Reah Goes to India: Ragnandagaoh

This is going to be a bit of a pity party post. Hopefully the next one will be better

When we (my parents and I) decided that I would be going to volunteer at "the hospital" I knew that I had no idea what I was getting into. I knew that the various aspects would make this trip extremely hard. What I didn't realize was that I'd actually be right.  Sitting in my cool basement in Canada, I anticipated the heat, the food, and the language barrier; but when one imagines or daydreams about an adverse situation, one usually imagines a positive outcome.... I don't know what I was thinking but it's worse. Even indoors with the fan and the so-called cooler on, there is little respite from the heat. I drink copious amounts of water but I remain dehydrated because I sweat it all out. Plus I have to constantly be "dressed", which means wearing hot sticky churidar pants and a kurta. The food, little can be said about the food because little is all I eat of it; we eat rice at almost every meal. (not even the good kind, only fat Kerala rice...) the only exception is when we eat roti. Now the language barrier is something I only expected to experience with patients...sadly this is not the case. Hindi is spoken everywhere at all times, everyone here prefers Hindi over English, leaving me clueless and mute. Now because the Appachen (grandfather) that built this whole community and hospital died the day before we arrrived family members from all over India have come, and not wanting to intrude on precious family time, we (Ammachi and I) retire to our room at which point I nap out of sheer boredom. Ammachi  can manage because there are other appachas and ammachis to converse with, but I have never felt so lonely. But being in this situation has given me an interesting vantage point, looking in from the outside I can see how this community functions and the family supports itself during the sad times. Hopefully I can start at the hospital soon and give my time here some meaning .  

Another good thing that has come out of my experience thus far is perspective. Coming from a large family ,and a close knit group of friends, I've always been on the inside of these groups, never knowing how it must feel for an outsider. All the instructions my parents once gave us to be more friendly etc to new people suddenly rings true. I hope now that I've been to the other side I can be more welcoming to others in any situation I am in. 

I can only imagine that this sitiuation truly is a test from God. God give me grace.