I'm Dreaming of a Skype Christmas

So yeah, Christmas not at home…it’s hard.  You know the first time you are in a new place and you wake up and then you think, “So this is what waking up here feels like?”  Well I have been in India for 3 months, but yesterday when I woke up I had the same sensation.  “So this is what it feels like to wake up anywhere but at home on Christmas morning.”  All in all, Christmas day happened with very little tears.  I can’t say the same about the Greater Christmas Season (that is, December), but there’s nothing strange about that. 

While my emotions demanded anything from a complete Christmas fast to finding the biggest live evergreen in India to chop down, I think that God has helped me to find a happy (and culturally appropriate) medium.  I like lists.  So now I will list Christmas things that I actually DID do:

1)     Oodles of Christmas music

2)      Apple Cider, Mulled Cranberry Sipper, Hot Chocolate, and Chocolate Chip Cookies

3)      Last chapter of A Christmas Carol (Let’s face it.  The whole thing is good, but I know the story.  I just want the part where Scrooge can’t stop laughing and turns into a Christmas boss.)

4)      Charlie Brown Christmas

5)      Miracle on 34^th Street with Hot Chocolate

6)      Christmas Eve dinner out at a fancy restaurant with Christmas music and waiters in Santa hats.

7)      Specially selected green and red Salwaar Kameez.

8)      Grandma’s Sour Cream Coffee Cake for breakfast

9)      Skype present opening with the parents
10)  Christmas present opening with a four year old (a truly unique experience)

11)  A huge homemade Christmas dinner (well, lunch)

Today, to continue the Christmas spirit, I received 18 Christmas cards in the mail.  Boom.  I guess that this year Christmas will really be stretched out because I have been told that more is on the way.  Who knows, Christmas may just last until I go home.  Then it will be like Christmas Day all over again. 

Thank you for all of your love and prayers and cards.  Good thing that the event of Jesus’ birth is independent of my living situation.  Jesus still came whether I live in India or America or Antarctica or under the sea.  He came.  

Stuff Indians Say

(And internal American gut-reactions)

 

“Come.”

(“Don’t tell me to come.  I’ll walk when I want to!”)

·         This is something that almost everyone says when leaving a house, crossing a street, or getting in any vehicle

“You know, the fat one.”

(“Yes, I know, but why do you have to say it out loud.”)

·         This is accompanied by what I would call ‘chicken wings’ made by extending the elbows.

·         Also, this goes along with a general openness about commenting on my weight.  Just this week I have been told that I have “become thin” and that I have “put on weight.”

“Where it is?”  “Why you are laughing?”

(“Where WHAT is?” “Well, tell me…”)

 

·         Included in this category are all questions with the verb and subject un-inverted.  This is probably because in Hindi, a question word is just added to the sentence without changing the word order.  Also, there is a general lack of the word ‘do.’

“It helps the digestion.”

(“But, how?”)

·         The reasoning behind eating almost anything is because it aids in digestion.

“Let’s make a move.”  Not to be confused with, “Make a motion.”

(“Moves like Jagger?”)

·         The first means “Let’s Go” and the second means, well, you know…#2

“Do you want to get fresh?”

(“Not with you I don’t!”)

·         This is commonly said to someone after they have arrived at your house following a journey of any length.  The American translation would be “Would you like to freshen up?”

“What to do. (?)”

(“Do with what?”)

·         This phrase means “But what could I do?”  or “I can’t do anything about it.”

·         Example: “That monkey charged me, so I threw my banana at it.  What to do. (?)”

“So are you going to marry and Indian man?”

(“Are YOU going to marry an Indian man?”)

·         This response was thought, but not said, in response to a nun asking me this question.  I have also had numerous friends and a dermatologist ask me this question. 

 

They Aren't Scary

I want to write about people.  Different people.  People that aren't like me and probably aren't like you either.  They weren't raised in a cul-de-sac.  They have probably never set foot inside a church building.  They don’t know what Sonic is.  But they are people.  I have something very simple to say about them: They aren't scary.

Here in India I have encountered more variety of people from more geographical origins and more religious beliefs than I ever have up to this point in my life combined.  I have watched them.  That may sound creepy and maybe it kind of is, but I just want to share a couple small pictures with you.

Sikhs

My next door neighbors for the past 3 months are Sikhs.  In the few times I have interacted with them this is what happened:

-The father brought chocolates for Jeremy and Angela.

-The family attended Jeremy’s birthday party and gave him one of the coolest toys.

-The youngest son and daughter came to Angela’s birthday party.  While there, the boy entertained the group of maybe 35 for half an hour with his magic tricks and antics. 

-The daughter always smiled at me and says hello when she rides past on her bike.

Muslims

On a train to a nearby city, I was able to sit behind a large Muslim family.  Yes the father was wearing a white tunic and skull cap.  Yes the mother and daughters were wearing burkas.  This was probably the cutest family I have ever seen.  The smallest boy was precious, with his big chocolate colored Indian eyes.  The family adored him as they passed him from lap to lap.  The father’s adoration was most obvious.  He would grab the small boy of maybe three and kiss him over and over and over again as he squealed out little giggles.  Then the father would point at me over his shoulder (as a white girl, I do stick out).  The little boy would grin at me and then dart behind a family member.  This game proceeded off and on for the next 5 hours.  Precious.

All I have to say is: They aren't scary.  They aren't out to get you.  There are people. They need Jesus.