Culture Shock, Impulsive Piercings, & STD's

Culture Shock-
So yesterday I came to the realization that I am in Culture Shock. My roommate likes to call it a "cultural slump". So what exactly is a cultural slump...per se? In laymans terms...I just don't care much for the culture right now. This is actually incrediby normal right at 6 months...they warned about this...but now its here. bummer. But I don't think it will last long. Admitting you have a problem is the first step...right?

Impulsive Piercing-
So, I went to the market today to buy another nose ring. ( I am constantly loosing them somehow). Out of pure curiosity and a hidden secret desire I asked how much it would cost to get my cartilage pierced. He said 120 Rupees ($3.00). So I said maybe some other time just asking. Before I know it, my roommate is saying get it and the sales guy is about to pierce my ear. I left the shop with my ear pierced...crazy? Completely impulsive...i didn't have more than 60 seconds of asking and me getting it peirced!!


STD's-
There was confusion at the airport tonight picking up one of the volunteers and the solution was an STD....actually multiple STD's. Just kidding. An STD is a telephone booth where you make local calls. They just happen to call it an STD booth...I know...funny for us Americans. We used the booth to find out where our volunteer was...come to find out...3 hours later that her flight comes in tomorrow...oops.

By the ways....Spurs won first game...lost the second. Stay tuned. GO SPURS GO

My New Best friend,heat, electricity issues, and the Spurs

Ok...so maybe you thought I was going to put a picture of an Indian...oh no...its my AC. I think that this just might be my summer fling! I mean... I think I'm in love!

My city is hoT (notice the capital "T"). Today was my first real adventure in the heat. So far my work has allowed me to stay in and beat the heat. Today, however, my roommate and I wanted to run some errands that put us in the heat all day long. I will think twice before doing this again. When I finally reached home at about 3:30 my back side was completely SOAKED. Sick.

The tempature today got to be 114 degrees Farenheit. My roommate and I have been trying to come up with funny scenarios of what the heat is like. These are our top two favorites.

• 1. You feel like you are in a blow dryer. The wind if there is any is just plain scorching hot and very dry.
• 2. You feel like you are inside of an exhaust pipe with no where to go. My city was so poluted today you couldn't even see the skyline. So mix the intense heat and the pollution...you have an exhaust pipe!

My city has also been experiencing major power shortages. On the front page of the newspaper it said "All Light will be out by 7:30" Supposedly the government issued that all markets and malls be closed by 7:30 PM. This didn't gain to much popularity with the buisness men...I am curious to see what will happen in the next weeks. Today, the markets still seemed to be open. Time will tell.

The Spurs won!! So they will be going on to round two of the NBA Championship! This is an important round. They will be playing the Dallas Mavericks...the Texas rivals. Can't wait to see what happens!!!

Thoughts on Isaiah 29:13

"These people come near to me with their mouths and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is...rules taught by men." Isaiah 29:13

Earlier today, I had a friend of mine ask me, "How is your heart?" [I was kind of thrown off by the question at first, but it is rare that you have a friend who loves you enough to get past all the surfacy crap and just cut to the chase. We should all be this real to each other...don't you think?]I hesitated in my answer because I wasn't really sure how I should respond. After a few moments I knew, "apathetic."

I have to confess that when I read this verse tonight...the Holy Spirit immediately cut at my heart. I have been a bunch of lip service and my heart is so far from the Lord. Sometimes I am scared to give God my heart fully. I have been withholding my love for my God fully. This is a horrible place to be...without love for God and without intimacy of friendship with my God, I am just trying to be good...fulfilling some type of law that I am no longer bound to. This is what happens when you take love out of obedience.

God I ask that you would seek after my heart...captivate me. Guard me from just giving lipservice, but allow my heart to be fully yours. I ask for a freshness and newness for you in my life. Remind me of how spiritually destitute and ruined I am without you. Pursue me with your zealous passion and love. Holy Spirit give me the ability to love you fully.

Caedmon's Call

My roomate today asked me what album the "Boast No More Song" was on. I was pretty confident it was on the Company of Angels Cd. I was right. This is not the point of this post however. In my hunt on I-tunes to find the answer, I realized that Caedmon's Call had put out a new Cd!!! It took me about 5 seconds before I hit the download button to buy the Cd. I am listening to it right now and it is excellent. Their lyrics are always so powerful... I would recommend you listen to it!!

Disclaimer...I am really biased towards Caedmon's Call... I could listen to them all day and never get sick of them! They are my favorite artist!

Anybody else out their Caedmon's Call Junkies?

