Differently Abled

Brian's company outsources data-entry to BPO's (Business Process Outsourcing) in India. One such BPO is Vindhya. It has about 200 employees, 95% of which are disabled or as Vindhya defines it...differently abled. (I like that term better.) Brian has visited this office several times and has brought other leaders to see the work being done there. He said everyone that visits can't help but be moved by the great opportunity being given and the professionalism displayed by the employees. To be disabled in India is much more difficult than it is in western countries. There are very few wheelchair or impaired friendly buildings, restrooms, transportation, etc. To find a job is even harder. The fact that this company is recruiting, training and giving young people secure income and skills is such a blessing.

From Vindhya's website:

"Differently Abled

95% of our 194 staff are differently abled.. but are highly professional & are dedicated to lead their own life. "

Housewarming Party

Yesterday morning I was the spectator of something I hadn't seen before...A Brahmin housewarming party or a "pooja". Brahmins are the highest caste in India. Wikipedia defines Brahmins as "the class of educators, doctors, law makers, scholars, priests and preachers of Dharma in Hinduism".

The following are all assumptions from what I've gathered in our time here so I may be wrong...Our new neighbor is a Brahmin (in the 2nd video he is the guy in the walking circle with a long skirt (lungi) and no shirt. He would normally be wearing khakis and a button down shirt (work attire) but this is a special day. Brahmin boys and men also wear a string around their torso from the top of one shoulder down to the opposite waist which is not visible when wearing clothes but noticeable when swimming in the community pool:)

He and his family just bought this apartment and wanted to have it blessed by the priests and ward away the evil spirits. The priests are sitting in the middle of the living room (1st video) burning a fire for hours, chanting mantras, offering fruits, flowers, etc to the gods. Our neighbor invited friends and family to attend, hence the housewarming part. The ceremony was going on when I woke up and continued for several hours and candles burned throughout the night (with no one attending them. They are not moving in til next month.) In the video you can't make out what the priests look like but for those living outside of India they looked similar to this...It was an interesting morning of starring out my window ( I couldn't help it) and trying to do school:) And I'm pretty certain that some or most of the guests went home sick with smoke inhalation or asthma, because we had to close our windows, normally kept open for air, because the smoke was so strong:) Imagine the inside of that apartment!

The Bell in Bangalore!

Who would have thunk that Bangalore would be bestowed the great honor of having the first Indian Taco Bell restaurant? Our dream has come true!:D Note: your dining standards are lowered when you don't have regular access to native foods:) Therefore Taco Bell has sadly risen to the status of "dream" food in our dining book:)

We drove 2 hours, (which in Bangalore traffic equals 11 miles (no joke)), to visit Taco Bell at Bangalore's newest mall. It was a fun outing and amazing to see the line of people waiting to order out the door of TB the whole time we were at the mall.

The menu was similar to the U.S. just simpler choices. The tastes were recognizable. TB has the first "free refill" self-serve drink machine in India...so that was fun:) I'm a bean burrito fan... and they had it... ironically costing more than in the U.S. and with less filling inside but I was still happy to be eating it. Brian tried one of everything on the menu:) The restaurant was very nice, much nicer than any TB I've seen in the U.S. The menu boards behind the cashier counter were on digital screens that changed pictures and appeared 3-D.

Was it worth the drive...yes. Was it worth the food poisoning...no. Sad to say I was laid out Sunday due to a stomach bug that I suspect was from my bean burrito:( No one else ate a bean burrito and no one else got it thank goodness.Oh well...I'm still happy that Taco Bell is here:)

Stat Glasses

I read two disheartening statistics recently that made me count my blessings...

-40% of the 1 billion people in India (that's 400 million for those who need a calculator like me:) are still not connected to the electricity grid. Which means they have no electricity b/c neither do they have the money for windmill or solar energy.

-Over 58% of Indians have no access to toilets. Globally 1.1 billion people defecate in the open.

I wish I could "wear" these statistics like eye glasses each time I saw something I thought I "needed" or wished I had. They would sharply remind me that..."Wait, I have way more than I need, I am content" and "how can I give?"