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A week before Fr. Tom moderates the Indian District Chapter and heads back to the United States he writes about the education system in India:

This morning at breakfast we talked about the Indian school system. Here at Kumbalanghi we run a minor seminary, but at least at present it also includes the program for senior aspirants. To get in my head just how things work I asked if they would outline the Indian school system for me.

English is also important as it has become a common language in Asia, the lingua franca, you might say. Finally it is important because it is the commercial and business language as well. Thus you can see why parents who want their children to advance will look for schools that will give them a good foundation and one in which gives the student English proficiency.

Parishioners stand in the foundation of their evolving sub-station church in Nambur. The photo was taken before Fr. Tom’s visit; more work has been done than what is seen here.

We catch-up with Fr. Tom Cassidy today with a weekend of journal entries from India:

The day before leaving the novitiate for Gorantla I met with Fr. Dharam, pastor of Sacred Heart Parish & Shrine in Nambur. In addition to the main church there are either two or three sub-stations. Two of the sub-stations are not all that far apart from one another but a six-lane highway makes it difficult to go from one church to the other for many of the families. One of the sub-stations meets in a school and that works out fine for them, but the other has less favorable conditions and so the decision to build.

Visiting with local SCJs

I am now back in Kumbalanghi and will stay until we head to Mysore for the chapter. I think we will leave here on the 12th as the chapter will start on my birthday October 13th. Fr. Thomas Vinod told me I’d finally get my bus ride as it is a six-hour bus trip from here to Mysore. We will be using the facilities of the Pallottine Centre for Theological and Religious Formation.

I am hoping that  while I am here in Kumbalanghi I’ll be able to visit our house of philosophy in Aluva and a parish we have in Punalur. I did visit Aluva on my first trip to India in 2011, but our work at Punalur is unknown to me. I met one of the young priests from Punalur, Fr. Kasmir Joseph, who is spending the day here. He described Punalur as a place few come to visit as it is off the beaten path.

I will also use this time to get ready for the chapter. It will only last for five days and there is a lot of material to cover. It will be interesting to see how things operate as this is my first experience at a large official gathering of Indian SCJs that I will be a part of. From my time in Rome I’m well aware that cultures have their own way of doing things and certainly that is true in India. The language will be English, but the accent will be Indian.

A memorial for Br. Xavier’s father

Attending an Anniversary Memorial

Sunday Mass

Sunday Mass

The “welcome” wishes came on Fr. Tom’s last night with the community, but cake is good no matter when it is served!

Fr. Tom Cassidy writes from India where he is assisting with formation and administrative tasks:

Monday was the last day I would spend at the novitiate as this morning I left for Gorantla at about 9:30 a.m. Last night the novices and postulants put on a party — for SCJs old enough to remember we called it a “convivium.” As our cake pictured above states, it was a welcome to “Dear Fr. Tom” and a “Happy Birthday to Dear Deacon Bhaskar and Chitti Babu,” “Chitti” is pronounced as it looks and has a nice ring to it. In English it means little boy. Our “Chitti” is a postulant.

Deacon Bhaskar is one of the three deacons to be ordained to the priesthood on October 28^th right here in Gorantla by Bishop Gali Bali (another nice sounding name). Dn. Bhaskar spent a few weeks at the novitiate to prepare for his ordination. He spent most of his diaconate in a parish setting.

Most of the day until the evening meal the novices spentin silence. Having reading at breakfast and lunch brought back memories of my own novitiate and college days when we had table reading. Following Vatican II many changes in formation took place and table reading was one of many things to disappear for us. Many Benedictine Monasteries still continue the practice at least for some of their meals.

A novice’s day also includes classes in religious life and topics specific to the SCJ history and charism as well as the life and writing of our founder Leo John Dehon. There is time in the day for work and play (sports). There is, as you might imagine, also lots of time spent in chapel for different religious exercises such as Mass and Adoration, the latter a very integral part of our charism. Finally, when evening comes conversation returns to the supper table followed by an hour’s recreation.

