Surprising Spring
Spring is here! We have now officially made it through our first freezing cold winter, and are collecting our reward: the small but spectacular signs of nature’s rebirth all around us. It seemed to come so suddenly: one morning we walked out of our house and realized the sun felt warm on our faces. We looked up and our neighbor’s tree had exploded into blossoms. The next day, walking along the stream, we noticed that the trees had sprouted new green leaves, and the field beyond was carpeted with velvety grass.
This time of year seems almost magical after months of grey chill. The bright leaves and flowers came out of nowhere, suddenly covering what had been bare brown branches.
The grey dirt of the field seemed dead, and now life is pushing up from every square millimeter. Spring comes as an annual reminder that appearances can be deceiving; just because something looks dead doesn’t mean it is. Life has a way of breaking through and taking us by surprise.
Isn’t that what we call resurrection? As if to get me in the mood for Easter, these boats on the lake lined up like so many colored eggs under the warm spring sun. 
The boatmen are getting them ready for the tourists who will soon be flocking to the lake, along with the migratory birds. Perhaps the nicest signs of spring are the smiles on the faces of the boatmen, their families, and the rest of our neighbors, who feel the sun’s touch of warmth not just on their faces, but in their hearts. And may that warm touch bring new hope to life as well.
Posted in Uncategorized and tagged spring by Lisa
Snow Play
What do you get when you expect the unexpected?
Here’s one thing: Muslims playing in the snow! 
When most people think of Islam, they think of a desert religion. There’s good reason: it’s a tradition that was born in the sands of Arabia and extended its reach on the backs of camels. The most common images of Muslims that come our way include hot sun, tents, and turbans. But here we are, living among Muslims in the foothills of the Himalayas, and there’s a lot more snow around than sand!
After a dry winter, March has brought late, heavy snow. Last Sunday we took our landlord and his family along for a day in the mountains to enjoy some snow play. We drove about an hour and a half up to a summer resort area where there was a good two feet of fresh, clean powder on the ground. Our landlord managed to connect with an old friend who lives there, and he found someone to rent us a sled. My husband took our landlord’s 3-year-old son for short but thrilling sled rides down a hillside. The rest of us couldn’t tell which of the two “boys” enjoyed it more! 
The snow was falling around us in slow, fat flakes. Other people were building snowmen and having snowball fights. We ended our visit with lunch and tea back at the home of our landlord’s friend.
Our day out in the snow was a nice change for all of us from the usual routine of study and housework. Does it surprise you that Muslims get excited about snowball fights and sledding? That they laugh when they roll off the sled at the bottom of the hill, and need help knocking the snow out of their boots? When we reach out and love people who seem so different than we are, we often find that they’re more like us than we expected.
Posted in Uncategorized and tagged sledding, snow by Lisa
The Ladies’ Coach
We just got back from a short trip to Delhi, where we renewed our passports, saw some friends, and did a little shopping and sightseeing. In an effort to save money on taxis (and avoid Indian road rage) we tried riding the Delhi Metro around town. And I made a fun discovery: the Ladies’ Coach!
A flowery pink sign at each station designates the waiting area for the “women only” metro car; on most lines, it’s the first car. When riding with my husband, I felt fine in any of the other cars, where the riders were mostly men, or couples or families riding together. But I wanted to try the Ladies’ Coach, so on a return trip we separated and I waited under the pink sign. There weren’t many women in the car I rode in, although quite a few got on at the stop near the mall! I spotted several mother-daughter pairs. 
Two women across from me seemed to be planning a dinner party; I overheard snatches of conversation about guests, chairs, and quantities of food. One young woman got on pulling a large, bright-pink suitcase; I wondered if she was headed off on a trip, or maybe returning home.
My stop was at the end of the line, and as I exited the car I asked the women behind me if they always rode the Ladies’ Coach. They nodded, and said that they probably wouldn’t ride the metro if there wasn’t a women-only car. If you’re interested in the kinds of conversations women have on the Delhi Metro, see this BBC article, “Overheard on the Ladies’ Coach”:
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-30657144
OK, LA Metro, how about it?
Posted in Uncategorized and tagged metro by Lisa
“I’m Happy, Very Happy!”
I loved our language lesson today, for the joy it brought our language helper. Now that we’re heading into intermediate level, we’re experimenting with some new types of language activities. Today we tried a “shared experience” for the first time. In this activity, we do some kind of experience with our language helper. Afterwards, we sit down and reminisce together about what we did, talking in as much detail as possible. Then we make a recording of our language helper retelling the story of our experience from start to finish. We end by listening to the recording together and noting down new vocabulary words, expressions, and structures for further practice.
This morning I needed a few groceries, so we decided to make a trip to the shop the subject of our language lesson. Together with Minou, our language helper, we walked the few blocks to the bazaar on the main street of our town. We talked about the weather (clear and sunny), the dog asleep in the middle of the road, and the woman hanging laundry on a wire fence. Two older men passed us, and we overheard one say to the other, “Where do those foreigners come from?” and we looked at each other and smiled. We arrived at the shop and bought yogurt, sugar, and eggs, and asked the shopkeeper about his family and his apple orchard. We walked back home and greeted neighbors on the road. A woman passed us on the way to the market with a tub of fish on her head.
As we reached home and took our shoes off at the door, Minou said, “I’m happy, very happy!” I looked at her and saw the brightest eyes and biggest smile I’ve ever seen on her face. She said, “You speak very well! I’m very happy!” She repeated this again as we sat down at our kitchen table to continue the lesson. I realized that, although she’s been giving us lessons for several months, she had never seen us out in the community actually interacting with people. She was surprised and pleased at how well we were doing. As I saw her face lit up with joy, I could sense that she was proud of us, and proud of herself, too. I’m a language teacher myself, so I understand that kind of joy. The success of the morning’s experience probably meant more to her than her week’s wages. She saw her efforts making a difference in our lives.
Posted in Uncategorized by Lisa