Day #3 with the Parental Unit

Day 3 was split into three fun sections- meeting with my team, afternoon nap, and shopping!!



Mommie and Daddy in the rickshaw this morning. You can never have too many rickshaw pics right?

Mommie and I at the Fudenna's house. We met this morning there for prayer and lunch (yummy). We enjoyed more Indian food...they seem to be a fan! Oh...and we tried to stay cool, but it was pretty hot in the house according to the parentals. However, I didn't think it was that bad, but I guess my body is adjusted differently. :) The high today was only 108! Yay.

You know Daddy... he made instant friends with some of our indian partners.

After lunch, we came home for an afternoon nap in the AC. It was glorious. Then we rented an AC taxi and headed to Dilli Haat for some shopping!! Dilli Haat is one of my favorite markets. We shopped a little and then decided we were thirsty so we stopped and enjoyed some cold drinks in the outside foot court before we hit the shopping again.

Daddy took a seat because we were taking awhile picking out just what we wanted. But his patience paid off and we got some good deals because of my bargaining!

Shopping...shopping...shopping...

Picking out more fun stuff...

We came home at around 9:30. We still hadn't had dinner so I made grilled cheese sandwiches and egg sandwiches. My parents also got to try more indian snacks and cookies. It was a great day today!! The weather was soo nice this evening- it was actually enjoyable to be outside. Praise the Lord. Pray that the weather stays nice.

Day #2 with the Parental Unit

Day Two in India was pretty relaxed. We got an 8 hour taxi for the day and headed out of the house about 10:30 AM. We needed to go to Lajput Nagar Market to buy salwar pants for my mom. This market would be like the walmart of India. This is also a straight-up Indian market. Lots of beggars, lots of dirt, small alleys, and lots of bargaining. We got to the market when it first opened so...unfortunately, the parental unit only saw a small taste of what an Indian market is really like. I don't think they were too disappointed.

A picture of Mommie and Daddy in Lajput Nagar.

Me and the Parental unit in Lajput together!! I am still in shock. Look at all the material behind us.

After we went to Lajput we headed over to Saket. Saket is "the hangout" for college students because of the restaurants (McDonalds, Subway, Bennigans, Ruby Tuesdays, Pizza Hut, and other indian places), coffee shopts, and a movie theater. We quickly ate at Pizza Hut before we caught the 1 PM showing for Oceans 13. The movie ended around 3:30- so then we headed off to house fellowship for more pizza and fellowship. Jonathan and Kelley and Lindsey R are going back to America in a few days...so we threw them one last farewell party. It was a little emotional, but then I became Ryan Seacrest and hosted our rendition of American Idol...but America Tells Stories. It was a lot of fun and a creative way to tell a Bible story.

Here are some signs that the "audience" made and held up.

Here's a picture of me and the Parental Unit at the end of fellowship. It was great to have my parents meet all the other workers here and the people that are my family!! It was like having my American and Indian family all in one place!!! Fun fun fun.

We then came home and watched a movie "Stomp the Yard". We moved the Tv and DVD player to my room in the AC. It was quite nice... stay tuned for day 3!!

Day #1 with the Parental Unit

Its true...when I woke up on Monday morning- my parents were sleeping in my bed and the night before wasn't just a dream!!

We slept in a little because... well ...we all needed the sleep. I didn't fall asleep till like 3 AM because my mind was thinking of what all we could do while we were together. Then we had coffee (minus my mom) and breakfast together. I kind of told them some cultural do's and don'ts and gave them some India survival tips. I had some plans to do some site seeing, BUT by the time we got dressed and was ready to go it was about 1 AM and too hot to be walking around Delhi.

Because my parents are troopers, they didn't want to stay in, so I took them to my favorite market, Kahn Market. This market is actually one of the nicest markets in Delhi and my place the roomies and I go to escape culture!!