Novices perform a routine

Our party took place after supper. Pictured here (though a little dark) are the novices doing a group synchronized routine. It was rather well done, I might add.

In addition to various routines done by novices and postulants the two birthday boys and Iwere given testimonials by one of the novices or postulants. We were then invited to say a few words. Mine centered on how I always marvel at the SCJ hospitality that I’ve experienced in many parts of the world. We take no courses in how to do it and yet it is so much a part of the fabric of our community life and spirit.

Finally, toward the end of the evening the cake was cut and served along with ice cream. I think there’s an art to eating ice cream in India. I could summarize that art in one word: “FAST!” As in “eat it FAST” because of the heat, and also, I think because of the way it’s made here, the ice cream lends itself to rapid melting much like back in Milwaukee where frozen custard seems to melt faster then regular ice cream. In any case, don’t wait too long or you’ll drink your ice cream rather then eat it!

All good things must come to an end and so about 10:15 pm the party ended and off we all went to get a good night’s sleep before it was time at 5:00 a.m. to answer the alarm and start a new day, a day that would bring to a close my all too brief visit to Nambur.

The stained glass window behind the altar at the novitiate chapel in India.

Fr. Tom Cassidy writes from the SCJs’ novitiate community in India:

As is common when a visitor comes, there is a welcoming ceremony. Fr. Peter Chris, the postulant master, welcomed me to the novitiate. I received a garland of flowers and was presented with coconut milk (I’m not very fond of the stuff, but with encouragement took several sips). Personal greetings from the novices and postulants followed, well at least from most of them. Two of the novices were on a day of silence and would not break that silence until dinner at 7:30 p.m.

Fr. Tom tries a bit of coconut milk, though admits that it isn’t his favorite India treat!

It was good to meet up with the novice class. They were a large part of my time and life while at Eluru last winter. My fondest memory was of our four-day pilgrimage to the shrine of Our Lady of Health at Velankanni.

The novitiate house is built as an ashram (a spiritual hermitage or monastery often used for meditation and/or religious instruction) not far from the city of Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, in an area called Nambur.

There are Christian Ashrams throughout India and to call our novitiate “Sacred Heart Ashram” is very appropriate as the novitiate year is dedicated to learning about religious life, developing a deeper prayer life and spirituality, and establishing one’s identity as an SCJ through the study of our founder, Fr. Leo John Dehon, Our Rule of Life, and the history of the congregation.

For the novices, Sunday is both a day of rest and a day of ministry to the community and in our nearby Sacred Heart Parish. The ministry to the community is centered in the kitchen. The women who do the everyday cooking have Sunday off so the task of providing a meal falls to either a group of postulants or novices.

Kitchen duty

All of the novices (and postulants) get their turn to display their culinary talents over the course of the novitiate year. Fr. McQueen, the novice master, is no stranger to the kitchen either and lends his expertise from time to time.

If they are not in the kitchen then you’ll find the novices helping out at our parish or one of its substations teaching catechism or working with youth. The parish Sunday Mass is at 10:30 a.m., though the novices already had their community Mass at 7:00 a.m., at which I was the presider.

The afternoon is free for rest and reading as well as sports. Alas, there is not enough land for a cricket pitch so the favorite games are badminton or basketball.

I am back to my walking routine here and yesterday I ran into a monkey. It was sitting just off the walkway and it stared at me and I stared at it. On my next circuit it was gone.

Family and SCJs after the house blessing.

Fr. Wayne Jenkins is in Vietnam during the next few weeks, assisting the young district in setting up its archives and filing system. He writes:

Dn. Phu’s niece (in red) and a friend

Deacon Phu works in the formation house in Saigon.  He also works at St. Paul’s Parish on the weekends.  He will be ordained in November.  His father, his brother and his sister came to Ho Chi Minh City for the blessing of his younger brother’s home.  The community was invited to attend.  Before going to his house, we also blessed a neighbor’s home.  In both homes, an altar was prepared on a major wall.  The wooden altar had a beautiful statue of the holy family.  I believe that the statue of the child Jesus had a heart.  Their also was a small bouquet of flowers. Above this shrine, there was a large wooden crucifix.

