Money its a gas

I went to town today to snoop around my favouritist shopping market and to eat my favouritist naan bread from my favouritist restaurant. Lochumlo and Katrina came too. Lochumlo and I shared a curry which was very tasty. I do not usually eat anything with my naan which puzzles the waiter no end. Lochumlo was very impressed with the naan so maybe it is the best to be had. It is certainly the best I have ever eaten.

I tried to change the foreign money I had into the local currency  but the money changers had either run out of money or only had the old 500 and 1000 notes. These notes were declared  obsolete on Wednesday. People have until November 14 to exchange the old notes at the bank but can only do it 4000 rupees at a time. Or if  they would sooner they can deposit the money in the bank.

The situation seems fraught with opportunities for disaster if you ask me. Everywhere we went there were long queues of people waiting to enter the bank so they could change their old money for the new. I'm not sure what will happen if people can not exchange their money in time. Knowing the propensity for people in this country  to express their indignation in a forceful manner, I am hoping either everyone makes it to the bank or the government  extends the deadline.

It is not a serious problem for me as I have paid my board, bought clothes and other necessities. All I need is travel money and other incidental expenses.

I will try to change the money at a bank on Monday. If all else fails I can take out 2000 rupees a day,  which is the new temporary limit, from the ATM. That will incur a $5 fee each time so I am not too keen on that option. In theory I could go to the airport and change the money if I was allowed inside. Usually one can only access the airport building if one has a passport and plane ticket. There is also the slightly inconvenient fact a two hour round trip to the airport would cost at least 500 rupees which might be an unnecessary waste of money. Ki korbo.

You're not in Kansas now Dorothy

Yesterday I went to the school which my two friends K and G started  in an economically challenged area. I first met  K and G in 1995 when they were much younger than they are now. In those days they were working in a different area. They planted a church there and then moved on to greener pastures which is what every good church planter should do.


I thought I had written about this school before but I can not find the post. When I went to the school in March I was a little overwhelmed. It was rather noisy and lets just stay nothing like school in NZ.

This time I had much more fun. I told the children a story about the wise and foolish man, I marked one group's work, put stickers on it and gave everyone  a pencil with a verse on it. There are about thirty children at the school. If they did not come to this school they would not have any education. Their parents cannot afford to send them. The morning flew by and then it was lunchtime when I ate a tasty potato curry.

After lunch I went to G's little house. That was a little distressing because it had asbestos in the ceiling. In the kitchen it was visible but in her bedroom a woven mat covered the ceiling. Another distressing thing was I was bitten at least five times by mosquitoes in the short time I was there. G said several times how expensive housing is in this city which poses another dilemma for me but I am not going to write it out loud. See if you can figure it out.

On Sunday I will speak at a gathering of the people that K and G have introduced to J**** in their school community.

I have just noticed some spelling mistakes in my blog and while it could be human error I suspect it is more likely to be the spell check taking liberties and thinking it knows more than me about what I was trying to say.

So I am sorry. I do check but I have a hunch  it waits until after I check before making changes.

Fruity and spicy

The other day I made chutney from a slab of mango leather I bought in town. While it comes in a slab there are about five thin layers comprising the slab. The mango cost about 180 rupees which is $3.75 so it is a cheap way of accessing mango.

 

 

 

The trick is to cut the mango up small and melt it  down with water and vinegar. It takes some time and needs constant stirring but it is worth it. I add garlic, ginger, cinnamon bark, black cumin seeds, cloves, chillis and coriander. The great thing is it has no added sugar. I am not sure if the leather has sugar in it or is pure dried dehydrated mango paste.

The end product would bring tears of admiration to Aunt Daisy’s eyes- for several reasons, one of which is the mixture is quite spicy. In another fortnight if there is any left it will be even spicier. It is  probably more of an English version of a chutney than an Indian one. Their chutneys from my observation tend to be savoury.

 

The chutney adds a bit of variety and flavour to the meals which will be great especially when I go to the teaching phase of my stay here where the food is simple and budget constrained.

Oh if there is any left.

It is lunchtime in NZ and I am sitting on the floor in Hephzibah listening to the dawn chorus symphony playing outside my window.

I had an amazing thought as I settled myself to spend time with THE-ONE-WHO-KNOWS-EVERYTHING. I will choose  to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord. It was one of those left field H*ly Spi*it kind of thoughts that flash across your mind and bring illumination and perspective. Prior to that I was feeling a little grumpy with broken sleep, hard bed, itchy mosquito bitten feet, spilt tea and the weariness that comes from being out of my comfort zone.

