Wednesday Update

Wednesday

Yesterday (Wednesday) was a good, relaxing day.  We woke up around 6, I made breakfast, and we hung out until around 10:00-10:30 when we loaded up and headed to Safdarjung’s Tomb (one of the last of the Indian Moguls) here in Delhi.  It is very similar to the Taj Mahal in terms of it being a huge, square garden with the HUGE tomb in the very middle of the garden.  There is a cement pool leading up to the tomb from all directions.  The tomb in the middle is huge and beautiful!  While it hasn’t been kept up to the quality of the Taj, it is nonetheless beautiful, and certainly fewer people.  It was a nice respite from the noise and dinginess of Delhi!  And the kids loved being there.  Free to walk and run.  Free to explore.  Free from traffic and horns and tons of people and stares from everyone and constant noise.  It was a nice respite.  And judging from the clientele who was there, they saw it as a nice respite, too (it is a place for young lovers to come and sit and whisper sweet nothings!).   

After leaving the tomb, we went to Dilli Haat, an open air market, for lunch.  We had to pay to get in and there is security to go through in order to get in (metal detectors, etc).  I say this as the Berlin incident is close to mind, and so you know that we are aware of safety and so forth.  We had Kashmiri-Indian food for lunch, which was delicious!  Tandoori Chicken, a mutton dish, a chicken kabob dish which looked nasty but was awesome, and some rice!  It was so good.  And the cost of the food was less than when we ate at McDonald’s the other night (and were more satisfied with the Kashmiri food).  And with Aslam present, he is ordering for us so we can actually enjoy the food and not blow the tops of our heads off with spice.  The great thing about this is that my kids are enjoying the food.  If it was Indian-full-strength-spice, my kids would certainly reject the food and not be willing to try new food.  As Kathee and I love ethnic food, we hope our children will as well!  

 

After lunch we returned home for naps, resting, reading, and playing.  We are enjoying the downtime we are having here and with the spaciousness of Karl’s house, the kids are able to spread out, play, leave their toys out, etc.  So things are good!  

For supper we ate the rest of the leftovers from the meal Aslam made us.  Hope fell asleep at the table.  Gideon went into his room, got himself ready for bed, and fell asleep without telling us, and Esther went down at normal time!  Kathee read the night away and so did I!  Another great night in India!    

By way of giving you a better picture of what I mean when I say that life in India is difficult, I add the following for today (Thursday’s plan).  Here is our list:  Candles for the Advent Wreath, coffee for Karl and Kathee, bacon, syrup, cheese, and ham.  That is a list of six things.  Know how many different stores that will take to procure said list?  6 stores.  That’s right.  6 stores!  None of this is available in the village that we walk through each day.  Which means that we’ll have to go to different stores spread throughout the city.  Karl said that will take a minimum of three hours, maybe four with traffic and everything else.  And bear in mind that none of the stores open until 10:30am.  Oh yeah, did you know that Karl is a full-time pastor here, trying to lead a church?  This is what is meant by how hard it is to live here.  That is not meant to be a downer, but to show the difficulties, and the frustration, that comes with living in this place.  

That is all I have for now.  It’s Thursday morning.  The kids are playing well together today.  Karl and Aslam just met to plan out the day.  And Kathee and I are hanging out!  God is good.  He is still on His throne.  And we trust Him as He is our good father who loves us, cares for us, and blows our mind with the beauty of His creation and various cultures!  How fun!