It was just me and my parents (no roomies tagging along-they actually had work to do) so I decided to take them in a Rickshaw! So here they are on their first rickshaw ride. It was a little tight (our hips are a little too wide for the auto rickshaw) and pretty hot, BUT they seemed to really enjoy it and appreciate it. They are both AMAZED by the traffic here. I am surprised at how well they are dealing with the traffic....I honestly thought my mom would be so much more tense- she is pretending very very good!!


Here they are in the alley of the market. They weren't too impressed by the outward appearance of the market and I think were a little surprised this was considered one of the nicest markets in Delhi. I took them to all my favorite shops and my mom even bought two Khurta's to wear! You will see them on her hopefully throughout the week. It was so surreal to take them to all my favorite places!!! We had a little extra time, so we got cold drinks (cokes) at Cafe Turtle which is a little place that looks like it would come straight out of "You've Got Mail". The AC wasn't working all that great, but it nice to sit and escape the heat!!

After we left the market, we headed over to Jonathan and Kelley's for dinner! They were so excited to meet my parents and we had a delicious meal!

My parents first Indian meal! They actually really liked it!!

Our meal with Jonathan and Kelley. Kiran was already asleep for the night!!

I would say the Parental Unit did great!! They survived the sweltering heat and couldn't tell if it was the heat or the jet lag that made them so tired. They were pretty excited to come home and take showers and sit in the AC!!!

Pics of the Sweet Sweet Reunion

Laura, my roomie, took these pics of my sweet reunion. Yep, I woke up this morning and they are still here. It wasn't just a dream!!!

More parent update fun pics to come!!!

Holy Cow- My parents are here!!

THE SUPRISE OF MY LIFE!!! My parents suprised me and rang my door bell at 11:00 PM tonight! It has been two hours and I am still in SHOCK!!! My reaction was put captured on video and I hope to You Tube it sometime in the future. They will be here for the next 10 days...now i have to figuire out what to do with them...no time to plan!!! I love it. Everyone has kept the secret sooo good!!!

My parents in me IN my apartment. There was no photo shop or alteration of this photo!!!

Get Your GAME On

These two ladies, Cathy and Suzie, were the inspiration behind the Girl's Night Out party we had last night. They had heard many wonderful things about "the East Delhi Hotel" and didn't want to miss out just because they lived in Delhi. So they twisted our arms (cause you know how much I hate hosting parties) and we invited them over along with 20 other ladies in our city for a game night!! We enjoyed yummy tacos and other delicious snacks that are perfect for munching when playing games!! We definitely weren't lacking for food. We had a feast!!


Cathy and Suzie along with the girls of B603

We weren't really sure what games we wanted to play, but in the long run we decided to stick together and play a good ole' game of Taboo. Here are some action shots!!!

Here is my team. I was on the over 50's team...needless to say...we didn't win BUT I am pretty sure our team got the most laughs!! These ladies can say some funny stuff which will remain secret because what happens in East Delhi stays in East Delhi!!

Here are just some of the ladies that make up my community!! Have I mentioned how much I love community? These ladies keep me spiritually in check and are some of the neatest women you will ever meet!!! PRAISE God for community among sisters!!

PS. If you are wondering why all the pictures are taken in the bedroom....its because that is where the AC unit is!! We only have AC in our bedrooms!

HOT as Hades

Currently it is 4:30 PM on Saturday and it is 120.2 degrees Fahrenheit!!! Are you serious? One might ask. Um... yes. This would explain several things today.

1. Why I put water in the fridge this morning to get cold and its STILL lukewarm right now. I just want some cold water!
2. Why cooking in the kitchen for guests felt like working out in the yard in the Texas heat.
3. Why I was covered in sweat by just cleaning the house like I am just when I just got off the treadmill from Running.
4. Why the glass left in my room felt like it had just come out of a hot dishwasher.
5. Why I attempted to take a cold shower (no hot water tab turned on) today and instead it was too hot to stand under.

um...so yes...it is hot here. Sorry for all the temperature posts...but when its 12o degrees outside what else do you talk about it? You are forced to talk about it because it takes over your life!!!

