Hospitality and the way we don't even know we have a culture in it is something that becomes very evident when you are in a foreign land.
We were invited to the home of one of the agricultural workers here at the home. He over sees the crops, planting and harvesting. He has been a part of this girls home for 38 years and has seen a lot of people come and go.
We arrived at his place via small black and yellow autos that bumped over the somewhat uneven road and a couple of the kids went with D.C on the scooter.
As soon as we arrived, baby was whipped away and laid to sleep in a bedroom with about 3 ladies keeping watch over him and I did not see him again until he needed a feed about 1.5hrs later.
We were all sat in the lounge with the TV playing a video of their daughters wedding that had taken place while we were in Goa. A woman came with a bowl and jug of water to wash our hands and then a scrumptious beef (yes, beef) biriani was brought to us. None of the hosts sat with us as food was passed out and this is a common thing here in India. We did invite them to eat with us but only our friend who invited us joined. Generally the family will serve the guests and only eat once the guests have eaten enough and they have gone home. I had more than enough as food kept getting piled on my plate even though I protested. We asked for just a small amount for the boys but they got about the helping I would have liked. Needless to say our tummies were over extended that afternoon and I was in no need for dinner that night. We were also served a desert that was a bit like bread and butter pudding but with a bit of aromatic spice. It was very tasty. The meal was ended with another hand washing and then it was time to feed the baby that I had not seen for the entire time of being there. We then headed home. The hosts came out when it was time for us to leave and we had a small conversation in broken English. So I really couldn't tell you much about our hosts as I didn't really even get to see much of them and I am not sure I would even recognise them in the street to be honest. It's such a difference to our culture where you socialise over food and it's a time of togetherness and bonding. I'm not sure I will ever get used to eating on our own at someones house but I do appreciate their welcoming us into their home and filling out tummies. I hope I can reciprocate and have them over to us sometime soon. I wonder what they would think if we sat down and ate with them?
We were invited to the home of one of the agricultural workers here at the home. He over sees the crops, planting and harvesting. He has been a part of this girls home for 38 years and has seen a lot of people come and go.
We arrived at his place via small black and yellow autos that bumped over the somewhat uneven road and a couple of the kids went with D.C on the scooter.
As soon as we arrived, baby was whipped away and laid to sleep in a bedroom with about 3 ladies keeping watch over him and I did not see him again until he needed a feed about 1.5hrs later.
We were all sat in the lounge with the TV playing a video of their daughters wedding that had taken place while we were in Goa. A woman came with a bowl and jug of water to wash our hands and then a scrumptious beef (yes, beef) biriani was brought to us. None of the hosts sat with us as food was passed out and this is a common thing here in India. We did invite them to eat with us but only our friend who invited us joined. Generally the family will serve the guests and only eat once the guests have eaten enough and they have gone home. I had more than enough as food kept getting piled on my plate even though I protested. We asked for just a small amount for the boys but they got about the helping I would have liked. Needless to say our tummies were over extended that afternoon and I was in no need for dinner that night. We were also served a desert that was a bit like bread and butter pudding but with a bit of aromatic spice. It was very tasty. The meal was ended with another hand washing and then it was time to feed the baby that I had not seen for the entire time of being there. We then headed home. The hosts came out when it was time for us to leave and we had a small conversation in broken English. So I really couldn't tell you much about our hosts as I didn't really even get to see much of them and I am not sure I would even recognise them in the street to be honest. It's such a difference to our culture where you socialise over food and it's a time of togetherness and bonding. I'm not sure I will ever get used to eating on our own at someones house but I do appreciate their welcoming us into their home and filling out tummies. I hope I can reciprocate and have them over to us sometime soon. I wonder what they would think if we sat down and ate with them?
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