashing your feet and jeans instead. Again no first hand knowledge of this per say.

Now that was simply a potty on the train if one must do the potty elsewhere like a village or a tourist location it is much easier, but please remember to take your toilet paper and look around. Some places demand you put the paper in a waste bin while others don't have a clue that you are even bringing it in. Also you might want to bring the toilet paper with you if you are visiting as a guest that way you just avoid the whole awkward situation in someone's home. I freely admit if you look in my purse at any given time you will see a roll of toilet paper that I carry with me everywhere I go.

Ladies you have been warned

Oh and PS antibacterial gel is a MUST and VERY handy in those moments after using the potty. Actually its just handy in general since most wash rooms don't have soap to begin with.

Train rides in India... and the joy they encompass

At first it sounds like a heck of a good time. I mean not to sound like Sheldon Cooper or anything, but who doesn't like trains? Especially if its across a country you have never seen to a place you have never been what could be more adventurous I ask you? Then you see this...

 

 

Just playing that isn't what I rode, but a lot of you were thinking it was weren't you? Come on be honest! So it wasn't anything like this, but it was an adventure. First off it is night when one travels across country so that view you were imaging that you might get doesn't happen. It also means that you are now expected to sleep on the train since once again you will be traveling at night and arriving about 2 or 3 in the morning if in fact the train is on time. Now I am not sure if any of you have ever rode on a train during the night or in fact slept on a train so allow me to set the stage for you if I may.

First and foremost you must prepare yourself for the mass exodus/mad dash to either get aboard the train or off the train. EVERYONE and I do mean EVERYONE attempts to get off and on at the same time (when here you face this same situation pretty much everywhere there is not a clearly marked entrance or exit). Now for those of you unfamiliar with a mass exodus/mad dash entrance it involves a whole heck of a lot of pushing, some yelling, then some smashing, followed closely with pulling and shoving. It also includes some choice words in a language you may or may not understand followed closely with a tone that you can't mistake. I promise you the tone and the meaning behind the words was duly noted buddy, duly noted.

Now you may be wondering if that also means you have to fight for your seat because obviously if you are that desperate to get on you surely are in order to get a good seat. That you would in fact have to fight for your seat. Well if that is what you are thinking then you would be wrong. The mad dash and mass exodus is for nothing... absolutely nothing. There is in fact assigned seats. So the mad dash is for no other reason then the simple fact of why not?! We can so we will mentality.

So now that you have fought your way on board, then found your assigned seat, and then stored your luggage underneath your assigned seat you think you can relax and let the adventure occur. That's when it hits you that you actually have to sleep on this thing. This is what your seat looks like at first

Now it depends if you are lucky or not (and let's face it if you have been reading this blog up to this point you have surely figured out that I am not lucky). If you are not me and lucky you will get the bottom bunk/bird. If however, you are me and unlucky in your travels you will either get the middle bird/bunk or the top one.

When they are down and ready for bed this is what they look like...
Now the middle bird is a tricky bird (pun is in fact tended) and when one enters the middle bird one must envision oneself as a worm crawling into a cocoon. All you can really do in this situation is to wiggle on your stomach up to the top and flop down praying those two strappy things that are holding you up in fact do hold you up throughout the shaky night. Now once you are in your bird that's it there will be no sitting and if you were me there will be no going to the bathroom b/c let's face it I had no idea how to get out of the bird once I was in it. And while the whole country of India is smarter than I (b/c they have in fact mastered how to get out of the bird to pee) I was stuck for 6 hours praying that we wouldn't hit anymore ruts in the track.

Now if for some reason you are lucky enough to get the top bird as I was coming back it is much easier to get in and out of. You do not have the added worry of the bird collapsing under your weight and you have the advantage of steps on both sides to climb up and down. The only difficulty one has on the top bird is making the bird up for a nice little sleep. This means that when riding on the top bird you might just find yourself sleeping on vinyl plastic sweating your butt off wishing they had not in fact turned off the air conditioning in an air conditioning car because enough natives complained about how cold it was getting. The whole time wishing you had mastered making a top bunk bed back at camp. *sigh*

Now if the story above sounds like an adventure to you well then all I can say is bully for you. Cause you haven't even asked me what the potty situation is like yet... yep that one is going to be saved for another day needless to say this part is a walk in the park compared to the squatty potty that I had to use on a train. Next time I travel via train I vow to never drink water during my 6 hours and to always, always get the bottom bird.

For Melissa who wants to know what Holi is like

This is not it LOL welcome to Bollywood. Although this is what people tend to think this is what Holi is it is in fact not nearly as fun or glamorous as this nor surrounded with so many pretty people... so yeah enjoy

Side saddle is a sure fire way to die

I know, I know it sounds like fun... well its not. It is in fact scary as hell. You are barely balanced, you can not move in the way your body naturally wants you too (if you do the driver will in fact yell at you in numerous languages) the whole time the above mentioned driver is bobbing and weaving in and out of traffic going speeds I dare not mention for those weak in stature. The whole time he is doing his bobbing and weaving thing you are clinging to the back of the bumper and to his shoulder yelling at him in only one language that isn't suitable for young ears. Then when that doesn't work you resort to threating to haunt him every day of his life if he gets you killed. With the added threat of "and trust me you don't want this voice haunting you everyday until you die!"