After the prayers before the altar, Deacon Phu went throughout the house to bless it.  Diap, his niece, [the little girl in red] took ahold of my finger and escorted me up the stairs, throughout the two upstairs stories and back down.  She only let go of my finger when we arrived downstairs again.  I received a royal tour.  Afterwards, we were treated to a jovial banquet.

House blessing

We seem to be on a snake theme this week. Yesterday’s post featured a picture of Fr. Wayne Jenkins holding a snake in Vietnam and now Fr. Tom Cassidy begins his blog post with news of a snake in the Eluru (India) student library: 

Br. Hari told me just before lunch that he walked into the library and was startled to see a large snake! Two of the students managed to kill the snake, which turned out to be a rat snake. It was not poisonous but so many people have a fear of snakes that the temptation to kill one when it is seen is almost overpowering.

A statue of Fr. Dehon at Eluru

Fr. Joseph, our house treasurer, went shopping this morning with John our cook. Among their purchases were grapes served at lunch. Not paying as close attention as I should have I said that I found it odd that some Italians I know peel the grapes before eating them while I and most Americans enjoy the skins. As that last word spilled out of my mouth I noticed all the students around me were spitting their grape skins out and putting them on their plates. Apparently tradition at least in this part of India dictates skin-free grape eating.

Fr. Wayne shows off his adventurous side in Vietnam, holding a python during travels with Fr. Steve. Fr Wayne is in Vietnam helping the district set up an archives.

If you have read Fr. Steve’s posts you know that Fr. Wayne Jenkins, archivist for the US Province, has been in Vietnam during the past few weeks helping the district to set up an archives. Fr. Wayne writes about a typical Sunday in Ho Chi Minh:

This was my second Sunday in Ho Chi Minh City.  For the Vietnamese SCJs and for the students, they use their motorcycles to travel to parishes and to convents for the celebration of the Eucharist and for teaching religious education. For the foreigners like myself, I can celebrate in the community house or in one of three places where foreigners may concelebrate only!

For Saturday evening, the celebration of the Eucharist is at 6:00 p.m. at the Archdiocesan Pastoral Centre.  The Filipino community organizes things with the Carolus Barlomeus Sisters. The Youth Choir is wonderful!  The priests are from the Philippines, Italy, Belgium, India and Canada.  Our students are the altar servers and the greeters.  The seating is like in the theatre.  The international community in Ho Chi Minh attend.

Since this month is the celebration of the moon, the children carry paper lanterns down the stairs to the altar.  I am amazed by how the mothers manage to accompany them!  Everyone mingles after the liturgy to share what they had been doing during the week.  It is a friendly and warm community.

For Sunday morning, the cathedral has a celebration of the Eucharist for tourists at 9:30 a.m.

In the afternoon, at 2:30 p.m., there is a celebration of the Eucharist at a Dominican monastery.  Once again, the Filipino community organizes things.  It is a much smaller group of people in a chapel.  The youth choir is very energetic!  A Filipino priest presided while Fr. Rino, SCJ, Fr. Vincent, SCJ, another Filipino priest and I concelebrated.  After the liturgy, everyone was invited to have snacks in their hall.  A volunteer makes a noodle dish.  Coke or water is served with some bread.  The noodles were very tasty!  It is like coffee and doughnuts after a liturgy on Sunday in North America.

Each celebration is different.  Our SCJs enjoy liturgies at the Pastoral Centre and Dominican monastery.  I can understand why!

Fr. Steve and Fr. Wayne join SCJs in Ho Chi Minh for a meal

As noted previously, Fr. Stephen Huffstetter has been in Asia during the past few weeks visiting our SCJ communities in the Philippines and Vietnam. This morning we received several blog entries from him, starting with Fr. Steve’s travel from the Philippines to Vietnam:

Tuesday, September 16; Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam

Vietnam was large in my conscience during my growing up years, as we heard reports from the war every night on the news. Later, I learned more about the country when I served in formation; most of our seminarians then were Vietnamese immigrants. I’m sure this will be an eye-opening experience for me, though I know that six days will only be enough for a brief introduction.

