Engagement Ceremony

Lindsey and I got invited to go to an Engagement Ceremony this afternoon! Lindsey's mom, Elayne goes to work with an Indian man and his parents live in my city. So the family invited us to their nephews Engagement Ceremony.

Weddings are huge in India. I love Indian weddings because they are a reflection of the special tradtions and beauty of India. Weddings are not a couple hour affairs, but actually about 3-5 days of all day celebrations. Indians are very family oriented and they have BIG families, therefore Indian get togethers are really fun and unique.

Today I went to the Engagement Ceremony. Many weddings in India are arranged marriages. So this is the time where both families come together (of the bride and groom) and declare that the pair is made for each other and to procede with wedding plans.

I will explain the ceremony through pictures...





This is the beginning of the ceremony. The groom is the one on the right with the marigolds around his neck. All of the elders of the bride and groom sit around the groom. At this point of the ceremony the girl is still inside preparing herself.
The Priest is on the far right and he is the one performing the ceremony. He leads them in some Hindu chants along with the giving of offerings and blessings. If you click these pics you can see the more intricate things there...lots of culture.



This is the bride to be (the third one from the left). She is wearing a Langa and it probably wieghs like 20lbs. She is going to go and sit with her husband to be on the platform next.




Here they are. I have heard (but I am not positive) that it is tradition for the bride and groom to be not to smile. You could kind of sense the tension because all the attention was on them and they don't really know each other.



This is the gift giving part of the ceremony. Most people just give envelopes with money in them. Everyone also takes a small amount and rolls it in their hands and they wave the money around their heads. This is for blessings and then they give the money to the poor. This way they get the blessings from the poor also. They usually give an amount plus 1... like 251 rupees(because 1 is an auspicious number).



After the ceremony is over its time to eat. In Indian culture the meal is that last thing of the event. The food was delicious and it was a great time of fellowship and mingling. Fellowship around the the table is definetly a universal thing. Once the meal is served everyone says their goodbyes and goes home!



This is the family! I love Indians!



These were just some fun things at the wedding. The outer two are gifts given. And the middle is a dish served as people leave.

I had a great time and was reminded of how much I just love India and the culture here. I felt honestly like I was in the movie Monsoon Wedding!!

Only in India...

So here is a sign posted in the EDM mall near the escalator. Escalotors are a really strange contraption for Indians. It is funny to see them step onto them...they are really hesistant...kind of like Buddy in the movie Elf.

And if you notice the sign says, "Be careful with your dupatta's and sarrees while riding the escalator which might get entrapped or entangled in the steps."

Only in India....oh i love this place!!!

Learning to cook Indian Food!

I decided that while I live in India that I should learn to cook Indian food. My wonderful neighbor Mona is also a cook and teaches cooking classes!! How convenient for me!!

This is a great time for me to learn some culture and to deepen our friendship. I am learning the basic indian dishes which include all the dals (lentiles) breads (nan, roti, chipoties) and subzi's (vegetable dishes). For just 500 rupees I can learn how to cook 20 different dishes!!



This was my first Indian Dish. The top is Moong Dal and the bottom is Gobi (califlower) Alloo (potato). Gobi Aloo is one of my favorite Indian dishes.

After we finished our lesson, Mona was great and took me to the bazzar (market) to buy all the special indian spices and lentils!!

When I return, I will make yall Indian food!! I am really excited!!

Hamaley Returns to the States

I don't know if any of you remember Hamaley from earlier posts... but here she is again. She is no longer residing in India, but is currently in Arlington, Texas. I had a great time with her here and it was honestly a little sad to say goodbye. She helped me overcome alot of my homesickness in my first months here. The deal is that everytime she gets passed to a new roomate that she gets a new pair of clothes!! Hamaley now has her own salwar kameez suit set along with matching bangles!! She has turned Indian!!

New Roomies

Meet Kim and Lindsey!! They are my new roomies until the end of April. They are students from California interning for their last semester of college!!

They have been a blessing and I have already come to love them! I am already dreading when they will leave in April....

Patriots representin'

This blog is dedicated to DBU!! Here is a few of us alumni and one current student all TOGETHER in India!!!

