Our Trip to Little India!

A while back, Dennis and I went to Long Beach to finish off our Friday and Saturday Convention of Jehovah's Witnesses. We actually stayed in Artesia, just up the freeway from Long Beach.
Of course, our convention was upbuilding with many encouraging words and we received a new songbook this year! We saw many friends we hadn't seen in a long time & spending time with them made this a happy occasion!

Artesia is an interesting place. Why? Because there is a large community of people who are originally from India. In Artesia, there is a street, a little neighborhood really, Little India, they call it. So we had to investigate!

On our way back to our motel Saturday night, I looked for a sweet shop so I could pick up a little something new for breakfast. We found this place (above) and it was packed, I mean packed with people, ordering, eating, visiting, this place was alive with activity. I was a little intimidated, but explained to the East Indian gentleman behind the counter, that I had never been in an Indian sweet shop before, could he suggest something. Of course, the line was long behind me, but he was patient and pointed out a few good, but strange looking desserts. I have never bought desserts, by the pound before, that was very different. I picked out just three small items, when I went to pay, this man with the patience of Job, informed me, "Cash only, no debit cards". I was disappointed, but this kind person waved me off saying, "You pay, next time you come back." So, I went back to our motel with our strange breakfast.

Traditional Dress, very popular here in Little India.

The next morning I ate our sweets. I would like to be able to describe them to you, but it is impossible, as there is nothing in the western world to compare them with. I will say, one of them was shaped like a donut hole, it had been soaked in a sweet syrup, not sickingly sweet, but just right. The texture was very unusal, the other sweet was full of seeds, nuts, and also had the sweet syrup, and spices I could not identify, but very interesting.

After breakfast I headed out to the ATM machine, got some cash and we dashed back to the sweet shop. The kind man behind the counter recognized me as I stood in line behind two Hindu women, in their traditional garb, I watched them buy their sweets and asked one of them what she liked. She explained to me, that she was not a big sweet eater, but they were buying their sweets for a prayer meeting, and would pass them out to the men. The women were to fast that day, for the health of their husbands, & have a long life. I believe they were Hindu. Very freindly, I asked how they felt about western women wearing their traditional clothing. Both of these beautiful women, smiled and said they like it. So, I asked where they go to buy their clothing. They pointed me in the direction of a small shop, just up the road.
Then, it was my turn and I ordered some sweets to share with the girls in my office. I liked the ones full of nuts and seeds. I paid for them with cash, reminding the man I owed him for yesterday, his response was, "Yes, how much was that?" I found these people extremely, freindly and hospitable.

Of Course, Dennis and I headed over to check out the clothing store. I was curious. Dennis played suduko in the car. I entered a small, hole in the wall dress shop, exploding with colors!!!!
I explained to the shop owner that my husband liked the Punjabi suits, and I was curious about these suits, if they would really be as comfortable as they looked. He picked out several for me to try. I prefer the cotton fabric, over synthetic. As I tried these garments on, Ronish, the owner, went out to the car and visited with Dennis. They were very very comfortable. Ronish, explained that half his business was from American women, many from Hollywood. Yes, I bought three beautiful suits! As we were leaving, Ronish again came out to the car say good bye to Dennis. He then said, "Next time, we will put you in a sari!" Yeah, I am looking forward to that.

Before we left Little India we stopped for ice cream with wonderful flavors. Flavors like Cardamon, Saffron, Rose, and fruits I never heard of before. I LOVED them all!

Colorful and Flavorful

Here I am, very comfortable and it's amazing how really feminine I feel!