My Friday

My Friday started early (for me that is and India) at 8:30. I have started teaching this lady, Raj Kumari (her name means princess) English. She lives about 45 minutes from my house and to get to her house you pass by some of the worst slums of Delhi. I am still amazed at the living conditions of some of the people here. I really don't know how people survive such difficult and hard living conditions. I guess out of necessity and ignorance? People don't know anything but hardship. I wonder if that makes it easier to survive or do people here just exist?

Ok...back to English class... my supervisor always takes me and picks me up in his Mahindra (big old jeep). I have a love/ hate relationship for this vehicle. It is old, bumpy, and has no AC. You pretty much always feel like you are on a safari in this thing. Today, the temperature got to 116.6!! So honestly, the ride in the Mahindra today was pretty torturous because it dehydrated me and zapped me of all my energy. I was only gone for like 3 hours this morning, but when I finally got home- I was drenched in sweat, exhausted, and felt like I had just run a marathon. This intensity of weahter makes me want to hide from the sun and never leave my AC room.

This evening, I met a friend for dinner. Well actually, the funny thing is she really isn't even a friend. Let me explain. While I was in Singapore visiting my friend Chesi, this past New Year, I met a girl named Megan. Megan went to boarding school with Chesi on the beautiful beaches of Malaysia (rough life of MK's... I know). Megan knew that she would be passing through India this summer and said she wanted to come see me. So last night at 10:30 PM I got a call from Megan randomly saying, "I am in town. Do you want to meet up?" That's what we did tonight. We talked each other's ear off tonight. You would've thought that we were best friends from high school by the way we carried on in our conversation. There was never a lull. So who is Megan to me...well she is my friend from Singapore and India. I love that I can say that! How cool am I?

One thing, that I have loved about living overseas is relationships. Not just any relationships, but instant relationships. You meet people for the first time and there is such a deep connection and not much history and a promising future. There is the commonality found through overseas living and the community of believers. As many of you know, I am all about community! I will live my life working to develop strong community around and among followers of Jesus. Here are just a few instant friends I have made over the past two years....


Megan, Chesi, Me and Julie. Here is Megan and I bringing in the New Year in Singapore! Who knew we would see each other again in June and talk each other's ears off?!

Lindsey (Coop) and Kim lived with me for 4 months. Now we are forever BFF. I am not just saying that either...for realz.

Dawn and Dave have taken it upon themselves to take the time to ask me the hard questions in life, to encourage me, and to pray for me and my future. They have affirmed in so many ways and are constantly filling my love tank.

This is Caroline and I. She came with the Sandals team and we have been emailing like crazy! She is an amazing girl and someone I hope to run into lots in my future!

I really just love the community that we have in Jesus!! I also love that Jesus loves the Spurs (you like that transition?).... The Spurs won yesterday (yay!) and will be ready to play again on Sunday in San Antonio at 8 PM!! Go Spurs Go!!

Spurs

Not that anyone cares (which i guessed from the lack of comments on my previous spurs posts) but the spurs play tomorrow morning (your tonight)!! It will be there first game against the Cavs to try to win the title!! It would be fun to see a Sweep. Stay tuned for more updates....

GO SPURS GO!!


PS. It is after midnight and the current temperature outside is 98F (feel like 104)!!! Tomorrow's high is 111 (feels like 118) and the overnight low is 91 . Yes, things are heating up here....yucky, sticky, smelly.

Randomness

Yesterday, our door bell range and it was my animal obsessed neighbor Mona. She said, "there is a parrot on your balcony!" I was like a parrot...you mean a pigeon? So we walked to my balcony and what do you know...there was a parrot! Crazy. I think it must be some one's pet and it escaped because it wasn't afraid of us. Mona took it and gave it to the bird clinic or something like that. I mean i like parrots, but I certainly didn't want one!

It is officially HOT here. I know its been working toward hot. But earlier this week it got up to 113!! Yucky. It is getting to where it is too hot to sit in the living room. I am thankful for the AC in my bedroom.

