Hey, check it out... two posts in a week! Well, I had a couple funny conversations lately and thought I would share with the world. I figure you guys could use a laugh, too. I'll start with this week's celebration: Pongal. This is a Hindu festival observed in South India (where we are!) and marks the end of the harvest season and this link explains: The festival is celebrated for four days. On, the first day, Bhogi, the
old clothes and materials are thrown away and fired, marking the
beginning of a new life. The second day, the Pongal day, is celebrated
by boiling fresh milk early in the morning and allowing it to boil over
the vessel - a tradition that is the literal translation for Pongal.
People also prepare savories and sweets, visit each other's homes, and
exchange greetings. The third day, Mattu Pongal, is meant to offer
thanks to the cows and buffaloes, as they are used to plough the lands.
On the last day, Kanum Pongal, people go out to picnic. I am a bit behind in my Pongal celebration, and did not do any of these things. Next year I'll get it right! I am most intrigued by the third day, where the Hindu folks offer thanks to cows and buffaloes. One of my friends at the office told me that these animals will be painted and hung with flowers in the villages. I was anxiously watching my street today (keep in mind we live in cow-central) to see if any cows were decorated for the festival. Much to my dismay, I saw no costumed cows. So I had to Google this and see how they looked...
Tonight in the office I told my friend I was sad I didn't see any Pongal'd up cows in person and she laughed and said she told me they would only be in the villages. Then my co-manager joined in and said that the economy has severely impacted this festival, as the cost of buying a cow is about 13,000 Rupees (appx $250) and who has that just laying around to paint for a day? I think that's a grand idea and maybe I'll take a collection for next year. I want to see a decorated cow, dang it!
More funny conversations:
- Same friend and me talking about her sister (lives in Colorado) coming next month and she kindly offered to bring any provisions Savannah or I might need. One thing I forgot in the US when I was home are the replacement heads for our electric toothbrush. So the American is now trying to explain why we need an electric toothbrush. We laughed and laughed, but at the the of our conversation, she was convinced it was the best invention ever and was e mailing her sister to pick one up! (Should I be in sales? You're welcome, Oral-B!) So she asks, "How do you use it?" And I am doing brushing motions with my hand and laughing and explaining it's the same as a regular, but does a better job and my teeth are whiter, etc etc. Then she comes back the next day and tells me her sister asked her if she was really so lazy that she needed and electric toothbrush! haha! So then SHE had to explain all the great benefits I had previously explained. Oh, so funny.
- The drivers and me have some terrific conversations. They generally don't include more than about 3-4 words, because less is more when you have a Texas twang and don't speak Tamil. So in the evenings on my way to the office, the driver calls to say he is here, "Hello, madam. Car park waiting." I reply, "OK, thank you. Five minutes." "OK thank you." Then, I walk to the car and he opens the door for me and I say, "Thank you. How are you?" He replies, "Fine, madam. Thank you." Every night. I could record it and play it five days a week. Then the morning driver that takes me home from work tells me, "Good morning, madam." "Good morning, how are you?" "Fine, madam. Straight to house?" "Yes, straight to house, thank you." Sometimes this little guy tries to have a conversation. Poor thing, I imagine one day he thinks we can really communicate. The first morning I was back in the office after our holiday, he asked, "One month leave?" I told him, "Almost! Three week holiday in US." (This is the same driver that picked up Mom & Dad from the airport when they came in October.) He said, "Oh, America?" I told him, "Yes, America. Family. Christmas. New year." He asked, "Mother?" "Yes." "Father?" "Yes." "Sister?" (umm easier to say yes, for sister in law) "Yes, and brother and babies." He was on a roll. "Oh, husband?" "No, no husband." "Ohhhhhhh, no husband?" Me, "No, (I chuckle a little), no husband." Driver - "Oh, sorry, sorry." Um, it's ok, buddy. I am happier, now, thanks. LOL
So I thought that was pretty funny and then over the weekend I was walking Dynamo and a young man in his early 20s or so was asking about him - breed, where he came from, how much did he cost, what does he eat, and then, "Are you here studying?" Me, "No, I am working." Him, "Oh, what company? For how long? What do you do?" Me, "Maersk Line. Ocean freight customer service manager. For 2 years and we came in July." Him, "Oh, your husband is working, too?" Me, "No, no husband. My daughter and me. And Dynamo." His eyes almost popped out of his head in shock. "Your husband is back in the US?" Ummm let's make this easy. "Yes, he's working there." So what I have learned already is that women here don't live alone. They live in ladies' hostels or with their parents or with their husband. But Savannah and me living by ourselves is just unheard of. We are quite the rebels, apparently! As time goes on, I learn more... that even though I am a strong, independent western woman, I still need a husband in the eyes of this culture. Savannah has said it's easier at school to tell people her dad is in the US working, too, and not even mention divorce or anything else.