Our SCJ community has begun the process of applying for official recognition to be able staff parishes and engage in other works. This will take several more years. For now what we are able to do is offer education for those men who wish to become SCJs. Most of the candidates have already finished college and are fairly sure about having a vocation to religious life as they enter the discernment process.

Students at the dorm

Forty students and SCJs live in neighboring houses in an area north of downtown. The main house is thin and tall, with the chapel on the roof, which offers a good view of the city. The students share dorm rooms with three sets of bunk beds. Some of the candidates arrived just over a week ago and their main challenge is to improve their English. I was asked the basics: “What is your name?” “Where are you from?” “How are you today?” Many times. The language in the house and at prayer is English to prepare them for philosophy and theology studies in the Philippines.

We took a taxi from the airport. The community owns no cars, only motorbikes. The ratio of motorbikes to cars on the road must be at least 20:1 and it is mesmerizing to see them weave around one another, especially around intersections and traffic circles.

My main purpose in visiting is to better understand the needs of the growing district and look at ways in which the U.S. Province might collaborate with it as the SCJ charism finds new expression in a new land.

Fr. Rino is the district superior, originally from Italy. Fr. Thai was ordained just a couple of years ago and is from the second group of professed Vietnamese SCJs. We sat on a balcony overlooking the neighborhood as they filled me in on how they developed these houses and programs, and some of their future hopes and plans.

Once the sun went down it was time for adoration and evening prayer. We took our shoes off to enter the chapel, as is the custom here. During the quiet time all the lights were turned off, and only candle light illuminated the monstrance with the Blessed Sacrament. It was a calm and peaceful chance to recollect after a full day. When the lights came on for the prayers and hymns I was pleased with the gusto with which the group sang and participated.

Fr. Wayne and Trung on the Mekong Riover

Wednesday, September 17; trip to the Mekong Delta

While in the Philippines I spent most of my time touring our SCJ apostolates. Since we haven’t yet developed such projects here, the community suggested that  I use some of my time to get better acquainted with the culture of the country. Today we took a bus and boat tour of the Mekong Delta, a couple hours south of Ho Chi Minh. Bat, a theologian serving his pastoral year, and Trung, a candidate, were guides for Fr. Wayne Jenkins and me. Fr. Wayne is helping the community set up its archives, and has also tutored English. His favorite classroom is in one of the neighborhood coffee shops where students can work on the art of conversation.

While waiting for our tour bus to arrive, we strolled around a park near the city center. The public space sprang to life with activity even in the early morning hours. Elders did more gentle movement exercises while another group did aerobics to lively music.

Once we cleared the metro area we passed acres and acres of rice fields. Most of the work is still done by hand. Scattered among the fields are family graves. Working alongside of the graves of ancestors strengthens the ties to the.

When we reached the Mekong River we switched to a boat. The area features a floating market, with many goods, especially fresh produce, sold from boats on the river. Many of the boats also serve as homes for the merchants. We pulled alongside a fruit boat and had fresh bananas and rambutan.

Fr. Wayne, told that the snake is “used to people,” gets up close and personal with a python

We sampled green tea and coconut candy at a village shop where everything was made from scratch. I didn’t try any of the snake wine, but Fr. Wayne and I did hold a live python after reassurances from its handler that is was used to people.  There were many local crafts for sale, creatively using byproducts from coconuts in every way imaginable. These folks depend on tourist dollars for their livelihood, so I felt guilty for being more of a window shopper. I appreciate the work, yet try not to buy what I do not need.

Lunch featured local fish and produce. The restaurant was surrounded by orchards where we could see papaya, jackfruit, mangos and other fruits growing. Locals displayed their traditional music and dance, which told ancient stories of life on the river and in the fields. Around the tables we met some new friends, including a fun group of Malaysian women celebrating a 15 year class reunion with a girls road trip.