Not only is it HOT here but it is dusty! This is my kitchen table. The shocking thing is that my maid cleaned it yesterday!! This is how much dirt collected in just a short 24 hours. sick. I can feel the dirt on the floors too. Unfortunately, my maid didn't come today. Hopefully she will show up and do the sink full of dishes that are sitting there too.

I have been a little sick these past few days. I have still never puked in India, but I can't say much for the other end!! Saturday and Sunday I spent most of the day in bed sleeping or reading. Today, I have energy and am working on the to-do-list I should've done Saturday and Sunday. Please pray I get completely better.

june 1st, indian males, and subway sandwiches

Does anyone out there have dates that they have set as markers and its kind of weird when you actually get there?! Well June 1st was a marker for me. I officially only have 27 normal days in India left. When I get back from my vacation in the middle of July I will only have 3 weeks left!! crazy. And those three weeks will be spent saying goodbye and packing...not so normal. I wish I could say that I was sad, but I guess Thailand and Bali has me too excited. I have too much to look forward to right now. But I definitely think that my flight from Thailand to Delhi for the last time will be hard. I know that when I come back for those three weeks everything will finally sink in and pretty sure its going to be hard to say goodbye my home and my life here.

On a lighter note (kind of), today I had an "I hate all indian males" day. I know that sounds really harsh BUT it was just one of those days. Being a white single female in India gets you a lot of obnoxious attention. I would give anything to just blend some days. This is the obnoxious attention I got today....

1. Male worker in a clothing store in a mall asking me if I was from abroad and following me around the store. I really wanted to just be left alone to look at the clothes BY MYSELF.
2. The coffee shop male worker asking me to fill out a comment card (they always make lindsey and i do this..its so annoying) about a bottle of water and then asking on two separate attempts to fill out our email address and phone number... um i don't think so biahya.
3. Going up on the escalator in the mall and having two males holler..."hello mam how are you?" which by the way is VERY culturally unacceptable.
4. Being in the movie theater and having the two males behind us have really inappropriate behavior and laugh obnoxiously and curse to get our attention.
5. Trying on clothes in a store and having the male worker keep going to the dressing area to see what we would come out in.
6. Not to mention...the moment by moment stares I get. You would think we were famous.

This all happened in about a 2 hour period of time... i really felt like indian men were intentionally trying to piss me off. Lindsey and I were talking at dinner tonight about how we can't wait to be around American males again...sigh. I wonder if I will feel ignored when I get back to America and nobody notices me. :)

However, the indian men were slightly redeemed today. Lindsey and I order from Subway (the sandwich place) weekly. Well they deliver to our door (something I will definitely miss about India- home delivery). Every time we call they know us by name. I am pretty sure we are the only white people in our part of town...so we are hard to forget. Recently, we have had some serious issues with their delivery (took them 3 hours and then finally canceled our order). We let them know we were unhappy. Well today, we actually went to the Subway and once they recognized us they apologized immediately and said they fixed the problem. They were very accommodating and said they had hired lots of extra people so there would be no problems anymore!! So I guess being white in India also has its perks.

A Chance for the Championship

This morning, I got up to watch Game 5 of the Spurs vs. Jazz! The game started at 6:30 AM this morning so I got to watch it live with the rest of you Americans. My love tank is filled. I forgot how much i loved watching basketball...especially those spurs in the finals!!

So the Spurs WON 89 to 109!! They creamed the opponent securing them a spot in the final game to win the championship!! Yay. Yay. Yay.

Any other spurs fans out there? Will my homeboys, the Spurs, be the 2007 NBA Champs?! We will see!!!

Shout OUT to my Homeboys...the SPURS!!!

Go Spurs Go!! Go Spurs Go!! In case you haven't noticed or remembered- I AM A SPURS FAN! I LOVE the Spurs. As many of you know, I grew up in San Antonio; therefore, these boys be my homies.

