here we go again

I posted on Saturday that husband and I tried to take our packages to the post office and were told we missed the mail truck by 10 minutes. After getting back from the hospital, I tried again. I took 3 packages this time, and showed them to the worker. He told me that actually, international parcels had to be sent from the main post office of our town, that no other post office had the customs labels. I asked him why he didn't tell me that on Saturday, since we had shown him our boxes and told him we were sending them air mail to the States. He just kept nodding and saying, "Yes, I remember you." So, for the second time in 3 days, I walked back home with the packages. You should have seem husband's face when I walked in the house with those packages.

Today, I stuffed 2 of the packages in a bag, and headed up to the main post office, a 40 minute walk from my house. Halfway there, I suddenly became surrounded by monkeys. I cautiously crossed the road, careful to not look at them directly. A woman walking toward me grabbed me and said, "You have a bag, be careful!" I suddenly felt like a spy in Cold War Russia. I nodded, took a step, and stopped. The monkeys were all over the road, and weren't budging. The woman and her husband stopped walking and blocked my way to protect me from what I'm convinced are God's most vile creation. We stood still for about a minute, just eyeing the monkeys and waiting for them to leave, which they didn't. Instead, they actually started coming closer to us. We ended up crossing the road at one point, the two very kind strangers still instructing me on how to behave. I've never seen monkeys like this. A group of about 20 of us walkers were huddled together, waiting to be able to walk again. The monkeys slowly scattered, and the husband of the couple looked at me and said, "Go!" ("here's your chance, defect! defect!") Ugh they really ruin my walk to the market.

I got the post office without anymore primate encounters. It was 3:11. I was so excited to get rid of some of these boxes! I showed the boxes to the woman worker, who promptly told me that the international parcel pickup is at 3pm, and I couldn't drop it off today. She also informed me that all international parcels must be taken to a tailor and had a white cloth sewn over them, otherwise the postal system would not mail them. I am glad she told me this; otherwise, the next time I take those darn boxes back to the post office, I would've been told to go back home for the 4th time. There's gotta be something in Proverbs 31 about this.

The silver lining to all this is that lugging those boxes around have got to be toning my arms a bit. And husband's dumbfounded reactions everytime I walk back home with the yet unmailed boxes are priceless.

hospital-ity

For those of you who haven't heard, husband was admitted to the hospital Sunday morning (our time) because of what we found out was 'amoebic colonitis'. He was released Monday morning, feeling better than he had all week, according to him. The hospital room actually had two beds, so I was able to sleep at the hospital with him, and in the midst of the earlier seriousness, I couldn't help but notice the humor that was moving all around me.

For example, as I posted on Saturday, our neighbors were joining us at the office Sunday morning. So when husband said to me at 8am on Sunday, "I need you to take me to the hospital," I dressed quickly and went downstairs to tell the guys the bad news. I woke them up, but within 10 minutes, they were walking up our stairs (without knocking!) to rush into the living room to see just how bad husband was doing. They informed us they would be joining us on the way to hospital. This was a form of their hospitality, which can be overwhelming at times (present situation included).

So we arrived at the hospital. Our "deluxe" room, which I picked out for the TV for husband to watch, included two gurneys straight off the set of M*A*S*H, cracked walls, faded carpet, a dirty bathroom, and a TV that didn't work. It was alright, though, because the beds were actually comfortable, and all husband really needed was some medicine and rehydration solution. And the view must have been the best view from any hospital in the whole world. We entertained ourselves with books, rest, and our laptop computer complete with James Bond movies.

Lunchtime came and I found out I was not allowed to eat in the room, so I went up to the cafeteria, which gives a whole new meaning to hospital food. The nurse pointed me to the menu and told me to order anything. I should stop right here and say that I am a lot more adventurous when it comes to food than I used to be, but there are still 4 things I just absolutely can not eat. We're talking gag reflex and the whole bit: cucumbers, any form of melons, cilantro, and cabbage. (I found out about the cilantro effect upon arriving in a country where cilantro is considered as common a seasoning as salt and pepper) I scanned the menu and ordered the potatoes and bread. The cook told me they didn't have it. After looking at the list of over 30 items, I asked him what he did have. Rice, lentils, vegetables, and a sandwich was his response. Rice and veggies sounded pretty good, so I asked what the veggies were. Cabbage. Okay, strike the rice and veggies. What kind of sandwich is it? Tomato and cucumber.

So I skipped lunch.

Dinner came around, and I was starving. The nurses, who so kindly told me I could eat in the room, told me the cook could make me an omelette for dinner. I love breakfast for dinner, so I agreed. They asked what kind, and I said tomato and cheese, simple enough, which they said was fine. Then they came back about 20 minutes later and asked me to go to the cook and order my dinner, which I thought we just had. I shrugged and went upstairs, and the cook agreed to the order; no problem. About 15 minutes later, they brought in husband's veg soup (which he declared as good) and my green omelette. Green? Are those chilis? Oh, no, those are green onions, the nurses reassured me. I like green onions, I really do. They're probably my favorite onion. But not in the amount to where the entire omelette had lost it's original color. I asked for the tomato and cheese again, and the nurses told me that he didn't have any cheese or tomatoes. I briefly wondered why he agreed to cook it in the first place if he had no cheese or tomatoes, before realize, hey, this is South Asia. What did I expect? So I just ordered the scrambled eggs, and received a look from the nurses as I had asked to eat their firstborn sons. I had suddenly received the reputation as the picky and difficult wife. I ended up eating only toast for dinner. When I asked for some tea later, I received some rolled eyes before getting it. What? What did I do?

This morning, husband woke up feeling great. Praise our boss for his mighty works and kindness! They even brought him semi-solid food for breakfast which was nice. They also brought me some cornflakes and hot milk. Yes, hot. Husband had pity on my growling stomach and asked for some cold milk, which they thought was the strangest request, but since the Difficult Wife didn't ask, it was no problem.

After breakfast, we were told the senior doctor would visit husband before releasing him. What they failed to mention was that seven curious staffers would be joining the senior doctor. I'm not kidding, the door just kept opening. Husband and I were dying laughing by the 8th walkin. I was in the hospital once for pneumonia, and a couple of times a nursing student would come in to listen to my "textbook wheezing" as directed by her supervisor, but never have I heard of 8 doctors and nurses coming in to look at someone who had common intestine problems. What's that you say, Doctor? Someone had diarrhea?! Well, this I've gotta see!

I'm sure it had nothing to do with the fact that we were strange Americans in a very asian hospital.

Finally, after having to promise the hospital manager that we'd pay him after we got home (they didn't have a credit card machine or an ATM...and we didn't have that kind of cash on us), we left the hospital and are now free to eat all kinds of normal food. Well I am, anyway.

I say all this with a laugh, and not a complaining voice, I promise. You know I love this culture. I am just so relieved that husband is okay, and that the boss took care of him in only a day after they originally told us we'd have to be there for 3 days. He's in such good spirits, and is especially humbled by all the care and love he received from our family and friends who were concerned. Thanks for the money - the boss was faithful, as always.

you learn something new everyday

Breaking news! This just in! Husband has befriended the three neighbor guys downstairs, and tomorrow, they are going to join us for a meeting at our house. Our first people to join us! We will be doing some p&w, and then husband will tell a story, and we will all talk about what that story says to us, and of course, send money. Speaking of, please send money for these 3 guys to be touched by the boss tomorrow morning.

Alright, back to regularly scheduled postings.

I love finding out all the weird things about this city and its systems. It can be so fantastically frustrating sometimes. Today, after finishing packing up the boxes to send to our families for Christmas, we took the hike up to the post office. It closes at 5, and since we left after 4, we hurried a little to make it on time. We arrived at 4:40, and showed the man our boxes. (we only took 2 today...we are taking them up in small amounts because 1.) it's not an easy walk, and 2.) this city knows nothing of small boxes, and so we have small presents jostling around in big boxes) The postal worker told us, "I'm sorry. The truck has already come for today." We told him that it was okay, we just wanted to drop them off, and he could mail them out when the next one came on Monday. He told us, "No, you can't leave them here because it's not safe." We thought it over, and realized there was nothing to do but take them back home with us. At least he was honest. But we had some letters to mail out, too, so we thought we'd try our luck with them. Nope, same response; he refused to take our mail. While I did appreciate his concern for our items, and would much rather take the boxes back home than have them stolen, I couldn't help but wonder, "Then why are they still open?"

The electricity went out for awhile last night. The is nothing new; it goes out at least once a week for 5 minutes, or more. Last night, just as I turned on the oven, the lights flickered, and then there was pitch darkness. It wasn't just a breaker; it was our entire community. Husband told me it was probably me who caused it, because otherwise it was just some incredible coincidence. Oddly enough, I didn't feel too guilty, but more like a little pride. After thirty minutes without electricity (and without heat! yikes!) husband went into the kitchen, and noticed that the oven wasn't even plugged in! It wasn't caused by me afterall. He picked up the plug, put it in the socket, and the electricity immediately came back on.

Incredible coincidences never fail to make me laugh.

light in the darkness

Oh yeah! Husband made the best tortilla chips with the leftover tortillas. The best I've ever had. He's a mexican food genius.