Back in town we toured the marketplace. A stack of U.S. $100 bills about three inches tall caught my eye. When I saw that they weren’t real I learned that when remembering deceased ancestors the custom is to burn items that they will need to ensure a good life in the hereafter. They also showed me paper houses, with cars and furniture that can also be used for the same purpose.

Members of the Apostolic Fraternity

Back in the city, Fr. Vincent Dung invited us to his home for supper. Vincent and Fr. Joseph joined the SCJs through the French Province even before the international district began. He serves a nearby parish and oversees the Apostolic Fraternity, a house of discernment to develop the faith of about 30 Catholic men attending school. Several past students have gone on to become priests in the diocese. They prepared a speech of welcome, and also shared gratitude for the help the SCJs have given them.

Fr. Rino, Fr. Loc and Abbot Matthew Vu

Thursday, September 18

Today we traveled south to the coastal town of Vung Tau to visit the Cistercian Monastery. One of their confreres, Fr. Nam is in residence at our Chicago Formation house. When Abbot Matthew came to visit him last year he extended a warm invitation to me to see their community.

Fr. Steve at the Shrine of Vung Tau

Vung Tau has two well known Catholic Shrines. First we stopped to visit the statue of the risen Jesus, which sits atop a coastal mountain, arms spread in welcome. We worked up quite a sweat climbing some 800 stairs to reach the top. In the last part of the ascent, inside the body of the statue, we were asked to take off our shoes. When we emerged at the top we stood on the shoulder of Christ, with a breathtaking view of the seas and city below.

The second shrine is dedicated to Mother Mary. The stairway leading up had life-size Stations of the Cross for pilgrims to pray and reflect at while catching their breath. While Catholics are less than 10% of the population, the people’s practice of the faith is quite public and strong.

We reached the monastery in time for midday prayer, chanted by about 60 monks. They have over 100 in their foundation, with 30 novices in the process of joining them. My Vietnamese language skills are non-existent. Fr. Loc was gracious to translate my greetings and prayers for each of them.

This evening I met up with an old friend and former member of the community, Ha Tran. We met outside the Cathedral of Notre Dame, and went to a nearby restaurant for a snack and drink. Ha now lives in California but was spending time in Ho Chi Minh. He says “hello” and thanks all the SCJs who helped him along the way.

Fr. Rino and Fr. Steve with school staff

Friday, September 19

I presided at morning mass for the students with instructions “to keep the homily short because the new guys won’t understand too much of what you say anyway.” Still, their faith and enthusiasm is an inspiration to me. Many come from agricultural backgrounds or fishing villages. All will finish college before going to study philosophy in the Philippines.

Frs. Rino, Vincent and Loc took me to St. Paul parish where the SCJs do help-out ministry and seminarians can do their internship. The diocesan pastor, also Fr. Vincent, has seen tremendous growth in the parish over the 39 years he has been assigned there. He started with 700 parishioners and now serves 13,000. More than half are recent migrants to the city looking for work in the many factories. Ho Chi Minh produces many products, but especially shoes and clothes in this area. One factory we drove by employs 50,000 workers!

The parish has a shrine to the Vietnamese martyrs. From some of the earliest days of Christianity in this part of the world, people have known the true cost of discipleship. It has produced a deep and enduring faith.

Parents wait to pick up their children from school

We visited the school the SCJs help sponsor for migrant children new to the area. Each of the three classrooms is about the size of a two-car garage, and seats 40-50 children. The dedicated teachers work two shifts, with younger kids in the morning and third and fourth graders in the afternoon. The materials are low tech, with chalk and blackboard and lots of group recitation. The youngest were taking turns with a pointer going through the letters of the alphabet. The children are motivated to learn.

We enjoyed a folk dance the youngest girls performed for us. Afterward we met some of the parents who were waiting by their motorbikes to pick up their children. Lots of smiles and words of gratitude to the SCJs for helping to provide a better future.

