what's it like?- appliances

Just before coming to India, Jack very seriously approached me with some information regarding India.  He proceeded to tell me he KNEW "that we wouldn't have electricity in India, and it was like a desert."  I was humored by several parts of his misinformation.  First, we do have electricity, even though we've spent our fair share of days in power outages.  Secondly, we don't exactly live in a desert, but I can see where it can get confusing, as we've experienced temperatures of 115 and above the last week.  But the funniest part to me was that he actually thought I would move somewhere that didn't have electricity!  He must think pretty highly of me... but I assure you- this girl needs power.

Even though his information was a little off, many things that work off of that electricity are in fact very different from what we are used to.  The appliances are a little different and have taken some effort to get accustomed to them!  I thought you might enjoy seeing a few things in our house and learn how things work.  Let's start in the kitchen.

Probably the most important appliance in our kitchen is our water filter.

Here's the quick version of our water system.  Twice a day the water manager in our colony turns on the pump that fills a black tank on our roof with water.  (Disregard the family picnic that is going on in this picture.  It was my only shot of the water tank.)

Then the water from this tank flows down when we turn on faucets, showers, and washing machines.  It's definitely not drinkable though.  It would probably make us very sick, hence, making the water filter a MUST!  We get our drinking water from the filter.  We, also, use the filtered water for washing vegetables/fruits or when cooking with water that will not be boiled or cooked at a very high temperature.

My next favorite appliance would be my stove top.  I never cooked with gas before coming to India, but now that I've used it, I'm not sure I'll be able to go back.  I didn't know it was possible for water to boil so quickly!

Stovetops and ovens aren't typically a set here in India.  Instead, we have small, very small ovens that sit on our counter tops.

It is larger than a toaster oven from America, but not much larger.  I can fit a small baking pan in there, but a typical 9 x 13 baking dish wouldn't quite make the cut.  It makes cooking interesting and keeps me planning ahead when making dinner.  I can only cook one thing at a time in it usually, and the cooking times in my oven tend to be way longer.  As an added bonus, it is a great heater.  It releases enough heat to drastically raise the temperature in my kitchen.  Sometimes it can be hard to appreciate that quality though when your house temperature is 95 degrees.   It's safe to say that cooking in this heat is not for the faint!

Another appliance that sits high on the wall above the sink is a small water heater.

This might not be an important appliance to all families, but this family likes butter and has been known to fry a thing or two.  Cold water just doesn't do the trick when washing those dishes.  This little guy gives us about 10 seconds of "fry-your hand-off" water, but it's worth it to get the dishes squeaky clean.

Our refrigerator (no picture) is just like something you'd see in America.  It's the style with the freezer on top of the fridge.  The biggest difference and adjustment for me has been that it doesn't have an automatic ice maker.  You might not think very often about your dear ice maker, but let me assure you- those things are a jewel!  Ice trays have become a new friend in our house.  One of the added features is the alarm that sounds when you leave the door open too long. The alarm is the tune of "Jingle Bells."  How funny that they use a Christmas song in a country where Christmas isn't even celebrated!

Our hot water in the bathrooms works a lot like the kitchen.  The only difference is that the water heater is a little bigger.

The hot water is NOT endless, but thankfully we have pretty large heaters and can take lengthy showers!  Good thing, because Jack could spend the evening in there.

You've seen some pictures of Max after a hard day in India:

No doubt a washing machine is NECESSITY!  Our is a good old Whirlpool and gets those clothes sparkling white!

The difference lies in its location.  Our machine is outside- no laundry rooms here!  The cover on it helps keep off a little of the dirt that is so wildly popular in India.

My favorite appliance just might be the dryer.  It's simple to work.  It has two cycles- "day time" and "night time."

I recommend "day time."  In the hot season, clothes dry in about 1 hour.  If you leave them overnight, it's okay.  I find that your clothes may be a little "crustier" than before, but you learn to live with that.  A huge reminder is to use Downy in every wash cycle.  It makes your jeans bendable and your underwear soft.  The only downfall of the "dryer" is monsoon season.  I've rewashed my fair share of clothes that didn't make it out of the rain in time!

