day three

the wall outside shrashi center


i suppose that's a bit deceptive as i am first going to share with you an excerpt from my journal entry on (the last bit of) day two...
today was, fairly uneventful. i slept in, went to raj's cafe, checked email and facebook, visited sanjay's shop and then returned to my room at shrashi. then things got interesting. my roommate, who incidentally is the same person who told me about the guest house, arrived at some point and mentioned that she was going to the evening service at the ag church. she invited me to join her and so, though i was a bit hesitant at first, i did.
as we were getting ready to leave she asked if i had dinner plans. i had none so she asked if i would like to join her and a friend. i again said yes

i wasn't expecting much out of the service but left feeling so overwhelmed by our Father's goodness and love. and, to boot, the woman who founded, alongside her now deceased husband, the church was there and i got to meet her. She was super sweet. and old. and just plain lovely. From there we went to roommate's friend's guest house where i met 6 delightfully intelligent people, most of them PhD's. i learned so much and i think they enjoyed my youth. following a our meal, roommate and i decided to crash an Indian wedding we stumbled upon and OH MY GOODNESS these people know how to throw a party. colorful, loud, and a most beautiful bride. at one point my roommate mentioned how she could tell the bride and groom were really in love. it made me happy. so that was my sunday evening. unexpected, enlightening and really really fun. i'm looking forward to more days like this.


and now, if i haven't yet bored you to death or sleep, day three...i'll make it short.
roommate and i went out to breakfast at a south indian vegetarian cafe. i ended up throwing my resolution to drink only black coffee this year out and had some with milk and sugar. it's made in chai fashion. very sweet, very creamy. so delicious. our next stop was Oxford. if you've heard me talk about this place then i needn't say more. if not, you'll hear all about it someday.
orientation was today. i met some delightful people and...drum roll please...it ended with me being placed at Green Park. it is much like Daya Dan, only all girls ages 8 to 18, i think. this home was not open to volunteers until recently and they have a greater need for them at the moment so Sister Mercy Maria asked me to try it. i still have the option to switch to Daya Dan if i don't think it's where i should be. needless to say, i'm really excited!

on a random note, i don't remember ever seeing cats during my last visit. i saw about 5 of them today and night before last heard one meowing outside our window.

don't cuddle the cats. don't pet the dogs.