The school is currently in a rented building. The lease expires in another year-and-a-half, and the owner wants it back to expand his business. The community has found an alternate site, but it will require some significant money. In Ho Chi Minh City, like any major metropolis, the land is more expensive than the actual building. They have some local pledges of support, and the district asked me to see if the U.S. Province can also find ways to help.

When we arrived back at the formation house the students were busy with work period.  They were fencing in a garden to grow herbs and vegetables. I wasn’t much help with the construction project so I tried to increase their English vocabulary with words like “pliers,” “wrench,” “nuts” and “bolts.” I don’t know if that will be much help to them in their study of philosophy or not!

In the evening I was treated to a water puppet show, a beautiful, ancient tradition. The synchronized swimming of the puppets was worthy of an Olympic medal. Dragons, fish, farmers and kings paraded in color before our eyes. The music was enchanting even if I couldn’t grasp the lyrics.

Bishop’s residence

Saturday, September 20; Nha Trang

When Fr. Loc told me he’d arranged for us to stay at the bishop’s house I imagined something completely different than the six story, 200 room complex we pulled into. The rooms themselves are simple, with a bamboo mat on top of the bed frame, a desk and closet. There are enough rooms for all the priests of the diocese to stay for meetings, retreats and days of recollection. Nah Trang is a beautiful coastal city which has developed itself as a tourist destination. In addition to shoppers and sunbathers walking along the sidewalk, 100 seminarians gathered this evening in circles of ten in the courtyard, bibles in hand, for their weekly faith sharing.

When I took a stroll down the sidewalk, people passed out fliers for nearby restaurants. They were all in Russian, since that is where so many of the tourists this time of year are from.

A good number of our first SCJ vocations came from this diocese. The community arranged for me to meet several of their families to get a feel for everyday life and the role that families play in nurturing vocations.

Visiting the family of one of our Vietnamese SCJs

Our first stop was at the boyhood home of Fr. Thai, where his brother and family now live. They have three-year-old twin girls. It was funny to hear Saturday morning cartoons like Tom & Jerry speaking Vietnamese. Fr. Thai’s brother works on a farm where mangos are the area specialty. He also crafts large clay pots that are used for trees and decorative floral displays. His wife runs a beauty shop, a small 10 x 20 foot concrete building next to their home. She only has one beauty chair, but works with care and attention.

Most of the homes I’ve visited have one room that proudly displays family pictures, especially placing deceased parents and grandparents in places of honor. There were also many statues and holy pictures. The room is used to welcome guests and for family prayer.

Next we saw a nearby monastery; it is a growing community with 15 new novices. The chapel was completed 10 years ago and has a wonderful cultural touch. The roof is shaped like a field worker’s hat, honoring the common laborer. Their garden held statues of Vietnamese martyrs set up in an “S” shape just like the country itself.

Fr. Loc’s family hosted lunch –– a fun and lively crew. Courses of the festive meal were punctuated with the local toast: “mot, hai, ba, zo!” shouted out with gusto. His father laughed and told many engaging stories that had everyone smiling, though I had to wait for the translation to get the punch line. Many family members and friends joined in as it was an occasion for all of them to get together. They were honored that I came to their home, while I was humbled and honored by their care and generosity.

Fr. Quang Nguyen (same name as one of our SCJs in the States) has been working in a parish here, but will soon be moving to Rome for advanced studies in psychology. While the district is young they already see the Importance of preparing this generation to assume local leadership. He invited us to concelebrate the evening mass. In another touch of inculturation we carried three incense sticks into the church to honor the Trinity, and placed them in a clay pot in front of the altar. Many of the common prayers have a chanted quality, which actually kept everyone together and made the mass parts much easier for me to follow along.

Children at a parish festival in Nha Trang

Sunday, September 21

The days begin much earlier here than back home. We got to “sleep in ” until 6 a.m. because we had the second parish mass of the day at 7 a.m. This was the start of the new catechetical year. Students wear different colored scarves to symbolize the levels they have achieved. When the students reach 18 or so, and know their catechism well, they receive red scarves and become catechists themselves, teaching the younger children. Today a half dozen of them were honored and took up the mantle.

