reminiscing

here is a something i wrote two weeks ago at 2am while i was reminiscing on the days i spent in india. hope y’all enjoy. 

the days when i would walk to and from the good snack shop (it had so much masala munch, y’all) that was two miles away.

the days when visiting sweet, local friends looked like sitting down and talking about everything under the sun over a cup of tea.

the days that walking through the jungle and getting bit by bugs was the most thrilling way to spend your time (cue jokes about the massive spider bite i got).

the days i would spend a whole 30  minutes washing my feet and shaving my legs, because not having dirt on you made you feel classy.

the days when little girls would come and braid my hair and talk about american life and dreams with me.

the days when sarah and I would sit in our hammocks with blankets at night and talk for hours.

the days when jorah would play survivor because that’s just how we rolled.

the days when “teaching” looked like sitting down at a desk and playing hangman with my students.

the days when the students would share their dreams and “what if’s” with me because all they needed was someone to tell them they could do anything.

the days when getting stopped in the streets by locals to take pictures was normal.

the days i would POUND 5 bags of masala munch because it was cheap and i was a true fiend.

the days when little girls would hold my hand, even to walk 5 feet with me, because we found comfort in friendship.

the days when i would sit on the bamboo ledge for quiet time, but would always end up chatting with the kids who lived at the school.

the days when we would try to teach kids games for class but, because of language barriers, it ended up being mass chaos.

the days when riding on the back of a truck was the best part of my day.

the days when you would think you had a sick tan but in reality it was only dirt.

the days when 40 people shared three bathroom stalls and one shower, which resulted in a lot of bathroom line chatting(lol).

the days when ya girl would eat a whole jar of peanut butter, even though i don’t even like it that much.

the days when i would walk to the meal tent and the girls at the house across the way would be waiting for me to say hi, and if i was lucky, to give me a quick makeover(best makeup artists in town!)

the days (well, technically nights, but to continue the theme we are sticking with…days) when i couldn’t fall asleep because of loud, LOUD drums playing until 6am (shoutout indian weddings).

the days when car horns were their own language.

the days when you would be thrilled to find that a coke was only one month expired, rather than 6.

the days when the whole squad would be in bed by 8 because there was no light in our living space.

the days when cal would come into our room and play volleyball with the team for an hour or so.

the days when we would stay up listening to the “second date update” radio show because, yaknow, quality entertainment.

the days i would spend thanking God for how good He was to me, because everything around me just radiated God’s presence.

there’s a lot i have to say about my time in india. a lot more i have yet to process. how thankful am i that God allowed me to be so radically changed by a country and it’s culture. i hope you catch even a glimpse of my heart for it here.