Very Much Hot!

"Very much hot" is what they say here instead of it's really hot.

I suppose it’s my own fault for traveling to India in the summer months. Even Mr. Vinod told me anyone traveling to Rajasthan in June is stupid. He said this jokingly, of course, but the meaning is still the same.

I’m feeling myself approaching my wit’s end with the heat. Yesterday was the hottest day of the year; the temperature hit a sweltering 118 degrees. I even moved my cot outside last night but I was still so hot I couldn’t sleep. That means I’m tired and cranky and it’s still overwhelmingly hot today. I’m beginning to think I can only take so much of this. I don’t want to begin hating India because of the heat, but that’s what very well might happen.

I have to keep in mind that the monsoon will be coming soon. It was predicted to arrive on June 15th, but we were all brutally disappointed. I was even a little spoiled my first few days here - there was a cold spell and a little bit of rain. I actually had to break out my insulated rain jacket. But since that first week it has been hanging unused on a hook in my room, mocking me.

I should say some nice things about this place. Yesterday was Sunday, the Gram Chetna day off. Rajiv lives in a rented room next door so he spent the afternoon with John and me. We went to this temple in the mountains. Haha. No we didn’t. We drove up to a temple on a hill and walked about 10 minutes to the top. It was quite an intense 10 minutes due to the record breaking heat, but we made it. I now understand why men and women cover their heads in desert lands. I brought a scarf for the off chance I might need it, and ended up wrapping it around my head. The change was unbelievable. Without my head covered I felt like I was frying my brain. With a scarf draped over my head Old Hollywood style, I felt like I was in the shade. It was great.

The temple was cool. There were some old priests there sitting around, eating and smoking ganga. There was another guy playing the drums and singing hymns. John, Rajiv and I ended up sitting on a rug under this thatched roof, hanging out. We must have spent three hours just sitting and doing nothing. At one point I heard an old man voice behind me saying, “I am a disco dancer!” I saw Rajiv and John both looking past me, laughing. I turned around to see a seemingly 100 year old toothless priest doing a shuffle of some sort. When he noticed I had turned to look to did it again. Too funny! After that we headed back down, stopping for chai before getting on the motorbike. We zipped through a few villages, and finally stopped for papaya juice and I picked up some fresh mangos and honey and milk ice cream. Yum.

When we got back the neighbors wanted me to come over and hang out. The neighboring family is so wonderful! It is a mom and her two daughters. Her husband has moved to Mumbai for work and comes back every few weeks. The mom and her two daughters are three of the most beautiful women I’ve seen in India. Since my arrival, I’ve quickly realized that India has some of the most beautiful people I’ve ever encountered. But these three young ladies take the grand prize! And it’s all natural beauty, too. No eyeliner and lipstick, no braces or liposuction. These women are simply perfect. Anyway, I hung out with them for an hour or two. By hanging out I mean they stared at me and I smiled sweetly back at them. It’s interesting how much people can communicate with smiles and awkward hand gestures. If Rajiv is there he can translate, but I think he gets tired of it.

I went back home and did my laundry. Now my dear readers, me hand washing my own laundry is generally a big fat joke. I fill two buckets, putting soap in one and just water in the other. By early evening the water has been cooking in the pipes all day and is fairly hot. Thank god for the hot water! Without it I’d be left completely to my own skills. I’ve given my washing system a name; I call it the punching method. I just grab a chunk of clothes in my fist and punch it in and out of the water until by forearm and bicep gets tired. I feel like this is doing something because the water gets all dirt colored and murky. Then I ring out each article and throw it in the second bucket full of clean water. I rinse out bucket number one and refill it. I repeat the punching method on the second bucket, wringing out the clothes and throwing them in bucket number three. By the third time, the water is usually pretty clear so I move on to the clothes line. I ring the clothes out like a wimp and drape the dripping over the metal clothesline. Then, magically, everything is dry in about 20 minutes. I return to the clothesline to find that most of the stuff has blown off and is in the dirt or near the toilets. But I don’t really care. I shake it out, fold it all up and put it on my clothes shelf. And that’s how I do my laundry.

As diner at Gram Chetna was ready to eat, I received an invitation through Rajiv that the neighbor family invited John and I back over for dinner. Since I love these ladies I jumped at the chance. I had been to the outside of their home several times, but have never been inside the house. I walked through the door and was headed down a long hallway. A room to my right was empty except for the floor being covered with onions. I continued down the hall and entered in the dirt floor main room, which was a big rectangle with half open to the sky. In one corner there was an open fire where the mom and older daughter were frying bread. A fresh, clean tablecloth was laid out on the cot and the younger daughter, Renku, brought us each out a plate. The food was so good! Bread is a staple in all Rajasthani meals and this bread was like a deep fried chipati - amazing. We were given a small dish of onion and potato curry and a huge bowl of sweet rice pudding. I need to get the recipe for this rice stuff before I go home. I think its rice and raisins cooked in milk and sweetened with sugar some mystery spice. Its name is Mary Loves Me.

After dinner they asked if I had any pictures of my family. This being the digital age, I have no printed photos of anything. I told them I could quickly get some pictures on my laptop and bring my computer over. I ran back to Gram Chetna with Renku to sign online. Luckily the connection was quick and I was able to download some to bring back. But then my laptop battery died! So I walked back, defeated, and told them it would have to wait till tomorrow. I don’t know why I was so excited to show them or why I was so bummed to have to wait a day. Maybe it’s because I miss you all so much!