Day 13: Cultural learning

Sustainable Farming. Let me tell you about it because its what i learnt today and its actually really interesting. See there was a time when farming was organic; fertilisers, pesticides etc were all natural. Crops benefited from it, the soil benefited from it, the farmers benefited from it and lastly the consumers. But then decades ago, when crops had diseases, farmers demanded chemicals to kill them. Manufacturers would ask farmers what did they want, the answer was instant and powerful chemicals. Now, farmers are spraying pesticides, stuff which is really potent, and yes, its killing the pests and fertilising the crops, but to the detriment of the soil, the farmer, the crops and finally the consumers. I was told there was a day when farmers would live to 100yrs old, but now the average age is 60 because of the poisonous pesticides. Farmers would willy-nilly just spray it and inhale it indirectly. The soil would become poisoned and not be able to grow things or lack nutrients. So sustainable farming is going back to the roots of farming, and using traditional methods of fertilising and creating pesticides via organic means. And that's what SEDS is doing. Its teaching and training farmers to re-use old methods. Its amazing how nature can provide its own pesticide and fertilisation. There's a plant called 'neem' which is like an all purpose plant. It can be used medicinally, but it can also be used to fertilise and kill bugs. So SEDS is showing farmers how to use this unique plant. Amazing stuff. Tomorrow we actually get to go out to the farms and see SEDS representatives speak to farmers and villages about this.

So i started the day off with a bit of a cultural disrespect i reckon. I wanted to go on the school jeep to pick up the same kids that we dropped off yesterday. Seena the driver said he leaves at 6:30am. classic IST ('indian stretchable time' as a fellow indian told me) he didn't come till 7:15am. By that time someone had just made me a hot cup of tea. I hopped into the jeep and it started driving along the bumpy pot hole ridden road. the tea was spilling everywhere. So Seena, turned off the engine and encouraged me to drink the tea as he checked the mechanics of the jeep. I tried sculling it down but it was too hot as it was freshly brewed, so i sipped a few sips and then tossed it out, as i believed we were late picking up the kids. This didn't go down well with Seena as his look on his face was like "dude, what are you doing? i pulled over for you to enjoy that tea, so you should've enjoyed it". See there's a big cultural difference between Australia and India (well, where i am), and that is 'time'. See I always jam pack my day and always fill up my time; busyness is always a good thing in our culture is it not? it makes us seem important or something if we always are 'busy' and we tell people that too, 'oh man what a busy day'. Yet its different here. Time, although important, is not a priority. Respecting someone is a higher priority. This is something i need to continue to learn since Zim and Thailand.

Yet here lies a conundrum and a dilemma i internally face. All the kids and staff here call me 'sir'. Staff and kids would say 'good morning sir', 'good night sir'. Teachers would give up their sits in the car just so i can have a cosy ride. Why? In a sense its them being welcoming, but more importantly, its a sign of respect. Respect in that I'm a foreigner, an outsider, that i am educated making me of a higher class (or caste) in some sense. It irked me at the start when i tried telling kids to call me jon instead, but they would always call me 'sir'. even the domestic workers call me 'sir'. But i am no one special. Its just that i happen to be born in a first world nation, and that has nothing to do with me either. Yet, i was told that its best to let them call me 'sir'. Its in their culture and its a sign of respect. The danger I'm facing is that it can all be too comfortable, that this treatment of royalty - (i get served meals everyday, i get called 'sir' by everyone i meet) becomes comfortable, that it becomes normal. That i start believing that i am of a supposed higher class. Oh, the danger of this all. Oh how i continue to ask that i am always thankful to Him, His grace and that i humble myself to Him, which gives me perspective to humble myself to others.