This week was a huge holiday here. People hang up lights outside their houses (Christmas lights! It was beautiful) and light candles after doing their worship.



All the shops were open, with sweets and lights and decorations pouring out of their doors, and everyone has been so cheerful.


The fireworks have been the most notable celebration tactic! Ever since the middle of October, kids have been popping their black cats or lighting up their sparklers. Last night it sounded like the sky was exploding...we stood outside to listen to the fireworks and look at the lights, and we remarked at one time we felt like CNN correspondants in Baghdad. Two days ago, the big news was that in the big market, there was a fire at several adjacent firework stallss. I can't imagine how loud and crazy that was. Supposedly, the owners of the shops lost millions in fireworks. Yikes! The fireworks went on until after 2 in the morning, and someone (undoubtedly a kid who was forced to go to sleep before he could finish popping all of his) was popping fireworks right outside our window at 7 this morning. Thanks for that, buddy!

fajitas!

I know I keep blogging about food, but it's because I am just so excited to actually be surviving here on "regular" food. Although I'm not sure how Mexican food is "regular" for an American. Being inspired by our good friends in Africa, we decided to try our luck at tortillas tonight. Fajitas and rice were on the menu, and unless I could get the tortillas, it would just be stir fry chicken and veggies. The tortillas worked, though, and here's the picture. Except for the chunk husband took off to taste, they were even almost in a circle. I hear that's the hardest part. Now with the leftovers, husband is going to try his hand at frying the tortillas tomorrow to make some chips to go with his salsa he's been making.

curiosity feeds the girl

We're still having heater trouble. We now have 3, and unless we sit directly in front of the heater, we still can't keep ourselves from staying icy. I think we're going to have to go to another town down the mountain because they are literally hundreds and hundreds of USD to get the bigger heaters here. Cars are hardly ever used for deliveries...ever. Even if it's a refrigerator or table and chairs to be delivered. Shops just hire men to strap things on their backs to carry them. So at least if we keep buying little heaters, we won't cause a carrier to have to do what this poor guy is doing.

Fridays are Date Night for us. Yesterday we decided to make it "Date Day" and grab lunch instead, since it's starting to get pretty cold to be walking around at night. In our search to find a new place to eat, we followed signs to some place called the Garden Restaurant. It turned out to be a restaurant in the garden of a hotel that used to be a British Palace. Here are pics of the hotel, the restaurant, the garden (which will be gorgeous in the spring when the flowers are blooming like crazy!), and the delicious chocolate mousse cake I had for dessert. :)

On our way home, the dry cleaning family invited us in for tea again. They are so friendly, and it's fun since they speak no English. They were laughing so hard at us, because in our attempt to break the silence, we would point at objects we knew and say the word. "Floor!" "Wall!" "Chair!" Even the little boy was laughing.

Today I finished wrapping Christmas gifts to send out. Now I just have to find some cardboard boxes to mail them in. In awhile we're going to go p walk around our area and to map some strongholds. We know of at least two that are just down the road: the Tibetan school, and a temple.

attack of the monkeys

Here is a picture of the big grocery store. It's blurry and doesn't have the best view, but I didn't feel comfortable taking a picture of the grocery store, so someone else took it, and I'm not brave enough to go back and take another one.

Oh by the way, I was nearly attacked by two monkeys today. They were all over the place today, and had me so jittery, even before the big attack. There were 3 coworkers in town, doing some sightseeing, and we took them to one place, and on the way there, there was this family of about 7 monkeys on the side of the sidewalk. I was holding onto the back of husband, knowing that if baby monkeys are around, mama monkey is being very protective. As husband passes by, a monkey on each side of us started hissing, looking at us straight in the eye. Eye contact is not a friendly gesture in monkey body language. I froze, while the two monkeys put me on their target list, and started hissing and coming at me. I backed away slowly, and they finally, after what seemed like an eternity (it was probably only 30 seconds), got bored with me and turned their attentions elsewhere. I had visions of rabies shots in my head, and was so scared, I even had tears in my eyes. After it was over, I looked behind me, and there was this crowd of about 50 people bunched together about 30 feet behind me, all waiting for it to be over with. When I saw them, they all started laughing. Laughs of released tension, I'm pretending. Sometimes, it's just not fun being the crazy white woman.

super walmart it's not (and for that, I'm kinda grateful)

I don't know if I've described our "grocery stores" yet, but I'll do it briefly. The only one we have in town is a 45 minute walk away. All the other ones are just one 12x12 room with shelves stocked to the brim with minimal variety. (rice, crackers, cookies, milk, eggs, and tons of ramen noodle type stuff) So this big store, which I love, has three aisles about ten feet long, and even a dairy section (a refrigerator). It's great! It is stocked with typical items, but then also every time I go in, I see something new. My favorite aisle is the international aisle - it lways has random items like Kraft Mac and Cheese, Campbell's cream of mushroom soup, or Dole pineapple slices. When these items are actually in the store, they are usually the only item like it, and usually have some other language besides English printed on them. For some reason, there must have been a large shipment of the mac and cheese, because there are about 5 or 10 boxes on the shelf. I have no clue how they get these items, or why they only get one at a time, but I'm grateful nonetheless. Anyway, so today I went in, looking for a chili tomato sauce, and right in front of me, like some cruel joke, was a jar of steak sauce. Seriously! It sat there, mocking me. I think I even heard it say, "Nanny nanny boo boo."

Tonight is my second night of Thanksgiving Planning. I'm making green bean casserole. I'm cheating a bit because I bought one of those arbitrary cans of cream of mushroom, so I didn't have to make it, but I did find a recipe for making the cream of mushroom next time. But the green beans and fried onions are from scratch, so that counts right?

I'm still looking for a good chicken recipe to replace turkey or ham. Ooh, maybe some sort of honey baked chicken. If you have a good recipe, send it to me!

my first hexagonal apple...hexagon

For the first time ever I made a pie tonight. I am beginning to plan out Thanksgiving meals, and since I really don't access to any of the foods I know how to make for Thanksgiving (which really isn't much), that's why I'm having to start practicing a month in advance. I've never made a pie before, and even if I had made one in the states, I would've bought the crust first. I think once I tricked myself into believing I had made cherry cheesecake, with that ready made crust and ready made cheese and ready made cherries. Anyway, so I'm not expert on pies. I think I've already laid out my credentials of being a slight airhead, and tonight was no exception. After almost fully completing the preparations for the pie, I realized, Hey, shouldn't I have a pie pan? Of course I didn't, but I did have some hexagonal baking pans for some reason. Seeing as the crusts were rolled out and the apple filling was already made, I had no choice but to try it out. And guess what - it worked! And having the pan made the little diagonal cuts very easy to center, which is something only a scrapbooker can appreciate. Husband told me all pies should be hexagons because it makes cutting the pie that much easier.

So here is a picture of my first apple pie...that's not a pie shape at all.

naturally beautiful

The city we live in is naturally beautiful. Here's a pic of last night's sunset from our terrace, and also a photo from our walk to the office today.

i'd jump through hoops just to have some meat...

I love Sundays. Day of rest, time of fellowship, usually a restaurant for lunch...ahh. Today on our walk to the office we passed by a Tibetan school. We had heard at our house this loud commotion of people who would cheer and clap, and someone talking over a loud speaker. When we passed by the Tibetan school, we realized where the sound was coming from. They were having some sort of celebration and had even lit a hoop on fire, and boys were jumping through this hoop! It was very strange, and the people walking on the road were all stopped and lined up to watch this event. It was like the Tibetan version of when we'd have big Sundays back home and hire people to come entertain the students. (click the picture to get a bigger version of it)

At the office, there was a group of Americans who will be here for just under 3 weeks. They are from the same state my inlaws are living in right now. One of their men spoke, and it was so refreshing to hear a speech in English! He even reminded us of our shepherd back home - he would say something, and then say, "Turn to your neighbor and say..."

Afterwards, we went to what I guess would be considered fast food. The place even had sausage and mutton burgers! There's no grill in there, though, only microwaves, so it's obvious they just take a frozen burger and nuke it. I was so excited because there was a sausage, onion, and bell pepper pizza on the menu, and I realized that I was obligated to try it out. I owed it to my meat deprived self. Turns out, the sausage was actually sliced vienna sausages! Judge all you want, but after going more than 2 months with no meat other than a little chicken and mutton, those teeny weenys were good. I don't care if they came out of a can.

This fast food place is also one of the only stores I can find frozen meat, and yesterday we picked up some pork and chicken sausages. I have no clue what they'll look like when I open the box, but in my mind are visions of links and links of tasty, juicy meat. Hopefully they will be close enough to hot dogs and we can have some Foster dogs tonight...yum!!

where in the world...?

This morning I got to work out! I mean, besides the usual 10-15km walk a day. There's another american woman here who actually has a background in dance as well, and we have agreed to work out every Saturday morning. This morning we did some kind of pilates cardio, and she has a ballet workout that we're going to try out soon!

