Since Priya and I moved into our house in the middle of the main bazaar road, I have had the opportunity to truly experience the village life. Sometimes it can be extremely noisy as the cars and chakras zoom by, honking incessantly and the cows and other assortment of animals moo, bark and howl, attempting to relax on our front porch. Other times, I’ll be sitting on our front porch, trying to catch a breeze and countless people walk by, slowly, staring at me the whole way as if I were sitting on a parade float, instead of a porch. While I could do without these experiences, I have come to appreciate my bizarre bazaar life. We have incredibly friendly, helpful neighbours. For instance, in our first week here we had countless problems, such as power outages, a leaky stove, and lack of the necessary kitchen utensils, but our neighbours always came to the rescue. They bring us snacks, invite us over to watch T.V. and lend us anything we ever need. Our flat neighbours even loaned us a swing for our front porch! And they gave me an incredible gift, a mosquito zapper which looks like a badminton racket. And they can also really come through when you find yourself in a difficult situation.
On Friday, I travelled to Surat, the city about two hours away by bus. The U.S. Consulate decided to come to Gujarat for one day, so I took this opportunity to travel the short distance to add additional pages to my full passport. As with most tasks in India, it took the full day to find the Consulate, request pages, go to the bank and get a draft for the correct amount, and fill out the necessary paper work. At last, at 6:00pm, I headed to the bus station to travel home. I waited and waited but the bus never came. An hour later, I spotted Vikrambhai, the peon at Kadod High School and we waited together for the Kadod bus. Finally, a bus arrived, over an hour and a half late and by this time quite a crowd formed. We ran to hop on the bus, pushing our way through a mob. Somehow, in the midst of the madness, someone had opened my purse and stole my wallet. When we got on the bus, I realized this and the people sitting near me tried to assist. My wallet contained my cell phone, about Rs.2000 ($40), my American debit card and a USB drive. We searched and asked around but to no avail. It was gone. Thankfully, my passport was in the safe hand of the U.S. Consulate or this situation could have been greatly exacerbated. Vikrambhai graciously offered to pay for my bus fare and stood near me the whole overcrowded ride home.
As we reached Kadod, I suddenly became aware of the fact that within minutes everyone in the village would find out what happened. That is another bonus or disadvantage, depending on how you look at it, of living in a small neighbourhood- everyone knows everyone else’s business. I was already quite embarrassed and worried they would lecture me so this was the last thing I was ready to deal with. I wanted to go home, cancel my credit card and climb into bed after a long day. Vikrambhai walked me home and continued onto the school, which was close to where he lived. While I was rehashing the store to Priya, she received a call from Amrithbhai, our neighbour who works at the phone booth. He called to make sure I was okay and offered to report my stolen phone. Seconds later, Principal Mahida called to make sure I hadn’t lost my passport and to see if I needed anything. Another five minutes later a couple of other neighbours came over to make sure everything was alright. No one lectured me; they were merely concerned about what I had lost. Throughout the weekend, I was randomly checked on. And while I feared the attention I would receive for my unpleasant story, I am so grateful for the comfort and concern of my bazaar friends and neighbours. And living in a foreign country on the other side of the world, it is vital to have people I can count on in any situation.
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