Day 12: The things i've seen

i got a bit of a headache from the heat as i seem to not have adjust to the average of 35 degrees each day. So i spent some time just walking around, relaxing, and doing some uni work. I forgot to mention that i was fortunate enough to play volleyball with the boys that live on campus. its just so good to join in and play. they speak a little english and i speak no Talugu (The language here) but we all understand the fun and frivolity of just playing. last night too, the boys showed me what boardgames they play; chinese checkers as well as an indian game called craman (?). Cant wait to learn. Anyways, back to the bus ride. This arvo at 3:30pm the school bus drops approx 7 or 8 kids home to there villages. See, SEDS has its own school, its own teachers, its own transport. There is a requirement for kids to come to this school on campus, they must be the most disadvantage, impoverished, marginalised kids in the surrounding villages. Public schooling is free, yet, where we are, education isnt much of a priority i dont believe. Villagers here live in an agrarian society, its all about farming. So education isnt that important. So, I hopped into the jeep and we dropped the kids home. Its so funny because the driver spoke almost no english, so we used the kids to translate so we could all communicate haha. they were putting their english into practice. The villages are something to be seen. I thought villages were only next to the mainroads, but if u drive down this narrow dirt road, before you know it, theres another village. and then if u drive down this off beaten road for a km or 2, boom, theres another village. Its just weird and funny. Its the equivalent of driving down someone’s long driveway and if u took a left onto a dirt road and drive a bit further theres a housing estate there. So anyways, besides the beautiful scenery of the plains of area, we dropped the kids off one by one. girls and boys who are 10 or 11, struggling to open the rear door of the jeep, then hopping out, grabbing their bag and lunch box, saying “bye sir” to me, and then walking to their house (which is like a giant cube). One little boy (couldnt be more than 7 or 8) fell asleep by the time we reach his house, and his dad (or grandad) had to open the door, pick him up, pick up his bag, and carry him home while he laid asleep on his shoulder. We went to drop the last boy home, i think he’s 13. He was the one who did most of the translating. I wondered why Seena, the driver, turned off the car, got out and opened his door. I then saw the child struggle to walk, at time walking on fours. His knees were buckled as he seemed to struggle (Yet determined) to walk down the narrow dirt road to his house. I spoke to the staff here and found out its most likely polio, a disease that can paralyses kids. During our bus trip (technically jeep trip), i got to know more about Seena. he is 32 and a dad, with a son who is 3. Seena doesnt stop smiling, and you can see he wants to chat, its just that language is the barrier. So after we dropped off the last kid home, i realised Seena was not going the same route back. We kept going through dirt unsigned roads, and then we ended up in a village. He then turned the engine off. A distant thought crossed my mind, “well, this is where im gonna get robbed” and “yep, if in the slight chance i got murdered, theres no way any one would find me”. But then Seena kept smiling and said, “home, home”. He took me to his home so he could show me his 3 year old boy. And there he was, standing at the driving waiting for dad to come home. He opened up his one room house and there was his family. He welcomed me in and made me sit on the only chair, while everyone else stood around me. its indian culture that i am a guest so i had to accept even though its hard to sit while everyone is standing around….and heres a funny thing, its also custom to offer food. and what did they offer me, a bowl of peanuts bahaha. i had to say ‘no’ and that i was full, i didnt know how to communicate that i was allergic to it. i did do the hand gesture of me struggling to breathe but that didnt get anywhere. So they thought i didnt like it so they took it away, and then came back with some home made crackers, which were i presume made out of peanuts….not wanting to disrespect there household, i took a bite to eat. I think that made them happy that i had something of theirs to eat. I met his wife as well, who was pregnant with his second child! It was time to go, but his 3yo son would monkey grip onto his leg and wouldnt let go. he cried and cried as his dad had to pry him off his leg. We had to drive off, with the kids in the village all shaking my hand and chasing after the jeep. I’m gonna go again with Seena at 6:30am to go pick up the kids this time tomorrow. Cannot wait. I’m gonna bring a book and start learning talugu. Unfortunately, yes, being the area’s dominant crop, the cracker had peanuts so i was down and out for the night. But the night has been made so spectacular by the moon. These open air rooftops are the best for star gazing. Its a full moon tonight, with a thin layer of cloud cover, so terrible for star gazing, yet, the most precious and beautiful sight has arisen from it all. You see, in the centre is the full moon, yet, what surrounded it was even more spectacular. A halo, a ring of light, surrounds the moon, creating this most amazing sight ive ever encountered. If i stretched out my hand put the moon on the fingertip of my index finger, then the radius of the halo would be from my fingertip to my wrist. Its a huge circle of light.

The things i’ve seen today, my goodness. 

