Cheetos by Any Other Name...

Some time ago, we found a snack that looked suspiciously like Cheetos.  They are called Kur Kure, which means "crunchy" in Hindi.  They come in fancy names like Chilli Chatka, Green Chutney, and Masala Munch.  They are very spicey, but have the distinctive Cheetos crunch.  So I got curious and did some after hours research.  Wikipedia says that "the snack was developed entirely in India" in 1999, but if you continue reading, you find that Kur Kure is a product of the Indian division of Pepsico.  Next, I checked out Cheetos.  They were created in 1948 and are now a product of Frito-Lay which is a subsidiary of PepsiCo since 1965.  Ah hah!, another mystery solved.  I won't bore you with the details, but if you want more information that you ever cared to know about Cheetos, check out Wikipedia (like - did you know that Cheetos makes 21 different kinds of Cheetos in North America alone?).

In the picture, Kur Kure made locally cost 20 rupees.  The imported bag of Cheetos cost 400 rupees (about $7.50).  On a equivalent weigh basis, imported Cheetos are 10 times the cost of the local variety.  This is our first bag of "real" Cheetos (anything for the blog).

Hindu Burial

Late last week one of the elderly ladies in our branch passed away.  She had been sick for some time and was in the hospital when she died.  She and her adult son were the only members of the Church in her family.  We had been told the night she died that the family was going to buy a plot of land and have a typical christian burial.  So we gathered the next morning with many other church members to go up to her home and pay respects to her family, and then make arrangements for a funeral service.  While we were walking up, a large group of people were coming down, with her body on a stretcher covered with colorful cloth and flowers on the shoulders of 6 men.  People followed behind throwing flowers and 1 rupee coins over her body.  Some of the church members told us that during the night, her brother and sister had decided to have a traditional Hindu cremation (or burning as they call it).  We followed them, not knowing where they were going.  We walked through some pretty busy streets for about 2 miles.  When we finally arrived, we had sweat through our clothes and had no water to drink.  We found some shade and waited for about 30 minutes.  They laid her on an alter-type structure, did some prayers around her and then took her to an open cremation area where they took off all the coverings, except a sheet did some additional rituals and then covered her with wood and started it on fire.  We did not stay, but understand that someone stays with the body to be sure that it is completed consumed.  Some days later, the husband and son will shave their head, spread mud mixed with her ashes on their heads and then spread her remaining ashes in the Yamuna River, which is considered a holy river.

I felt a little uncomfortable taking pictures, but I took these with my iPhone two behind the crowd of people.

Family and friends said prayers at the
foot of the body

Our India Life

RETURN TO SENDER
We receive requests from all over the world to have missionaries visit those interested in knowing more about the Church.   In many cases, the people live far from New Delhi, and all we can do is send them a copy of the Book of Mormon and other Church literature.  Due to the vagaries of the postal system in India, we get some of our mail back.  While not uncommon to get things back looking like they have been run over by a truck (multiple times).  This one tops them all.  The postal service tied the string around the package to keep it together...

CLEANING THE CHURCH BUILDING
Just this year the Church in India began having members clean the church building and grounds.  The US has been doing this for years.  While it is a way to save costs, the primary reason is to allow members to perform service and to have respect for the church buildings.  In India, this has been much harder to implement because of the holdover of the caste system (at least that's my opinion).  Sister Stevens and I wanted to help be a part of cleaning when it was our branch's turn, so we show up with our US mentality - not a "broom" or "mop" in sight.  I didn't catch me or Angela in the act, but these pictures will give you a clue on how floors are cleaned in India.

Typical broom - Oh my aching back

Mopping (a rag draped over a squeegee)

COWS RULE
We were coming home one morning from our walk and these cows were sitting in the middle of the road right in front of our apartment...totally oblivious of the traffic.

Not phased a bit!

Smile...

Sister Stevens New Dress

For those who don't know when Angela's birthday is, this won't seem like I'm slow in posting, for the rest of you just pretend you don't know.  Someday I'll find a way to change the posting date so my procrastination is not so obvious. 

Since coming here and seeing all the ornate Indian dresses, Angela has wanted to get one that she could wear.  The typical Indian saree is 15 meters of material that you wrap and tuck  and pin around you - but be careful or it's laying on the ground.  Angela opted for a more "western style" dress, and found the perfect one for her birthday.  Of course it's so ornate, she could never wear it here, so dressing up at home is the best she can do for now.  


Angela's New Dress

A new dress needs a new
necklace and earrings

Pictures of Old Delhi

A while back, Sister Stevens went with Sister Black to Old Delhi.  Elder and Sister Black live below us and have been called for 23 months as Public Affairs missionaries.  Because the church is relatively small in our mission, their focus is to work with government and opinion leaders in developing a good name for the church and publicize humanitarian and welfare efforts supported by LDS Charities and the Church's legal entity in India - The Indian Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 

But I digress... Old Delhi is a madhouse of narrow streets, hundreds of vendors and thousands of people shopping at all times of the day and night (well starting at 11 am and going long into the night.  Angela loves it...and I'm sure you know how I feel about it.   I thought you might enjoy some of the pictures they took the last time they were there. 

The only way to get around in Old Delhi

Flower leis - not unlike Hawaii 

Hand-made jewelry

 

Beans and spices of all kinds

School bus

 

Happy 38th Anniversary

It seems like time has really gone by quickly as we think back to celebrating our 37th anniversary shortly after arriving in New Delhi.  Well we reached #38 as of July 29.  As is our tradition, we went out last Saturday (our P-day) and had another great meal to celebrate.  We found a restaurant that had both Italian and Indian food (am I the only one that thinks this is an odd combination?), so Angela had spaghetti and I had one of my favorites, buttered chicken with parantha (one of many types of Indian bread).  We also shared a great tasting grilled chicken salad.  I kept myself out of the dog house by buying some flowers from a guy on the street (literally) just down from the office.  After a leisurely stroll around the mall, we took a sweaty ride home in an auto, and finished up our lessons for Sunday.  We love our lives together and a chance to be of service in such an interesting place as India.   

Happy 38th - Life is Good

July 4 - Missionary Flash Mob at Chili's

What is more American (at least in India) than Chili's?  We took our 6 American missionaries and their Indian companions to Chili's for lunch on July 4 to celebrate Independence Day.  One of the elders brought an American flag and with another American elder preceded to hang the flag from one of the windows in the restaurant.  They were going for it regardless. I saw the manager coming and could tell this was going to get contentious soon, so I pre-empted them and asked him if it would be okay.  Of course the answer was no, so with one "international disaster" avoided, we ordered lunch.  After the first round of soft drinks, the soft drink machine suspiciously broke, and remained so until the end of the meal.  Despite this, the missionaries were able to get a couple of refills.  After we had paid the bill, and were getting up to leave, one of the elders began singing "God Bless America".  We all joined in.  The manager came around motioning to tone it down, but didn't actually stop us (I kept looking the other way so he wouldn't stare me down).  We sounded pretty good.  All the people around us gave us strange looks (what's new).  It was great to pay respect and show our pride in our country.

Last weekend on June 29,  the American Embassy had an Independence Day celebration on their baseball field (only US citizens were invited).  We went with Elder and Sister Black with the sole intent to get a real hamburger (not water buffalo).  Angela was like a girl in a candy shop, wanting one of each item on the food line.  We settled for hamburgers, fries and fried chicken (all of it mmmm!).  We sweated through waiting in the food line, listening (and sometimes enduring) a live band, and a short, but good fireworks display.  We had a great time.

Angela in the "real" hamburger line

Enjoyed every bite!  

After the sun went down