Urgent Prayer Request- plane tickets to America

I am in the process of getting my plane tickets to fly back home to America. I purchased them from a travel agent in Thailand and had to have money wired over. There was a deadline for it all to be processes in order to get the cheaper deal. I had it transfered in time, but they still haven't receieved it.

I am a little nervous cause the money is out of my account. I don't think its a scandle, but I am just nervous about everything working out smoothly.

Please pray that my tickets will get processed SOON! Pray also that the ticket would not be more expensive!! Thanks so much for your prayers!

love yall.

GO SPURS GO!

In case you didn't know...the Spurs are my homeboys! Right now they are in the first game of the 2006 NBA Championship!!!

GO SPURS GO!

Tonight they won game 3 of 5 against the Sacramento KINGS. I look forward to them closing up this round on Friday in Sacremento. Stay Tuned!!! You definetly haven't heard the last from me!!



http://www.spursreport.com/
http://www.nba.com/spurs/

The Divellers

I would like to formall announce the union of two families coming together..... The Sellers and The Divers.... to make one big happy family ....the Divellers!!!

My roommate Lindsey had this idea from one of the first weeks we moved in together to make a family photo combining our families together. Lindsey and I have become like family here...so we thought our familes back at home should combine also. The next step is to get our parents to skype each other.

In fact... Lindsey blew this picture up and it is framed in our living room!!



Top Left: Clyde, Robin, Lindsey, Lori (her husband is missing ...sad)
Bottom Left: Craig, Shannon, Amber, Me, Cindy

Texas Lovin'

The fed-Ex Turbin man came to visit me today! He had on a purple turbin to match his uniform. I have come to really love this Fed-Ex turbin man because...it means I got some Texas lovin!!

My sweet parents and wonderful grandmother sent me this amazing 28lb package from San Antonio!!!





















This is me with great excitement to know what is in my box!
















Yes...yes it is...its 11 Dr. Peppers. This might be the first time I have seen so many Dr. Peppers in one place in India! Thanks!! Dr. Pepper is quite a delicacy here.


















Ok...so my mom saw these Texas dishes at HEB!! I love them and have not used another cup since got this and have already used the bowel and plate about 3 times each!! Whoop!

Thanks for all the texas lovin'!! The package also included random things like...an alarm clock, trash bags, kitchen towels, work out clothes, house shoes, 2 pairs of Old Navy flip flops, soap brush for dishes, sweet n' low, cute cool pajamas....it felt like Christmas or birthday!!

Thanks Nonnie for all you contributed!!!!

For my Cali Girls!!

The time has finally come.... Coop and Kim have returned to California. The Apartment of B-603 is now eery quiet and honestly their absence has been hard. The Lord really knew that I needed their friendship this semester. I am truly at a loss having them back in CA, BUT I have a feeling one day we will get to see each other again!!

So here are a few fun pics....



This is Coop (AKA Lindsey). She has amazing blue eyes and loves to have these deep philosphical and deep heart to hearts. She also has this amazing compacity to love. She is great.



This is my white girl Kim. Don't be fooled by the Korean skin. She is one big ball of energy! She is a huge extrovert and has this amazing ability to love and to serve.

Top 10 things I love about my CBU girls!!!

Y’all brought joy and laughter into B-603
Y’all taught me how to cuss
Y’all Allowed me to continue on in my “ghettoness”
Y’all like use the word “like” in like every other like word in like a sentence.
Y’all made me fall in love with coffee shops in India
Y’all helped me come to the understanding that I really am a “fat kid”
Y’all put a strong and intense desire to visit California
Y’all squeal and scream when they talk about the kids at Rejeev Camp
Yawls love and passion for Indian food
Yawls amazing ability to love me and befriend me!!!

Celebrating Easter....INDIAN STYLE!!

This year for Easter my roomates and I hosted a Yeshu "Setsang". A setsang is a hindi word that implies a time for singing and a time for teaching. It is the closest word we can find in the hindi language for church. This is also the way that Hindu's worship. This was the first Yeshu setsang that I have been able to be a part of ...and it was wonderful. Let me kind of walk you through the day.




This is us making "rangoli". This flower is usually drawn and then filled in with powdered dye or in this case flower petals.



Here is the rangoli and flower petals that we did outside of our door. This is very traditional and shows that you are celebrating a special occasion!



My roomies and I got up early to dedicate this day and room to Yeshu. We put on our best dancing shoes...because today we are gonna celebrate!! Yeshu is alive!! We cleared out all our furniture and laid down carpets and set up the front with musical instruments and a "podium" but the Indian way.