Day 11: SEDS

It has been quite relaxing just living life here in SEDS. this campus is self sufficient and currently this week is a time for us to get used to the place before we start heading out to SEDS projects. In the afternoon we were fortunate enough to be taken to where it all began - in the barren hills. You see, as Rajen the founder, quoted to us "don't you just get this feeling that when you see earth you just want to plant something". more than 35 years ago, this land was so arid and dry, like rural Australia. There was rain, its just that the water was rushing away before the soil could absorb it. So Raj starting his projects in water harvesting and water-shedding - all these techniques to slow the water down so the ground could have a chance to absorb it. With much misunderstanding with the locals and even being bashed on numerous accounts, Raj did the most amazing thing, he made things grow in this desert. And we had the opportunity to see his long term vision. Wow what a sight it is. Photos do absolutely no justice to what you see. Greenery, shade, coolness and water can be seen as vast as the eye will allow - all with the purpose of helping the local community who are underprivileged, impoverished and marginalised. It truly is amazing to see.

Yet, questions do start arising in the mind, mainly, how is this funded? You see, this was a huge scale project, so its very interesting to see where the funding comes from. Raj is a big visionary and perhaps people have caught his vision. Secondly, the regeneration of the forests have been complete, so SEDS now helps empower the community through education, women's advocacy etc. The question  arises as to who's vision is this now? How does governance occur? Yet, it seems like SEDS ethos is to empower communities to their full capacity, to allow communities to be self-determined. So its just very interesting indeed.

Day 8, 9 & 10: wow

Hey hey. Im at my organisation and internet aint the greatest, so i've bunched up my blogs from the past few days. Things are starting to get somewhat busy here at my placement so you might not hear from me from time to time. I've also laying off on Facebook for a few months just as its too hard to upload but also i want to be immersed here. I haven't attached photos as its too hard to with this internet but if u google photos of SEDS or andhra pradesh I'm sure you can visualise what I'm talking about.

Day 8 was a sunday and being in Cooke Town, Bangalore, we were actually in the hub of churches. Reem and myself were keen to find a local church since there was so many. The thought came to my head to go to a baptist one as we both go to a baptist church, yet 2 thoughts struck me; 1. Baptists here would be different to baptists at home, 2. Why should it really matter which denomination since we all believe the core beliefs, it is only secondary things that separate us. How easily we can play that game at home, "oh your Christian, which denomination are you?". Yet, the same thing happens here in India. We walked to a local church and they asked us what denomination we were. It seems to be the thing, when you say Christian, the next question is what denomination. This church was kind enough to offer us a lift to their new location 10km away, but we wanted to stay in close proximity to our mates. It was cool in that they knew where other churches were, and pointed us to a catholic church just down the road. So we walked there. As we walked down the stretch of road, the street was inundated with beggars. What a moving and tough sight to observe. Yet, it brings the bible to life, as Jesus heals the lame, as Jesus shows compassion to the poor, as Jesus knows them and calls them. Something i struggle with as you walk past them. The church was a big church, with a big congregation. The priest spoke about Jesus feeding the 5 thousand and his love for the poor. Now, you might be thinking, what a contradiction, that you preach that yet theres poor people outside. Although that crossed my mind, immediately you have to ask yourself, you've only been here for 2 hours, how can you know what this church is doing? They may have done so much community work that we just can't see it in the few hours we were there. Reem said it nicely, maybe they go there cause they know they will get something. All i know is that its a tough sight, yet the church knows it too, and they are talking and preaching about helping them, using Christ as the example.

We went out for lunch and met up with a fellow couple, a woman whose doing her social work placement as well but she found her own placement, and her husband who is working as a music teacher, teaching students classical western music at a college. We got chatting a bit and found out the are both Christians. Seems like this theme of mission and social work keeps popping up. It was really good to just chat to them at that next level and see how they are experiencing India from their perspective.

Day 9 and 10: We left for SEDS on monday, a 3hour drive covering 170kms. This was in the next state of Andrha Pradesh, a barren, arid and dry land. Not much grows here because its too hot, except peanuts :( . its like their main source of agriculture haha. The surrounding areas look remind me so so much of Zimbabwe; just dry grass everywhere with smooth boulders poking up from time to time. We continued driving and took a turn off and started driving up the mountain side. This is so different to Bangalore; markets and little villages lined the road up the mountain. Men and women in traditional clothing, farming being the dominant industry. Yet, modern technology was visible as well, as the hills were lined with wind generators. We then drive into the campus which is the headquarters for SEDS. SEDS is a community organisation where staff from outside and locals tend to all the projects SEDS do for the surrounding communities and villages. Its amazing what SEDS do; women's rights and advocacy, children's education, bio gas technology etc, all with the goal of helping the poorest and the underprivileged. This all started with the vision of Rajen Joshua and his wife Manil. Rajen is a big visionary, a christian i believe, who gave it all up (pilot degree, auto mechanic, engineering degree) to help the local communities. since drought and lack of water is the main issue, he has helped water the surrounding lands with watershed techniques, building of dams etc, so that farmers may grow crops thus producing income. He's a great visionary. I'd love to talk to him more about it. Funny thing is, he was also one of top Indian motorbike rally champions of his time hahaha. so crazy the amount of respect he has earnt. if want to know more, i found an article about him that you can read...its truly amazing.