King David wrote in Psalms 27:4  One thing I ask from the L**D, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the L**D all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the L**D and to seek him in his temple.

And it seems to me that in every life situation we have a choice about whether we will gaze upon the beauty of God or become caught up in pettiness, triviality and self-pity. One is a spiritual response one is a soulish one. One will lift me up, one will drag me down.

 In the past year or so I have tried to respond to life’s challenges with thankfulness. I have tried to see everything that happens to me as a blessing from God. I have not always been successful but for the most part it has made such a difference. However, gazing upon the beauty of God in a situation, whatever that looks like, seems to me, to be an even more powerful way of not only connecting with God but transcending the muck life throws at us. It is based on an attitude that says this is unpleasant but I will not focus on me but trust my beautiful God to bring me through.

 I do not think that involves denying what is happening. It is more like choosing not to focus on it. Whatever I focus has the potential to control me and maybe even consume and overcome  me. Therefore I will focus on the beauty of God. Better to be controlled, consumed and overcome by God who is eternally love than a momentary trouble.

If God works good in every situation then he must be in every situation. Therefore in every situation I can gaze upon his beauty as he brings his redemptive best from situations that could range in unpleasantness from inconvenient to extremely distressing.

What a crazy thought.

Now I just have to figure out how.



Psalms 19:1[19:1] The heavens declare the glory of God;

The skies proclaim the work of his hands

I guess he will show me.

 

NBC- Naga Boiled Chicken

Ever since I arrived the joyous sound of roosters crowing has assailed my ears early in the morning before it is light. Not that I mind. I am already awake. Yesterday someone made a comment about the roosters and I realized they were on the terrace of the house so I went up for a look. And there they were in all their roostery splendor. Well it was tethered splendor as a lead was tied to their leg.

The Bible says, there are three things that are stately in their stride, four that move with stately bearing and one of these happens to be  a strutting rooster. These fowls were not really strutting their stuff because the lead was too short but they still had that strutting kind of attitude even if they were stationary.

I thought to myself I must take a photo for the blog. Later in the day when dinner was being prepared I glanced into the kitchen and there in the bowl were the birds naked and disemboweled. It was a sad sight. How far these regal chaps had sunk.

There they are sitting on the kitchen floor waiting to be cooked.

Anyway needless to say we had chicken for dinner. Chicken body, chicken innards, chicken feet all merrily together in the same pot. It was a special  dinner because on this day the Lotha people who live in the northeast and are one of the 12 main tribes of the Naga people celebrate tribal unity. My friend Lochumlo, her sister and family and her niece are from this tribe. The dishes were all Lotha favourites. Just between you and me I have to confess my tummy is not particularly fond of Naga food. It is quite different to the Bengali Indian curries I am used to. I ate rather circumspectly which was rather fortunate and very  good for the waist line. Even so I could feel the food burning all the way down and burning a hole in my stomach lining once it arrived there.

Post note: On Thursday it is Lochumlos birthday and her sister and brother-in-law are cooking. Glory to G*d.


 

Armed and dangerous

My war against mosquitoes continues. Within a very short time of reaching my friend Lochumlo's house the little suckers were targeting me. This morning I went downstairs to pray and I noticed the room had new windows. There were no windows there last time I came. Great I thought to myself no mosquitoes but just after I made that observation who should I notice following me into the room but a stinky mosquito. I saw her put her feelers to her mouth and wolf whistle to her sisters. Then I heard her shout, “ In here my lovelys- breakfast.”

Apparently it is only the females who bite. They need the blood to produce eggs. The blokes who sound a bit blousee suck flower nectar. I know. I know.

What I do not understand is why they rarely bite me in a place on my body where I notice them. It is only the tell-tale sting of pain I feel after the mosquito has left that alerts me to the fact someone has just dined free of charge at my expense. I find such clandestine activity totally irreprehensible. However, the offenders do not seem to care.

The newspaper this morning contained a story about how the unseasonal rainy weather was encouraging the population explosion of the mosquito that carries dengue fever. So it might be especially important to try and avoid being bitten if such a thing is possible. The doctor did tell me that my lovely doxycyclines would not protect me against dengue.

I went to most of the shops lining the street to the market but no-one has any incense sticks for sale. These smoke from these drop mosquitoes dead as. I did buy some fly spray and a coil. The coil should be as good but the smoke is not as easy to control as when it comes from a stick.