Yesterday during my language study, I was at the coffee shop, and decided to get some lunch there, and proceeded to have a cringeworthy experience. When I was waiting in line, these two western looking women were next to me, so I smiled and asked them where they were from. One said Canada. The other woman said something like, "Izzy Eye." I looked blank, and she repeated it. "Izzy Eye?" I said. "Yes," they said. "Is that somewhere in Canada?" I asked. At that exact moment those asinine words left my mouth, I realized in her thick accent she was saying Israel. They looked at me gapingly, and I tried to laugh it off. I told them how embarrassed I was. They were okay with it, but when they asked me where I was from, I was so ashamed to claim America at that point. Luckily, I redeemed myself (a tiny bit) when the Canadian (actually Quebecoise) woman and I conversed in French. But I'm sure one of the first things they will do when they get home is tell their friends about the dumb American girl who thought Israel was in Canada. (what could I do: insult her accent by telling her I couldn't understand, or laugh it off and say I misunderstood?)

Yesterday I finally got to scrapbook! Oh it was such a relief to just sit and work on two layouts and watch season 4 of Friends (arguably the best season). And after language study, I found a place that prints out great pictures for cheap, so I'm excited to keep scrapbooking.

birthday coffee

After dinner, husband took me to a coffeeshop for coffee and dessert, and the guys who made the coffee put "HB" in chocolate syrup on the coffee, for "Happy Birthday". This city is so friendly. They also brought me a fork with my chocolate chip muffin. They think Americans eat everything with a fork here, which is really funny. Or a spoon. I'm actually surprised they didn't bring a spoon, because restaurants will give a spoon no matter what we order.

Today is a special holiday for the women in this country. They fast all day for to (not for) their husbands for long lives, and they wear traditional wedding clothes. Then when the moon comes out, they all go out on the street, worship the moon, and then the husbands buy them a gift, and they eat. I've been asked many times if I'm fasting to my husband today, and I have to tell them no because I do not believe my husband is a god, but I will send him money all day for a long life and fruitful life. I read in a new book the boss wrote about how two men, Paul and Tim, were sending money to a small group of people living in colosse for knowledge and understand so they would honor the boss the rest of their days and bear all kinds of fruit. When I read that, the boss told me to send money to my husband for that, so I have been and now I can tell any person who asks me if I'm fasting that this is my money for my husband. It's a good expenditure for any body, married or not. It reminds me of how my "cousin" back home told me she used to send money to her husband before she knew him and I followed her example and can see how that money was used.

happy birthday to me!!

Thanks to everyone I talked to this morning, I am having a great birthday so far. Between the emails, calls, and chats, it's very nice. In this culture, it's customary to give gifts on your birthday instead of getting gifts, so after yesterday's conversation with Priya, the boss gave me an idea. Today after language study was over, I told her that in the US on someone's birthday the custom is to get gifts. I told her that out of all the gifts I had received, the best was the gift of eternal life. Then I said since here you give gifts, I had a gift for her. I gave her the truth written in her own language so it would speak to her in ways I could not. It was a small booklet, and asked her to read it tonight and we could talk about it tomorrow. Please send money for her that it would speak right to her heart as she has admitted she is in search of peace.

She has been talking about my birthday for over a week now, and she forgot today was it. She realized halfway through the lesson, stuck her hand out for me to shake, cupped my face in her hands and then gave me a hug! It was a warm greeting, although I'm still having to shake off my American perceptions and go with the flow when it comes to contact here. The women holding hands, or men strolling with their arms wrapped around each others' waists or shoulders is becoming more and more usual to look at, but when it happens to me, I usually freeze. Husband didn't tell his language helper that it was my birthday, and so when Priya told her, she glared at husband and said, "Why didn't you tell me?!" haha

dominant species

Today I was studying language in a coffee shop (it seriously may be the best idea I've ever had), and I looked out the window and saw these two monkeys. One of them grabbed what looked like some sort of plastic container of orange jello, and stuck the whole thing in his mouth, plastic and all. He sat for awhile and chewed and chewed, probably wondering why it was taking so long to swallow. But instead of spitting it out, he just kept chewing. And it made me think, some people actually think we evolved from them? I mean, my dog (ahem, I mean my parents' dog) at home wouldn't even do that. Granted, he went through his scared-of-ice phase, but everybody has irrational fears. And if evolution turned monkeys into humans, why are those annoying creatures still around?

There are no mailboxes here, so you have to go to the post office to mail anything. We went for the first time last week, and it was an experience. Since there are so many people here, everyone gets assigned pretty much only one task at their work, and so we went through a few people at the post office. Just to mail 3 letters, we had to go through paying for postage, pasting on the stamp (literally...the guy pulled out old timey paste and wiped it thoroughly on each stamp), then I had to watch the guy put the letters in a box, and then someone else gave me a receipt. They would not let us leave until we had that receipt. Each letter cost 15, which is the equivalent of about 33 cents. Nice! I went back today on my own with 2 more letters, went through the same process, except this time, no receipt. I wonder why it wasn't important this time. Also, the price went up from 15 to 24. I asked why it increased, and she told me because they both weighed more than 20 grams or something like that. I was about to argue when I realized that I was going to complain about mailing something air mail overseas for 50 cents. A regular stamp in the US almost costs that much. An example of something that's just not worth fighting over.

Priya is so close to coming to know the truth. Please remember to send her money. She is to the point where she realizes how empty her life is, which is when I came to personally know the boss, and I'm hoping she will meet him soon as well.

pictures of celebration

Top: holy man gesturing and dancing in front of plastic idol scene
Middle: holy fire of god
Bottom: Vendors trying to make a sale

lessons in humility

What a day I had yesterday! Between being called fat, being asked if I was pregnant (mom stop worrying, I'm not :), being told I'm not a stylish dresser, having my pimple pointed out to me, and being told that my husband probably cooks better national food than me, I should be cowering under the covers of my bed forever. It was quite interesting. I'm so glad the boss gave me such a great mood yesterday and a sense of humor to laugh it off. Also, I had quite the scare with a monkey. I had my good towels hanging dry, and when I was in the living room, I saw a monkey climbing up the tree towards the terrace. I was not going to let him take my cushy towels! I went up there, made a ton of noise opening the door in hopes to scare him off, and slowly peeked out the door. The coast was clear - I grabbed a few towels, and glanced over shoulder. There he was - all fat and hairy, perched on the ledge of the terrace, just looking at me. I jumped and ran inside, and made noises at him to leave. He merely sauntered over to the side directly in front of the door and took up another perch - just inches away from my towels! Finally, he ran off, but only to the slanted roof, so I grabbed only the good towels, and ran back in, terrified he was about to leap onto me while I was least expecting it. Believe me, every moment I've been on the terrace since, I've been expecting it. I'm sure I look like a spy, sneaking around corners, looking this way and that. Those monkeys have ruined the terrace time! I think a fake gun is in order.

Last night, we joined Priya and her mother at a temple. We spent a lot of money before leaving for protection, and the boss was faithful. We saw many strange sights: hordes of people, bowing to plastic idols, kissing walls, and lying face down on the ground. In a separate room, there was a major throng of people, all watching a holy man gesturing with incense (almost dancing, really, with a very loud drum in the background) in front of a large plastic scene of idols, and many of the crowd was bowed as well. Then, a man came around with a pot of fire, and people would swipe their hands over it and "wash" their face with the fire. Priya said it was the holy fire of god. On the road to the temple, there were dozens of vendors set up to sell all the holy items to offer to the idols - coconuts, scarves, bananas, incense, etc. We were able to take pictures and will post those in our letter home. Even in the midst of all the glittery gold and sparkling lights, this area is desperately in need of the Light.

earthquake not harmful

The earthquake that hit south asia this morning did not affect us dangerously, just in case anyone had heard about it in the states. Much of south asia felt the tremors, as did we. Actually, I shouldn't say "we". I was out at the time getting vegetables, and when I came home, a woman we know called us from another city and asked if we were okay, and told me about the tremors she had felt. I asked my husband later if he felt anything, and he said he definitely felt them. He said it wasn't as bad as the other earthquake he's been in. Later on that day, we had just finished talking about the aftershocks, and sure enough, the water bottle on the table began shaking, and I could feel the couch shaking. I've never experienced an earthquake or aftershocks of any kind, so it was quite an experience. But needless to say, we are safe, and so is our city.

negotiations

I had already typed up a different blog for today, but I'm changing it. Something too exciting happened to us tonight.

We were at the big market, and we went to Sagar's shop to chat with him and his father. The shop closed about 30 minutes after we sat down, so they offered to take us home since they live nearby us. One our way out, a policeman stopped us. On the main market area, cars are not allowed, and only people with certain permits can drive on certain roads. Since they were driving us home, they went a different way than their permit allowed, and they were pulled over. Sagar and his father had to get out of the car, and Sagar told us they would have to pay a fine. I asked how much, and he shrugged and said, "We'll negotiate." (the police here are so corrupt, they take the money and pocket it themselves. It's so weird to hear him say negotiate. I guess it's the equivalent of crying your way out of a speeding ticket) Well as they were stepping out of the car, husband told them, "we'll send money for you right now." So we did, asking that they would not have to pay anything. They came back to the car after about five minutes or so, and Sagar looked at husband strangely and said, "Did you send money?" We nodded, and asked why. He said because the police man let them off free! We were so overjoyed, and Sagar and his father both claimed it was a miracle and that our boss must love us very much, because the police are so corrupt that they would never let anyone off free of charge. We told them our boss loves everyone, and were able to share a little bit more about him. We were so overjoyed we kept pinching each other on the way home with goofy grins. Now this incident will be on the forefront of their minds, and the best part is, they told us their shop is picking up again, which they earlier credited to the holiday season right now. But now that they've seen this, we are sending money in hopes that when the shop prospers they will call to mind what happened tonight and think this boss must really answer, more than theirs.

