Weekend 2: Coimbatore ft. Florina and Family

On Sunday night, we drove to Coimbatore to have dinner with Florina, her husband Gladston, and her in-laws. She had a few other guests over, and it was such a warm and welcoming home.

Florina started by serving us pani poori, which are puffed shells filled with potatoes, onions, and a sweet-tangy water. There's really no American food you can compare it to, but you'll have to trust us that it was delicious! Meanwhile, Florina's father-in-law cut up a big jackfruit on the front porch that we got to sample as well.

We wanted to help make the dinner, and attempted to continue our tex-mex streak with a little guacamole. The avocados in India are very different from the ones in Texas, so the guac ended up tasting a little odd. Luckily, Florina saved the day with perfectly cooked spaghetti that could have easily passed for Italian! The family also made grilled kabobs with paneer, and by the end of the dinner we were completely stuffed.

To make up for the sketchy guac, we offered to wash dishes. Having spent so much time on the work site passing pans of cement and rocks, our well-practiced assembly line made quick work of the dishes. We’re thinking about opening up a professional dishwashing service J Then Florina did some marudhani designs on our hands with hand-crushed henna leaves from her garden!

We were all completely exhausted and ready for our first day of sleeping in. But first we went onto the roof to get a look at the amazing stars. Florina’s home was built in 2005 on what used to be land used for growing coconut trees. There are still lots of trees and wildlife, and at sunrise you could see peacocks in the trees!

For breakfast, Florina and Gladston made pancakes and sausages. We were so happy to have a taste of American food, and they did a great job of it! Then the two of them had to leave in the afternoon for more travel and business. They might be the busiest people we’ve ever met, and they really inspire us with their work. It makes it all the more special that they took the time to make us feel at home.

On our way back to Dharapuram, we did a little more shopping, then stopped at a beautiful temple in Coimbatore called Kumaran Kottam. It’s dedicated to Murugan, a Hindu god who’s very important to the Tamil people. It was a wonderful weekend that left us refreshed and ready for another week of work in the community.