http://www.harmonyindia.org/hportal/VirtualPageView.jsp?page_id=24505

This area is amazing, the surrounding scenery is amazing. Thank goodness for rooftops because i can just start each morning sitting on them just looking at the views. Monkeys, scorpions, cobras and vipers are here too so I'm sure its gonna be awesome!

Chat too you all soon

Day 6 and 7 Tastes & Flavours of India

Well, the inevitable happened on Friday. I had a meal with peanuts in it haha. But that does not stop me from appreciating the tastes and flavours of india. We tried some southern indian food (majority of indian we get back at home are from the north). It was quite nice, and presentation was suave; we got to eat off a banana leaf. The idea of eating with fingers is now the norm for me, theres just so much fun but also just this next level of appreciation of the food when you use your fingers to eat. perhaps its because we're using another one of our senses (i.e feel) when we pick up our food.

Saturday again was a laze around day as we wait to leave for our projects (Myself and Kate leave on monday, the rest leave next saturday). The local shop has all the entertainment we need, decks of cards and ice-cream and juice and chocolate. Although these lazy days might not seem much, in fact, they are much needed. If you think about it, we've being going to the CBD almost every day...the equivalent would be if we went to Queen Street mall everyday to shop. Now you can see how its always good to stay in from time to time. Additionally, these times allow us to really bond together. We are learning so much about it each other; our stories, our backgrounds, what motivated us to do social work, where do we want to go in the future etc. Augustine comes over frequently as well so we get to ask him many questions about Indian culture and what social work looks like in India. Although i enjoy researching cultures, what i love more is learning first hand from people. Augustine is like our lonely planet guide writer, he tells us the best places to go, the customs and cultures, the history, the economics, the politics - all these things which have made India what it is today.

For lunch we went to the Islamic part of town. Bangalore has such a diverse and eclectic mix of culture, ethnicity and religion yet it seems everyone respects each other and gets along. There was a single church called Bethseda Church which stood amongst all the Arabic signages and atmosphere. it was just really interesting. Lunch consisted of lounging around in this giant booth (almost like an old school Japanese dining experience) sitting on a giant lounge with our feet just stretched out. Its almost like they want you to sleep after eating there. Again the curries came out and it was delicious as usual. Our hands stained with orange as we ate Tandoori chicken and butter chicken as well as various other vegetarian dishes. Its such a good feeling, until you realise theres no napkins around.

Being a Saturday night and our second last night together, we thought we'd discover the night life of Bangalore. We tried going to an Indian play of Cleopatra and Marc Antony, however, we read the time wrongly haha. So we said lets go watch a bollywood movie in the CBD. We arrived only to find out that on 2 movies are shown, and they get booked out pretty quickly. So, we decided to go celebrate by going to a place called the 13th Floor. This was a restaurant and bar 13 floors high, towering over the city. What a beautiful site of the city it was as we sat on the balcony. With the Indian sunset in the background, we could see Cubbon Park surrounded by the concrete jungle of the city. An interesting thing to note was that i couldn't see many tall sky rises in Bangalore...just an interesting thought. Bangalorians do enjoy the night life, and as time passed by, more and more Indians came to party on a Saturday night. Women wearing saris but also western clothing, men wearing hip collared shirts and chinos, and with the sounds of 80s music in the background which later progressed to modern day music - you can see that the West has really influenced the East at night. The tastes and flavours of india almost tasted like home, the atmosphere, the menu, the dim lit environment with its hip furniture. it definitely felt like we were in Australia. The coolest thing was that they had the TV on and an unusual sport was playing, one that i have never seen before. It was called Kabaddi. I had never seen anything like it before - one team holding hands on their tip toes trying to avoid being tagged by the opposition yet trying to tackle him at the same time. It was so interesting, and it got the waiters really interested too! I chatted to them and they told me all about it, especially the part how we were watching the Bangalore home team play in the championships.

it just so happened that the table next to us were celebrating a birthday as well. In typical Aussie fashion, we thought we'd join in in singing happy birthday to the table when the waiter brought out the cake. They must have really appreciated it as they gave some slices to us. I also saw another table next to us, stand up and walk over and congratulate the birthday boy. What a sight that was. Is it to do with Indian culture, or was it just because we were in a restaurant? But this idea that all celebrate with one's celebration, it was just really interesting.