The Spurs is San Antonio's only professional team, therefore, we have no other teams to divide our loyalties resulting in lots and lots spirit. The Spurs have taken the title "NBA CHAMPS" 3 different times since 1999. My most memorable NBA win was 1999 which was also the Spurs first title win in years. This was a time when David Robinson, Avery Johnson, and Tim Duncan played together. I always had a great respect for David and Avery as godly men and leaders. This was the first year that I really saw San Antonio's true SPIRIT. San Antonio was painted with the phrase "Go Spurs Go!" everywhere! There wasn't a place around that didn't bleed this phrase. There were flags hanging out of cars, fences with cups spelling "Go Spurs Go!" huge sky scrapers with banners saying "Go Spurs Go" and marquis every where yelling "Go Spurs Go!" To our great excitement the Spurs went home that year, 1999, with the title of "Champs" and have made it to the playoffs every year since then and taken two more titles. 1999 was also the year that David Robinson retired to pursue full-time ministry. The city rejoiced together and gave amazing tribute to David. It was a true testimony of his life for Jesus. I have a lot of respect for the Spurs players themselves and the legacy that past players have left with the Spurs. 1999 was such a glorious year for San Antonio, I even bought the SPURS championship shirt... I wonder what happened to it?

So what happens when you move to Dallas for college and everyone is a Mavericks fan? Do you compromise your loyalty? Hell no. You yell even louder! I used to work in an after-school care program. The kids there were always Mavs fans (rightly so). So every time the playoffs would come- I would write "Go Spurs Go" on EVERYTHING!! They were also so frustrated with me and tried to convince me that now that I lived in Dallas I should be a Mavs fan. But I persevered and continued my loyalty/obnoxiousness by posting "Go Spurs Go" on.. um... everything. My end goal was to brainwash/manipulate these kids into becoming Spurs fans. I LOVED the controversy. I was successful in converting a few fans once the Mavs lost (cause they eventually do..sorry Mavs fans).

All this to say... The NBA finals are always a bit nostalgic for me. I am happy to hear my homeboys are holding their own again this season!! So to end all this I leave you with three great words....

GO SPURS GO!!!!

Ranger Baseball and Cousins

These pictures remind me of home for several reasons...

1. Texas Rangers
2. baseball
3. my sweet cousin Tammie
4. my adorable second cousin blake- i talked to him on the phone this weekend. He says he is ready for me to come home so that we can play together again...and he said he loved me. Oh my goodness...melt my heart.

Enjoy these pictures...they remind me of home.... just 67 days...

Link Love

I added some new link love to the right. Feel free to click away and meet some friends! Just thought I'd let you know I updated it.

Some of my new favorite adds (mostly from California):

Dawn
Snap
Glass
Ragamuffin Soul
Sandals Church
Steph in Sudan
Trunk Minus Junk

American Idol Partay

Last night in India, about 40 Americans gathered together for the announcement of the 2007 American Idol! AI airs a day later than in America...so I had to spend all day yesterday avoiding the Internet.

This is actually my first year to watch AI. I feel like I have come to know these people and I had to fight tears in the emotions of it all. I personally love both Blake and Jordin. They are just so different...I mean how could I choose? I love that God placed me in a city of "fun" people. We are always looking for excuses to meet and have a party.

There is always a lot of creativity involved... for example.

At the door, we had to choose Jordin or Blake. If you chose Jordin you got a heart sticker and if you were going for Blake you got a blue circle. Many people were torn in their decision (including myself) and there were those select few that DID look on the Internet and already knew who the idol was (shame on them).



We were also told to bring AI snacks. Here are some of my favorites:

Paula Popcorn - cause she is light and fluffy
Simon Soda- because he is kind of fizzy
Ginger Snaps- Simon always snaps at people
Randy's Peeps- you know those sugary Easter peeps
Cheezy Sanjaya- queso dip

Here is just a few of us at the end of the night. We of course had to sneak in one group picture. You know how that goes!!

Check out my BLING....

I realize this picture looks really vain at first look, but there is a hidden motive in this picture...bear with me.

