what's it like?

I would have paid one thousand dollars the night before I jumped on a plane to head here for an answer to that question. I just didn't know what to expect. I'd never been to India. I had no compartment for this place. My "India Filing Cabinet" contained very few details: "sticky dots" on the forehead, saris, and LOTS of people. I just didn't know what I was in store for when we stepped off the plane!

I remember laying in bed the night before we left. I laughed (probably to keep from crying) and I asked Jason were we crazy- crazy for selling almost everything, crazy for quitting our jobs, crazy for pulling our kids out of school, crazy for committing at least three years of our lives-- and all for a place that we knew NOTHING about. Of course, he quickly assured me that we were not crazy-- we were OBEDIENT. My mind was leaning more towards "crazy."

And when we stepped off of the plane, our craziness was sealed! No one in America has a compartment for this place. There is no way to describe it, there is no comparison for it, and it overwhelms you on so many levels. Our first day in the market pushed every one of my senses to the limit and then went one step further. It's just like nothing I've ever seen, smelled, tasted, heard, or felt before. And every corner holds a new revelation.

I think that's why I quit writing. I knew my words and pictures couldn't adequately explain what we were seeing each day. I would try to put stuff down "on paper," but I couldn't put the smells and the sounds and the temperature and the other billion additions on there that make it a reality. So I chose to experience it first for myself. But now I'm ready to share it with you.

Nothing is the same here... except Oreos. Some of the differences are a loss for us, and some of them go down as gains. Some of the differences find a home in their own little category because we don't know whether they are good or bad, necessary or unnecessary, etc. But what we do know is that life here is a reality for us. We live it every day and we've had to accept it ALL. It greets us each morning whether we like it or not, and the best option for us is to just experience all it has to offer.

With that said, I thought I'd start a new blog series to let you know "what it's like?" I'll try to compare what we know and experience as Americans with what we see and confront each day here in India! I'll do my best to give you all the details, but just remember that a computer screen can only give you a visual sense of India. Without the smells, sounds, smells, heat, smells, and pollution, you just can't fully understand it all! It's truly a world of its own!