I hope all that made sense. I'm so excited right now that I'm probably rambling on!

To any of you who sent me money so I would be more motivated to practice language, thanks! The boss revealed to me a better plan, working during my best hours, and I was able to go out today, first to the dry cleaner's mother, and then to the lady who owns a cloth shop. She also has women in her shop, so it's fun to just go and sit in there and chat with them. I haven't met a friend of hers yet who speaks English, so it's an ideal place to practice. I told them the days of the week, and that I would be coming on Monday, and they were so thrilled I said it all in their language! They also correct me if I pronounce something wrong, or have incorrect grammar, which is what I want. Priya is wanting me to teach her a little French, and so I am hoping that I don't have as bad of pronunciation of this language as she does of French. (that hope, I'm sure, is in vain, judging by the laughs we constantly get when trying to speak! :) It really makes a huge difference if I get out and practice what I've learned.

One more thing - unfortunately, my chocolate diversion wasn't so good. The snickers was that whitish, old, crumbly chocolate, the kind that has a bit of bitter taste to it. It is so sad when the package on the outside looks so good, and you open up to a huge disappointment. This has happened so many times, I can't name them. At least the Twix was still good, but that was just pure luck, seeing as the last Twix we bought was old chocolate as well. Oh well...you win some, you lose some.

father's love

This morning in my quiet time I had a real image of the boss, one of the most vivid I've had in a long time. In reading one of his old books about his favorite people and what they had done to him, he said if only they would come back to him, he wouldn't be mad and he'd forgive them. I got this image of a father yearning for his wayward child to just come back home, and I gained a heart knowledge of so many images of the boss in this. It hurts me to think of ever putting him through that kind of pain, of earnestly hoping every minute the child will show up so he can comfort and take away any shame. That is ultimate love.

We found some major chocolate yesterday at the grocery store and were beside ourselves! Snickers, Twix, M&Ms, Chips Ahoy...stuff we hardly ever bought for ourselves back home, but we stocked up on them last night! Husband even found some salsa and that was the first thing he opened when he got home. I'm sure no one is surprised!

I can't believe how cold it's getting so fast here. We already have our heaters on, and we're going to have to get 2 more. This winter ought to be pretty interesting for me, considering I found my hometown's May/June 90 degrees pleasant. But I can't wait to see the snow!

isn't that our towel?

I should have mentioned yesterday the funniest thing that happened to us. I had hung up to dry the towels that we used to clean the bathroom. Wait, I'll stop and explain something really quick. The bathrooms here are obviously not like in the states. Our "shower" is a small corner area of the bathroom with a drain, a faucet, and a new shower head. Here, they don't use shower heads, they use buckets to shower. That's another discussion for another day. Anyway, there is no blocked off area for the water to go, and even though we have the privilege of a shower curtain, it doesn't keep the water from getting all over the bathroom floor. So until we bought a squeegie last week to push the water to the drain, we had to use towels. So there, that was quick right? I'm trying, guys! So anyway, we had hung up the towels on the roof on the line to dry. There were 2 of them, along with some small hand towels. Being the slight airhead I am, I didn't notice that there was only one towel to take back in the house when they were dried. Husband and I were on the terrace later, and he pointed to a tree with one of our new towels hanging in it..."Isn't that our towel?" The monkeys had gotten ahold of it! Oh we had a good laugh, and I breathed a sigh of thanks that it wasn't one of the lush towels my mom had given us before we left. Mom, the towels here just aren't the same!

So my meal lesson today was great! Although, I wonder if I'll be able to do it without Priya's help. She left some dough for me to practice frying tonight. Let me tell you, she gets that dough on the rolling board and rolls it out into a perfect little circle in seconds. I tried it, and the dough kept sticking to the rolling pin! So today should be pretty entertaining to see the little oblong pieces of bread I'll be making.

I think I've learned how to attach pictures to the blogs, so I'm attaching a picture of the towel that is just out of reach from receiving in the trees. Notice all the pollen - it's awful! I just went up to the terrace to take the picture, and my husband is up there studying his language (he's so good - he's going to catch up to me at the rate he's going, even though I've had a helper longer than him) and his glasses had pollen all over them for just the hour that he's been up there! The second picture is of the water purifier and water heater. Sister-in-Law, this is for you! You said my geyser story confused you. The purifier is the white thing above the sink, and the metal thing above the purifier (you can't see much of it...it's just a little bigger than the purifier) is the geyser. Anyway, it shares the plug with the purifier and it eventually heats up the water. Or is supposed to, but like I said, ours is a bit quirky.

I need someone to send me money so that I can be motivated to go out into the community and practice my language. It takes guts to walk up to someone and say, "let me tell you what I learned today." Husband does it just fine. (I'm sure no one is surprised! :) but the evil is influencing me from going to practice. I have the head knowledge that these people find it so entertaining, and not annoying, when a foreigner does this, but I can't get my heart to commit to it. And without using what I've learned, I won't retain it. Thanks for all you do!

all the quirks

So we're getting used to all the quirks of our new (old) house. I'm not exactly sure how old it is...it could be as new as 10 years, or as old as 50. Or older. But it's fun. For instance, we know now to not have the geyser (the hot water heater) and the oven on in the kitchen the same time the computer is on the in office, because the electricity will blow. And we also now know that in order to have hot water for washing the dishes, the geyser first must heat up (that's a given!), and the hot water will run for 30 seconds, and then you must turn off the water and wait for it to reheat some more. Maybe 2 minutes, in which you continue filling up the huge bowl with soap and dishes to wash. This cycle goes on, as does the red light on the geyser, until finally, after several minutes, the dishes are allowed to soak in their steaming water. I suppose it may be faster just to boil up a big pot of water, but for now, the system works.

Also, we got the washing machine working today! It is actually on our roof, since there is no other available place to drain the water, except in the shower, which since we're not fond of electrocution, we thought the roof was fine enough. Plus, I can hang the clothes right there. I was in desperate need of kitchen towels, so even though it was after 4, I had to put in a load of towels. Of course, they weren't done washing until almost 6, and I doubt they will be dry enough by time to wash the dishes tonight, or even tomorrow morning for that matter. Plus, the pollen is bad right now, I can't imagine them still being clean by morning. But even if I have to use damp towels to try to dry dishes, I don't care, because I am so excited to have the washing machine!

And the biggest achievement in the past 24 hours is that I cooked chicken spaghetti last night from scratch! I was so excited, I even made the white sauce to put over it before baking it! And tomorrow, my language helper is staying after our studies to teach me a simple lunch - fried bread (my favorite!) and potatoes and vegetables and spices. It's one of husband's favorites, so I now he's looking forward to it. I'm so grateful that my language helper is so nice and helpful. She even looked at all my family pictures today, and oohed and awed over the babies (of course!), and my beautiful family, friends, and inlaws (she made personal comments on everyone), and loved seeing our wedding pictures. It's funny that I've always thought the pictures of their traditional weddings are gorgeous with all the colors and flowers, but since ours are exotic to them, our bridal gowns, and veils (or whales, as she calls them), and tuxedoes are incredibly beautiful. I love new cultures!

husband will survive

I'm so excited about what happened today, but I'm going to have to wait and put it in our update we're sending out tomorrow. Suspense, I know. I'm a regular Hitchcock.

So just to make everyone feel a little better for my husband, yes, dinner worked out last night. I made an enchilada casserole over rice, and it turned out good, except for the rice. I followed the directions exactly on the rice, but a layer of it burnt to the bottom of the pan. At least most of it was still edible, and the other stuff was good. Although this is coming from someone who enjoys Nutella out of the jar (which I'm actually enjoying as I type), so I don't know if my opinion counts. And I'm learning how to make traditional tea in a saucepan, so things are looking up from the whole raisin bran bread mistake.

I know this is a short blog...the update will be more interesting, I think. At least it will have pictures.

meals

Today we were invited over to Priya's house (my language helper) for lunch. This week is an annual celebration where they honor their ancestors. Today, we got there and were served almost immediately. Her family is extremely nice, and they live in a tiny, but adequate house. They of course showed us their idols, which we've noticed many people like to point out. Theirs is a religion of showing off: if you do something good, or religious, you let others know how pious you are. Anyway, the food was delicious! It's funny because Priya had told her mother to cook things extra bland for me because she knows I can't take the spicy food too much. Knowing this, I took a big bite of potatoes, and much to my surprise, my mouth immediately began burning. Priya said, "It's not too spicy, right?" Of course I answered no, that it was perfect. We also had some sort of fried bean things covered in a yogurt sauce, which was really good, and the best (besides the fried bread that is to die for) was this pumpkin stuff. I've got to get that recipe, although since husband really loved the potatoes, I need to get that one as well. Priya assured me it's really easy. In fact, she is so interested in learning southern dishes, that she has said she will teach me her food if I teach her mine. I'm excited, and also nervous. See, at this altitude, the food takes forever to make. I actually have been without a stove since yesterday, and had the burden of trying to find dishes to make without having to use a stove at all. Sounds simple, right? Well first don't forget that many items need to boil to be cleansed. Second, don't forget that I am cooking from scratch, and without several items that are commonplace in the states, such as brown sugar. And third, don't forget that I'm in a place that doesn't sell beef, and even other types of meat are only available half of the time. So I'm cooking mainly with vegetables, that almost always need some sort of stewing or sauteeing, even when put in a casserole. So, I finally found something I could at least make for breakfast - this raisin bran cinnamon bread. The recipe called for 20 minutes in the oven, so I was pretty discouraged when over an hour later, the bread was still undone in the middle. I think I've learned my mistake from it, but it was pretty discouraging when it happened. So this is why I'm going to practice, practice, practice on all the dishes before even attempting to teach someone how to make them!

