lessons in humility

What a day I had yesterday! Between being called fat, being asked if I was pregnant (mom stop worrying, I'm not :), being told I'm not a stylish dresser, having my pimple pointed out to me, and being told that my husband probably cooks better national food than me, I should be cowering under the covers of my bed forever. It was quite interesting. I'm so glad the boss gave me such a great mood yesterday and a sense of humor to laugh it off. Also, I had quite the scare with a monkey. I had my good towels hanging dry, and when I was in the living room, I saw a monkey climbing up the tree towards the terrace. I was not going to let him take my cushy towels! I went up there, made a ton of noise opening the door in hopes to scare him off, and slowly peeked out the door. The coast was clear - I grabbed a few towels, and glanced over shoulder. There he was - all fat and hairy, perched on the ledge of the terrace, just looking at me. I jumped and ran inside, and made noises at him to leave. He merely sauntered over to the side directly in front of the door and took up another perch - just inches away from my towels! Finally, he ran off, but only to the slanted roof, so I grabbed only the good towels, and ran back in, terrified he was about to leap onto me while I was least expecting it. Believe me, every moment I've been on the terrace since, I've been expecting it. I'm sure I look like a spy, sneaking around corners, looking this way and that. Those monkeys have ruined the terrace time! I think a fake gun is in order.

Last night, we joined Priya and her mother at a temple. We spent a lot of money before leaving for protection, and the boss was faithful. We saw many strange sights: hordes of people, bowing to plastic idols, kissing walls, and lying face down on the ground. In a separate room, there was a major throng of people, all watching a holy man gesturing with incense (almost dancing, really, with a very loud drum in the background) in front of a large plastic scene of idols, and many of the crowd was bowed as well. Then, a man came around with a pot of fire, and people would swipe their hands over it and "wash" their face with the fire. Priya said it was the holy fire of god. On the road to the temple, there were dozens of vendors set up to sell all the holy items to offer to the idols - coconuts, scarves, bananas, incense, etc. We were able to take pictures and will post those in our letter home. Even in the midst of all the glittery gold and sparkling lights, this area is desperately in need of the Light.