A Walk Down Memory Lane

Saturday morning we headed out to the town called Ropar where Jas's dads side of the family lives. Dad had ten siblings,  some have passed already and he is in the younger part of the bunch. Today I met his two brothers and one sister. (I have met a few before who have come to the states) It has been so nice to finally meet the extended family and to also see Jas and his parents happily reunited with them. They are all so welcoming and the generosity is more than I could have ever expected.  I have not talked much about the culture but its traditional to give a gift when someone comes to you house for the first time. We have been showed in so many gifts and its hard to accept because its not part of my culture.  I try to protest but even if I try to get away without it in my hand, they will find a way to slip it in my bag or even give it to Mia. Even my mother in law gets involved in the battle to retun the gift, but most of the time we lose and walk away with a beautiful envelope with cash inside. 
A few things I have requested to see while in India is where Jas grew up and also his grandfathers farm where his dad grew up. So after a late lunch we set out to the real countryside to see the old farm house. However, somewhere between Chandigarh and the Golden Temple I have come down with a sore throat.  Its probably the dust but I just wanted to stop off at the pharmacist to get something just incase. Its so easy to get meds here, you just walk up to a stall, tell the guy your symptoms and he gives you medication.  No insurance loopholes,  no long waits in the doctors office, and did I mention how cheap it is! My meds cost .60 cents and they are already working! I kinda like this system! Anyways, we got my meds and 10 minutes later we were in the real country. ..where they never see white people! First we turned off on a narrow dirt road and went down about a half mile and stopped.  Jas took me up a small hill where there was a brick wall and told me it was a bus stop.  I couldn't believe it because it just looked like a random place in the middle of nowhere. As we were standing there a heard of cows passed within feet of us! Then we got up on the wall and walked over a little bit to a canal with a narrow metal walkway. He said that when he used to come out to visit his grandfather's house, they would get off at that bus stop and had to cross over the narrow walkway! One slip and you would fall into the water, not a good situation for people who cannot swim! After that we drove a few minutes down the road and pulled off into a very narrow road into an extremely small town. We pulled up infront of a small brick home and got out. Nobody lives in the home as it is really not even liveable,  but it is being kept in the family possession.  It was built in the 20's or 30's and looked like it was falling apart, but it was amazing to be able to get a tour of where Jas's dad grew up. He showed me where the cows and goats were kept, the kitchen and the outdoor bathrooms.  Jas was up on the rooftop reminiscing of when he was a child sleeping under the stars. It was actually kind of an emotional moment to see them there talking of old times and talking with the neigherbors.  Jas has told me so many stories of this house and I never thought I would get the chance to see it let alone have our child running around in there enjoying herself. The whole experience has left me speechless.  As we were leaving,  Jas went back in for a few minutes and came out with this old glass lamp that they used to read by at night. We are hoping to get it home in one piece as it will be nice to have a little something at home for memories. 
Once again, we piled into the car and stopped off at a few historical Sikh temples and we were back on our way to Chandigarh.  I forgot to mention the small crowd that I drew while we were there! Mostly it was kids just curious to see me, and they got a kick out of it when I waved at them! It was near dusk and we pulled off to the roadside to see how the locals farmed sugar cane and made juice out of it. I wanted to try it but my instinct said to avoid it so I wouldn't get sick. However I did get to try some raw sugar and it wasnt too bad! The family was extremely poor and lived in a tent on the roadside,  their small children were running freely in the fields. You have not seen poverty until you have seen families living the way they do in India,  its truly heartbreaking.  We did bring a bunch of candy from the states to hand out to these kids and the smiles on their faces were priceless.  Jas's aunt bought a whole box of raw sugar and we were back on our way. Thankfully we didn't have a long ride because it was dark now and like I said before, night time driving in India is scary, even my speed racer husband admitted it!
Tomorrow Mia, Jas and I are off to Shimla. I'm excited about the scenery,  Mia is excited that our hotel will have a bath tub! (No joke, that is what she told me!)