We were also invited to have a meal with another family, who husband has really developed a relationship with. Food is such an important event here, and we love how hospitable everyone is. Today, I wore traditional clothes, and I had so many women smile from ear to ear when they saw what I was wearing. One woman even crossed the street to come tell me that I was "looking smart." We had so many people come up to us today while we were walking, almost all of which we had met already, and we are really beginning to feel a part of this community which is so exciting. The father and son whom husband has developed a relationship had apparently told their wife/mother about us, and today, as we were walking home, a woman approached and us and said, "You must be [our names]." It was so funny that she could pick us out of a crowd of hundreds of thousands merely by the description from her family!

It's time to try my hand again at another dish. This time, something easier. And I learned how to make correct tea. I will let you know how it turns out.

life in this country

Did you know that in order to get a washing machine, you first have to order it, a man delivers it (on his back), and drops it off, and then another man comes to hook the water up, another man comes to hook the electricity up, and a final man comes to demonstrate how to use the washing machine? Or in order to be able to cook, I must first buy a stove, then call the gas man who delivers my gas cylinder full of gas that will last about a month, have to get another man from the same gas company to deliver a pipe to connect the gas cylinder to the regulator, and get yet another man to deliver the regulator that connects the pipe to the stove? And to top it off, as foreigners we must go through hoops to get the gas company to agree to give us a regulator in the first place? Or in this country there are two different types of mattresses...one is simply foam in various sizes and densities, covered to fool any foreigner into thinking it's a mattress just like home, and the other is a mattress with coil in it, in only one size: 4 inches thick?

All of this was extremely exhausting to cover this week. And I didn't even get into the buying the fridge, getting the electricity inspected, trying to reach the internet man, special ordering a queen sized bed with queen sized mattresses/foams in a country with only two sizes of beds, twin and king, searching for a computer desk and chair, finding rugs, bedspreads, shower curtain and rods, pillows, and various household items.

BUT...our queen sized bed showed up yesterday evening. The queen sized coil mattress with a 2 inch foam mattress, all covered with material, arrived on time last night. Our bedspread showed up, along with the rugs and pillows and blankets and spare bed sheets. All we need now is to install the shower curtain rod and shower curtain and we'll be almost done! So as much as we ran around like chickens with our heads cut off, we are now settling into a wonderful new house that with all the small added touches, will become a home in no time.

and the flag was still there

My language helper, Priya*, has made it clear to me from day 1 that she is not a cousin of mine. Instead, she is devoted to something else, and I've been sending money that she could turn to the light. I found out last week that she is married to a man in the States, who she married in a court ceremony this past August. He lives in the US, but is planning to move to another English country, and take Priya with him. It may sound strange to us westerners, but it's actually very common for the men to go work in the west, come back to find a wife, and either take her with him abroad, or wait to earn more money to either come back home or bring his wife to him. Well I had been sending money that both Priya and her husband would become cousins both so that neither would be in the way or harm of the other. I thought, he's in the States, it's highly possible the boss would put someone in his life to bring him on the narrow path. Today I found out the saddest thing: turns out Priya received a call from an American woman last week, who had looked at Priya's husband's phone and called Priya, whose number was on the phone consistently. This woman, Amy*, claimed to be the real wife of Priya's husband, and they had been married over a year ago, making Priya's marriage void. Priya said she was shocked, and stayed in bed and cried for three days. She and her family will be traveling to visit her "husband's" family to make arrangements for annulment. (when Priya confronted her alleged husband about this, he didn't deny it, but merely said, "Amy should not have called you.") She is very distressed and hurt, understandably. Just this morning, in my quiet time, I had asked the boss to provide an opportunity today to share, and in the instant that Priya told me this, I knew what I needed to do. I told her I would send money for her and her family. She then told me that she wonders if she did something so horrible that the gods are punishing her. I told her that my husband and I eat the bread, and asked if she had heard of our bread, and she nodded and said she actually owned one! (bridge!) I told her we believe the bread, and it speaks of a boss who is always forgiving when we ask, and not a boss who punishes us physically for every wrong we do. She continued to tell me of how hurt she was by the whole ordeal, and I shared with her my personal story of the time in my life when I felt so lonely and empty, and turned to the name above all others, and he gave me peace. I told her I would send money for the boss to give her peace as well. She was very grateful, and I'm hoping for many more opportunities to share with her.

Is it "understandably"? That reminds me too much of the whole supposedly/supposably thing, and I'm afraid I sound like uneducated.

I've been watching all the weather reports on CNN today, very concerned for my family and friends back home. The reporters were in several cities, one of which was where one of which is the small town my husband's extended family lives. In both of those shots, the reporters showed the flags that were flying behind them, pointing out in one the two flags remaining, the American and the state flag. He said the American flag had initially been intact, but now was in shreds. The state flag flying next to it was in perfect condition. In the other shot, there were 3 flagpoles, 2 of which were empty. Again, the only flag to remain (and in perfect condition, I add) was the state flag. I love America. But is it wrong that I had an immense, gleeful pride at the fact the state flag remained over any other? Anyone else with me on this? If so, we probably are as arrogant as everyone says we are.

I'm waiting to hear from my family and friends that our town is safe, and the surrounding areas are safe and unharmed as well...

on the other side of the law

Our trip to the town south of us was pretty uneventful. I mean, the busride was pretty exciting, with breakneck speed turns to the right, and then the left, and then the right, and then the left...it's no wonder the woman to the right of us threw up out the window. But it wasn't that bad...they showed a movie, it only took 4 hours, and we even had a potty break. The town we went to was such a change from the town we live in now, it was almost like two different countries: the weather, the size, the culture, even the forms of transportation were way different. But the best thing was all the stores! Oh, it was almost like going to Linens n Things, except about 1/20th of the size. I did get everything I need for the kitchen, which was lots of fun.

On our way back today, we had to get a taxi because we had too much stuff to bring back. On our way, the taxi driver informed us that his vehicle was not a registered taxi, and so it was illegal to take us across state borders as tourists. When we got to the guards at the entrance of our state, they tried to stop us, but from what we gathered of the rapid language was our driver was saying, "No we are not a taxi," and then the guard blew the whistle and told him to drive over and stop, and our driver just took off. Husband looked at me and said, "I think we just ran from the cops." It was very weird.

Well, we ordered our bed today, and the men we ordered it from spoke no english, so we'll see how the bed turns out. I did learn in language study how to say certain bedroom words, and other stuff, so we'll see if I said, "We would like to buy this bed," or something totally different.

We did hear that we'll be moving in a day early into our house. I can't wait to be able to set it up! Dinner's here - a girl's gotta eat.

settling in

In 7 days at the most, we should be shifting to our new home - 2 bedrooms, 1 1/2 bath, nice sitting room, dining room, kitchen, and a gorgeous third floor stone terrace. We are so excited and anxious to be in our new home, but the best thing is that the hotel we are staying at is just down the road from our future home. So we can get out in the community now to meet our new neighbors for the next few years! I've already found a great tailor (even though they seem to forget about the drawsting on my pants, but it's a minor issue when you find someone who gets your clothes right on the first try and is literally just a walk down the road) a very friendly lady at a cloth shop, and a nice dry cleaner. For the language study, I've already said that an hour a day needs to be spent practicing in the community, so I went yesterday to the cloth shop. The lady, her husband, and two friends were hanging out in there, and they invited me to sit and chat. Hardly any of them spoke English, so it was perfect. I know about .0001% of the language, but it was fun trying to communicate anyway, and it was helpful. Today, I went to pick up my dry cleaning (I'm so ready for a house where I can wash my own clothes and cook my own meals...I never thought I'd say that) and the owner invited me backc for some chai with his small sons, mother, and wife. Their home was just a curtain away from the shop, and we sat and chatted. They brought in chai and some snacks and we talked, and I got to practice a little of my language. Before I left, I learned how to say, "My husband should meet you." We were then invited (three times before I left) to a birthday party next Monday evening. They told me I should not eat before because it's a dinner party, and warned me once again several times to not eat. We are so excited that the community is opening their homes to us so soon.