The pressures of society to conform to marriage is amazing to me. Most girls are married by 25, and majority of those marriages are arranged. One of the young girls in the office had her birthday a couple months back and she was passing out chocolates. She was dressed in bright pink and blue colors, looking very pretty. I complimented her and wished her a very happy birthday. She became very serious and said she did not want be getting older. I laughed and said, "You are SO young - why are you worried about it?! How old ARE you?" "I am already 22 now. My family is saying it is time to begin to search for a husband and get married." Can you imagine??
I have learned lots of about arranged marriages versus love marriages. The younger generation is more outspoken and challenging some traditional ways of thinking. It seems, at least here in southern India, that the older generations do not appreciate it very much, but many figure it's not worth fighting, so they are allowing love marriages. The majority of marriages are still arranged. But love marriages are sneaking up in percentages. There is a young lady in our team who is leaving the company at the end of this month to prepare for her arranged marriage. She is marrying a distant cousin or distant uncle (I can't remember which), which is not uncommon, because the family can then keep the land and property belonging to the family. When a girl gets married, her family must offer a dowry to the groom's family (this was outlawed in 1961 but still happens all the time). So if you marry within the family, then no dowry is required. Makes economical sense, but logical? Guess it depends on who you ask... Lots of interesting thoughts around all this, and I'll save that for another time.
We still appreciate your prayers for Savannah, who is still missing her friends from the visit home. And her three day break from school this week probably didn't help, as she was bored while I slept since I am on NAM schedule and don't take Indian holidays. Too much time to think and not enough to keep her busy. Fortunately, we were able to make plans with our friend Courtney for Savannah to get out of the house tomorrow. She won't be forced to watch the reruns of Two and a Half Men. Again. LOL
Hope everyone is doing well and sending much love from India!
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| Pongal Festivities Moooooooooooo! |
More funny conversations:
- Same friend and me talking about her sister (lives in Colorado) coming next month and she kindly offered to bring any provisions Savannah or I might need. One thing I forgot in the US when I was home are the replacement heads for our electric toothbrush. So the American is now trying to explain why we need an electric toothbrush. We laughed and laughed, but at the the of our conversation, she was convinced it was the best invention ever and was e mailing her sister to pick one up! (Should I be in sales? You're welcome, Oral-B!) So she asks, "How do you use it?" And I am doing brushing motions with my hand and laughing and explaining it's the same as a regular, but does a better job and my teeth are whiter, etc etc. Then she comes back the next day and tells me her sister asked her if she was really so lazy that she needed and electric toothbrush! haha! So then SHE had to explain all the great benefits I had previously explained. Oh, so funny.
