Colors Everywhere

Even dirty old dump trucks are saturated with color here! I found this when I got away from work and got into a smaller part of town. I can't say too much for the everyday smells, but the colors are overwhelming in a good way.

And this is how a standard heavy duty construction truck gets decorated. It's not a name like Ford or Chevy, but Tata. 

The Press Wallahs

Meet the press Walli. She is the best. She and her husband do a wash and iron service just next to my home. I always drop off my ironing and practice my hindi.
Between my toddler hindi and her broken English, we converse well. Example:

Walli- This collar is dirty.
Me- Well, I washed it.
Walli- Not good enough, better try again.

And yes, that is a charcoal (koila) powered iron. It probably weighs 8 lbs. So she's no push over.

And just for a price check, 12 shirts are ironed 4 times better than I can do it for 60 Rupees or $1 USD. Worth it.
 

Guess what...

Dinner tonight had some chicken sausage in it. For once, the joke "Guess what... chicken butt" was not funny. But I am still grateful to the cook and for the sustenance.

Hindi learning went so well today that I can't help but thank the Lord. He is good always.

Lunch in an Alley

We found a good place to eat some momos (steamed or fried dumplings) for lunch. The "building codes" take some getting used to around here. The story from the owner is that he once had a food stall in the street at the end of the alley to his house. One day it dawned on him to turn the alley into a building and expand his restaurant. Whatever works.

Interesting fact, the owner also breeds and trains dogs in the courtyard area between his restaurant and his house.



I TOLD you there were monsters under my bed!

It's strange. Although I've barely seen insects outside, specimen inside the house include (but are not limited to) scorpions, 1.5" bees, preying mantis', palm sized spiders, and caterpillars. We told a veteran of South Asia about the bugs and he just smiled. But when we brought up the caterpillar he said, "Was it furry? Oh no. DON'T touch the fury ones!" I guess you can't even trust the cute and fuzzies here.

This guy was about 4 times the length of a lightning bug in the states and had two light on his under-side.                                     These things haven't been a source of anxiety. They add variety from mind-boggling hindi lessons.

 

Call Us Rŏka-Wallahs

Big shout out to K&P Masonry! We used some masonry skills right away. Some of the stairs to terraced gardens needed to be rebuilt. This is what we pulled off in a morning when we had a week to wait for classes to start.  Not bad for not having any tools.

In addition to the full-time task of acquiring language, part of our living arrangement is to be doing handy work around the place. It pays to be handy I guess.

Lookin' Out My Back Door

What a view! Complete with neighbors playing cricket, birds chirping, and the temperature finally dropping from 97F.  I'll be making short posts about the daily routine here.

Keep up with prayer updates to see how work is going here and how you can take part!