Day 3 With an Indian Mother

Being that I am unemployed at the moment, I have a lot of time to think and reflect on day to day life. So, with this apartment being tiny and having your future mother-in-law breathing down your neck, there is not a lot of time to stare off into space. If Mrs. Singh sees me daydreaming, no doubt she will direct me to do something. So, often times I stare at my computer, clicking and typing aimlessly when she walks by. I do have a purpose at the computer, but everybody needs a break sometimes. Anyway, having a lot of down time is great sometimes, but when you have three people living in a confined space, this down time is not so attractive. Needless to say, Mrs. Singh and I have chatted a lot. This is not the easiest task in the world for two people who don't speak the same language, but we seem to be doing fairly well and I really enjoy it. She is actually much more open that I thought she would be, and has no fear in trying to communicate. She does know a fair amount of English, and I have picked up a teensy, weensy bit of Hindi, so when you add hand gestures and body language to the mix, quite a bit of communicating can get done. Now, I am not suggesting that it is clear all the time. The stuff that we don't understand would probably almost outweigh what we do, but we manage.

Ohhh the things I have learned in just a few weeks! Whether or not these things are true or useful, I have still to decide. The majority of what I have been told has to do with health. Every spice, food, herb, etc. has some great nutritional or healing power to it, and many others are portrayed as evil. The way these things are eaten also affects their value. Apparently, I should not eat bananas in the morning time because they are a cold food and they will make me constipated. Then, garlic must be consumed raw in the morning, as if taking a pill, as well as put in all meals to get the great value from it. I have also been nagged for days that I should place 5 or 6 almonds in my boyfriends lunch everyday to increase brain functioning. Now, I know that almonds are great for memory and they are tasty, but, of course, when and where my boyfriend would like to eat these almonds with is not up for discussion.

One night, while waiting for my boyfriend to get home from work, she showed me the contents of an entire Hindi magazine about health. We flipped page after page, looking at which food, spice, herb, was good for what. Of course, I couldn't read or understand a single word in that magazine, but I sit back, look at the pretty pictures, and nod my head in agreement. Mrs. Singh explains everything to the best of her ability, and most gets understood, but I spend a lot of time nodding my head back and forth, whether I agree or not.

to be continued tomorrow...

A Day in the Life...with an Indian Future Mother-in-Law

I can barely hear myself think as the plumbers in my bathroom repetitiously bang away at something; it sounds like they are tearing down the entire wall as they speak furiously in Spanish to each other. Then there is Mrs. Singh in the next room doing her pooja; praying over candles and statues of gods on top of our very attractive, plastic storage cabinet. All I can hear over the clanging, her quickly and rhythmically mumbling Hindi prayers. But, of course, that is not all the music I can hear from my little desk in the corner. Then there is the excruciatingly loud hissing that is coming from the kitchen as the pressure cooker, as if it is about to take off and sail around the room expelling rice and steam, screeches and whines on the burner. Needless to say, I can barely write this right now.

I am listening to three different languages while I try to write in another. The Spanish from the plumbers, the Hindi from my boyfriend's mother, and the yelling from the rice in the kitchen. The Spanish could be understandable after my four years in High School, but is so mumbled and fast, covered by all the other sounds, that I have no idea. The Hindi, I am still working on, and as for the rice, I have no idea how to work a pressure cooker. So, I sit here, the only noise I am making is the tapping of the keyboard and an occasional click of the mouse.

Aha! The banging has stopped, the pooja is finished, and the rice has calmed down. Of course, this quiet will not stay for long. Now, I hear the Hindi songs coming from the bedroom. Mrs. Singh is now singing along to some old tunes from the mother country as begins to cook lunch. The plumber said his goodbye, but he will be back to bang some more. Now I am sitting here thinking, "How fast can I get out of here?" But then I remember that I should go for a run, take a shower, finishing some cleaning, and then eat lunch with Momma Singh.

to be continued tomorrow....