Entry # 35

Weird Stuff and Strang(er) Things...

This is Kent's dry cleaning bill. We are lucky that we even found a dry cleaners. Never mind that it takes two weeks before it comes back. We don't know where it goes or what they do to it. A pair of pants costs only 50 cents, so who's complaining. On one visit, Kent was given the above dry cleaning ticket when he dropped off his clothes. It did not come out very well in our scan, but on the right side, there are some boxes. The column represents "State of Clothes". The lady marked the boxes that said "weak", "worn out", "faded", and "damaged". Kent came home and showed it to me. He was highly offended. He said, "Is she talking about me or my pants!"

* * *

First, there was a cash for clunker cars program. Then, someone came up with the idea of cash for clunker appliances. I'm looking for a cash for clunker husbands!

So, these are Carol's "Sunday" shoes. Obviously I am not wearing them anymore. They are considered un-repairable, even here in India. It's not that I have done so much walking in them, its where they have been!

Cricket is big here and so is soccer, but American football? This is a very weird scene down at the beach in Visakhapatnam. This is the 10th Annual Turkey Bowl hosted by the missionaries on their P-day (preparation day). They get a few hours of time off for fun activities each week and this is their favorite. They asked Kent to come to referee, but no one had a whistle!

Does anyone recognize this bridge? While in Goa, we crossed over this bridge. The driver told us it was the one in Bourne Identity -- the one they blew up. Then they reconstructed it. So, let us hear from you, all of you Bourne Identity movie buffs. Is it the real thing?

I almost did not want to take this picture. This is a young boy who is made to beg. He is painted with silver paint and dressed to look like Mahatma Gandhi, right down to the glasses. They are sent down to the beach road to beg for money. We all know what lead paint does.

This is the door man at the Anand Regency Hotel in Rajahmundry. They always have an "outfit", with elaborate hats and sometimes a crowbar mustache. This might have been the one that helped us get out of the elevator when the electricity went out one day. They had to pry open the doors and get a step ladder for me to climb down. Sorry, no one thought to get a picture of that.

One morning we discovered that ESPN was showing the Baseball World Series -- at 7:00 in the morning. At the 7th inning stretch 'God Bless America' was sung. Life is good!

Entry #34

A day in the life of ... A tour was planned for all the missionaries from Visakhapatnam, Rajahmundry and Kakinada with three couples joining in. We had seen some of these sites before, but others were new to us. We visited Simhachalam, Kailasa Hill, Thotlakonda Temple, Parley Point Conference Center (where we had lunch), Rushikonda Beach, and the INS Kusura Submarine on Ramakrishna Beach. We went to the fishing harbour, took a boat ride on the Bay of Bengal and watched them build boats before finishing at the Visak Museum.

Details of Sri Varaha Lakshminarasimha Temple built in the 11th Century. The location is Simhachalam, which means "Lion's Hill" and this is a Hindu pilgrim center.

Hindu pilgrim

Shrine detail at Kailasa Hill

View of the city of Visakhapatnam from Kailasa Hill at 360 feet.
The park has 305 acres of garden, flora and tropical trees.
It was a very clear day!

Thotlakonda is a Buddist excavation site and is 128 meters above sea level. The Buddist monks harvested rainwater for their needs.



Peaceful and serene Rishikonda Beach.

This is the INS Kusura and it was built in Russia in 1969 and served in the Indian Navy for 31 years. The vessel was decommissioned and converted into a museum and now sits on the Ramakrishna Beach.

A trip back to the fishing harbour where women have been drying fish all day. When they run out of room, they dry it on the sides of the street.

A scene from the Bay of Bengal looking back at Visakhapatnam. We took a "little" boat ride. I made sure to see if there were life jackets.

Boat building at the fishing harbour, mostly by hand and with age-old tools.

The best part of the tour was this great bus that featured

air conditioning.

Entry #33

Truth Orphan School...We promised that we would be back. We returned on November 14, Children's Day in India. We brought gifts; baseball caps for the boys and headbands, ribbons, barrettes, and such for the girls. They loved it! Many thanks to our friends in Sarasota Ward for providing the "goodies" and sending them. We had a good day.

the girls

the boys

the baseball caps were a hit!

but getting your picture taken - wow!

they share songs with us

and we teach them new songs...

eensy teensy spider

This 12-year-old girl has so many songs memorized.

She writes down the words in a book.

the house where the boys and girls stay
they attend school during the day

This young lady knew about the orphanage. When the Branch President suggested to the young single adults, that they find a service project, she knew this was a fun place to help out. Not all of the children are orphans. Some of them have parents who are laborers and they do not make enough money to send them to school, so they stay here during the week and they may go home on weekends and holidays.

The man on the right is the pastor; a very patient and kind person. The man on the left tries to raise money or the orphanage. Because it is a Christian orphanage, they do not receive monetary assistance from the government.

This is our good friend, Manoj, a 'young single adult' who makes all of the arrangements for us to visit the orphanage. I think he bought this wild shirt just for this special occasion. He just bought the gate and had it painted. He helps out in so many ways.

Entry #32

A feast for the eyes...the train trip to Rajahmundry.

The very first time we took the train to Rajahmundry, my eyes were glued to the countryside, farmland, towns we passed, livestock, birds and coconut palms. Just before the train comes into Rajahmundry, it passes over a tributary of the Godavari River. On that day, the local people were washing and drying their clothes by the river bank. I barely got a glimpse of their hard work and their handiwork (how they lay out their clothes to dry). But recently, Nick and Carol Nielsen (another senior couple who are also serving a mission in Visakhapatnam) were traveling on the train to Rajahmundry. For some "mysterious" reason, the train came to a hault while on the bridge and in a perfect spot to take some photos. Thanks to the Nielsens for taking these snaps -- for me! It is one of my favorite places on the train ride.

More photos of people hard at work.

Harvesting Rice near Kakinada

Rice Straw

Wash Day

Women at Fishing Harbour

Entry # 31

Everyday life in India....

Two little boys who really don't want their picture taken.

Cows can do anything they want to.
Fortunately these are relaxing on the side of the road.

Corn cob is grilled and sold on the street.

We understand that it is pretty 'chewy'.

An open-air shop; haircuts and shaves.

What is this?

Yes, a sleeping baby.

Transporting goods along Highway 5.

I call these wash wells. The slanted slab is what they "slap" their clothes on during the "wash and rinse" cycle. This man got in the picture the moment that I clicked it.

I was told that this is a goat. The woman has just removed the intestines. Next step is to probably cut it into parts, but I'm not sticking around for that.

Red chilies and green leaves drying in the sun.

Hotel lobby of the Anand Regency in Rajahmundry on Diwali, October 17. It took three hours to design and place the colorful petals and green leaves to make this rangoli.

Our favorite place to grocery shop is Karachiwala's.

These are the two owners, also brothers.

Since they couldn't find the leak in our bathroom, they have now come out to our street! Actually, we think they are laying some water pipes to take away the storm water for when it floods.

Ramakrishna Beach, Visakhapatnam, India.