Things I love about India!

The Skies- because we are so close to the equator the sun rises and sets around the same time everyday...roughly six in the morning and evening.
truly a spectacular sight all the time.
The People- they are so friendly and so ready to smile, wave and share their love. I love how they all give a bobble head hello as I pass or drive by them on the street. I love how they love Oaks and especially Belle...they give Belle a pinch kiss and an Indian blessing all the time. The friendly villagers waving and beckoning to have us come in and visit with them in their humble grass huts...they are so willing to share whatever they have.
The smells- Yes the smells both good and bad...it keeps life interesting. I really like the smell of Jasmine flowers in all the ladies and girls hair. You can smell it as you walk passed them in the street. Belle gets flowers delivered to her door all the time because they love her so much.
The Animals-- not the snakes I could do without the cobras and kraits that we see every once in awhile, and the large 7 inch scorpions...but the hundreds of different kinds and colors of butterflies, the monkeys that play in the banana trees on our property, the elephants that will give you a blessing on your head if you give him a coin, the camels that you only get to see up north, the cows with painted horns that are on every street and in every field, the cute baby goats that walk down the dirt road passed our house every morning and night going to the fields to feed,the many birds, storks, pelicans, and all the other colorful birds, the hundreds of dragonflies that come out around five every day, the many different colors and kinds of frogs and toads that Oaks brings home in his pocket!
Bright Colors- the women that work in the rice fields are wearing beautiful bright colored saris and look stunning even after putting in a hard day of work. Everywhere I turn I see bright colors...the clothing, the curtains, the bedding the pillow cases, the fruit and vegetable stands that are on every corner, my Indian dinner served on a banana leaf that has red beets, white rice, yellow sauce, fruit salad, and tomatoes and cucumbers, the houses all painted in every color you can imagine, green, yellow, purple, blue, orange, pink. The colorful designs painted on the concrete or dirt floors at the door steps of every home., that give a welcome to those passing by...India is a country full of color.
The Vegetation- the green rice fields, mango trees, banana trees, coconut trees, and lotus ponds. The tall grass fields that if you look closely you can see ladies crouched down picking them tall grass, making their brooms for their homes.
The Temples- the colorful temples are on every street and in every village. The Indian people are so devoted to their religion and their temples. The are always celebrating and praying at these beautiful painted carved temples.
The Crazy Traffic-I love to watch the people go by on their motorcycles with a family of five or their bicycles with a mother and baby sitting sideways holding on tight, the other motorcycles full of hundreds of pots and pans driving to a local village to sell,I love watching the men whiz by on their motorcycles all wearing a mustache and how rare it is to find an Indian without one, the cars and buses that are always over filled with people and young men hanging on the sides of the tilting buses because the are so jammed packed with people. The honking everywhere, but it is a needed friendly honk...they don't use signs or lights just horns. People drive with their friendly horns to let passerby's know where they are.
The Deals-I love how I can buy a beautiful hand stitched outfit for the girls and only spend seven dollars. I can find Steele Banana Republic pants for only eight dollars, I can buy ten tomatoes for only 20 American cents, and ice cream for all seven of us for under two dollars.
The Culture and History-India is full of amazing stories of their history and what they believe in as Hindu's...the stories never get old.
The Beautiful Children-the babies that all have a black dot on them to keep the evil spirits away. All the children are so beautiful and have amazing bright white smiles and beautiful ebony hair.
At first glance India can look very dirty and smell really bad but as you look a little longer you see a people so devoted to their faith, so full of love, so ready to smile, so willing to give of everything they have. If you look longer you see people that all have an amazing story yet they are happy...they can teach you and help you so much more than you can help them. India has taught me gratitude, love, patience, charity, and happiness.
India has taught me to see beauty in everything and everyone.
I Love India!