(Not) just another manic Monday

Note: I wrote this on Tuesday, but didn’t account for not having internet access for two days.  Welcome to real rural development…..

 

Out in "the field"!

It was a heavy sleep, but I had to wake up.  The driver had switched the engine off and was opening the truck to grab my backs.  I opened my eyes and saw a stone castle in front of me.  Its sign said “guest house 1.”  I had not expected to stay in such a noble building while visiting rural Orissa, India.

But there was no time for wonder.  Sleep could only be kept at bay long enough to come inside and throw on my pjs.  While drifting off, one of the many large ants scurrying around my room crawled onto my arm, so I got up and hanged the mosquito net.  I had also discovered that a disproportionate number of malaria deaths in India took place in Orissa, so it didn’t hurt to be cautious.

My first sensation upon waking was sound.  The lullaby of a gentle rain, in a quiet place.  I looked outside and realized that not only was I staying in a castle, but a castle in an enchanted forest.  It was beautiful.  Amanda, who was staying in the next room, was also up, and we were both hungry, so we went off to find the canteen.

Think fast

When you're hungry, you find new meanings
in everything.  Thanks for sharing
this picture, Dad.

Back in high school, one of my best friends was a guy named Melih.  His family was from Turkey, and they were Muslim.  I didn't know much about Islam, but one day, he mentioned he was fasting.  At our high school, everyone ate lunch at the same time, in the cafeteria.  It seemed lonely to skip lunch every day.  I offered to fast with him.  Mainly because I was a teenager and liked to surprise people.  But also because we were close, and it seemed to easier to fast when you had others around you doing the same thing.

My version of fasting was not by the "book," so to speak.  I was on a 5AM-5PM fasting schedule--no food or drinks during daylight.  I'd wake up at 4:55AM, gulp down some gatorade, maybe a few bites of dry cereal if I was really ambitious, and then wait until 5PM to have anything else.  Ramadan fell during basketball season, which was tough.  But I had the superhuman energy of a 15-year-old, so I managed.