Nagpur - Tuesday night update
Hi All,
It’s Tuesday night in Nagpur. All is well.
There’s an old saying with rope knots that if you can’t tie a knot, tie a lot. I carry the same philosophy into photography. I just passed the 1,000-picture mark. A few of them have to be good, right? I’ve seen some amazing things. I just hope the camera saw them also. One of my tasks for the trip was to capture photos that will tell the story of Prakash. Hopefully I’ve done that.
The trip to the village this morning was quite an experience. Riding on the back of a motorcycle was both exhilarating and scary. We spent almost 6 hours riding. It’s a great way to see the countryside and I can see the attraction of owning one. Along with taking a train, maybe riding a motorcycle should be an India must. I think I’d have to up my life insurance policy if I was going to ride one frequently.
The kids in the villages are so attracted to cameras. Take their picture and show it to them and you’ve totally made their day. I wish I had brought a Polaroid so I could leave a print with them. I’ve found that the kids like to see pictures of each other as much as of themselves. If I take a group of kids together, they’ll point at each other and laugh. It’s cool.
The villages were just what you would imagine. The people have little to nothing, but they do survive and they do smile. More than anything, these kinds of experiences make me think about my own life and I wonder if I could be a better steward with the time, talents and resources God has given me. Actually, there’s no wondering about it. I know I could. The question is whether I will do something about it. I also wonder if I would be so willing to smile in such difficult circumstances (given past experience, the answer is probably no).
I have a knack for getting laughs..at my expense. I was trying to take pictures of water buffaloes crossing the road. They were moving, so I was moving with them. My mind was on the photo and not on where I was walking. First, let me say that anytime a westerner pulls out a camera in India, a crowd grows. There was a crowd of motorists (stopped for the crossing buffaloes), herders, kids, etc. watching this crazy American with a camera walking along side the buffaloes. Squish...I stepped right on a pile of very recent “dung,” as they call it. Everyone had a good laugh, and I had the only pair of tennis shoes I brought soiled (thank goodness I wasn’t wearing sandals!!!).
Later one of the men from Prakash asked my why I was taking photos of a buffalo, as if it was a silly thing to do. I told him there were none where I lived and I wanted to be able to show pictures to my friends. I’m not sure he thought that was a good reason. I guess I’d feel the same way about someone taking photos of a cow.
As most of you know, I have a small rock collection. This morning I took a walk around the grounds here and gathered up a few. I was walking back to the building as a group of students came out. I knew this was going to lead to an awkward conversation, and for a moment I thought about casually dropping them. In broken English, one student pointed and asked what I was doing with the stones. Given the language barrier, I wasn’t able to explain why I had a perfectly good reason for carrying a pile of rocks into the building. Between the photos of buffaloes and the rocks, I may be looked at as somewhat “eccentric.”
We had another focus group this afternoon. The students asked questions about marriage and how we determined God’s will for our lives (how did Loren get involved with Prakash and why was I here). Great questions. Loren did an excellent job with them.
Tomorrow we’re going to an orphanage. Prakash is currently an all boys’ school, but they are opening a girl’s school in the fall. They hope to be able to pull some girls from this orphanage. The orphanage is two hours away, so it will be a long day.
The monsoon is definitely here. It’s much cooler (80s), which is nice, but humidity is high. It comes heavy rain showers several times a day. Things are turning green.
Had another incredible Indian meal this evening in the home of the school’s director in India. The dinner included he and his wife, their daughter and son-in-law and their two girls, Loren and myself. They made me feel like part of the family and the meal was delicious.
Can’t wait to see you all soon (Gina more than the rest of you :)).
Later,
Jason
It’s Tuesday night in Nagpur. All is well.
There’s an old saying with rope knots that if you can’t tie a knot, tie a lot. I carry the same philosophy into photography. I just passed the 1,000-picture mark. A few of them have to be good, right? I’ve seen some amazing things. I just hope the camera saw them also. One of my tasks for the trip was to capture photos that will tell the story of Prakash. Hopefully I’ve done that.
The trip to the village this morning was quite an experience. Riding on the back of a motorcycle was both exhilarating and scary. We spent almost 6 hours riding. It’s a great way to see the countryside and I can see the attraction of owning one. Along with taking a train, maybe riding a motorcycle should be an India must. I think I’d have to up my life insurance policy if I was going to ride one frequently.
The kids in the villages are so attracted to cameras. Take their picture and show it to them and you’ve totally made their day. I wish I had brought a Polaroid so I could leave a print with them. I’ve found that the kids like to see pictures of each other as much as of themselves. If I take a group of kids together, they’ll point at each other and laugh. It’s cool.
The villages were just what you would imagine. The people have little to nothing, but they do survive and they do smile. More than anything, these kinds of experiences make me think about my own life and I wonder if I could be a better steward with the time, talents and resources God has given me. Actually, there’s no wondering about it. I know I could. The question is whether I will do something about it. I also wonder if I would be so willing to smile in such difficult circumstances (given past experience, the answer is probably no).
I have a knack for getting laughs..at my expense. I was trying to take pictures of water buffaloes crossing the road. They were moving, so I was moving with them. My mind was on the photo and not on where I was walking. First, let me say that anytime a westerner pulls out a camera in India, a crowd grows. There was a crowd of motorists (stopped for the crossing buffaloes), herders, kids, etc. watching this crazy American with a camera walking along side the buffaloes. Squish...I stepped right on a pile of very recent “dung,” as they call it. Everyone had a good laugh, and I had the only pair of tennis shoes I brought soiled (thank goodness I wasn’t wearing sandals!!!).
Later one of the men from Prakash asked my why I was taking photos of a buffalo, as if it was a silly thing to do. I told him there were none where I lived and I wanted to be able to show pictures to my friends. I’m not sure he thought that was a good reason. I guess I’d feel the same way about someone taking photos of a cow.
As most of you know, I have a small rock collection. This morning I took a walk around the grounds here and gathered up a few. I was walking back to the building as a group of students came out. I knew this was going to lead to an awkward conversation, and for a moment I thought about casually dropping them. In broken English, one student pointed and asked what I was doing with the stones. Given the language barrier, I wasn’t able to explain why I had a perfectly good reason for carrying a pile of rocks into the building. Between the photos of buffaloes and the rocks, I may be looked at as somewhat “eccentric.”
We had another focus group this afternoon. The students asked questions about marriage and how we determined God’s will for our lives (how did Loren get involved with Prakash and why was I here). Great questions. Loren did an excellent job with them.
Tomorrow we’re going to an orphanage. Prakash is currently an all boys’ school, but they are opening a girl’s school in the fall. They hope to be able to pull some girls from this orphanage. The orphanage is two hours away, so it will be a long day.
The monsoon is definitely here. It’s much cooler (80s), which is nice, but humidity is high. It comes heavy rain showers several times a day. Things are turning green.
Had another incredible Indian meal this evening in the home of the school’s director in India. The dinner included he and his wife, their daughter and son-in-law and their two girls, Loren and myself. They made me feel like part of the family and the meal was delicious.
Can’t wait to see you all soon (Gina more than the rest of you :)).
Later,
Jason
posted by atlantaclimber at 12:05 PM
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