Lessons & Reminders from India

• Remove your wash from the clothesline before sunset; otherwise they will pick up the scent of the burning trash piles
• When your stomach hurts and you say you would like something “light” to eat, you will probably get French fries.
• When the bathroom is clearly marked “ladies” and the school children wildly protest, telling you that is the boys bathroom; you should believe them, even if it simply doesn’t make sense.
• You can truly handle anything for two weeks; three months feels more daunting (especially when you’re sick and you just want a bowl of soup, a bath, and the pillow you left behind.)
• Sometimes your attitude is the only thing you can change.
• Sometimes your attitude is the only thing that needs to be changed.
• Mosquitoes suck. Swarms of mosquitoes suck worse, but they are more fun go after with the electric bug tennis racket.

• God answers prayer is surprising ways.
• When you are frustrated that your ride is two hours late, perhaps that is an opportunity to ask God to open your eyes to what He has in mind for you to do. 
• In the terrifying game of Indian driving, the most timid driver loses ever time. 
• Being back on a bike is refreshing; riding past a burning trash pile is not.

• Kraft Mac & Cheese is a delicacy when everything else tastes foreign.
• A coffee pot is no good without coffee filters (of which the state of Andhra Pradesh has none.)
• Luckily, while sweet, a cup of Indian Chai beats a cup of coffee any day. 
• When the smell of your bathroom makes you gag, leave immediately, take a deep breath, remind yourself of why you are here, and try again.