Last, but most definitely not least, are the air conditioners.  Central heat and air is not typically found in homes.  So we installed AC's in each bedroom and in the den.  The bedrooms have window units.  They do a fair job cooling, but my favorite thing about them is the noise!  India stays up LATE and these Americans appreciate the hum of our AC when we climb into bed at 10 PM each night.

The family room has a split unit AC.  It does a much better job of cooling, but they are more expensive than window units.  They are also quiet!

We typically run our AC's at night, but the "AC Nazi" (otherwise known as Jason) will occasionally allow us to run them during the day.  Even though we don't run them much, our bill is very comparable to America.  Cool air is definitely not cheap!

That's just a small look at a few things in our house.  We have lots of small appliances as well, but most of them are the same ones you use every day!  If we ever leave India, I think I'll actually miss a few of the things mentioned above!  But you can still think of me when you pull your soft, warm clothes out of the dryer!  Some things just aren't replaceable! :)

five on friday

1.  Guess who made it to Bhopal?  Jack's and Max's "Coco"... Jason's "Mama"... or my "Mother-in-Love!"  We got up extra early to pick her up at the airport.  Despite thinking we were late, we were actually a few minutes early, so we waited patiently for our first glance at her.  

When we did finally get a look at her,  we were separated.  So while she waited on her luggage, we passed the time by taking pictures of each other!



This is the place where I would post the pictures of us seeing her for the first time in almost 11 months, but with all the excitement, there are no pictures of that moment! :(

Even though she was terribly tired from the time difference, there was no rest for the weary.  After unpacking her bags and ooh-ing and aah-ing over the fun things she brought us, she and Jack got right to work on Legos.




We looked around town a little, and she and Jason took a scooter ride.



I'm sure I'll have more of our fun in the days to come, but for now, she's had her Ambien and is safely tucked in for the night.  We are hoping she gets a good night's rest so we can show her around tomorrow!

2.  She brought some awesome things with her.. toys for the boys, prizes for Jason and I, much needed necessities that aren't available in India like deodorant, and snacks.  But she had something else packed in those suit cases.  Would you believe she smuggled RIBS into this country?  My new best friend, Greg Reed, hooked us up!!!!!!

Before Jason could even heat them up, he and Jack were sampling them.





After the horribly LONG 10 minutes to warm them up, we sat down to enjoy our first ribs in almost 11 months!





Greg Reed- you have no idea how much we enjoyed them!  And what started out like this...



...ended like this!



Thanks a million!  They were so worth it!

3.  After a short trip to town, we returned home to find that plate of rib bones was empty.  The culprit was this sweet girl....

She may never eat dog food again!  Lucy would also like to say "Thank You", Greg!

4.  Evidently, Max got word that Coco was coming soon.  So this week, he added some fun things to my calendar.   Looks like we'll start this week by doing "X" every day.  New week, we'll add in a little "M", and we'll close out the month with some "A."  After writing on my walls a few weeks ago, we worked to drive home the point that we ONLY write on paper.  Obviously we should be more specific about the paper! :)

5.  In addition to being a graffiti artist, Max has a huge obsession with lining up Hot Wheels cars.  These crazy formations can be found all over our house.  I sure am going to miss these "parking lots" one day.  I had to snap a picture this week so I wouldn't forget what made his heart smile when he was 4!



And just because my life is so interesting this week, I'll add a BONUS to five on friday!

6.  We have a new pet--- a BABY!

He welcomed Coco today!  I'm not sure she's as thrilled about our pets as the boys are!  Try not to be jealous of our luxurious life!  Happy Friday!

five on friday

1.  In case you didn't know, Mother's Day is Sunday.  Believe it or not, my neighborhood put on a Mother's Day program last night.  I attended out of curiosity.  Little did I know that halfway through the program I'd be called up to tell about celebrations of Mother's Day in America as well as give a speech about my own mother.  I hate you missed my heartfelt words about you, Mama.  You would have been so proud! :)  Impromptu is not really my thing!  I'm pretty sure I was the worst part of the program!

2.  After hearing all the children say wonderful things about their mother, I came home and asked my boys what they would say about me if someone asked them.  Jack said he'd say "[I am] beautiful."  Max chimed in and said, "Mama- I'd say you're HOT!"  No presents needed when your kids shower you with words like that!