The tastes and flavours of India (food-wise but also culture-wise) is just so interesting. Perhaps its me, cause i just like observing and learning, but this week in Bangalore City has just really helped me begin to understand this culture. In some situations, the mindset is very Asian, thus my Chinese heritage can really relate, yet, other times i am so bewildered. Yet, this is whats so great about India, the many tastes and flavours it has.

megan, cait, jordy and reem out for lunch

lunch!!!!

Cubbon Park from the 13th Floor

Not Cubbon Park from the 13th Floor

Sunset

The team (L - R): Caitlyn, Me, Jordy, Megan, Reem, Sarah, Cait

No Gangnam Style....there goes all my dance moves

Food at the 13th Floor. A fusion of East meets West. 

Day 5: Geeta and Shadraa

Let me tell you about 2 ladies who you need to meet; Geeta and Shadraa.

Meet Shadraa. She is possibly the sassiest Indian woman I've met haha. She comes over to clean and cook for us. She is the nicest lady, who's always smiling. She speaks an iota of english, and we speak an iota of Kannada so we just communicate with hand gestures and just by pointing. She's always keen to socialise and teaches us how to cook. Her favourite english phrase is 'eat eat'. She treats the girls here like her daughters-being playful with them, and we treat her like our mum haha. She's so respectful that she waits till we sit down and eat and sees if we enjoy her dishes. we invite her to stay for food but she always leaves with a big smile and a wave.

Geeta is a social worker. Her burden are for the women in India; those who are oppressed, marginalised, those who are treated unfairly, those who are victims of domestic violence, those who's rights have not been heard. She is a passionate activist, rounding up support from the communities and going to government to make changes for the better. It was amazing to hear from her the social issues in India, specifically for women. She talked much about the caste system (a hindu belief where people are pretty much ranked and their identity is dependent on which class or 'caste' they belong to), the patriarchal system and how this has bled into the mindset of indians and even faiths, such as Islam and Christianity (both which don't preach anything about castes). Depending on what caste you are, it determines your life pretty much; who you can marry, what job you can do etc. She also spoke about dowry deaths, bride burning, how women are being raped yet they are blamed rather than being the victim. It was so amazing to hear what she was doing to change perception, to protect women and to have their rights acknowledged. At this current time, she's standing up for the rights of domestic workers, those who work in people's homes. Currently they are not recognised as workers under law (i don't believe) thus employers are taking advantage of this and are abusing them, scamming them, treating them horrifically, and there's no laws to protect them. As Greeta put it well; India has a hand on the moon, yet a foot in s**t. India has the power, the technology and the knowledge to reach the moon, yet it is shackled to this mindset which holds them.

Its very interesting yet saddening in a sense to hear that the caste system has trickled into the Christian faith. Greeta mentioned a key word that has hit the nail on the head on what the caste system is; identity. you see, the caste system is something where people can identity themselves; a way for them to find their purpose, their value, their worth. Its a way of knowing who they are. And Greeta made a great observation, the Christian faith does not preach about a caste system. so the question is, why is it there? So why are Christians still using castes to identify themselves? See, Jesus would say that He is the way, the truth and the life; that the Christian's identity is in Him, and not in anything else. How freeing that is. How freeing that one does not need to be restricted to their caste, that the Christian does not need to rummage around trying to find their identity, no, their identity is in Him. Oh how restful, how comforting, how peaceful that is for the soul. Yet, it scares me that perhaps some Christians here in India haven't fully surrendered all, that they still place their identity in something else besides Him......Yet it scares me and frustrates me even more that we can do it back at home, we just don't call it caste.

Thanks be to Him for redeeming us, rescuing us, freeing us and liberating us.

