Hosting Customs

As we prepare to leave our current residence tomorrow, we have been inundated with invitations for dinner and lunch.  Some of these invitations were from other expats, but most of them were from our Indian friends- and it has highlighted to me a few of the differences between our customs and those of our host country.  So let me paint two contrasting pictures for you. 
     Dinner #1
               We are asked to arrive after 7:30 pm.  When we arrive dinner is almost ready and we are directed to sit around the coffee table while the husband talkes with us and the wife and two daughters finish things in the kitchen (though the two daughters came out occasionally to talk and to entertain Silas).  They bring the covered dishes out one at a time and place them on the coffee table next to the stack of plates.  Once all of the food is out, the father prays (this is a Christian family), and we are given a plate and directed to serve ourselves.  On the table: fried basmati rice, curried-bone-in Chicken cut into pieces, butter paneer, beets, cucumber and tomato marinated salad, daal, and a special imitation enchilada stuffed with potato (an aside: the hostess is a chef and her food is really good!).  As we eat the wife is still in the kitchen and only the father and oldest daughter are eating with us.  The other daughter is serving us and helping with Silas, who was not the easiest to do with with the food all at easy grab level.  The wife came out and chatted some to make sure that the food was ok and that we had everything we needed.  JP stuffed himself, I had plenty even though Silas succeeded in kicking my plate off the table, and then it was time for dessert.  Fresh Gilebis with Dahi (a gilebi is like a funnel cake except crispy and very sweet and dahi is plain yogurt).  The wife and other daughter at after we left.

Dinner #2
         We were asked to arrive at 6pm.  When we arrived the dinner was almost ready and the table was in the process of being set.  While we waited for dinner, we all hung near the kitchen to chat and help the wife with the last minute details like filling water cups... When dinner was all ready and on the table, we all sat down, the husband blessed the food, and then we passed the dishes around the table to serve ourselves.  On the table: Gumbo, rice, fresh veggies with dip.  We all talked and after we had finished, dessert was served - peanut butter bars and coffee.  After dinner we sat in the living room and talked until our auto came to pick us up at 7:45. 

    The thing that stands out to me the most about the differences between the two dinners if the relationship between the wife and her guests.  It is pretty much the norm here that the wife (and other women of the home) do not eat with the guests, but wait and eat the leftovers.  This is sad to me.  It is also a little awkward because I have to eat with the men.  At another dinner we went to the women of the house were eating at the same time, but they were sitting on the bed in the other room while we ate around the coffee table with the men.  I have found however that this is not always the case. 

A Family Outing

After a week of me being away from JP and Silas and then a week of JP being away from us, we were due for a relaxing saturday family outing!  The weather has been really nice lately- sunny and 70's so it was a perfect day for a trip to Malsi Deer Park.  The park is a little outside of the city and it has a playground, a mini zoo, and some nature trails.  Unfortunately I took more videos than photos, so I will just write a few observations.
1.  It was quite odd to me that they had pidgeons on display in one of their big cages but the monkeys were running wild (and some of them got pretty close).
2.  There are so many people here without jobs, living on the streets, and yet the park was full of trash, broken sidewalks, unkepts gardens...
3.  The playground was not kid friendly.  All but two of the slides had barbed wire on them to keep the children off and a lot of the equipment was rusty and broken. 
4.  Peacocks are beautiful creatures (such a beautiful color of blue) while peahens are a little ugly :)

Mommy and Silas at Deer Park

After the park we went home for a little while and then went back out to McDonalds.  This was our first time to eat at McDonalds as a family, so it was kind of fun.  We let Silas walk part of the way there.  He thoroughly enjoys his new independence!  I ordered Silas a Spice McPaneer, hoping he would eat it, but although I removed the spicy outer coating, it was still too spicy for him. He did however enjoy the bun, a chicken nugget, barbecue sauce, and a little ice cream.  The chicken nuggets were just like America- a nice treat!

Silas eating one of Mommy's nuggets

It was a great day! I would put a video on here of monkeys, the playground, or walking in the park, but our internet connection is too slow :(. 

Silas Bread

Silas used to be a good eater.  He loved his veggies and would eat about anything but meat.  Now he has gotten really particular (which I heard is normal for his age), so in hopes of getting him to eat something with vegetables in it, I experiment in the kitchen and made up my own healthy bread recipe since I know he will eat bread.

Silas Bread
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/3 cup plain yogurt
1 1/2 cups grated zuchini
1/3 c pureed carrot (baby food)
1/4 c sugar
3/4 tsp baking soda
2 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbs fruit juice (I used prune because that is what we had)

Mix it all together you know when ingredients together, dry ingredients together, and then add dry to wet.  Bake in loaf pan at 180 degrees Celcius for about 1 hour. 

It actually tasted really good so I think next time I might add less sugar, but this is already 1/4th of the sugar found in banana bread and no oil or butter.  Silas is a fan and so were our friends.