More setup of a Hindu style worship.



We had about 20 Hindus come and worship with us today. We sang bhungins in Hindi and Ruman shared the message. Many of them loved to hear about Yeshu for the first time in an Indian way. After the setsang we served a meal! We hired a cook for like $8 (isn't that crazy?!) and we had chole (chick peas), aloo subzi (potato dish), and poori (fried bread). It was soo delicious!!



My landlord...said he wanted a picture of his 5 daughters! Isn't that sweet. The older woman is his wife and the other indian is his daughter Nehru.


Some of my neighbors that showed up!

I have come to really really enjoy the Christian holidays overseas. All of the comercialism is stripped away and you are left is the message. There are no words to describe how wonderful it was to hear Hindu's sing to Yeshu and to hear the message of Truth!! What joy I have knowing Jesus because of His death and resurrection!!!!

If you have any questions about our setsang...please ask!!!



Last but not least...its a roomie pic. Yes instead of getting excited about Easter dresses...we got excited about our Sarees. The Indians LOVE it when we dress up!! You also feel like an Indian princess when you wear one!!

Dying Easter Eggs with the Kidoes

Every once in awhile we like to steal the kids for an afternoon or weekend so their parents can have some time to themselves. So the big sisters (Alicia, Lindsey, Kim, Lindsey) stole the kids and we dyed eggs. Kim got a care package from her aunt that sent egg dye. So we celebrated Easter in a traditional American way. These kids don't get much American culture...so we take it upon ourselves to teach them. And we really really like to spoil them!!!

My Return to the Himalayas

This past week I took an unexpected trip to Manali. Manali is located in the Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh. Blessed with some of the most spectacular and beautiful landscapes anywhere, it is a travellers paradise -lofty snow peaks, deep gorges, lush green valleys, fast flowing rivers, enchanting mountain lakes, and flower bedecked meadows. May it be for relaxing, sightseeing, trekking, mountaineering, fishing, para-gliding, skiing, ice skating and golf, Manalihas it all...

Needless to say...i had a great time. The city I live in right now is reaching over 100 degrees! So it was wonderful to pull out my sweatshirt hoody and count on heaters to keep me warm! It was such a great vacation and it was hard to say leave!















Julie and I at Snow Point




















Pahari Mountain Man



The Beautiful and Breathtaking Himalaya's!!!



Me, Julie, Lindsey, and Emily in the Snow!!



Me excited to be in the Mountains. Since moving to India I have realized how much I love the mountains! Why didn't I get sent here?! Seriously.



Yes...its me...on a YAK!!! Don't you think the massive red fur coat gives the pic the perfect touch?! I sure do. They have all these shops so that you can rent the fur coats. I didn't really need it, but I thought it would be great for the photo shoot!!!



This is near the view from the restaraunt we ate at. This place really was a dream world! Manali is famous for it's apple orchards. This is the time of year when the butterflies are pollinating the trees. It was soo dreamy... I love the mountains!!

Random thoughts from me....

Many people ask me what is the hardest part about being away? Is it the no starbucks, or Chick-fil-A or Dr. Pepper? I love all these things, but I can't complain. They are just "things".

So when people ask me what is the hardest part about being away... I always say its my relationships with friends and family. I am a relational person to the core. I love people more than anything and I am a loyal person. So what I miss is not being an active part of people's lives. I miss being there for important events like weddings, watching cousins grow up, and having face to face heart to hearts with friends.

This past weekend one of my sweetest and dearest friends from high school and college got married. It was hard not to be there and support her on such an important day. But my amazing best friends kept their cells near by and the digital camera working overtime. I got an over abundance of pictures and phone calls along the way!! Even though I was a way, I felt like I was there. Thanks ladies and congrats Ashley!!

This is a picture of Ashley's wedding. I decided to photoshop myself in. You notice on the far right I am in a Sari (my indian attire). I couldn't bear to be out of the picture so I put myself in the picture!! he he

Even thought the distance is far between all of us...I can honestly say, I feel so connected. So thank you to all of YOU who are so wonderful to call me, to email me, and to pray for me! You truly are amazing and each of you has and continue to encourage me along the way! YOU are precious to me!!

I thank my God in all my rememberance of YOU.

Miss India

This is my absolutely adorable cousin Kiley. I sent her this Indian outfit for Christmas. She was too cute not to share with all of you. When I left she was just over 1 year old and couldn't talk. Recently Kiley's parents sent me a video saying "Hi Alicia" and "I love you" I have watched that video about 100 times! I miss you and LOVE you... Tye, Traci, and Kiley!!!

