Sornson Family Invades India

can i even begin to explain to you how amazing it was to have my family visit me here in india? are words even enough to TELL the experience? it was like two separate worlds collided, but in a good way. i felt more like me with them here. somehow, when you’re in a foreign place with people who you have such a short history with, it’s easy to adapt yourself to fit the place and the people. this is good to an extent, but often, you let go of parts of ‘you’ in the process. them being here, in this place and with these people, reminded me of those things and helped me replace them again. i’m more me now…or at least, an evolved me. our indian invasion goes as so…

16 march
dad and i spent the day recovering from project trip and the infamous day in agra…i.e. we slept a lot. we explored delhi some and got a better idea of what we wanted to do when the family arrived. it’s nice to have my dad here…kind of a trial run, a small taste of what it will be like when the other five arrive.
we left in what we thought was plenty of time to pick them up at 9:30pm when their flight arrived. guess Someone had His hand in this reunion because literally as we walked through the doors, they walked out of customs, their flight 30 min early. seriously. when are flights early in india? ah well. my family is in india and oh, i had forgotten how wonderful mom hugs are! we all stood on the balcony of our hotel room for an hour, just catching up and watching the activity below. their first glimpse of india. what a sight.

17 march
probably the toughest day of their visit. we woke up with the sun to catch the morning train. the coolies hounded us more than ever to take our bags and i fought them off until they agreed to our price. still trying to con us at the end, i had to use my fingernails to make them let go of our bags. don’t let this innocent face fool you. if provoked, i can be vicious. i loved watching my family take in the sights from the train window…so much to see, endless entertainment flying by their view. a taxi up to mussoorie and finally to my mountains. oh, how i’ve missed them! the reservations i had made at the guest house had been changed and we were given rooms different then the ones originally intended. [i might add that EVERY single one of the hotel reservations i had made prior to their visit had to be remade or changed. india just doesn’t do reservations well] all were tired and weary, leaky rooms without showers was the last thing on their list of ‘things to experience’. but they were troopers and sucked it up. we’re not on a vacation, we’re here for an adventure, was their attitude. we walked my favorite loops and ate dinner with my eMi family. jet lag set in early and all were tucked in bed with hopes of things looking a little brighter and better the next day.

18 march
and they were. we ventured out into the city to visit CNC [chrch of nations chrch] and as i expected, my indian family there welcomed them with open arms. wrshp is a bit more lively here than at home but they jumped right in. we explored a bit before returning to the top of the mountain. one of the editor’s for the perspective’s curriculum i took last year is a good friend of ours here and each week we gather at his house for dinner and teaching. though our meetings have ceased for the year, a special one was called in honor of my family and we were much enlightened and inspired. this day ended far better than the last.

19 march
all lovers of the great outdoors, we went for a hike in the morning to flag hill. thankfully, the sky was relatively clear and they were allotted a spectacular view of the vast himalayas in the distance. we played around, laughed until my stomach hurt, and indulged in starbursts and cheez-its. oh, how good they tasted! the evening was filled with dining and shopping as asha and mumta joined us for a time in the bazaar. gifts for friends were bought and a real, puckah indian dinner was had. tandori chicken and buttered naan being their favorite. our evening excursion even included a ride on the infamous human-powered ferris wheel. no trip to mussoorie is complete without it!

20 march
one of the highlights from the week was definitely the day we spent in jordi village, 2 hrs hike away from mussoorie. brother samuel took the entire family to help him conduct a medical camp with the village children. he shared a lot of stories with us on the way, and the walk was simply breathtaking. when the children arrived after their school exams, organized chaos ensued. whether it was weighing and measuring, inspecting tongues or looking in ears, every sornson had a job. there were many cases of worms, one pneumonia and several ear infections. medicine was dispensed as needed, but candy was the favorite drug of choice. megan was constantly laughing as she handed out goodies, i’m sure these little brown faces were similar yet so different from her students back at home. she fits the teacher role well. before she left, her class collected extra clothing and toys for the children and the rest of the family gathered together medical supplies. every summer, samuel has a VBS program with over 100 children. these gifts will be perfectly put to use during that time.
though we were utterly exhausted from our day at the village, my family made their way down to rutan and ritu’s house for dinner. we helped make chapattis and chutney and i loved watching my family adapt to this indian style of cooking. the food was oh, so good, as always, but our night finished without a the customary round of dancing…we were spent.

21 march
let’s see…now my third trip to rishikesh…i can navigate like a pro. i wanted my family to see a ‘holy,’ more normal indian city, as mussoorie and delhi are far from ‘average’ india. i realize rishikesh, the yoga capital of the world, is still very much a tourist town, but it sufficed well. many monkey’s along the bridge and our feet in the ganges, we enjoyed a very relaxed day strolling down the main bazaar. we watched a typical temple ceremony for a bit, it’s quite a lot to take in. regardless of the depth of your walk, you can feel the oppression even outside the temple gates. crazy stuff, i tell you. oh, and i finally found yoga pants…they top any m.c. hammer look-a-like’s you’ve ever seen. can’t wait to start classes again when i return home!

22 march
an unexpected, wonderful surprise occurred on our taxi ride to delhi. our taxi wallah, manmohan singh [no, not india’s prime minister] knew of an elephant wildlife area and we were privy to a round of feeding the elephants. i mean really, you can’t come to india without seeing elephants! i also concluded that driving, er riding in a car, in india is utterly exhausting. if you could only understand what traffic is really like. i, along with the rest of our party, decided we preferred the train. we laid low in our hotel that evening, enjoying the goodness of subway sandwiches and the movie ‘cars.’ it kind of felt normal…i think i’m still in india.

23 march
tourist day! we hired a private taxi and tour guide [sounds expensive but really not] for the day to check out the sites and sounds of delhi. though this is the capital city and where i travel in and out of, i hadn’t taken time to really look around. we saw india’s biggest mosque and the lotus temple, hunmayan’s tomb, and walked ghandi’s final steps. the day was much better than i expected [hands down better than the day tour in agra!] milkshakes for dinner at the big chill. oh, how i love that place, and the familiar kind of feeling it brings.

24 march
ah, their last day in india…we spent the morning shopping and perusing the market place. the streets my father didn’t think we should venture upon were child’s play compared to the markets we were now traversing. my family, timid and overwhelmed when they arrived, were now bargaining as professionals and moving through crowds as if stares didn’t bother them in the least. oh, i was so proud of them! we enjoyed the kebab wallah’s famous chicken tika in one of asia’s finest parks, lodi gardens. the goodbye was hard. i wasn’t leaving them, this time they were leaving me. i hadn’t had a good cry in awhile so i let the tears fall. i took a hot, real shower and then the sulk was over.
there is still work to be done.
my eyes, though puffy, are fixed on the end,
my heart, though sad to see them leave, is excited to finish strong.