3.  We're stepping out these days in India.  We hired a cook this week.  Jason got tired of eating Pringles for lunch, so he insisted we find someone to help.  Lalita comes every day at 11:00 and by 12:00, there' s a piping hot meal ready and waiting.  I still fix the occasional PB&J for the picky four-year-old, but Jack dives right in!

4.  I'm not sure if you know, but we are expecting our second guest in India next week.  Jason's mom is coming!  We are so excited to see a familiar face and show her all around.  Mrs. Delba- I'll be sure to let Lalita know you're coming.  We'll prepare a big Indian spread in honor of your arrival!  :)


5.  And last, but not least- I wanted to introduce you to my sweet friends.  You might have seen them in yesterday's post.  This is Vishesh (Vee-shesh) and Vanshiika (Von-Sheek-Uh), our househelper's children!


I'm pretty sure they love me mainly because I have an iPad.  But I have other great qualities.  I play a mean game of "kitchen" with Vanshiika, and I even pretend to talk on the phone in Hindi!  Vishesh knows I'll feed him a whole bag of chips at each visit with a big cup of apple juice so that keeps him coming back.  I love to see them trailing behind our house helper in the mornings, but lately they stop by at all times of the day just to hang out!  I love making new friends--- even small ones!  

the hunt

In India, our home has become a haven.  A place that is familiar, safe, predictable--- many of the things that India is not.  But just outside those comfortable walls is a colony of people that still do not know or understand the love of Jesus.  So when Easter rolled around, we knew we wanted to spotlight the REAL reason that we celebrate this holiday.  Since this was our first outreach opportunity we started small and invited all of the children to an Easter Party.  And with the help of some sweet church friends in the States, we had everything we needed to pull it off... plastic eggs, Easter grass, and American candy!

A few days before, I made the rounds and invited all the children.  Our party was set for Sunday morning at 9:30.  At 8:30, our gate looked like this:



India is known for tardiness, but from what I understand, the children don't fit that stereotype.  I also learned that parents do not attend parties with their children- instead, they send almost 30 of them, many of whom speak only Hindi, ALONE!  At 9:30 I bravely opened the gates and we started with a few games.  We really wanted to play the obligatory Egg Toss, but we were leery since many of the children are "non-veg."  So we went with a few other traditional Easter games like the Egg and Spoon Race.

These boys showed them how it was done though.

 

And even in India, it's tempting to "hold" the egg...  otherwise known when I was a kid as "cheating!"





We also played Pass the Egg but we used our elbows.

They were great sports.  But all those games helped work up quite an appetite, and no party is complete without snacks.  

Serving food was mass chaos.  I've lost my knack for controlling large groups of children.  There were kids everywhere.  Food everywhere.  Drinks everywhere.  But I think they all left full.

While they ate, I dished out seconds, and Jason hid over 400 Easter eggs.  After the food, it was time for the hunt.  

Since these children had never participated in an Easter egg hunt, we had to give out some instructions. We explained that the eggs were hidden all throughout the grassy area.  As always, our final rule was allow the smaller kids to get the most obvious eggs.  Unfortunately we didn't realize that those were the only eggs ANYONE would see.  After some extra clues about where they could find the eggs, they were ready to hunt eggs.

They combed through every bush, shrub, and blade of grass.  I don't know if they found EVERY egg, but they tried their best.

This little guy didn't do too shabby himself!

The prize eggs were a little tricky to find, but a few kids went home a little richer and lot happier!  At the end, they all gathered under the gazebo to ramble through their loot.  We certainly wanted to send them home with the love of Christ, so we printed out cute little books that clearly share the story of Easter.  Since getting them to stand in line for chips was impossible, we knew a 10 minute sermon on the Gospel was out of the question!  Taking the books home gave them something to take with them, and it also put something in the parents' hands!  We wanted them to know that even more important than Easter eggs is the love of Jesus Christ.

30 children can do some major damage!  But we loved every minute of it.  We are prayerful that the seeds we sow will begin to sprout... starting right here in our neighborhood!







 *** I wanted to say a HUGE thank you to Old Oak Grove Baptist Church and Macedonia Baptist Church for  helping us out with this project!  You all are such a special part of our lives and ministry and we are so grateful for your continued support and prayers!  Much love from the Marlins!