Last year, my husband, son and I went to India to live for 3 1/2 months while my husband took a temporary assignment for his company. We left the United States the day after Thanksgiving. Yes, I was somehow able to work remotely from India - that's a whole other story.
To say I was in for an awakening is an understatement. The experience completely changed my life and how I live on a daily basis. I had no idea how ignorant I was about the daily struggles to survive that many people in this world go through.
The basic necessity in life....water. There was not a public water system where we lived; the 5th largest city in the country. Water was trucked in each day and pumped into our building. This water was not clean enough to drink nor cook with, we had to use bottled water for that. But, we lived like kings. Most people lived in villages where the water truck delivers "sometimes" to one pump and the residents have to fetch their water. Yes, this is the water they drink and cook with - bathing is done in the river. In the slums, the water is turned on for just 2 hours per day to deliver water to about a million residents. There wasn't a sewer system either.
Food. I'll never forget the day my son dropped an apple on the floor and it became bruised. I threw it away and got him another one. That afternoon, when the attendant came to empty our trash, he saw the apple, picked it out of the trash and put it back on the kitchen counter for me. He never would have thrown away a piece of food like that. We often complained about having to eat the same thing, every day, over and over. Then it became obvious that food wasn't an "event" to this culture as much as it was a form of sustaining life.
The society of "haves" and "have-nots" = no middle class. The village you are born into determines your destiny. My driver apologized profusely one day for missing the previous day at work. He explained that his mother-in-law had breast cancer and was in the hospital. When I told him to take the day off and go visit her, he replied, "No, m'am, we don't want to visit for fear we will catch her sickness". The fact that the doctor allowed this ignorance to go on without correction infuriated me. Fortunately, I was able to fix that.
The children (those who were lucky enough to be born into a village that was permitted to attend school)
were separated into classrooms according to religion.
Shelter. I remember watching a documentary one evening on TV about a charity organization trying to count the homele
ss in the city. I wondered, how was it even possible to define homelessness since "home" to so many was a tarp-tent or a small cave up in the rock formations.
Our holidays. It was very hard to not see Christmas as a celebrated holiday. I got a very small taste of what it must feel like to be in the religious-minority. To be out shopping a week before Christmas and not see any decorations, no gift-wrapped packages and no Salvation Army bell ringers...it was tough. I think what I missed the most though was the "feeling" of the holidays. Do you know what I mean? When you leave the grocery check out and the cashier says, "Happy Holidays!". We had our own, small Christmas celebration of course, but the "special time of the year around us" was missing.
So, this year, I am deeply, soulfully thankful for all I have. Turning on the faucetto see clear, sparkling water is a beautiful sight. Having delicious, unspoiled food in my kitchen to feed my family and friends is a blessing. Walking in a front door to a warm home with heat, electricity, 4 walls and a roof to keep us safe...we are so fortunate.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Tina in Virginia
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Tina Merritt and Assoc. can be reached at email: tina@tinamerritt.com or 757-287-6338.
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Tina! This is VERY encouraging. We do have so much to be thankful for and I appreciate you taking the time to share your experience...