Speaking of language, I found a language helper! The internet cafe owner found her for me, and she is wonderful. She is nice, and close to my age, and knows both English and the language very well. She can be a little aggressive at times to teach the way she wants, but anytime I point her back to the book, she readily acquiesces. Did I use that word correctly? I think my brain only has room for a certain number of words, no matter what language. It happened this way when I was in France, too. I try so hard to add vocabulary, but I think my brain has a quota, and my English disintegrates. It doesn't help that all day you speak basic words and talk with an accent to be understood better.

My language helper told me that if we go to the large town that directly south of us, we can get much better bargains on our household items we have to purchase. Then, the hotel that we're staying in informed us that the hotel was fully booked for the 21st-23rd before we made our reservations, and so we would have to leave the hotel for those two nights. They did make arrangements for us, but it was a scary hotel, so we decided that would be the best time to go to the town to shop, since we have a good friend there we can stay with. It all worked out perfectly, and so tomorrow we are leaving. On a bus. I'm a bit nervous about the busride, but I need to become a little lower maintenance, since I am a tourist, afterall.

I am so excited to see a new town! But we need to pack...

we made it! (again)

So we're here, safe and sound, and a little chilly, in our city. We love it! It's so weird that after so many weeks of scrutinizing pictures for any new clue about the town, we are now in the area of all the pictures! I have to say, this is quite possibly one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. Ranks right up there with Paris (gasp!), although of course in a very different, nature sort of way. (Paris, of course I still love you!)

So, we've been meeting difficulty finding a place to rent. Our property dealer (not called a realtor here) was not the brightest of fellows, but he was very nice and drove us all over the area that he wanted to show us. (note: not necessarily the areas we wanted to see) We desperately cried out to the boss yesterday, seeing as our hotel budget is about to run out. (the company gives us about 7-10 days to stay at the hotel, and maybe a few more grace period if we need it. Today is day 6) We sent money for the first new book our boss wrote, the 6 chapter, where he says he clothes the birds and fields, so won't he take care of us as well? then, my husband went to chat with the men who he has made a friendship with at the hotel who work there, and one guy gave us a reference for 2 new property dealers! Of course the boss sent that to us. We contacted both of them, one of whom showed us a place today, and the other will be showing us about 4-5 tomorrow.

The one he showed us today is perfect. Absolutely beautiful! After going back home, I opened up to my favorite passage of the book, the thrid chapter of lam. I've always loved the part where he's faithful and new meries every morning. But today I read a little above it, and it mentioned, "I remember my homelessness..." I started crying when I read that. He is so faithful, and doesn't forget us, even the small things, like not wanting to stay in a hotel any longer. Now we at least know we have this beautiful place, and maybe even something better!

So many things have happened since we got here, I don't even know where to begin. We are staying in a former prince's summer bungalow. (don't get the wrong impression - it's nice, but not the Ritz, not that I've ever stayed at a Ritz to know) In one wing, a former queen lives in the hotel still. She's 95, and sticks her head out the window every now and then to spit or hang dry her bras. (I'm not kidding) My husband told his front desk friends that he wanted to meet her, but they quickly shot him down. "She is not keen on meeting people." Anyway, on the top floor of her wing is where her servant lives, which we didn't know at the time. 4 of us were sitting out on the terrace garden, which is right next to the queen's home, and this man sticks his head out of the window and threw something as hard as he could on the ground, then left. We were stunned, but then looked at each other and laughed. we thought maybe it was a teacup or something, becausee it broke. then, he sticks his head out again and throws something ELSE out! We were laughing about maybe it was his daily ritual, at 5:20pm to throw something out the window. Anyway, we were talking a little more, then all of a sudden the tree next to the stone wall of the queen's house starts moving, and this man falls over the wall! He got up and ran over to where he had tossed whatever. He had the goofiest look on his face! My husband went over to see if he needed help, and he asked for help to find his cell phone, which apparently was what he threw out the first time that broke into several pieces. Husband helped for a little bit, but shrugged and came walking back. One of our friends with us asked, "Did he find all the pieces?" and husband pointed at his head and said, "No, he's missing some pieces." haha! One of the hotel workers came out a little later and said that this guy is always causing some sort of disturbance. Later on, he climbed on top of the wall and walked it balance beam style, which this time we got a picture of. I'm going to try to post it on the blog just because it was so funny.

Wow that was a long story, and so I hope it wasn't one of those "had to be there" stories. Something exciting is that my husband met our man of peace this week, or at least one man of peace. He is very friendly, is a reputable man (he introduced husband to the former mayor of our town, the longest running mayor here) and his wife is actually our ppl grp, from a village, and he said he would take us to his wife's village sometime, so it would be our "in" to the village! We are very excited about this.

Well since I'm paying by the minute on this blog, I should get off. Hopefully I can post more sooner than later.

language study!

So, this week in our classes we've been learning how to learn our language. We've learned a little bit so far (count to ten, ask "how much?", tell our auto driver to turn right, left, stop, and how to buy ice cream) An example of ways to learn a language is asking "dumb-smart" questions, which are questions you already know the answer to, but it helps with language practice. For instance, we went to our ice cream vendor on the corner, and bought some ice cream. As he's counting out the change to give me, I asked him, "Do you have change?" He looked at me so funny when as he handed me the change!

Anyway, they teach us to study 6 hours a day; 1.5-2 hours is learning from our language helper, 3 hours is studying on our own what we learned, and 1-1.5 hours is getting out in the community to practice. (and ask dumb questions!) So this morning we actually got to sit with a language helper for an hour and a half! It's so cool - I learned how to say several items, like book, pen, paper, etc. Also, they had us a learn a 'monologue' to practice out in the community today. I learned how to say: "Hello. My name is [Name]. I am from America. I am learning [Language]." So the object is to go up to people and tell them this, and maybe even point to items and count to ten. I know, it takes a lot of guts, but have I ever really been known to be shy? Plus, these people LOVE foreigners! Just today, we were in an auto, and this Accord-type car pulls up (with 8 people in it!) and my husband nudges me and says, Those girls are looking at you. Tell them hello. (there is a hand motion with hello, so they can tell that's what I'm saying) So I did, and of course they all smiled REALLY big and did it back, and then the men in the car tried to get my husband's attention, and he told them hello as well. They were rolling down their window to talk to us when the light turned green and we took off. So see, these people will love the fact that us crazy fools are counting to ten with them.

They also told us that once we do our monologue, a lot of times, people will rattle off a ton of the language to us, and that's when we say again, "I am learning [language]. Goodbye." haha I can't wait to get out and practice!

We had lunch with our supervisors today. They are such a nice couple, with tons of experience in our work. The husband is taking us to our town on Saturday, and Sunday we are going to go to a national office! Or at least we think it's national. It's where a cousin coworker (not with our company) and his American wife go, and since they have a little contact with our supervisors, they invited us to join them. It's so weird to think that by Tuesday, my husband and I will be alone, although we have the reassurance that our boss will always be with us. We've been with people guiding our way for the past 13 weeks, and now it's time for us to take the lead. We are hoping that much money will be sent ahead of us for many things: safe travel, apartment hunting, great neighbors, easy setup of our home (we've heard some nightmare stories already about how slow it takes to get furniture, appliances, and all that), and being able to find language helpers and national partners easily. I know our boss takes great care of us, and has these past weeks, so I'm not as anxious or nervous about it as I would be otherwise. More than anything, I'm just so excited!! We've been looking toward this day for I don't know how many weeks now. It's almost here!

Well, I need to get back to language study. We learned the alphabet today (it's not Roman, it's Devanagri or something like that) and even though it looks so pretty, it's going to be tough. But today was so relieving to have one of those, "Aha!" moments, where it clicked. We can finally see how it works, and after practice, we'll be able to read and write. I never thought that would be possible! (come on, silly, with the boss all things are possible! even weird languages!)

Back to school, back to school...

so busy!

Well we've had an interesting and busy last few days here. Most exciting was going to the national office on Sunday. I don't know if I already blogged about this or not...? My internet is too slow to go back and check, so if you read it twice, sorry. I guess it's just twice as important of a message? Not sure on that one. Anyway, the office. It was about 45 minutes away from our house, and in an area of slums. I mean, the office was only one rectangular room, with no AC and a thatched roof. Looking up, I understood then how a paralytic could be lowered through it. There were probably 4 or 5 fans, though. That kept us cool enough. Well, that's a pretty half glass full way of describing it, but we didn't get close to having a heat stroke, so we were okay. Oh, did I mention there were no chairs? It was Indian style for all 3 hours. Oh, I guess I forgot to mention the 3 hours part too. Also, the men sat on one side, and the women on the other. And the women needed to keep their heads covered, as well. And of course, no praise team. Yeah, right. There wasn't even any English spoken! It was all in native language, and the music was to a jimbae drum and tiny hand cymbals. Man, they had a great beat going. No slow songs for these guys! And their voices were amazing, they filled the building and poured out the windows into the surrounding community. What an impact this office must have on that community! I mean, if only you could have heard the praise coming from this building. There was plenty of money time mixed among the singing, as well as sharing of personal stories. The leader then called on the couple who had brought us there, and they shared a bread story with the people, with the intent that they would learn the story, and tell it to several others. The leader called on volunteers to repeat the story back, while the others corrected as needed. They were so excited; there was never a lack of volunteers. One boy, about 12 or 13, had already told the story to 6 people that weekend! This story telling is a big focus of our company. Then, afterwards, we went to the front to send money to whoever came to ask for it. One woman broke my heart. She was there by herself, because her husband did not want her there. Every week, he caused trouble for her, in hopes that she wouldn't be able to come to the office. And if she ever dared, he beat her when she returned home. I asked my husband later that day, if I knew I would be beat everytime I went to the office, I wonder if I would go?

