The Universal Language Continued...

Tonight Alicia and I went to Anita's home for the first time. She lives in a very low income community, where her family of 7 lives in one small room. There was one large wooden bed (no mattress) that took up most the space. Alicia and I were curious about how the evening would go. In communities like Anita's, we normally attract quite a bit of attention (foreigners normally don't go there), and once again, we couldn't carry on conversations with them. However, it turned out to be a really fun time.

When we first arrived, Anita sat us on the bed while she went outside where she was cooking. Soon people, mainly woman and children, began to crowd in the doorway to see the foreigners. They wouldn't really come into the room. They mainly just hung out around the doorway. There were probably 12-14 women and children all together. It was really awkward, because it was as Alicia said, like being in a fish bowl. They would just look and smile at us, but wouldn't really interact with us. Many of the kids would smile and us and then duck out of the door. We just sat and smiled at them for awhile. Anita began bringing the food out, which was a ton. It meant alot because we know that they don't have much, but she really went the extra mile for us. She even made sure she had filtered water for us (I think the bottle came from our house :)) We ate until we were stuffed (of course we laughed some), and then the fun began.

So what do you do when you are in a room with a lot of people you can't hold a conversation with anyone (and the children are the cutest you've ever scene)? You bring out the camera. Our asking to take one photo turned into an hour long photo session. It was great. All the sudden everyone wanted to be in the pictures. Women started changing into their fancy clothes and made their husbands change shirts. Kids who wouldn't come anywhere near us, were then climbing all over us and calling us Didi (big sister in Hindi). We took picture after picture all amidst smiles and, of course, laughter. An evening that began with 2 foreigners alone in a room while everyone peeked through the doorway, ended with about 15 people crammed in a small room taking family photos with us.

As we left there tonight and literally pried children off of Alicia, I realized that there were not many words spoken all evening. However, once again, they really weren't necessary. A picture really is worth a thousand words, and tonight the pictures spoke volumes.