Today was a parish carnival for the children. Over the summer each time a child attended daily mass s/he received a ticket good for one game, which included dart toss, spin the wheel, kicking a ball into a goal, and shooting baskets. Some of the kids had quite a fistful of tickets when the games began. Where we often have a ring toss around pop bottles, the most surprising game to me had a pen with six live ducks roaming around and the goal was to loop a ring around their neck to win a prize.

After breakfast and a conversation with the pastor, Fr. Dominic, we visited yet two more homes for a light snack and then for lunch. Fr. Quang and Fr. Phuong’s families again set a wonderful table. My only complaint about the food is that they feed me too much. My saving grace is that I’m very awkward using chopsticks, and that slows me down. Some of the crowd giggled at my style, and offered coaching. Lest I go hungry there was always a spoon at my ready!

A typical ox-drawn cart in India

As noted previously, Fr. Tom Cassidy is in India until October 20 assisting with formation and administrative tasks. He writes:

Since it is Sunday morning all the students are out on pastoral assignments. Just to give you a few examples: Harish, Benarji, Thambi and Syam (two second and two first-year theologians) are at Vempada, our own SCJ parish; while Anu and Vineeth, both third-year theologians, are at the cathedral.

Fr. Tom arrives in Eluru

As noted previously, Fr. Tom Cassidy is in India through October 20 assisting with formation and administrative tasks in the district. He writes today about getting back online in a country where WiFi is a luxury, not an easily found convenience around every corner. 

Yesterday morning Fr. Joseph Gopu (the house treasurer) took me to Eluru to get my MacBook set up to connect to the internet via a Reliance 3 modem. It permits me to connect anywhere in India via satellite. It’s not the fastest system in the world but it works. You pay by the month so I’m good until October 17th.

Now I mention all this sort of as an introduction to the experience of getting set up while shopping in a strange land. We take so much for granted when it comes to our purchases that when we’re taken out of our element it can become a strange and perplexing world. First off I would have been helpless without Fr. Joseph as the technicians were not English speakers.

The two of us left our house a little bit after 9:00 am for downtown Eluru, about a seven kilometer trip (4.3 miles) where we got ourselves in a real traffic jam. The road is not very wide to begin with and trucks, as in lots of trucks, were lined up and not moving. Joseph said they were lined up to be loaded with rice. A bus passed us going the same direction but in the other (opposite direction) lane. Joseph decided to follow the bus thinking “who’s going to argue with it!” It was the wrong decision and we soon came to a halt blocking both lanes coming and going. A few motor bikes managed to work their way around it, but for the most part we all were stuck as stuck could be. Finally, an enterprising gentleman (middle age I would say) got the bus and us and a few vehicles behind us to back up. We backed up about a quarter of a mile and turned left unto a side road Joseph knew about and worked our way around any and all obstacles and into the center of town.

Arriving at our Reliance 3 shop we were told it was closed for a holiday (or that’s what I understood was said). I think that something was lost in translation but they did eventually open their doors. By the way the shop is tucked away behind an ice cream parlor. I noted the ice cream parlor had a large generator out front since we lose electricity all too often it would be a disaster at a place that makes its money selling ice cream.

I must say that even working in translation the technicians were able to set up my computer (actually I could have done it myself). Now here’s where the surprise comes for a stranger to Indian ways enters the picture. First of all, we all removed our shoes before entering the shop. I don’t think this happens in all shops in Eluru but certainly here everyone automatically removed their shoes.

Here comes the surprise, in order to pay for the modem and one month use Fr. Joseph had to produce two identity cards, a small photo and then run out to another shop to have the cards and photo copied. I have no idea of why this was all required but I do know we could not leave the store with the modem unless and until these steps were completed.

It took almost noon before we got home. That being said, I am a happy camper. When I opened my e-mail for the first time there were 65 messages. I could imagine if I had to wait a few days how many more would be sitting there! Naturally, probably 55 were pure junk!