Just to the east of the mission is a small mountain. We hiked it this morning at sunrise. It took about 25 minutes to get to the top. It was just the six guys from the USA. We sat at the top looking out over Puttur.
In true Indian fashion, a mission kid showed up about 5 minutes later. We didn't know that he hiked up behind us, but here is the kicker - he brought everyone tea. That is right, 6 ceramic cups and pot of tea! That is hospitality.
We also had a chance to visit the bone-setting clinic today. As the name implies, they fix broken bones. Not pretty. The 'key' is that they use a secret 'lotion' made of egg whites, oil and a ground powder. Maybe it will catch on in the U.S.
At the risk of sounding like a stereotype, engineering is HUGE over here. The hierarchy is 1) Doctor, 2) Engineering, 3) Everything else. (They could care less about lawyers.) Families are very proud of their engineering students. Police are a big deal too.
For all of their engineering knowledge, they have some work to do on the infrastructure. The power regularly goes out for a few hours at a time. Open sewer canals line the streets. A large percentage of the buildings appear to be poorly maintained. There is no mechanism for disposing waste. Some of it is burned (a constant smell), but most of it is just thrown randomly about. As the dogs, pigs and cows roam the streets they rummage through the trash looking for food.
The irony is that India has some ugly surroundings, but it has beautiful people. The children are perfect. The adults have a spirit of duty, thankfulness and hospitality that is a lesson to take back with me.
In the neighborhood of 72 hours until I get hot water again!
