some days my heart and mind move all over the place. to more places than one could imagine, really.
this morning i was sitting with the training ladies at one of our units. we've been working on the skill of holding and using a pencil...coloring...writing shapes...shape recognition...and then today was the day that we showed her how to write her own name...something she had never done before...
...and then i watched her do it...
...talk about amazing.
and what's hilarious is that the first time in her life that she wrote her name she wanted to erase it and do a better job. she wanted it to be perfect...i told her that slowly slowly it would become perfect.
i went to the bank...
grabbed some lunch...
did some "paper work-y" stuff that needed to be done...
and then brooke and i went visiting in the Gach.
i love visiting. i love it. i haven't been able to go the past couple weeks cause of other conflict...so i was excited to see some friends...to hang out.
...and next thing you know i'm sitting in a narrow alley with about 8 women telling stories...joking...laughing...and then the ladies chase off a man who is too interested in me...and then more stories...questions...telling them what i cook, and why my in-laws would think i was crazy if i married a bengali man...and then customers come...and off they go...sometimes called by name. sometimes called with a look...and then more questions...stories...how many sisters do you have? what have you eaten...when am i going to learn Hindi?...
...it's a bit disorienting...one minute you're laughing and telling silly stories with someone, and the next minute they "chosen" by a customer....
so here i sit...reflecting on the hours we just spent visiting...smiling and full of joy cause of new friendships and funny conversations...and simultaneously heavy-hearted by some of the bizarre interactions that i just can't shake out of my mind right now...what a strange combination of loving the time that i get to spend in those alleys...and the reality of that place...after all, we're not at hanging out at a coffee shop...
all in a day...oh the places my heart goes...
this morning i was sitting with the training ladies at one of our units. we've been working on the skill of holding and using a pencil...coloring...writing shapes...shape recognition...and then today was the day that we showed her how to write her own name...something she had never done before...
...and then i watched her do it...
...talk about amazing.
and what's hilarious is that the first time in her life that she wrote her name she wanted to erase it and do a better job. she wanted it to be perfect...i told her that slowly slowly it would become perfect.
i went to the bank...
grabbed some lunch...
did some "paper work-y" stuff that needed to be done...
and then brooke and i went visiting in the Gach.
i love visiting. i love it. i haven't been able to go the past couple weeks cause of other conflict...so i was excited to see some friends...to hang out.
...and next thing you know i'm sitting in a narrow alley with about 8 women telling stories...joking...laughing...and then the ladies chase off a man who is too interested in me...and then more stories...questions...telling them what i cook, and why my in-laws would think i was crazy if i married a bengali man...and then customers come...and off they go...sometimes called by name. sometimes called with a look...and then more questions...stories...how many sisters do you have? what have you eaten...when am i going to learn Hindi?...
...it's a bit disorienting...one minute you're laughing and telling silly stories with someone, and the next minute they "chosen" by a customer....
so here i sit...reflecting on the hours we just spent visiting...smiling and full of joy cause of new friendships and funny conversations...and simultaneously heavy-hearted by some of the bizarre interactions that i just can't shake out of my mind right now...what a strange combination of loving the time that i get to spend in those alleys...and the reality of that place...after all, we're not at hanging out at a coffee shop...
all in a day...oh the places my heart goes...
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