Now as if that wasn't all traumatic enough let's add in the wonderful creation known as a dupatta. That just loves to fly in the wind reminding you that if it feels like it, it can and will end your life by getting caught in the wheels. Because it knows that you know there is no way you are letting go of the stupid bike to catch it cause that would be a sure fire way to die as well. You really begin to realize that stupid express caught between a rock and a hard place fits this exact situation. Making you want to know which rock and hard place that person who came up with the expression was in. I bet you it was wearing a dupatta whilst riding side saddle on a freaking bike in India. I would in fact put money on that (no seriously I won't because you know I don't have any).

The dupatta also knows that if you should happen to shift to try and grab it that your driver's wrath will come hard, swift and without warning. He will jerk suddenly to the side. Tell you with measured breath to get off his bike. Then after what I'm sure was counting to 10 tell you to get back on. This time you are to "sit like a man for crying out loud". As you get off you think nope not going to happen I am not getting on this bike again with this person yelling at me and this stupid dupatta choking me and no... screw it I will walk home. Until you realize you have no idea where you are because during the whole ride besides the panic that was building about the fact you just might die as a fatality due to a dupatta you also had your eyes shut praying that the ride would be over as soon as possible and that you wouldn't die being known as the foreigner that choked herself to death.

So with a deep breathe and a prayer you hop back on the dang bike sitting like a man this time with your dupatta firmly tucked under your butt.

Dancing in the Rain

When you were a kid what was something that you always wanted to do, but where scared to do?

For some it was riding a bike, for others it was crossing a street, but for our girls it is and was dancing in the rain.

A month or so back we had a warm rain shower. The kind that you pray for in Kansas. The temps had been so hot we couldn't take the girls outside due to heat, the air inside was stale due to lack of breeze and frankly no one wanted to do anything. Then all of the sudden a thunderstorm rolled in, the air within the house was building with tension that was starting to boil over due to being trapped within for so long. The girls were ready to explode. Until the thunder past and I showed them what it truly means to dance in the rain.

At first the girls were scared, the rain was colder than they expected, they were worried about ruining their clothes, or getting in trouble. They had never thought to dance in the rain and to be honest at first I thought I would be the only one out getting soaked. They watched me with wide eyes as I boldly marched out in the middle of the yard and turned slowly to face them. Then out of no where I started dancing like a fool for the world to see. I mainly attempted to do some American moves with Bollywood thrown in for good measure. That earned me a few stares and a lot of giggles. As the giggles got louder I noticed the girls were slowly moving towards me.

When they were within arms reach I snatched out and grabbed one. I wrapped her up in a bear hug and forced her to stand in the rain and dance a waltz with me. She laugh and eventually started to dance without me. The tricky part was getting the older one to think it was fun and not childish. After dancing around each other and a lot of coaxing we finally got her close enough to wrap up in a hug and dance. This of course led to splashing each other, laughing, singing, and some dancing. I'd love to tell you it was a beautiful dance that was well choreographed. But it wasn't it was pure innocent fun of two young ladies who have lived a life I can't even phantom letting go for just a moment of all the anger, guilt, and shame to be children once again by dancing in the rain.

It lasted a while until I noticed their teeth chattering and then much to their disappointment I led them back inside. Once up in their rooms they discovered that dancing in the rain is very similar to dancing in a shower LOL. Clever silly girls that they were they just moved the party upstairs in their bathroom. Finally they were tired enough to change and dry off moving back downstairs.

I admit that in my life I have taken a lot for granted and one of those things for sure is dancing in the rain. I will never forget the looks on their faces as they raised their heads and sung to the rain as it poured down on them. They would twirl and dance all while laughing and splashing each other. They were so innocent and happy in that moment it took a lot for me to pull them away. I am truly blessed that God gave me that moment the right thing to do. Tempers died down, the girls felt they had gotten away with something, and now the 3 of us have a secret about dancing in the rain. It is something they haven't done since and something that every time it rains they look out, look at me and giggle.
 

Some Bollywood for your entertainment AKA what I listen to

Yep slightly obsessed with this stupid song that won't leave me alone in fact it haunts me, everywhere I go it follows like Mary's stupid lamb. But man does it have a good beat or what?!

Dust storms really do happen and not just in deserts

You do not have to live in a sandy part of the world to experience dust storms. Some that are so bad you feel as if you can't breathe, which is sort of what the above picture looks like. Yes there is a good reason to have a dupatta after all. There is also another good reason to pray for monsoon season then again that surely comes with its own issues. I was going to call this a sand storm and in fact I think I have before until I was informed by a native that, I was in fact being a tad dramatic. Cue my eye roll and pardon me for confusing the two.

Anywho either one is not pleasant nor is it something anyone should ever wish to have to experience. Especially if you are a foreigner and didn't know that A) they really do exist in this part of the world or B) happen to be inside when it hits and just are thankful for the cool breeze coming in through the window. Not thinking that it would also leave behind the destructive caterpillars and dust almost a half inch thick. The dust does tend to coat everything your nicely cleaned floor that you spent way too long sweeping with a hand broom then on your bended knee mopping it by hand. Only to then discovered it is now covered in dust as is your computer, tables and chairs. But by the time you discover this little tid bit it is too late. The bugs are in the dirt is set and locking up your flat to roast in 98 degree weather just feels like plain torture at this point.

So you then face the dilemma do you let the dust continue to gather with the lovely breeze or you can shut up your apartment and clean up the dust. AKA re-cleaning the darn thing that just took you the better part of the morning to clean in the first place. Then after you spend another part of your day re-cleaning b/c let's face it that really is the only option you opt for a very ice cold shower if you can find it and crawl into bed. But before you do (And trust me this step is key) change your sheets.