Choices

As I was going through training for my first mission trip to Gaza, I remember the person leading it telling us that we would probably, at some point in time, when we least expected it, be overwhelmed by how much we have here in the West. She said it came to her one day when picking out laundry detergent in Wegmans-she was overwhelmed by the choices available. I've often wondered if I would ever have a similar experience, but, until now, I hadn't had one.

This week, while shopping with my girl friend (in Target, actually, not Wegmans) I decided I needed to pick up some lotion to combat the dryness in my skin from the crisp fall air. As we walked into the lotion aisle and saw all of the different options available, I started to wonder how people are even able to choose between brands. Because I've been out of the country for a year and a half now, I didn't have a specific brand or type of lotion that I wanted to purchase. As I tried to pick out the best one, I actually became so overwhelmed by the amount of choices there are, I started to panic and, had my friend not been there with me, I think I would have left the store without buying anything!

I think that we in the West are lucky because of how much choice we do have, and I think it is something that we typically don't even realize. I'm reminded again about this topic after my arrival back in Chennai. Everyone here always asks if I like Indian food. My standard reply has lately been, "Yes, but not every day." I do like Indian food, but the idea of eating the same sort of meal day after day makes me loose my taste for it. And when I compare it to all of the different kinds of food I ate during my short visit to the US, I can't help but marvel again at the overabundance of choices: Mexican, steak, sushi, pasta, BBQ, seafood (that's not in a curry sauce) to name a few. People laughed when they asked me what I wanted to eat while I was home and my reply was always "anything that's not rice". But when rice is a staple food and often the most appetizing option, you can easily get tired of it when you are used to having more choices available.

Sometimes, I think this is one of the hardest things to adjust to here (at least for me) and as I am starting to get back into the swing of things here, it is something I am not looking forward to giving up. I guess I will always be an American in that respect, no matter how hard I try to fit in India.

In comparison...

It's hard to miss living in western NY when you hear stories like this: Western NY Digs Out After Record Snow. I mean, first of all, it's middle of October, not even winter yet. Second of all, it's Buffalo; think how creative you have to get to have RECORD snowfalls in Buffalo! *Sigh*

I think it seems especially cruel when I realize that a mere two weeks ago, I was here

at a beach resort in Kovallum.

My roommates and I decided to make the most of our recent four-day weekend and headed out to soak up some sun on beaches of Kerala. It was so relaxing and uncrowded-and because it wasn't quite high season, we were able to swing some good deals on food, shelter and taxis. This was our view from our balconies:

And a few other random shots of the area:

Ethnic Day

Whew! I have much to catch you all up on. I have been running around like crazy for the past couple weeks, vacationing (in India) and preparing for my vacation back to the US. However, now that I have landed stateside, I have plenty of time to relax and catch you up on life in India.

I originally planned to head back on October 5th, but was asked to postpone my trip so that I could finish the batch I had started. However, the batch start got delayed, and when I asked what was going to happen, they told me they would find someone to cover my batch. Um, wait, doesn't that completely INVALIDATE the reason I delayed my trip? Sigh. Although I am not sure whether to ascribe this to an Indian thing or a general management thing...

Luckily, it was a great batch and made me actually want to return to training in India. (Something I was heavily doubting during a previous bad batch.) Here is a picture of us on "Traditional Dress Day" (to celebrate Dusshera-a day to celebrate the triumph of good over evil, ascribed to two different stories). (Yes, I know a saree is not my traditional dress, but I was instructed to wear it!)

Here' s another one with some trainees from a former [good] batch (who are now in process training):