I was so excited about DTS in the past because of all the things it represented to me. Although it's a fabulous experience and I'm growing in many areas, I have also experienced a great number of difficulties. I've anticipated most of them, but enduring them is different than imagining them. Although my heart is here and I love the people, many times it sounds like I only love Canada because I speak about it with so much nostalgia. The grass is greener on the other side, eh?
This last week in Gulbarga has been especially hard for me because of the living conditions. There are 6 girls sleeping side by side on bamboo mats with no padding or mattress. This results in 2 things: 1) people with previously pampered backs feel sore 2) people indiscriminately get into each other's spaces when they roll around at night. Did you ever realize that a twin bed effectively ensures you get your own space? Now I know.
Living here has given new dimensions to the phrase "running water." When I heard "running water" in the past, I never thought to ask, "how much water do you get before it runs out?"; "how often does the water run from the tap?"; "what kind of water comes out of the tap?" and other questions like these. I thought Jangareddigudem was ghetto with running water from 5-11am every morning. The water comes here one every 2-8 days, depending on how dry the weather is. We only have 1 water tank, so you have 15 people living off of that water until the water people decide to turn on the water again. Luckily the assistant pastor lives nearby & he has a bore well, so we can always get water from his house and bring it back.
I've also learned to appreciate drinking water. For around 12h we ran out of drinking water and for whatever reason, we couldn't get it. It may be because the family that sponsors our drinking water was only providing 1 plastic dispenser of water at a time, and we'd run out of it really fast.
I've also learned to be grateful for fans and mosquito nets. We have neither here, so I've been woken up by mosquitoes almost every night. Solution? Simple. Just dose yourself with mosquito repellent 24/7 and put in earplugs from your oh-so-prepared roomie (if you're lucky, she'll share with you with a big grin on her face) to prevent the mosquitoes from humming near your ears and interrupting your sweet dreams. In all seriousness though, I'm a little concerned about the long-term effects of mosquito repellent on my skin. Luckily I'll have a mosquito net once I go to Jangareddigudem.
Did I mention how convenient bathtubs and shower stalls are? In many Asian countries, you just shower in the bathroom & there's no way to keep the water from getting every where, so your whole bathroom floor gets wet when you shower. I've dealt with this before, so it's not such a big deal. Showering with cold water and buckets is no biggie either. What's especially fun about this new experience is the work it entails at the end. Because of the slant of the tiles--or maybe the misplacement of the drain, depending on how you see it--the water never wants to go down the drain. Instead, it'll all flow to the opposite corner of the bathroom so you create a mini flood every time you shower. The fun part is that after showering, you can spend 3 min sweeping water towards the drain using a bio-degradable broom made of twigs tied together with rope. As you make gallant efforts the sweep the water, it'll gurgle over the drain and recede back to its favourite corner. It's kinda like making your own tidal wave, ya know?
At first it was extremely challenging to adjust to these living conditions and the late, late meals (2pm lunches & 9:15pm dinners), but the fact that I can write about these experiences means that the healing process has commenced. Right?
Yes, I do long for home sometimes AND home food, but I rest assured in knowing that I'll be in Taiwan in approximately a month so I can eat to my heart's content. Besides, most importantly, I know that we can "rejoice in our sufferings because they produce perseverance, perseverance, character, character, hope, and hope does not disappoint."
