Don't Sigh...

When I finally arrived at the Kadod house I was sweaty as hell, exhausted, and hungry. Priya, the Program Director, and I went to eat dinner that was prepared for us by a nice elderly couple just down the road. I did not realize how small the village was until I actually walked around. Everyone seemed to know everyone else and I sure stood out in my hot pink Indian top.

Priya addressed the couple as Dadhi and Dadha (grandma and grandpa) out of respect. Dadha was a short man who wore a white khurta and pants. He had cute round spectacles that made his eyes magnified and he played the TV so loud because of his hearing it made our ears hurt. Dadhi, a sweet woman who wore a blue sari and watched us eat, continuously telling us to take more and if her food wasn’t good we should tell her.

We sat on the floor to eat our roti, veggies, and what I thought was pumpkin curry. I tore a piece of roti and ducked it into the “pumpkin” but once I placed it in my mouth I thought, this sure does not taste like pumpkin. Maybe their pumpkin is different in Gujarat. I looked at Priya and pointed to it. She said, “oh that’s a mango dessert..”

As soon as we got back to the house, I knew I immediately needed to shower. Priya let me know that there was no running water and that I’d have to use buckets to fill the water. This was fine because in Punjab I showered from buckets as well. We decided to put some water into a bucket only to notice water was pouring out from the other end. We immediately started laughing as I realized that my stay here is going to bring a lot of funny laughter and funny situations. As I was gathering my clothes for my shower the lights went out. Great. Priya and I sat quietly in the living room staring into the darkness. The lights came back on, we sighed, and then they came back off again. Great. Principal Mahida shined his flashlight through the window and said, “Turn off your computer!” Priya and I looked at one another confused, “We don’t have our computer on…”, she said. The lights came back on again, we sighed, and then they came off again. Just then I realized I had packed a flashlight so I start rummaging through my suit case in the dark. The lights came on, we sighed, and they went off yet again. Once I found my flashlight, I joined Priya back on the couch, “okay, if the lights come on again, don’t sigh, just hold your breath”, I said. Suddenly, the lights came back on and I literally held my breath until we were sure it was on for good.