Day 2 of Eid was unexpected. We were unsure whether we would be able to make any connections with our original host family because we missed them on the 1st day. Kristen was very sad because she thought we may have made a bad decision by not visiting them first.
But later that first night we got a call from their daughter telling us to meet them the next day at their house for breakfast! She did not sound disappointed but instead she was excited.
So when we arrived we sat down for a very heavy meal and I got to meet one of the father's friend's and business partners.
We left the house in their small car (9 of us!) and drove across town to the old city.
We made our first stop at the largest mosque in the area... HUGE!
It reminded me so much of the Taj Muhal that I called it "mini Taj" (by the way the Taj is stinkin' ginormous in real life).
After this we left and walked down the street to the market area. There were like 100+ kids outside at what looked like a mini fair ground set up next to the mosque to celebrate Eid. Crazy!
Finally we arrived at our host family's sister's house. The family lived in an area with very tight quarters and many people all around.
We climbed the tight space of stairs and sat in a smaller room and chatted before we ate a snack lunch. We had many good conversations about the meaning of the holiday to them, and also shared some very simple stories in their language.
We then went from there to her mother's house. The rains left great puddles to avoid as we navigated the streets. At one point we were coasting over water shin deep.
We were greeted by the grandfather with a smile on his face. We went inside and sat down to drink a cold drink (orange soda) again and relaxed for a while. I (Neal) got to hold the new baby born into the family. She was very small, and wrapped in cloth and newspaper. Then one of the (very young- like 9ish) daughters came and snatched the baby up and began swinging her around in her arms (That was a little alarming).
The host family father came and got me to go up to the roof. We looked out over the distance and heard some booming hindi music over a speaker. I then saw many kids in the street dancing the day away. Even the poor know how to celebrate!
It was getting a little late that afternoon, so we asked to leave....
As we stepped back in the car and said goodbye, we were surprised by an unusual turn in the road. The host father told us we needed to visit his friend the business partner's home. As we navigated the narrow streets to our next (surprise!) destination we noticed special gold garland hanging over the streets.
Finally... again we stopped and looked up to the only house on the street with sharp features, beautiful terraces, and a large gate.
We climbed the steps, peeking into the large rooms with beautiful chandeliers hanging in each. At the top we looked out, and this is what we saw:
Then we went down and were offered... yet again... a cold drink. By this time I was not afraid to offend. So I asked politely for water (knowing that they were most likely to have a filtration system). We ate some snacks and chatted with these new friends and then left.
Finally we reached home around 5pm. That finished our total of homes that we visited for Eid... 4 on day one, 4 on day 2... a total of 8! We were so tired. Elijah went right down for a nap. Praise God for all of these peaceful, hospitable homes.
But later that first night we got a call from their daughter telling us to meet them the next day at their house for breakfast! She did not sound disappointed but instead she was excited.
So when we arrived we sat down for a very heavy meal and I got to meet one of the father's friend's and business partners.
We left the house in their small car (9 of us!) and drove across town to the old city.
It reminded me so much of the Taj Muhal that I called it "mini Taj" (by the way the Taj is stinkin' ginormous in real life).
After this we left and walked down the street to the market area. There were like 100+ kids outside at what looked like a mini fair ground set up next to the mosque to celebrate Eid. Crazy!
Elijah loved looking out the window... don't worry those bars are concreted in!
Finally we arrived at our host family's sister's house. The family lived in an area with very tight quarters and many people all around.
We then went from there to her mother's house. The rains left great puddles to avoid as we navigated the streets. At one point we were coasting over water shin deep.
We were greeted by the grandfather with a smile on his face. We went inside and sat down to drink a cold drink (orange soda) again and relaxed for a while. I (Neal) got to hold the new baby born into the family. She was very small, and wrapped in cloth and newspaper. Then one of the (very young- like 9ish) daughters came and snatched the baby up and began swinging her around in her arms (That was a little alarming).
The host family father came and got me to go up to the roof. We looked out over the distance and heard some booming hindi music over a speaker. I then saw many kids in the street dancing the day away. Even the poor know how to celebrate!
It was getting a little late that afternoon, so we asked to leave....
As we stepped back in the car and said goodbye, we were surprised by an unusual turn in the road. The host father told us we needed to visit his friend the business partner's home. As we navigated the narrow streets to our next (surprise!) destination we noticed special gold garland hanging over the streets.
Finally... again we stopped and looked up to the only house on the street with sharp features, beautiful terraces, and a large gate.
We climbed the steps, peeking into the large rooms with beautiful chandeliers hanging in each. At the top we looked out, and this is what we saw:
Then we went down and were offered... yet again... a cold drink. By this time I was not afraid to offend. So I asked politely for water (knowing that they were most likely to have a filtration system). We ate some snacks and chatted with these new friends and then left.Finally we reached home around 5pm. That finished our total of homes that we visited for Eid... 4 on day one, 4 on day 2... a total of 8! We were so tired. Elijah went right down for a nap. Praise God for all of these peaceful, hospitable homes.
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