Thailand....land of paradise

Since I moved overseas... my life seems a little surreal. I mean I live in India and I take "buisness trips" to Thailand. You know this blog entry could be great for Mobilization. Those of you who thought I was suffering overseas... this blog might make you a little jealous.

I loved Thailand because....
- The clean, non-polluted air
- The shower that the HOT water lasted longer than 3 minutes
- The wonderful foot and Thai massages
- The soft matresses on the beds
- The Beef!
- And the colors... everything is so green!!!

I went to Chaingmai the first week and did a little site seeing and some shopping at the Night Market.


This is from the top of the Mountain. I love that I get to serve the one who Created this!!


Ronald McDonald being very culturally appropriate... (notice his hands)



Me getting my hair cut! It was so cheap. I even got an awesome head massage and complimentary iced coffee!!


After Changmai, I went to Pattaya Thailand. This was near the beach and I pulled out my shorts and even got a tan!! Notice the pink glasses... they are my new trademark.



This is at Hard Rock Cafe. Picture is self-explanatory.


My favorite day in Pattaya was fun day. They rented the boat that is behind me in the picture and we went to a private island. I enjoyed the Banana boat, the snarkel equipment, and the opportunity to get a tan!!



Janet and I snarkeling in the Indian Ocean!!



On the last day, I went to an Elephant Park. Yep you guessed it. You get to ride an elephant!! I mean Texas is the best and biggest state, but you can't ride elephants there!!!

Despite my wonderful time in Thailand, I missed India! I was very thankful to return, yet I looke forward to going back again soon in July!! It was a nice break and I am sure I will need it again in 6 months!!

Happy New Year from Thailand

Last year I spent New Years with one of my best friend's Sarah and several youth that we mentored. I would've never guessed that in 2006 I would be celebrating in Chaingmai, Thailand!!!

All the single folk all met together and went to a German restaurant in the Night Market. Then we went to Thai Gate and went to Starbucks. This Starbucks had its grand opening on New Years Eve and it is the largest Starbucks in all of Thailand. It is three stories and even had a live band playing on the deck of the third floor!!!

















This is me only 1 HOUR AND 10 MINUTES before 2006!!
The suspense was killing me. (notice the Starbucks in my hand)

Here are all the J-man wishing you a Happy 2006 all the way from Thailand!!!

My First Christmas away from Home

Christmas was such a beautiful time this year! It was my first Christmas away from home, but it was TRULY blessed! This season, I was able to concentrate on the true meaning of Christmas for the first time in years... and it was refreshing. I love the simplicity of the gospel. Our Savior came as a baby in human form that He might save me!! There such beauty in the cross of Christ.

I was away from my family but my family sent so many wonderful things via Fedex that they were not distant. We all also had a Skype date which made the day complete. There were so many other believers here that I felt apart of a bigger family... the family of God! I had a great time celebrating with others who were away from their families.

So the pics will help explain my Christmas....



On Christmas Eve, Jonathan and Kelley had all of us girls over for a Christmas Eve dinner! We had a delicious- yet spicy lasagne and a wonderful gormet salad. Then we had a wonderful time singing Christmas Carols and a time of devotion led by Master Jonathan himself. Then of course we watched a Christmas Classic.... Elf.










Some of my best friends came into to Delhi for Christmas so we all went over to the Lozuk's house for Christmas lunch and Chinese gift exchange. As you can see I got Skittles and Sweathearts!! Valuable American Candy. Above on the left is a picture of my roomie Lindsey and I. And the top left is a picture of Janet Lozuk. She played Santa and brought me several huge bags from my best friends at home in A-town. Thanks ladies... yall are amazing!!!





















This is me at the end of the day with just some of the MANY gifts I got for Christmas. As you can see I was not forgotten this Christmas!!! Can you find the item you sent me?!! Merry Christmas to everyone!!!

Coming soon

I am so sorry I haven't blogged in awhile. I have been in Thailand for the past few weeks and I returned a few days ago. However, I don't have internet in my house right now. We had to get a new provider and are working out the details. When I get everything up and running again, I promise to post some pics and update you on what's going on!!!

Thanks for keeping me in your "thoughts"!! Yall are all amazing!!!