Greeta and us, and a key photobombing us

Shadraa, the sassiest Indian woman 

Day 4: City of Contrast

Again, we started the day with another trip checking out the sights and wonders of Bangalore's CBD. Shops, materials, fabrics, sale signs and bargains littered the streets enticing people to buy buy buy. Children selling roses, beggars either holding babies, tins, or their hands out asking for money. Oh the power of money here. It's confronting and saddening. People treat you like royalty or of a higher status, just because i have money, and thats nothing to do with me, it was just that i was born in a country that has a higher dollar; nothing of my doing. A fine example of this is when we had lunch. We were quite desperate to find some food so we found a hotel and ate at the restaurant there. Specifically targeting the wealthy (as every customer was in business attire) we were treated like kings and queens by the staff. We were introduced to the buffet table filled with an array of curries and noodles, salads and desserts. (i always find it hard to eat at a buffet, with the constant reminder that here we are eating so much food whereas others don't even get 3 meals a day). As we sat down, an endless supply of naan came out, a bottomless amount of juice and drink, and just constant service and smiles asking if our food was alright and if there's anything more the staff can do to fill our bellies. All of this experience only cost us $15 per person, peanuts for us, yet, just sheer delight for the staff, as could be told on their huge smile and elation when they saw the tip for their incredible service.

Yet, beyond this affluent lifestyle and the perks and cons that come with it, we got to the see the contrasting side of Bangalore city (which is what i prefer). We purposely and accidentally found the places where wealth and affluence had pushed citizens out of the CBD and into the lower socio economic areas, in our search to find Cubbon Park - bangalore's botanical gardens.

We had the opportunity to escape the city shopping district and went to Cubbon Park, the equivalent of our botanical gardens. The greenery and its silent environment was exactly what I needed; no horns, no crazy traffic, no 'come come good price' or 'i give you good price because you are my first customer' (even though its like 1pm), no materialism or consumerism, just plain nature. It's almost hard to believe that in this concrete jungle there is this park here. Pigeons, chipmunk-like creatures as well as other birds roamed freely and nestled in the lush forestry. Plants, grass, bamboo and other plant life just thrived here. It was magnificent. unfortunately, so did mosquitoes, and with the warning that they may carry dengue fever by Augustine, we couldn't stay long under the shades of the tree.

One image that's seared into my memory was when we were walking past the suburbs outside the city outskirts. Here, apartment blocks were being built and some completed, with a nice colour of paint and aesthetics. Yet there was one building which was derelict, incomplete and just dull and grey. It had no fence no enclosure, just the rooftop and the pillars were constructed. Staring into the building there was an elderly man just sitting on his chair leaning against his motorbike. Yet this was not the memory that hit me, no, it was what was going on beside him. There were three children, a girl (probably 7yo), a young boy (probably 4yo), kneeling on a mat laughing and giggling on the dusty, stoney, dark ground. Oh the joy that comes from the sound of kids laughing. The joy that it brings. But why were they laughing you may ask? well, on the mat, laid a small infant, a tiny baby, who i assume is their sibling. The boy and girl were playing with their sibling, tickling him/her and making them laugh, which in turn made them laugh. although it was a quick snapshot as i walked past, it is something that has stood out for me for the day. The innocence to the world around them, the purity in their joy and laughter, the non existent cares and worries of this world. All they were interested in was loving their sibling. No money, no material influencing them, yet, no money or material could even come close to buying what they had. Oh to be like those kids, to treasure nothing that will rot or waste away, but to treasure something more. And that my heart will follow my treasure and my behaviour and will would follow my heart.

Day 3: encouraging encounter

Not much to report today. Just another day of checking out the main shopping precincts of Bangalore. Augustine our supervisor spent a good 2hours filling us in on the history of India. Its amazing hearing the influences, the culture, the people, the religions, the conflicts, the good, the bad, everything that makes India, India.