Another fun thing is that supposedly Kiley looks alot like I did when I was her age. My mom said this past weekend when Kiley came in the room she did a double take cause she thought it was me. So this is kind of what I looked like as a little almost 2 year old.

Her 2nd Birthday is in the middle of May!!

Happy Holi...The Festival of Colors

Happy Holi! Holi is the second and least religious of the Hindu Holidays. I was able to experience Holi in all its full color!!! Here is the rundown of how the holiday works...

• You wake up early in the morning and fill your water baloons or water guns or water weapons with colored dye of ALL colors.
• Once you have all your 'weapons' together you then go door to door visiting close friends and family.
• You knock on people's doors and then take powdered dye and smear it all over their faces, neck, or hair while saying "Happy Holi"
• There are several extremes to this day. For example buckets full of water, or swimming pools with dye and people dunking themselves in the pool. It was a crazy, YET SUPER FUN HOLIDAY!!!

The Bonfire at my apt complex the night before.

Us going door to door with dye wishing people a Happy Holi.

Ericka and I...oh the dye is just the beginning.



Bobby and Elaine's colony after their "Holi War".



Coop, Kim, and I. This is after Kim and Coop had already scrubbed their faces.



Members of my time taking refuge!!



This is me at the end of the morning. Dye every where and soaked to the bone!! It took me 20 minutes to scrub the dye off my face so that it wouldn't stain. The day after Holi, I saw so many Indians with the dye still on their faces....SO FUN!!!!

Below is some information for those of you nerds (like myself) who want to know more about the holiday.

History and Meaning of Holi
Celebrated all over India since ancient times, Holi's precise form and purpose display great variety. Originally, Holi was an agricultural festival celebrating the arrival of spring. This aspect still plays a significant part in the festival in the form of the colored powders: Holi is a time when man and nature alike throw off the gloom of winter and rejoice in the colors and liveliness of spring. Holi also commemorates various events in Hindu mythology, but for most Hindus it provides a temporary opportunity for Hindus to disregard social norms, indulge in merrymaking and generally "let loose."
The legend commemorated by the festival of Holi involves an evil king named Hiranyakashipu. He forbade his son Prahlad from worshipping Vishnu, but Radhu continued to do offer prayers to the god. Getting angry with his son, Hiranyakashipu challenged Prahlad to sit on a pyre with his wicked aunt Holika who was believed to be immune to fire. (In an alternate version, Holika put herself and Prahlad on the fire on orders from her brother.) Prahlad accepted the challenge and prayed to Vishnu to keep him safe. When the fire started, everyone watched in amazement as Holika was burnt to death, while Prahlad survived without a scar to show for it. The burning of Holika is celebrated as Holi. According to some accounts, Holika begged Prahlad for forgiveness before her demise, and he decreed that she would be remembered every year at Holi.

When it rains...it POURS!!

I have been in India for almost 5 months and I have not seen rain yet. So last night we got a suprise...RAIN!!! The fun thing was that it wasn't a wimpy rain, but a very powerful storm. The rain brought beautiful weather today!!

Bush is in INDIA!!!!

The Indian Times have been buzzing with the fact that Bush is coming to INDIA!!! As American citizens and people who love Dubya... the girls of B-603 decided decided to have a welcoming party for the PREZ. We all dressed in our patriotic clothes and made signs showing our excitement for our president being here in India!!



This Is Erica, our neighbor's daughter welcoming Bush to her home country. I love it when my neighbor Mona and her family humor us silly American girls and join our fun.



Here is me holding up today's paper showing Bush's arrival. I thought it would be fun for a memory book one day.



I am tempted to email him or send him these pics...do you think he would get a kick out of it?

Woman's Retreat

Many of the ladies (that have the same job as me) got together last weekend for a time of retreat in the capitol of India...Delhi! It was great to meet some new woman and hear about their lives. I always loved hanging out with the woman at my Fellowship in Irving. It is always refreshing to fellowship with woman of all different ages in all different places in life!!!



We went to a local mall as our main event on Saturday. Most of us hadn't seen anything that western in a long time. We were kind of a funny site to see so many white people looking so STAR STRUCK to see such a western mall.




This are some of the younger woman that I got to get to know better and some for the first time.




This is Debbie and Susan. They are some pretty amazing woman... you would be blessed to meet them!! They love the Lord in such an admirable way!! The weekend was filled with lots of food, some movies, a good game of Taboo, and some sharing of the Great Book together.