Beggar Children

One of my conversation partners sews things like aprons, bags, pot holders, table runners...and makes cards for a living.  She recently got asked to help at a rehabilitation center for beggar children, teaching them how to use their to make a living.  I went with her the other day to see what she does and to meet some of the children.  Since the children there are all under 18, they don't actually "work" right now, but the center gives them training.  They learn English, Hindi, singing, story telling, and then they are training in block printing, stitching, jewelry making, and embroidery.  They get fed at the center, have a place to shower, wash clothes... and they get paid $3 dollars a day for attending training- in hopes that they will not beg.
           I guess I better describe the beggar children.  Most of the children live in tents on the side of the road or near the part.  Many of them do not have parents but live with older brothers or sisters.  They walk the streets of the city wearing old, torn clothing, and no shoes, asking for bread, but really wanting money.  Many of the children use the money to buy a chewing tobacco kind of thing or whiteout to sniff.  Of course sometimes they actually ask for money but attach it with a religious blessing that you will receive in return.  Some of the children also sell balloons or yarn... They can make from $5-$8 a day.  They children don't like begging, but most of them are forced to by older siblings or parents.
     The center keeps the kids off the streets from 9-5, but due to pressure from family I am afraid they keep begging in the evenings and on weekends.  Hopefully when the kids get old enough they will have school that they will use to make money instead of resorting to begging. 

These cards were made by some of the children.  They block printed their own fabric, cut out the shapes, and then block printed the words on the cards. 

Groceries, Shoes, and Random Things

I went grocery shopping at Chocolate Corner yesterday and after paying for my items I asked for them to be delivered to my house.  This may seem silly, but I don't have a car, so free delivery saves me having to pay to take an auto to me house.  So walking home I thought how cool it was that I could have my groceries delivered for free, but when 3 hours later that had yet to arrive and I needed to use some of them, it no longer seemed like a good idea.  JP literally ran to store for me so I could get to work making healthy bread for my picky eater (more on that later).

Yesterday I also went shoe shopping.  I am trying to find a cheap, fun pair of shoes to wear to my sister's wedding rehearsal, but I am not having much luck.  I have found some cheap shoes that are hideous, some cute shoes that are not cheap enough, and then some cute cheap shoes that are not my size.  They have an interesting philosophy at the shoe stores here that if they don't have your size, they will make it fit or try to convince you that another color would be better.  I tried on a really cute red pair in a 37 and it was a bit snug- but the salesman said "It is a perfect fit".  To which I replied, no, I need a larger size.  So he went away and stretched the shoe out and then came back.  "It is too small," I said.  To which he replied "No it fits perfectly".  When I again told him it was too small and I needed a 38 he said that they didn't have another size.  Then I understand why that was a "perfect fit".  He again tried to convice me that it was the right size, but I can guarantee you that it was not. 

As I was walking past a fresh spot of manauer the other day, trying to refrain from gagging, I thought "this is going to a fun place to be pregnant". 

How do you keep your one year old from continually yelling "Kuta" (dog) in the middle of church service and barking? 

Master Chef

We have two stores in town that cater more to the foreigner or the upper class national.  Whever I went to one of these store I kept seeing an advertizement for a cooking class taught by Radhika- the runner up on Master Chef India.  I love cooking, so I thought this would be a fun language/culture experience as well as a chance to learn how to cook with what is available where I live. 
    I attended two classes- one was on making pies and quiche.  This was helpful for me because I had never made a crust from scratch.  The crust on the pie she made in class was probably the best crust I have ever had (though the apple pie filling wasn't too impressive).  We also learned how to make banoffee pie, strawberry yogurt pie, and vegetable quiche- all very good.
   The second class I attended was Thai stir fry.  I already knew how to do that- but the food was yummy!

Christmas in India

A few reflections (better late than never):
It is interesting for me to live in a country in Asia that has its own Christmas traditions (probably especially because I live in Christian colony).

Before December even began I started hearing Christmas music from the seminary next door- their choir was rehearshing for a program. It was fun listening to Halleluja Chorus... while I cooked. The program was the first week of December- very similar to an American program which was kind of sad to me. A bunch of Indians were singing traditional English songs instead of songs in their own language. But- a new song I learned and loved is called "Meekness and Majesty".

Plum cake- in America we joke about fruit cake, but few people I know actually give fruitcake at Christmas (except for my Uncle who makes really good refrigerator fruitcake which is totally different). Here everyone gives Christmas cake which is traditionally plum cake with dates, walnuts, and other dried fruits in it. Most Indians don't have an oven so they take ingredients to a baker and they make the cake for them. Other people just buy them already made from the bakery. I found them dry and fairly tasteless.

• A star- This is my favorite tradition that they have.  All of the Christians hang a star outside their house the week of Christmas.  I don't know what the tradition means to them, but to me it says "if you are looking for Jesus, you can find him here".  I just pray that all year long Jesus can truly be found at that house by anyone, regardless of caste, that comes to find Him. 
• Little Drummer Boy- And my least favorite- 5am Christmas morning, the morning we thought that we could sleep in, "perumpumpumperumpumpum..." outside our window.  At first I thought that it was a crazy neighbor but I soon discovered that this happens every year.  Some drummer guys play all day long, going house to house.  I couldn't figure out exactly why, but apparently the Christians like it because it helps them get ready for all the activities of the day.  We just wanted to shoot the little drummer boy (actually afew men).