- The drivers and me have some terrific conversations. They generally don't include more than about 3-4 words, because less is more when you have a Texas twang and don't speak Tamil. So in the evenings on my way to the office, the driver calls to say he is here, "Hello, madam. Car park waiting." I reply, "OK, thank you. Five minutes." "OK thank you." Then, I walk to the car and he opens the door for me and I say, "Thank you. How are you?" He replies, "Fine, madam. Thank you." Every night. I could record it and play it five days a week. Then the morning driver that takes me home from work tells me, "Good morning, madam." "Good morning, how are you?" "Fine, madam. Straight to house?" "Yes, straight to house, thank you." Sometimes this little guy tries to have a conversation. Poor thing, I imagine one day he thinks we can really communicate. The first morning I was back in the office after our holiday, he asked, "One month leave?" I told him, "Almost! Three week holiday in US." (This is the same driver that picked up Mom & Dad from the airport when they came in October.) He said, "Oh, America?" I told him, "Yes, America. Family. Christmas. New year." He asked, "Mother?" "Yes." "Father?" "Yes." "Sister?" (umm easier to say yes, for sister in law) "Yes, and brother and babies." He was on a roll. "Oh, husband?" "No, no husband." "Ohhhhhhh, no husband?" Me, "No, (I chuckle a little), no husband." Driver - "Oh, sorry, sorry." Um, it's ok, buddy. I am happier, now, thanks. LOL
So I thought that was pretty funny and then over the weekend I was walking Dynamo and a young man in his early 20s or so was asking about him - breed, where he came from, how much did he cost, what does he eat, and then, "Are you here studying?" Me, "No, I am working." Him, "Oh, what company? For how long? What do you do?" Me, "Maersk Line. Ocean freight customer service manager. For 2 years and we came in July." Him, "Oh, your husband is working, too?" Me, "No, no husband. My daughter and me. And Dynamo." His eyes almost popped out of his head in shock. "Your husband is back in the US?" Ummm let's make this easy. "Yes, he's working there." So what I have learned already is that women here don't live alone. They live in ladies' hostels or with their parents or with their husband. But Savannah and me living by ourselves is just unheard of. We are quite the rebels, apparently! As time goes on, I learn more... that even though I am a strong, independent western woman, I still need a husband in the eyes of this culture. Savannah has said it's easier at school to tell people her dad is in the US working, too, and not even mention divorce or anything else.
The pressures of society to conform to marriage is amazing to me. Most girls are married by 25, and majority of those marriages are arranged. One of the young girls in the office had her birthday a couple months back and she was passing out chocolates. She was dressed in bright pink and blue colors, looking very pretty. I complimented her and wished her a very happy birthday. She became very serious and said she did not want be getting older. I laughed and said, "You are SO young - why are you worried about it?! How old ARE you?" "I am already 22 now. My family is saying it is time to begin to search for a husband and get married." Can you imagine??
I have learned lots of about arranged marriages versus love marriages. The younger generation is more outspoken and challenging some traditional ways of thinking. It seems, at least here in southern India, that the older generations do not appreciate it very much, but many figure it's not worth fighting, so they are allowing love marriages. The majority of marriages are still arranged. But love marriages are sneaking up in percentages. There is a young lady in our team who is leaving the company at the end of this month to prepare for her arranged marriage. She is marrying a distant cousin or distant uncle (I can't remember which), which is not uncommon, because the family can then keep the land and property belonging to the family. When a girl gets married, her family must offer a dowry to the groom's family (this was outlawed in 1961 but still happens all the time). So if you marry within the family, then no dowry is required. Makes economical sense, but logical? Guess it depends on who you ask... Lots of interesting thoughts around all this, and I'll save that for another time.
We still appreciate your prayers for Savannah, who is still missing her friends from the visit home. And her three day break from school this week probably didn't help, as she was bored while I slept since I am on NAM schedule and don't take Indian holidays. Too much time to think and not enough to keep her busy. Fortunately, we were able to make plans with our friend Courtney for Savannah to get out of the house tomorrow. She won't be forced to watch the reruns of Two and a Half Men. Again. LOL
Hope everyone is doing well and sending much love from India!
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