Of sleep and the Winter

I have never been camping... growing up I would always tell people, if I wanted to camp I would just go on a vacation to India. No running water, no electricity, bugs, etc. The difference is in India you will experience these conditions in homes. In Gangauli Vineeta's family has a home. A nice village home, but there is no electricity, a water pump, and a floor toilet. All of these things were small compared to the temperature drop at night time, and the "bed" we slept on. The temperature was easily about 30 F... inside the brick walls of the home about 25 F. The way the rooms are kept warm is with a pot of burning coal by the bed. You sleep under heavy blankets and I guess just hope to make it through the night. It's nothing major for a young person, that's only doing it for the sake of adventure. I can't imagine how the older people and the babies survive winters in rural India.

The nights are so dark in India... You can actually feel darkness. It's heavy and thick. The air smells like burning wood/coal, and the only noises are random cows and birds. There's an element of peace in the dark night. I just felt like the whole world was asleep in those two nights... I've never felt that way in the US.  Someone sleeps, someone rises, there is always work to be done 24/7. In rural India, when the sun sets work time is over. Night time is for sleep. 

The smells and the sights of rural India are haunting. I can't believe people still live in these conditions. I can't believe millions of people live in these conditions...