In India, we eat with our hands.
This sounds like a pretty simple task. After all, most babies first learn to eat with their hands until they are eventually upgraded to a fork (or maybe chopsticks). Be warned, as our team would now tell you, this is not easily done. In fact, there is quite a trick to it.
The first priority is that you must always eat with your right hand. Eating with your left hand is considered rude, unsanitary, and even offensive. Now, our hands are simply not used to holding scolding foods for any periods of time, so especially when dealing with rice-based dishes, it is essential that you cool it by spread the food evenly on your plate. This is something that can easily be forgotten, which will lead to burnt fingers as you rush to stick the scalding food in your mouth—a very bad idea.
Now, the technique: using four fingers pressed together, scoop the food and (ignoring all table manners that you learned in America), bring your head down to your hand. Finally, use your thumb to push the food into your mouth.
Trying this for the first time is quite awkward and probably very unsuccessful. This is roughly the same feeling that the team is having in India currently. We are incredibly excited to dive into the ministry and start building the relationships that we have been eagerly expecting; however we are physically and spiritually not quite sure how to respond to this new context. This is the first time for all eight of us in India, and it is completely different from home.
So, we are taking time to pause, rest, pray, and learn the technique of eating with our hands.
