Disturbing events

There have been some disturbing and under-publicized things going on India. It's hard to get any report, let alone an accurate one. But the ugliness of persecution and violence is real.

Babysitting

I changed nine diapers and fed eight bottles to three babies today. I had a kind of assembly line going on. I also changed quite a few outfits and washed the bottles. When the babies weren't eating or sleeping they were pleasantly lying in their beds.

Very well behaved.

On the way to school

The everyday things I see on my walk to school never cease to catch me by surprise and amaze me. What is common place here is still exotic and new to me.
For instance, this is a very personalized lorry. It even has shikaras (water taxis) painted on it.
The neighbor's house was decorated to the hilt for a wedding. So much tinsel.
One morning as I passed the sheep being herded down the road, the shepherds pointed out to me a newly born lamb on the side of the road. This is not him, but a cute goat kid who was also part of the herd that morning.

Funny things said to me this week by little boys

As I was leaving the house after school, six year old Daniel offered to shake my hand. Then he said to me: "Your hands are thin and cold."
"Uh, yes. You're right." It was an accurate observation.
"My hands are small," he added, "But they are not cold."
It was a new revelation for him. I think he would be disappointed to know it's not the first time I've been told something similar.

I was reading to Daniel and his brother Johannes when their dad came in the room to do something. Johannes wanted to get up and say something to his dad so I paused in the story to wait for him.
When he was done talking he came back to the couch and said, "Okay, push play," as if I was the tv, or something.
Funny.

Cricketeers

I was watching a couple of nomadic shepherd boys play cricket.
One of them was really good. It was hard to tell how old he was, since he seemed to be small for his age. He looked to be about five or six. But he might have been small for his age and really be closer to eight.
Here he is pitching (or bowling).
And here is his friend trying to hit the ball.

Poetic mail man

This is my favorite quote for this week so far:

"India is an ocean

of mail,

And we

are just a little river here."

It was said like that, in poem form. I'd gone to see if there was any mail for me. I'm expecting a couple of packages. No, there was nothing. But the post office man regaled me with this lovely poem.

I liked it.

Affidavit

I went into town today to replace my sim card. It was an interesting process.

First I had to get an affidavit reporting the stolen phone and sim card. To do that, I went to a tiny little hole-in-the-wall office where there were three men with typewriters clacking away incessantly. They typed out who I am, who my father is, where I live, where the phone was missing from, when it was missing, and that I would like a duplicate. When it was finished and stamped, it was very official looking, but you would have a hard time believing that if you'd seen where it came out of.

I wish I could show you pictures...sigh.

Then I took my official paper to the mobile phone place and they gave me a new sim in exchange for the paper and 75 rupees.

Now if only the phone, the numbers, the camera and photos were replaced so "simply".

I identify

I recently came across this quote from someone named George Herbert:
"I cried when I was born and every day shows why."
I'm identifying strongly with that sentiment.

My camera, my phone and 100 rupees are gone.
According to my best recollections, they were in my bag on a chair in the corner of the school room when we took our morning break. I'd used my phone just before school to make a call, the camera usually lives in my bag so that it's ready-at-a-moment's-notice for a picture opportunity, and the 100 rupees was so I could buy some vegetables on the way home.
I thought it was strange when I went to pay for the vegetables and couldn't find any money in my bag. When I got home, I dumped everything out on the bed. Nope, no rupee note. But I thought it was my own misplacing of the money. I looked for my phone to see if I had any missed calls, but it wasn't there. I didn't have a lot of time to worry over it --or anyone to call--so I didn't.
My phone didn't turn up by the end of the day, so I was hoping I'd left it at the school room.
It wasn't there this morning. Not in any of the places we searched, anyhow. And I also realized my camera wasn't in my bag.
Thinking about it now, there were a few other things out of place: my Bible was unwrapped from its cover; when I'd gathered up the bag to move it, it had been lying opened unlike the usual way I leave it slung over the chair arm.
Our break meant we were gone from the room hardly fifteen minutes. How sad that the thievin' whoever thought it would be worth it to rifle through my bag of unassuming appearance. :(

So there won't be any new pictures or videos to share with you. :(

I can't even begin to calculate the total value of the loss.
All my phone numbers from several countries and continents. :(
All of my 800+ photos taken since February. (What you see displayed here is all I've got left.) :(
The 100 rupees is nothing in comparison to the other two losses.
There aren't enough emoticons to type to display how sad I am.
:.(
:.(
:.(