Yet possibly the highlight of the day happened in the morning. My routine involves getting up early and sitting on the rooftop, reading my bible and getting to know Him more. There's no where better to read then just in the open air, soaking in all the sights and sounds of the streets of Bangalore. Yet one sound stood out from the rest.  I heard the  gentle sound coming from behind me, 'hello' and then again in all its gentleness, 'hello'. So i turn around, and there was a woman standing on her verandah calling out to me. It's our neighbour. Next minute, we were having a chat, but not any ordinary chat, this was a rooftop chat haha. only in India. We did the usual chats, 'who are you?', 'where are you from?' etc. Her name is Lena and she is a doctor. After some chatting she asks what i was doing on the rooftop. I told her i was reading my bible. Knowing that Indians are religious and are not afraid to talk about religion (actually they insist on it), I asked her if she was religious. Her reply was, 'yes, I'm catholic'. I was very curious and asked her for her story, how did she become a follower of Christ? Her story was one of amazement and encouragement. She told me that she had been Christian for 27 years, most probably being brought up in a Christian environment, yet, she said that it wasn't until the last 7 years that she's really known God. She told me that at that time her husband was diagnosed with a medical condition that would soon kill him. Being a doctor, she knew that this was the case. no treatment or surgery was going to fix him. Yet after praying to God, the miracle happened where her husband was healed and is alive today. Her heart and her church's heart is to share this hope, this message, this God to all her community. She was such a lovely lady that she offered to get her son to come pick me up and take me to her church on the weekend. What a kind soul, such hospitality and love for people, and she'd only just met me - sitting on a rooftop reading my bible. What an encouraging encounter.

one of the main streets in Bangalore

irony

old school building

dude with a bag on his head to keep dry from the rain....classic

Day 2: The way of life

Today started with being awakened to the call to prayer through a loudspeaker which i presume is from a mosque somewhere in the area at 4am. This was something i've never experienced before. Still suffering from a bit of jet lag, I was quite wide awake, since it would have been around 8:30am back in brisbane.

After smashing through some breakfast and have a debrief with our supervisor, Augustine, we had the afternoon off. So as you would, we went shopping through Bangalore's shopping precinct and market district. As any shopping area, a sea of people were strolling throughout the area; walking on half finished pavements, striding through the traffic, walking either by themselves or with family or friends. Cars, scooters, motorbikes and tuk tuks steadily filling the roads with their honking horns blaring at one another. Some scooters had their entire families on that 2 wheeled mode of transport, and I'm sure i saw a young person who looked like 13yo driving a motorbike too. On top of this, cows were strewn across the roads, creating congestions and roadblocks as vehicles try to avoid these sacred animals. While we were walking through the streets, vivid memories of Thailand and zimbabwe came flooding back into my head. The sights, the sounds, the smells, the way of life. I saw an elderly lady go from store to store picking up boxes and bottles and adding them to her collection bag, which was the size of a small car. This was her way of life. I saw people manning stalls and stands, not knowing when the next customer will come. It may be minutes, may be hours, may be never. Yet, this is their way of life.

We spent a good hour in an authentic Indian dress shop, where the family of this family run business spent so much time, effort and creativity in helping the girls get that right Indian look. They were so caring and considerate to each and everyone of us, that they offered us chairs and mango juice while i waited for the girls to try out all the different clothes, jewelleries, bangles, pants etc. The girls didn't have cash on them, so one of the daughters willingly walked us to the nearest ATM (about a good 7min walk). This is the way they did business, this is the way they kindly and respectfully treated their customers, this is their way of life.

The rains were just breaking through and we were heading home so we split into pairs and got into our respective tuk tuks. Unfortunately, we were caught up in a scam.  We lined up in the tuk tuk rank where they took the first group back home fine, but it was there where they made us join another cue of tuk tuks on the other side of the road that things got iffy. We told them the address we wanted to go, and next minute they head in a completely different direction and where do they take us? they took us to their connecting jewellery store, wanting us to have a look and to buy something. It was then that the rains bucketed down. Soaked, and slightly frustrated that we had been lied to, i ordered that they take us to our address. after agreeing to this, would you believe it, but they were about to take us to another one of their stores. After much debate and dialogue as to why he was taking us their so he could get commission (not of money, but of a better uniform), we started walking the main roads in the the pouring rain trying to find a tuk tuk that could take us home. thankfully we did and we got home soaking wet, but i didn't care, at least we're home. Now i write this tuk tuk story because i could so easily blame, be angry and irate, or just frustrated at the people who scammed us. Yet, the more i think about it, the more i come to the conclusion, perhaps its just their way of life. You see, i don't know their story. Perhaps they have a family to feed, a child who is sick and needs money for medicine, or perhaps they are just really dodgy salesmen, but either way, its their way of life.