That night, my husband and I went to meet with his national friend, Raghu, at his house for dinner. Raghu's wife, Yatri*, had made us a complete meal, including sweets. In this country, it is customary to arrive a couple hours before dinner, while it is still be prepared, to socialize with the hosts. And when dinner is over, that is time to leave, almost immediately. Knowing this, we were prepared to head out after the dinner, but we didn't know that the hosts would go through a polite refusal of our leaving. So we hung out a little more, and finally insisted on leaving. We were told later that they always go through that, so as not to appear they are kicking you out! Oh well. Now we know. It felt so weird to just get out after Yatri had fixed us all this food, but that's my American mindset, and I need to remember that it's rude of us to stay!

Their son was so cute. He's 7, and called us Uncle and Auntie, but put the terms after our names. He also asked why my hair was the color it is, to which his father had to explain that people from our part of the world have this color hair. It was so interesting to see this family interact. Today, Raghu sent an email to husband, and in his typical formality, included this:

"at the risk of repeating myself i must say that [wife] and you make a charming couple. [wife] with her grace, ready smile and bright countenance brings sunshine wherever she goes. while you are the solid, steadying anchor willing to reach out to people in order to expand the scope of your influence. "

He writes so fancy!

I know more has happened, but I'm so busy that I can't take time to remember what I should type up. I guess I typed up enough for one night, anyway. Now it's on to language study. It's back to 1st grade for us - we are practicing writing the letters of the alphabet. If only they had handed out some Big Chief, we'd be having ourselves some real fun.

resting day

Ahhh...Sunday. With all the crazy stuff we do during the week, it's so nice to know that Sunday is just around the corner!

This morning, all of us were planning on going to a local, more indigenous church, but true to our country's culture, the time changed or the place changed, or something, so we weren't able to meet with any church by the time we found our ways back to our friends' house. We ended up having a small group at their house, which was nice, and was topped off by a fantastic, homestyle lunch. I've always loved mashed potatoes, but man, after living in a place that doesn't make anything blander than habaneros, mashed potatoes make my salivate.

I should have written yesterday about some conversations we had with some of the people we met. At the very first place we went, one of the "volunteers" there came to meet us and somehow we ended up talking for almost an hour about our boss. She was actually from Lebanon and came on a 2 month volunteer trip to stay at this temple. It was very moving to see such darkness and blindness on these people, and we are sending money to our boss so that hopefully he will heal these workers.

Also, the naked monk was a seeker. He'd eaten many different types of bread, but never our bread. He actually asked us several times to bring him our bread because he wanted to know how it tasted. We were floored, but definitely sent one his way as soon as we got home. Can you imagine the impact that would have on him and his many followers?

And last, the man who paid my husband and I the huge compliment actually invited him to a conference today about wellness and finances, by men who really follow Paul Zane Pillser, who I had never heard of until yesterday. Anyway, it's a great opportunity for my husband, who of course accepted, and will be hoping for many chances to share the truth with this man, Raghu. (pronounced like the spaghetti sauce that I oh so miss. I had spaghetti the other night, and I could only take about 5 or so bites before I couldn't feel my lips anymore. Even my husband said it was really spicy)

Now it's time to take that Sunday nap...

hands down, the weirdest thing i've ever seen

Today was our city tour. We went to a couple of temples, had strangers drink my water, saw some bodies cremated, talked with a naked monk, ate with MPs, saw several monkeys (one of which was wearing a skirt), and watched a snake charmer. Yes, I said naked monk.

Ba'hai Temple - After we got back from the temple, I noticed that my water bottle was not where I had left it in our tour bus, and the cap was half open. (don't get the wrong impression - tour bus means it hold 14, including the driver and passenger) After our next stop, we got back in, and my water bottle was more than half empty! I couldn't believe it - the drivers had been drinking my water while I was looking at sites. In this culture, it is not rude at all to ask someone for water, even from their water bottle. But I was ticked that I wasn't even asked. Culture shock experience #593: get over it!

Crematorium - our tour guide (a cousin) told us we could take pictures. The family members of the cremated did not like this too much. It was pretty interesting, and sad, to see them perform rituals and chant prayers in vain.

Traffic - on our way to the see a huge fort, we hit a major traffic jam. Words can't describe for you the commotion. There must have been 200 cars in this clogup, and who knows how many bicycles, carts, motorcycles, and pedestrians. Men were trying to direct, so they'd bang on your car to get your attention. Everyone was honking their horns to no avail. Cars were pointed north, south, east, and west. It was a state of mass confusion. We must've sat there for a good 20 minutes without really moving anywhere. In this city, if there's an inch of space, cars will fit in there, so we did move, but it was pointless. Then, out of nowhere, we honked and pulled a 3 point turn. I mean, picture that. In a layer of probably 10 car/bikes/carts on each side, and probably 50 in front and behind us, all of which are facing every which way, and here we are in this "huge" tour bus, conducting a 3 point turn. The funny thing is, we pulled it off. The other funny part was, when we began turning around, my husband asked our guide, "What's happening?" and the guide simply shrugged, and said, "There's some traffic."

Naked monk - OK, the curiosity I'm sure you've all been waiting for. Our 2nd temple was Jain. Our guide told us there are monks there who deny themselves water and food, except once a day, go naked, and torture themselves by pulling out their hair. We were walking around the area, and were actually allowed to go in and talk to a monk. So we went up to his room, and there he was, all scrawny and little, perched on his cot in a meditation pose, butt naked. I mean, not a lick of clothing on this guy. I'm sorry, I'm just not mature enough to handle this. He invited us to sit down in front of him, so we all did, and the 8th grade boy inside of me found the extreme humor in this. One girl and I couldn't make eye contact because everytime we did, we started giggling. And we are the two married ones. This monk had no shame in spreading his legs, sitting Indian style, or getting up and walking around. It was the weirdest thing I've ever seen, a naked monk with a bunch of coworkers sitting around him, pretending there was nothing unusual with the situation. Then he invited us to ask him questions. My husband asked a lot, but no one asked why he was naked. I think I finally figured out why. The answer is obvious: it's just so dang hot here. Anyway, at the end, he invited us to take pictures (oh yes, I got plenty) and my husband wanted one taken with him. He sat down on his cot, and this made the guy and his followers flip out, so then my husband had to squat to take the picture. After it was over, the monk told a prophesy to our guide about my husband: "Your wife is very angry. Obey her or she will leave you." So weird!!

Lunch - we had lunch at some parliament cafeteria. We sat down, and turns out, our table mates were MPs. Another guy at lunch told me and James that other than Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise, we were the "handsomest" couple he'd ever seen from America. Too bad they haven't been a couple now for 4 years. Maybe Tom wouldn't obey an angry Nicole, so she left him.

Sikh temple - we went to a Sikh temple. Nothing too interesting.

Last thing we did was go to a major memorial here in the city. It's a very touristy area, and the people here will do anything to get the tourists' money. Our guide told us when we get there, a man with a snake and a man with dancing monkeys will try to get us to take a picture and then charge us for the picture. (that we take with our own camera!) Sure enough, our big Tour bus pulls to the curb, and a man runs over with his basket, sits down, plays some instrument, and this cobra comes out. He's shouting at us to take a picture. Then a man runs over with two monkeys, one in a pink dress, and plays a drum and they dance. He's pushing us to take a picture as well. We didn't, but it was still pretty entertaining.

Okay so that brings me here, tired, sore, hot, and glad to be home!

fried chicken and buttermilk pie

Yesterday we had an adventure. A family (some coworkers) invited us newcomers for dinner last night. So, although we didn't know exactly where it was, we had the address, and our experience so far has been that if you have the address, the auto driver will get you there. (not that we had another option except "find it") So we told our guy the neighborhood and that the house was on the M block, M-143. After bargaining on the price, we agree on 30. (he really wanted 50) So, he proceeds to get us lost, poor guy. We know the area fairly well, only because there is a restaurant there we've been to twice. So he takes us round and round, and finally we, not the driver, mind you, notice a sign that points and says "M102 - M160" on a street. He turns there, because the third guy he stopped for directions told him this was the way to go. We tottered down the road, and stopped between houses M-142 and M-144. There was no house in between them. The driver then tells us it will be 50, and my husband told him, No, you agreed on 30, it's not our fault you got lost. He only had a 40, and of course the guy told us he had no change. So here we are, paying 10 extra for a destination that is wrong, knowing none of the language and feeling like our friends' house exists in some time warp. Our boss was there with us, and I asked him for help. There was a woman standing at her gate, and so I asked her if she spoke English (in her language...gotta be prepared!) and she said a little, and I asked if the Americans lived on her street. Everyone in this city seems to know the whereabouts of all the other Americans, so it was a valid question. She said no, no Americans lived on her street. (by the way, my husband and I are just laughing through this whole ordeal, because our sense of humor is the only thing we had at this point) The woman pointed at someone behind us and spouted off something in her language, and I looked behind me and there was another woman taking a walk. She walked right up to us and said in perfect English, "Yes what are you looking for?" Our boss came through! Perfect timing, as usual. She told us the numbering in their neighborhood was terrible, and M-143 was on a totally different block. She gave the auto driver directions, because he knew suckers when he had them at the wrong destination, so he had actually turned off the auto and waited for us to ask him to take us somewhere else. Then our heroine gave us directions, then said something to him in their language and turned to us and said, "Don't pay him anything. He's taking you there for free." We were there within 5 minutes, only 30 minutes late. haha! He made our paths straight last night!

