31st of March, 2023.
Raj is a very nice man and he is going to Vellore. We stop to have some chai and he also buys me some nice buns. Before we leave, he gets some extra buns and give me for the trip. He also helps a small local boy by buying flowers from him. I thought it was very kind of him! We try to find a better spot where he can to drop me off on the way to Nellore. I had one highway in my mind, he had another. In the end, unfortunately, I decide to take his advice. Only after a long time waiting without nobody stopping, I am told that the other spot is actually the one to Nellore. So there I walk. But what a walk!
While I am crossing Vellore, another Raj, this time a senior police officer, stops in the middle of a bridge and offer to take me out of town. But first, we stop to have some delicious fresh juice! Yummy!
Joshua is a pastor going to a meeting in Chitoor, and he is so happy to help me that I am touched by his happiness. He’s also very excited to hear about my travels and want to give me something to remind me of him. But I explain to him that I only accept second hand stuff, so he offers me his own cap! I think it is so sweet when people offer me their own stuff. I am so much in need of a cap that I almost cannot believe in his offer. And so as well I cannot refuse. Funny thing is, the cap is so much like… me! It is a white cap, with an embroidered picture of the Planet Earth on it.
The next guys to stop are so nice, but so nice, that at first, I actually suspected of them. Laugh. They are just so kind and patient, speaking in such a smooth and calm way, that I thought there was something wrong going on. Nope! Vejai and his friend Yuvaraj are just some really nice people! They even buy me a coconut! It has been ages since I had had a fresh coconut! So yummy! They drop me off in Tirupari.
I am outside of Tirupari but unfortunately, right at the entrance of it. It is a long walk alongside the city and for absolutely no reason, I get really mad. And do you know what happen when you get mad? Stupidity! I kick a coconut! A coconut! For those of you wandering what it is so bad about kicking a coconut, I’ll tell you: it can fricking break your big toe. Luckily, I didn’t break mine but… what a pain! I deserved…
While I am walking again, feeling guilty about my stupidity and trying to forgive myself, a pastor stops his motorbike. He tells me it is a long walk to the other side of the city. I know. He offers to take me there. Yay! It is indeed a long ride but we spend it chatting about Tirupari and the pastor telling me more about its surroundings.
After a few minutes of waiting, Mukesh and Jamal stop. They are travelling all the way from Mumbai, on business, going to Nellore. Each one of them has their own business: Mukesh sells electronics and Jamal pyjamas. They are very sweet guys and buy me some juice and snacks on the way. When we arrive to Nellore is already night time, so I ask they guys to help me to find a church where I can ask for shelter. They do so and drop me right by it. Then, a super funny scene takes place. Jamal, tries to give me one of his pyjamas. I am actually in need of one because my current one is falling apart but because is new, I rather not accept. So we are both outside the car, surrounded by people, he keeps pushing the package on my way and saying: “Please, please, please!” – while I push the package back saying no, no, no. Everybody around starts laughing, including Mukesh from inside the car. After a while I give up and finally decide to accept the gift. Funnily enough, it is a blue pyjama, my favourite colour.
At the church, I experience some curious situation. At first, some really nice men, Sunil and Geeth, help me to contact the pastor, David. After talking with him in the phone, we all drive to his home. Once there, pastor David receive us all very gracefully and kindly. I also meet his son, Havish, a very nice and smart young man, who wishes to get a scholarship in the U.S. What it follows is that strikes me in a slightly weird way. It is a small kind of interrogatory which pastor David does with me. And even though I try to understand that, perhaps, he is just worried about… his family? His house? Security? Perhaps. I can’t stop thinking about all the other people who simply invited me to their homes without being able to speak one word of English, and for that so, not knowing a thing about me and my travels; and still, they would receive me with the most friendly and undoubted welcome.
A small group of people is in procession with the pastor’s wife, just beside his home, where there is a small church. I am invited to speak about myself and my travels after the service is finished. I am happy to do it, being so many women present; and someone does the translation.
After having some food, Havish shows me to a room in an apartment upstairs, which is vacant. We have the chance to chat a little bit and Havish strikes me as a very nice young man and I so much wish him all the best.
Next morning, after breakfast, Havish himself drives me to a spot outside Nellore, on the way to Mangalagiri.
1st of April, 2023.
I cannot recall if I got this only lift to Mangalagiri or if anyone picked me up before Dr. Mehar. But on my records, I have only a note about him.
He passed by me at first but then, slowly reduced the speed and finally stopped. He tells me he was unsure about what I was doing and if I needed help. Dr. Mehar is going by himself to Guntur but he decides to drive me all the way to Mangalagiri afterwards. He is a very nice man. He shows me this app which he shares with his wife and his daughter, who is living in the U.S., where they can all see where each one of them are. Yep! Is a kind of “tracking” app. His father calls him several times during our trip, constantly asking where is he and if he is fine. That’s sweet!
Dr. Mehar buys some mangoes because he wants me to try them. “It’s the season”! – he says. But once we arrive in Mangalagiri, he forgets to give them to me. Later on, he would tell me via e-mail that it was better that way because they were not good after all. Laugh.
We arrive at Sharon Children Home around noon.
10 Years Around the World 