No title redux

See my April 10, 2015 post for context.

Yellow boat on the Padma (Ganges) river.  not at all related to my post.

So.  I still struggle with the role money plays here.  I understand that money is the currency of relationship and is the sign - the very palpable sign - of the depth of relationship.  I don't particularly like it.   

  Here is a conversation I had recently with someone I consider a friend and whom I truly trust.  As a mark of that trust, when I became aware of a transient need for a significant sum of money, I offered to help.*

somewhat freely translated:

Fr: So, if you need that money back, I can get it to you tomorrow.

Me: But you haven't actually used it yet, right?

Fr: That's true.  It's just sitting in my account.  

Me: You still need it, no?

Fr: Well, yes.  But I told you I would return it before now.

Me: Well, then keep it for the moment.  I trust you completely.

Fr: I told my wife what you did for us.  She said, "Wow, he must really love you to lend to us."  I told her, yes, I think he does - he really loves us.  

Me: Well, I have faith in you!

Fr: Well, that's all fine and good, but there are many people I know who would never do this.  Or if they did, they'd charge me interest.  This is different.

It still sounds strange in my ears that this is a sign that I love them, but that is what it communicates in this culture.  As a mark of my adjustment, this conversation began seeming natural to me.  What I really found interesting, though, was some of the words that came up - that in Bangla are inextricably linked: faith and trust are the same word, and to love someone implicitly means you trust them completely.  

*I've known him for five years, and the sum involved was $226.  It was important to me that I wasn't asked for the money - I was made aware of the need but clearly without expectation.