Man it was all worth it, too. Fried chicken, green beans, mashed potatoes, cream gravy, buttermilk pie and banana nut bread. Oh yeah. And we made it home without a problem and for only 20. Great night.

Today I got to talk a lot with the housekeeper at the office, "Monica". She is a new cousin of ours, and 21 years old. Sweetest girl ever. Anyway, we talked a good while about the boss, marriage, America and India, and fashion. Twice during the conversation, she grabbed my hand and held it! I couldn't believe it! That is what they do here between the same gender, so I had learned about it, but I was not prepared. I thought I was, but my American mindset came in and I kept thinking, "Is she waiting on me to let go of her hand? Is she getting uncomfortable with me?" haha We had a great talk and she told me several times thanks for talking with her.

Well I need to go. I'm going to try to reach my brother since today is a brother-sister festival here so I can feel like I've participated.

with the goodness of coconut oil

We started our training at the office on Monday, and so since nothing too interesting was going on this week, I haven't blogged. However, today was a different story. All kinds of interesting things, starting off with seeing two monkeys on our way the office. A guy on a bike had one monkey on a leash on the ground and another was on the back of his bike. One of the strangest things I've ever seen. I have a feeling it'll soon be relatively normal.

(as a side note, my husband just brought me 6 pink roses. Isn't he the sweetest? and they were only the $1.50. I love this country!)

This afternoon, we broke up into two groups, girls and guys. (there are 3 girls and 2 guys that are training, and 1 main girl and 2 main guys teaching) We had to go do ethnographic research, which I was so excited because it's what I did in Europe! Anyway, the first funny thing that was the girl trainer told us that us 4 girls were going to take one auto rickshaw. Haha! I didn't think we could do it, but we did! We sure were struggling up the hills, though! She took us to this real market, not a fancy one by where we live, and we broke up into pairs. A was my partner. This market is exactly what I pictured our country to look like. Narrow walkways, tons and tons of people, tiny shops with yards of fabric, jewelry, home decorations, etc. A and I went into a shop called Miss [country name]: the Dreamland of She Fashion. I think the name is a bit of an exaggeration, but it was fun to ask the shop owner all kinds of questions. We figured it would be easiest to strike up an informative conversation about clothes. You know - is this everyday or special occasion? what is a special occasion? are their parties here? what kind of parties? what do you wear to weddings? etc. This poor man was trying so hard to make a deal with us, but since we didn't begin bargaining with him, it was polite to not buy anything. We later went to the country's equivalent of Starbucks, grabbed some very tasty cold drinks, and sat by two girls our age who were very modern, in jeans and tank tops. They were college students, and were extremely nice. That's pretty much the way everyone is around here - so conversational, helpful, and just plain nice. They just thought we were so curious, with our white skin and our interest in their country. When the other 2 girls walked towards us, the two local girls said, "Are those your friends?" I said, "How could you tell?" and they bust out laughing.

THEN (I'm telling you, it was an interesting day!), us girls needed to go clothes shopping, since we are going on a citywide tour this Saturday, which includes temples. In temples, we need to cover our heads, and we really need to wear national clothes and not American stuff, so as not to offend the locals. So A and I went to a new market that is REALLY nice, and I found a suit (which is 3 pieces) and 2 tops for so cheap. That's all I'm going to buy until we get to our city because fashion is slightly different all over the country, and apparently, it's very important to get the style just right, or else they'll laugh me out of their homes. We also went grocery shopping! Let me tell you, anytime you can get a loaf of bread, eggs, 3 apples, a papaya, and butter for 25 cents each, it's a pretty pleasant experience. Even when you had to walk home. In the sweltering heat. In layers of clothes. Seriously, 25 cents?? (I did end up paying a total of $15, but that's because I splurged on honey bunches of oats and skippy peanut butter.) I also got milk (which was boxed, of course) for 50 cents, strawberry jam for $1.50, and 1 kg of laundry detergent for $2. Once again, I love this country! I know I'm being technically rude by discussing money so openly, but hey, we women love to brag about our bargains.

There is so much to do here! I need to go, since tomorrow is an early day for us.

auto rickshaw all by ourselves!

So today is Sunday and it's been very interesting and eventful. First of all, since today was Sunday, I got to wear to a national outfit! At the house we're staying, there are quite a few "suits" left over from girls who didn't need them after leaving the house, and so we got to borrow them. Mine was turquoise and blue with a little flower/vine embroidery on it. I love it!

Second, we were picked up this morning in an auto rickshaw to go to church! Our first experience in one. It's actually not too bad. It's a very small 3 wheeled "vehicle", with the driver sitting in the front, and a bench in the back that seats 2 but will hold 3. They kinda look like the cars you get in at amusement parks that do the high wire across the parks. That was a messy description, but it probably helped with a visual. Anyway, we had 3 in the backseat. The church met at an auditorium that held about 200 people, and I think almost every seat was filled. It was funny to walk in there, because it looks like a church straight out of Anywhere, USA. A cross on the pulpit, a keyboard, a p&w team, etc. I mean, it started off with a guy playing the saxophone! haha There were probably around 20 americans there, and also about 20 asians other than south asians. We sang hymns and praise songs ("here i am to worship", "draw me close" were the only 2 songs I knew) and there was a baby dedication. I tell you what, though, seeing people in another nation worship the Father is something that I hope always brings tears to my eyes. It's a humbling experience to know he is all over the world. The message was great, oh and by the way, the whole service was in english, and it ended after only about an hour and a half.

We ate at the same restaurant we had for lunch yesterday. I know, not very adventurous, but this was not our choice, it was the people who took us this morning. After still not knowing much about the food (I just eat what's in front of me), we've been trying to order on our own so we can learn by experience, mistakes and all. It hasn't been able to happen yet. The people who go with us assume we want their help in ordering (and by help, I mean full decisions) and so we still haven't been able to try out stuff. I mean, everything everyone orders is delicious, but it would help for the next time if I actually knew what it was called! So I think the next meal we're going to try eat by ourselves, which is great, because, hey, date night!

So, at the restaurant, my very smart husband asked the waiter what an auto rickshaw would cost us to take to where we were going, and he told him 15-20. Since we're white, we get charged out the wazoo, so he thought it would be wise to find out what a national pays to help us get an idea. I agreed. So we found one auto driver who told us 5o. Ha! No thank you, sahib. Then we found another guy who my husband offered 20, the guy said no, and they ended up settling for 30, which is what our friends had told us is the lowest they've ever paid. Great job, Hubby! Lowest on first try! Maybe when we speak the language, we'll one day be able to get closer to the nationals' charge.

Well I'm getting more and more used to it here. Except for the extreme heat, I would say my satisfaction is 100%. This morning, I had some quiet time on the roof of our house, and I glanced over and saw a peacock on one of our neighbors' roofs! Everything's so strange and new and exciting.

My husband just told me his stomach isn't feeling quite right. That sure didn't take long, did it? I think it's time for a Sunday nap.

we made it!

I still can't believe we're here! We were delayed about 4 hours in London because of a fuel leak, but man, am I glad it was only 4 hours and not the craziness the poor people are facing there now with the strike and all. We missed it by mere hours - thanks to all the money people sent us for the flight, although we have a few coworkers who are stuck in London as I type this. I feel bad for them!

I love the city we are in right now! We're not where we will be living permanently yet, but this city is great! It's bustling and cheap and has everything we need. Seriously, we even had Aquafina at lunch today. I almost took a picture of it to show my sister in law that she can come visit us now. :) There's a fun "market" a couple of blocks from here. I use quotations because it's more like an outdoor mall and not a place that sells fruits and veggies like I had pictured. If it weren't for the stifling heat, that wouldn't be so bad if there was A/C as available as I am used to, I would definitely be out exploring right now. Instead, we're waiting until about 7 or so before venturing out again. We went out this afternoon, and that pretty much took a lot out of us. Luckily, our house is extremely well ventilated, and it really feels more like a palace to me than a house. I mean, marble floors, high ceilings, large rooms, flowy curtains, arched doorways...this place is gorgeous!

We have already noticed the different culture we're living in, obviously. The morning/night we got here, I thought we were about to be kidnapped, until I saw it was only our street sweeper who was crawling under our window. And James constantly tells me to just not watch while we're in a car because the people here drive like maniacs. And we almost ran over 5 cows on the road today after lunch, so I'd say there are a few differences. I'm taking pictures now before it becomes so second nature that I don't even notice the weird things anymore.

I've been on long enough - I'll probably go back and hang out with our coworkers for awhile before we go exploring again.