What I’ve Learnt in Rural India

Below are the top 10 things I’ve learned after living here for a year.  Not bad for a Canadian city girl, eh?  (haha, I just can’t resist the temptation to use a Canadianism)

1. How to use safety pins effectively and in an economic way to solve all my clothing and flip-flop woes
2. How to use less water
3. How to maximize my instant noodle soup
4. How to hand wash my clothes
5. How to make the best of a food budget at the poverty line: 60 cents for 3 meals
6. How to flush a western toilet thoroughly with water from a bucket while using the least amount of water
7. How to stop your ceiling from leaking onto your bed in 2min
8. How to get rid of the lizards that appear at night to flick their tongues at all those crunchy bugs
9. How to stop a heat rash from itching
10. How to turn my stove—an open fire—up and down while ensuring the 30 eggs I am scrambling don’t burn in the huge wok

Well, here are the simple solutions:

1. See “The Safety Pin” blog to gain enlightenment on new ways to use that handy invention of advanced technology.

2. Just try carrying 20L of water (weighing ~ 20 Kgs) in buckets up a flight of stairs and down a long veranda.  Making the trip four times a day is a great way to get a free work-out.  Thank God I started carrying 4L milk jugs and ice-cream buckets from gr2 or so, so I’ve built up the muscles for it.  And I’ve worked out to a scientific precision the exact amounts needed for everything:  5L to flush #1;  10-15L to flush #2; 15L for a regular shower; 20L for a shower that includes washing my hair; 500mL to wash my hands.  I did a bit of research and discovered on the Environmental Canada website that household toilets use 20L to flush (that’s like an entire shower!) whereas 6L would do.  According to the government website, the average Canadian’s daily domestic use of fresh water per capita is 343L whereas in France, it is 150L and America is 382L.  My usage?  Well, including my drinking water & water used for cooking & washing dishes, 90L a day.

3. After cooking instant noodles, savour some of the soup & save the rest.  Day 2: take the soup out of the fridge (if you have one) and re-boil it with noodles, veggies and a poached egg.

4. Hmmm…. This is still a challenge for me.  I’m not good at getting the spots out.  But I’m quite good at soaking them for a long time and procrastinating at washing them.  The good thing is soaking clothes in soapy water is very effective at getting all the dust out.  The water turns into a murky brown colour.  I always do my laundry in Jangareddigudem (30km away from the school & children’s home) when I go back once a week because there’s running water there.  It flows from an outdoor tap.  It’s easier to wash my clothes in Janga because I don’t have to carry buckets of water around.  The trick is to finish your laundry between 6am and 9:30am when the government pipes provide running water.  After that, all you can use is stagnant tank water. 

5. Eat rice.  Lots of it!  And when you cook dal, use less lentils and lots of water.  Flavour the watery dal with some masala (spice mix) and voila!  For dinner, add lots of salt and chili peppers to your vegetables so that a small scoop is sufficient to flavour your mound of rice.

6. The trick is to pour the water slightly to one side of the toilet bowl to create a swirl (don’t know the scientific terms for this :P  Need my nerdy roomie, Cath) and enough momentum to get everything down with minimal water. 

7. Wedge an umbrella between the fan and your AC, that is, if you’re lucky enough to be among the 1% of Indians (or those living here) to have one.  If not, look for a cement shelf.  This will help to redirect the drip off your bed and onto your floor. (See “You’ve Got to Be Kidding Me!”)

8. Close your eyes.   Now gently push your knowledge of the lizards into a small, forgotten corner of your mind.  Tell yourself, “if I don’t see it, it must not be there.”  Ostriches do have strategic instincts, you know.

9. Try heat rash powder, then anti-itch cream.  If all fails, take out your antiseptic ear solution (typically given to you after you get your ears pierced in Canada) which says “solution ideal for heat rash” on it and apply evenly over rash.  Repeat 3 times.

10. Ask the kids helping you to do so.  They’ll either add more sticks and/or blow at the fire, or they’ll remove the twigs from the center of the fire pit.  Yay for a plethora of volunteers that never tire of helping me cook!