Well, I hadn't expected to email again so soon, but between wanting to know how Grandma's procedure went and the translator not being able to come out to the village this morning, I opted to take a quick ride on bus 96 to the city and spend some time at Net Hut, my favorite Coimbatore Internet Cafe.
Things have been going great since Ooty. Gwen and I arrived back at the village Saturday night (Nate and Ashley stayed a few extra days in Ooty and went on a safari) and were greeted by Mathew at the bus stand. He was getting in from work on the same bus. It was good to talk to him and have access to the light of his torch. The power was out, and the sky was dark and threatening rain. We arrived back to the house and were excited to see the family, and Appa, who had been visiting another daughter in Tirrupur. I have missed Uno games with that man.
We were also greeted by strains of music coming from the celebrations for a big Hindu festival. The adventurer in me had to go and explore. One of my little kid friends, Prianga, found me, led me by the hand and lead in to the thick of everything. I was definitely within spitting distance of all the musicians and the shirtless man staggering under the weight of a giant basket laden with garlands of flowers and swords. I was close enough to get my feet wet when water was poured over the walkway ahead of the men, and close enough to have water sprinkled on me by one of the priests, and to feel water from the hair of the dancing girl who had just been doused. It was fascinating and exciting to be in the thick of it all, engulfed in the sounds of the horns, feeling the beat of the drum, and being pulled back and forth through the crowd as the musicians moved.
I eventually explored other facets of the celebrations. I passed under a entrance marked with weaved palm fronds, banana leaves and hanging bunches of bananas and other fruits and took of my sandals. There was a group of scores of men, women and children gathered around watching dancing and listening to musicians. Soon my attention was drawn towards the house whose veranda and courtyard the crowd occupied. Looking through the bars on the window I observed a circle of about 9 priests beneath garlands of yellow flowers draped from the ceiling in a canopy, with arms raised, chanting, burning incense in fruit and flower offerings and even putting the kumkum on one young man's forehead. It was so fascinating! My favorite was when all the priests but one left. The other priests had all dressed alike-bare chested with a cream-colored long lounghi with gold trim. All were similarly marked on their foreheads. The priest who stayed behind was in a bright yellow lounghi with a yell turban and had a garland of yellow, green and red flowers around his next, and the symbol on both his forehead and arm. He mixed the white and red powders and applied it to the boy's head, and as he did so, he had the most beautiful expression on his face. I don't know how to describe it. He was smiling, his eyes were bright, his skin was both loose and tight. And he had big red earing. His smile was just so engaging. I really can't describe it, but it was beautiful.
I also enjoyed simply being there, sitting on the veranda among other women, waving at the children and mothers would point me out to them and instruct them to wave. I love being a part of the community. As much as I had enjoyed Ooty and my friends there, it was good to be home.
I truly do love the village. I feel at home there. I decided that it reminds me of the cabin in many ways. Not only does the village have daddy-long legs, lizards and smell like the barn, but it is so beautiful, peaceful and in many other ways familiar and enjoyable.
Sunday was a fabulous day because I was able to watch some of Conference. And I anticipate borrowing the DVD and watching more soon. At church we watched President Eyring, Elder Cook, and half of Sister Beck's talks before the power went out. President Eyring's was my favorite. I feel that I was very well prepared for that talk. Several conversations, journal entries and emails prepared me. It was a tender mercy in that it reaffirmed goals I had set for myself the previous evening and expanded upon things I had been contemplating and writing about recently. Anyway, let's just say that as a result of that talk, my journal entries are much more meaningful and personal, I'm praying and looking for the miracles that are in my life day-by-day, and I am ensuring that those things won't be forgotten.
On Monday morning Gwen left to Hyderbad, and Ashley and Nate were still gone and the translator never showed up, so I spent a lot of time sitting on the veranda reading and writing and waiting to see if the translator would come. I'm enjoying this learner-owned education thing. As I read in textbooks, I would come up with exercises for myself to do and then do them. It made for slow reading, but good and meaningful learning. Nate and Ash did return in the early afternoon and I spent most of the afternoon looking at their pictures, talking, and then playing Uno with Nate and Appa. Good times. In the evening there was a huge storm. I have never heard such loud thunder! Lightning strikes would light up the sky, the thunder would roll and roar and the rain pelted down. It was beautiful! I stood in my room by the window, feeling the spray of rain on my face and felt as though I were out at sea.
Later than night, when the skies quieted down and rains slowed to a drizzle, Nate, Ashley and I made Peanut butter and honey sandwiches for dinner and then had F&FHE (family and friends home evening) to the light of a one-rupee candle. It really felt like a family night from childhood days. Nate wasn't paying attention at first, Ashley was calling him names, he moved across the room and laid down. It was beautiful. I shared the lesson on President Eyring's talk and we played the "alphabet gratitude game", going through the alphabet and saying things we're grateful for in India that start with the letter 'a', 'b', etc. And then I talked about the talk and we each shared one of the miracles we have had eyes to see as the Lord has answered prayers and blessed up with tender mercies. It was amazing to feel the Spirit that came. It was really a neat thing for me.
Tuesday was likewise a fabulous day. Blossom showed up at about 10:15 and we started the day with Nate, Ashley and I doing a joint religion interview. We spent over an hour with a 40 year old Hindu Priest who is really an amazing man that I was very impressed with. Hopefully I'll have to time to relate a story he shared with us on my blog.
After the religion interview I had an interview/orientation with Blossom about what I am researching and how and that went amazingly well. We spent over an hour and a half sitting on the veranda. It was how I had envisioned research being. Two people talking about things that are meaningful and significant and at the same time relative to my research. There were so many great side conversations and comments and insights that she shared that I wish I could use in my research. I'm not sure if I can though since I was planning on a sample of Hindu women from the village, and she is a Christian city girl. We'll see. But it was perfect. And I feel good about my questios and my approach. Blossom helped me change a few words that might be confusing, and I could see where she misunderstood what I was trying to ask so that I could adjust. She commented that all my questions, as different as many of them were, all had answers that "mingled together", which I take as a good sign. I really loved that hour and a half. I hope that it will be as positive when I am speaking with the village women.
Some of the changes I am making in my research approach include having a better stated introduction of what I am doing and who I am. I want to introduce myself and even show a picture of my family. I have a purpose statement prepared to explain what I am doing and interested in, and that shows how I value their insights. And there are several places where I have examples prepared to serve as prompts and to help them understand what I am asking and who I am. I hope that it will make things seem more personal and conversational. It worked with Blossom, but it will surely be more complicated with a mediating interpreter. All the same, I'm excited about where my research is and where it is going. I have two interviews worth of questions, and want to use responses to generate personalized questions for a third interview with the women I will use as my sample. I've got a lot of work ahead of me and very little time. But I'm excited.
And now it is Wednesday. I'll spend maybe another hour on the computer and then head back to the village to get back to my schoolwork. Life is good. I love it. I am so dang blessed. I hope that all is well on the homefront! You are missed, loved, and in my thoughts and prayers. Have a good one!
Love,
Al
No comments:
Post a Comment