Who are the people in your neighborhood?

Do you remember the catchy Sesame Street song by the same name? "The people that you meet when you're walking down the street, they're the people that you meet each day." This week I thought I'd give you a little tour of our daily walk on our way to the "chuch" and introduce some of our favorite community people to you who've become quite dear to us due to our daily friendly interactions with them. 

Our first encounter every morning used to be with Mohammed, our building security officer. With his unmistakable nasally voice, he'd greet us and want to know where we were going and he would always repeat it back to us twice;  walking-walking, shopping-shopping, chuch-chuch. Elder Dunlap would bring him back a soda from the store or one time an ice cream which by his expression was too cold (but once the initial shock wore off, he really enjoyed it!) Suddenly, one day we never saw him again and we don't know why. Did he retire? Get diabetes from the treats? Die? Heaven forbid. We keep hoping he's just been on an extended leave and we'll see him once again. The moral? Never take anyone for granted, instead, take a picture, make a connection, shake hands, let them know you appreciate them while you can because you never know when it's your last chance.

 

Heading down our PNR layout is our noble Dapper Dan garbage man who blows his loud blue whistle for the apartment managers to bring the "bucket buckets" to the street.

You might note the intricate tangle of internet wires behind him in the tree.

Further down the busy road past the bus depot, we walk by the Guppy man, who sells goldfish in plastic bags. He charges so little for them and we've never seen anyone buy one and wonder how he makes it? But he always happily smiles and waves at us. If only we were allowed pets. 

Waiting patiently for the catch

We walk by so many beautiful women in their colorful saris and the young women in their kurtas and school uniforms.

If you happen to be thirsty, there's several options along the way: 1) coconut water (this is seasonal and sadly we missed our opportunity to catch our tiny little lady vendor with her large machete for a photo, now she has closed up shop) 2 & 3 are freshly squeezed limeade or squeezed sugarcane, take your pick.

Squeezing the nectar out of life

Everywhere you look there are street dogs. Elder Dunlap can't help but scratch them behind the ears and mug on them as we walk by. He has become The Pied Piper of Coimbatore and dogs will follow him just to get some of his good lovin'.

                         Them dogs wuz tard

Once we cross our insane intersection with lane mergings from every possible direction, we have our personal poultry man. Elder Dunlap likes to watch the whole process, from the beheading, the skinning, to the cutting of the individual pieces. I prefer to avert my eyes or stay home on chicken day.

Pocketknife sharpening, no charge. 

Once we become friends with the shop keepers on Trichy Rd, we wouldn't think of taking our business elsewhere. Such is the case with the shoe salesman when Rob's flipflops broke. We saw this man every day and appreciated his friendly wave. We were finally glad when we could buy his wares.

A fair Indian man with a good sole.

We go to 3 different grocery stores to get the essentials we need-Nilgiris, Pazham, and Smart Bazaar. We have our little helpers at each place but my very favorite is this woman. I don't know her name because she is deaf but we instinctively know we both have a language barrier and we play charades to communicate. She's helped me find mascara, deodorant but sorry, no mousse to be found in India. Plenty of hair oil for sleekness but nothing for curl or body.

                       Friends w/o words

Just tonight we ran into Taggar the Toothless. He stands for us everytime we walk by and hails us with a hearty wave. Ironically I believe he's the security man near a dentist's office.

  Taggar on the right and eager photo bomber

Sometimes when we're out late to English class or Institute, rather than go home and cook, we'll splurge (calories not money) at Bangalore Juicy right on our very corner for a shake and sandwich.

Since we've watched from the very beginning the ripping out of the preexisting business, to the construction, to their opening day and now to a thriving eatery, we've become quite chummy with brothers Vishnu and Akshay. They are there every single day from 11:00 am to past midnight. They don't know the meaning of the word delegation and may soon learn the American phrase "burnout." 

  Workaholics Anonymous Meeting in progress

Talk about the BEST reward system for us! Nothing quite soothes us from a long day like a samoona (sandwich) or a chocolate shake with ice cream. (Apparently, this is not redundant) It dawned on us that a faloota is Indian for a float. 

     Chocolate shakes- the thorn in my flesh

                  At 85₹ (1.00) this is a steal!

   Or if we're really famished, a fine dine experience at China V'lley upstairs.

 Not sure why the A is deemed unnecessary. 

A mere walk down our lane, (Elder Dunlap of course, scratching every stray dog's ears along the way), a right turn and that brings us right back home to the Amalagam Apartments.

And there you have it. A Day in the Life

Matthew 22:39

...thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself

D &C 82:19

"Every man seeking the interest of his neighbor, and doing all things with an eye-single to the glory of God"