So a new love of mine is jewels. I know... I am female...and what female doesn't like jewels? I mean seriously. Well...I found this jeweler that I LOVE and I have had some jewelry made! He has lots of pre-made things, but certain people he brings to the back where you can actually look at the stones and then tell him what you want made. So fun!! I have been surrounded by rubies, diamonds, emeralds, amethyst, and several varieties of topaz! My heart is happy. So the jeweler, Mr. Gupta, told me that he had new stones in for me to look at. To my surprise they were these enormous, absolutely breath taking, golden topaz stones. So after much convincing and persuasion he had me hooked. I picked out my stones and had a 95 carat golden topaz set made!! Yep...so this picture is me attempting to show it off. I didn't have a chain for the pendant, but it is about the same size as my ring! Isn't it amazing?!! This is my biggest a priciest souvenir for myself...so yeah....I am in love with the bling!

My blinging ring and one earring. I took several pictures and couldn't get both of them in...awe well.

Happy Birthday Jules and my Mom!!

My best friend Julie (the mountain girl) decided to come off her mountain and give the big city a shot for a few days. Her birthday was on Saturday- so we thought we would make sure her big city friends celebrated her 24 years of life a few days late! We went to TGIFriday's so that we could feel American. It was a gift to have everyone together- especially as we realize our time together is soon ending! I love birthdays and I love celebrating! I am always looking for excuses to gather people together for community and fellowship!

Julie and Ruthart showing their SMILES and excitement for some American Food!

Yep...I baked a cake from a box (thanks Caroline for sending it)...it was the fun fetti cake...DELICIOUS. Here is K and I (yep she escaped Kiran again...thanks J).

My roomie- Linds, Kelley, and Me.

Kelley got a little jealous of me and Julie taking a picture...so she hopped in. It made for a cute picture...even if Kelley was strangling me.

Here are the "upper class men". Oh how I love these ladies!

Today is actually my Mommie's Birthday! I already wrote sweet nothings about her for Mother's Day...so this will have to work for my shout out to my mother!! She always seems to get slightly jipped because her Anniversay, Mother's Day and her birthday are all 3 weeks of each other!! Sorry mommie. Happy Birthday...you never looked younger!! I love you!

Pretty Picture

I loved this pictures of my oldest sister Shannon and her nieces...so I thought I would share it with you. Enjoy. Shannon- YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL.

What I did for Mom's Day...

As you know...J, K, and Little K are some of my closest friend here. This was Kelley's first Mother's Day with a child (last year she was prego). Jonathan, her hubby, is a great hubby and felt that the best gift he could give to Kelley was time away from Little K and a girls day out. Smart hubby isn't he? So that is where I come in. So I picked up Kelley and we went to the Samrat hotel to go swimming and then off to her favorite restaurant here...Bennigans.

We pretty much chatted each others ears off and didn't even have time to put the i-pod in. I can't remember the last time that K and I got to spend uninterrupted time together. We had great conversation and I got to work on my tan. We were like 13 year olds in the pool- we raced each other, had a tea party (even though we couldn't stay at the bottom) she dunked me in this horrible game called 'colors' (I got water up my nose), and had a pull-up and hand stand contest! It felt good to act so immature... it was freeing. This day will be one of my favorite memories with K.

K, J, & Little K are leaving India exactly 1 month from today. sad. They will be moving back to South Carolina which is pretty far from Texas. I can't help but be really sentimental about it all. So we are going to take advantage of the time and do as much fun things together as possible this next month.

K and I at the pool.

J, K, & Little K have been my family here. Jonathan is a great brother and sets the mark pretty high in standard for my man one day. Kiran is a niece to me. And sometimes it makes me sad that she won't remember me. I will just be that weird old woman that sees her at a wedding one day and i pinch her cheeks and say something like "i changed your first diaper". Then later she will be like mom who was that. So true. Ha. And K...well she is the most awesome accountability partner and encourager on the freakin' planet. Anyways, I hope that you get the privilege of meeting this precious family one day.

Us in a rickshaw...keepin' it real.

This face of sweet Kiran is CLASSIC...i love it.