In all of these stories today the thoughts of these lives people are living, re-raised existing questions in my head. Why are they living this way? What are they living for and for what reason? Is it to feed their families; to just survive; to keep busy; to do something that when they sleep and when they wake up the routine starts all over again? But its so easy to put that on them, yet do we not do the same? What are we living for? Why do we live the way we live? Are we living to just feed our families, to just survive, to keep busy? Thinking along the thought patterns of C S Lewis, I'm sure he would say something such as "the idea of even coming up with a need to ask 'why' points to a fact that there is a higher purpose, or a reason that is needed for what is the purpose of life?' and this goes back to my pre-existing question of what if there is a reason to live, a hope you might say. What if one is living for a reason, for a purpose? How would that change one's perspective or outlook on life? Wouldn't life not become a chore, a routine, or something thats menial, but to something that now has meaning, has purpose, has reason? what if someone lives because they are living on hope? What more if this hope is a living hope, not a dead hope (would even be hope if its not attainable or unreal)? How would that change the way of life?

the girls and the sales attendants (who are sisters) all dressed up

streets of bangalore

ambulance stuck in traffic

lunch

market places of bangalore

motorbikes galore

Day 1: We made it!

It's 12am and I'm pleased to announce it aint brisbane time, its Bangalore time. After what has been literally 24hrs getting from Brisbane to Bangalore we have made it. 8 hours flying to Singapore airport was such an ease having an abundance of entertainment available at the fingertips. It also helps not having anyone to sit next to you, thus, enabling one to stretch their legs and get some sweet sleep action happening. Talk about coincidence, I ran into a colleague on the plane who was from my bible college, and then happen to chat to his wife who is a social worker...crazy! Landing into a 32 degrees Singapore with 5 hours to kill was enjoyable, walking around the huge terminals and just observing the diversity of ethnicities and cultures who are all journeying somewhere in their lives. It was now night time and we boarded the plane for our last leg of the journey, Singapore to Bangalore (totally rhymes). Here was when the eye opening things would begin.

Flying out of Singapore and having a window sit was such a beauty and a privilege. As we ascended the waters lit up, looking like hundreds of lanterns floating on the ocean surface. But looking closer, they weren't lanterns, they were cargo ships departing their ports and wharf on their way to their destinations. The spectacle of knowing each one of those orange flickering lights was a huge cargo ship is just magnificent. Yet more eye opening things were still to come.

I sat next to 2 indian men on the plane ride, one who was late 30s and the other much much older. We struck up a conversation just introducing ourselves to one another and getting to know each other. We shared photos of our families and next minute we were sharing food. I gave him my snacks and he gave me his yoghurt haha. But we also shared our cultural similarities and differences as well. Marriages, divorces, family expectations, sports, nationalities were amongst some of the things we discussed. They both then helped me with my Kannada (a language spoken here), helping me find the word for 'peanuts' as well as other greetings and common phrases. I tried writing it down in my book to the point where i was going too slow so they took the pen off me and filled a good 3 pages full of phrases and directions to shopping malls and bowling alleys haha. Frustration kicked in here; not at him nor not at me. More of the situation. The situation that i wanted to talk to him more on a deeper level but language was being a barrier. But on the bright side, i believe they both felt empowered and valued; empowered that they were able to teach me and write down all these things that I'm sure they are proud of their culture, and valued in a sense that i was interested in all they had to say.

Bangalore reminds me of Thailand, horns are honking at every second, and cars don't stick to the lanes, they even drive in the middle of it. Our taxi driver was even driving one handed while speaking to someone over the phone while simultaneously honking his horns at motorbikes that were cutting us off. So many close calls in regards to car accidents would give an insurance firm a heart attack, but for some reason it just works. It's crazy here, but in a good way for me. For me in that i just need to go with the flow and leave it in His hands. Tomorrow we go exploring. Should be good fun!

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Let the journey begin

hello. This is Jonno's new blog. Here u can expect some pretty average quality blogging, with some below average grammar and spelling. But what you will encounter is the amazingness of the next few months that the world has to offer, in particular, india and nepal; the sights that will open up your eyes, the tastes that will tantalise your senses, the smells that will stir the nostrils and the feelings that these unique places have to offer that can only make you gasp.

May you enjoy this blog as i enjoy describing the world that i encounter and the journey that i'll be taking. Your prayers and support, your comments and feedback will be most appreciated.

And thank you to my local MP who was a major influence in me doing this trip.