Two days left....

So today is Thursday which means that we only have two days left in Kanpur. Then we will be going up to Delhi Saturday to attend church this weekend, then off to Amritsar on Monday. We get back from Amritsar Wednesday and then hang out in Delhi until our flight leaves Friday night.

I have to admit that this week has been going by very slowly. Not that that is bad... I think that it is because it is a major change, so we are anticipating it more. Also, Kevin is finally really busy so I spend more time alone. It is....I don't know what it is but we are leaving in two days and Kevin was finally given work to do last week. Now his prof. is shocked that we are leaving so soon. I don't get it. So Kevin has been working day and night trying to get as much done as he can and writing up reports for the students that will be taking over the project once he leaves. He also has to close the bank account and tie up all the loose ends here. I would do it to help him out but everything is in his name. Oh well, at least he'll have some work to show for all our time out here.

So I went today to pick up my Salwar Kameez. Sheba went with me to the tailors to make sure he made it the way I wanted. She also made sure he said it would be done by Thursday (today). When we left she told me that I should stop by every day to ask how it is coming. I was asked her why (cause it is HOT and I honestly don't want to go out there every day to check on him), and she said, "well, if you want it done by Thursday you need to keep reminding him."
I think it is so strange that he would say it will be done on Thursday but actually not really mean it. I stopped by the next day and looked in, but got busy on Wed. So when I went to get it today, of course it wasn't ready. The guy seemed upset that I actually expected it to be done. I said "but it is Thursday. You said Thursday." He would just frown and look at me like I was the crazy one. I told a fib and said that I was leaving Friday. I felt bad saying that, but I have had some experience now and I know that if I don't push him, he won't have it done. He asked if I could get it on Friday and I said, "maybe, if it is in the morning." He frowned and said that he would have it for me by 8 pm tonight. I agreed. But as I walked away, I was worried that he was going to do a shoddy job of it because he will be in a hurry and isn't happy that I actually expected him to have it done the day he said he would. Maybe I worry too much though, it will be fine.

The thing is that that experience is strange and a bit shocking for me, but it seems to be the norm here. I guess if that is just the way that things are done, then people are used to it and so they keep doing it. He was probably shocked at my confusion that it wasn't done on time.

I guess this hits me more than other people because it is one of my pet peeves when people just tell you what they think you want to hear and don't mean it. That has always bothered me. Here I just have to deal with it a lot more often. And for a profession to do that is nearly unheard of! Or was for me. I soon won't have as many of those encounters though, I look forward to that.

Tomorrow I get to see if we really can fit all of our stuff into our luggage! I am starting to doubt that it will all fit. I have packed up most of it, but it is the odds and ends and little things that we need to use every day that don't have a place yet. Wish me luck!

Well, I am off to teach! Only two more violin lessons left. I have been sure stacking on the new things for Stephen but he soaks it all up. I pointed out yesterday that I was giving him a lot of new stuff, and if it was confusing or too much for him to just tell me. He responded that he wants to learn as much as he can before I go. I loved hearing that. I am sad to leave him, he is a great student, hard working and a real love and thirst for it. sigh.....

Wonderfulness!

Hello! Today I write to you from a luxurious AIR CONDITIONED room!!! Yay! We finally got put into an air conditioned room at the hostel. Well, I say finally but really we only asked about it a few days ago. We kept thinking that we could stand the heat, but after our 4th night of no sleep I told Kevin that we had to do something about it. He is more able to sleep in the heat, but it is a restless sleep. If I slept at all, it was for about a half hour at a time. Even thinking about it makes my head hurt.

So last night was our first night in the new room and it was so so nice. I still had a little trouble sleeping, but it was not because it was too hot at least! I think I will do just fine here. I also will be able to move around during the day and be more productive cause I won't be "melting". I am sure that our old room was around 95 degrees at night. CRAZY. It really made me feel for all the people here who live without electricity or air conditioning year round. I couldn't do it.

In just a few minutes I am going to meet Sheba at the tailors here on campus. We went shopping in the market Saturday and I bought a fabric set for a salwar kameez. I had originally decided not to buy one since we are leaving in 2 weeks, but she really wanted to take me and I really did want one. I promised myself I would wear it when we host some parties or something. Especially our "show off India" party that we will have in Kansas when we get back. So I bought a whole suit with embroidery stitching for 700 rupees, about 14 dollars. Then you take it to a tailor and they measure you and have it ready for you in about 3 days! She is meeting me there this morning so she can tell the tailor The style that I want. I am excited about it. I really wish that I had done it sooner though!

Shopping with Sheba was fun, and I liked the experience of going to the market. I am glad that I got that experience in before we left.

After shopping with Sheba on Saturday, we met up with Kevin and Sundar and the rest of the family, Sam, Stephen, and Srishti at a nice restaurant that evening. We ordered so many good dishes that I had never tried, none of them spicy though. Kevin ate some but got dizzy and felt weird and couldn't eat anymore. The spell passed in about 30 minutes but he was disappointed that he didn't get to eat more of the good food. I don't know what is going on with him, he has been having these weird dizzy spells every once in a while for the past month or so. But every time they are a little different and it is usually when he eats after not eating for a long time. I really hope that it is nothing serious. We are pretty sure it has to do with how his neck and back are out of whack and he really needs a chiropractor. We are praying that he will not get worse while we are here and can get "fixed" as soon as we get back. So strange.

So for me, all except Kevins weird spell, Saturday was a really fun and different day.