A Call to Asma

I set my alarm and woke up shortly before 4:00 AM, so that my call would reach her at 5:30 PM India time. She was waiting for my call at the Project Office. I had made arrangements with the Project Administrator, so my call was expected.

It quickly became clear that my call had caused quite a commotion. I later told my friends, "There must have been 14 people in the room, all telling her what to say at once!" I know that there were at least 5 people in the room, because that's the number of people that I talked to...

Asma didn't speak English as well as I'd remembered. Either that, or her shyness and intimidation made it difficult to converse on the phone. I'd also imagine that she's not used to speaking on the phone, and the connection was quite delayed. All of these factors led to a conversation that did not provide a lot of information.

The gist of the converstion was, "Hello, Aunty?" "Hello." "Hello Aunty?" etc... Of course there was more than that... I was also asked at least once by each person, "When are you coming to Bangalore?" And, the Project Administrator's wife, whom I call "Aunty" made sure to ask me if I have a husband yet... :)

Not only was this telephone call was very exciting and amusing, it fulfilled its purpose... It allowed Asma and I to have contact for a short time, and reminded her how much I love her.

If you've visited your sponsored child, I'd highly recommend it. It cost me less than $10.