Chai

For women here Chai is so much more than just a cup of tea. It is a monthly party with friends. For many ladies it is their one chance to get out of the home, leave their husbands and kids behind and connect with other women.

One of the other expats I knew in town had been talking to one of her friends about Chai parties. The lady said her group had lost a few members over the last few years and they were down to eight. They were looking for new members, but it isn’t really that easy. Often a chia group is formed from former classmates, or ladies in your work unit. It is not often that strangers, or people from a different network are invited in. However, this lady thought it would be fun to invite a bunch of foreigners to join them. And so, four English speakers started attending their group. We are all followers of Him and bring His presence with us to each evening.

I am so thankful for this group of ladies. Several of my co-workers struggled to make friends when they first moved here. Some spent two years just looking for were the U communities lived and worked, and because of their faithful ground work, I was being invited into a community from the beginning.

Each lady hosts once a month, often just choosing a local restaurant with music and dancing. When my month came around, I decided to host at home. We ordered food in, played get- to- know- you games and laughed. Another month my friend hosted a lasagna bake off contest at her home, one month we went to watch a movie together and another mouth we handmade beaded earrings.

Some of these ladies in our group work 10 hours a day, seven days a week, only to go home and care for their family and household chores. They don’t have time or space in their lives for friendships, hanging out or going for coffee. It leaves my friends and I wondering how do we take these relationships deeper. Recently we have been going to visit them at their work places. Sometimes these pop in visits only last 15 mins, but they seem to mean a lot to our friends as it gives us a clearer window into their worlds.