tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-150842142024-03-07T12:25:15.496-06:00the adventure of a lifetime...in blog for your convenience"but thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ Jesus, and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him." 2 corinthians 2:14Mandihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08390644389503212402noreply@blogger.comBlogger118125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15084214.post-5972655277827052002008-04-26T00:12:00.002-05:002008-04-26T00:15:31.203-05:009 months...anybody see a pattern here?<br /><br />so, yeah, i'm slacking on the blogging. too much to do, to little time. most of my online life is now revolving around school, which is annoying and rewarding all at once. but hopefully, i will post some pics from this weekend that i'm enjoying in arlington, tx, with my india family. so brief but so fun to get to hang out again. i love that we can meet up and though it's been 9 months since i've seen most of them, it's like we can pick up where we left off. i need friends like that. i think we all do, really.<br /><br />so, 9 months. that's a whole other topic. i like the idea of it, though, and i like the idea that maybe, symbolically, something new could be birthed any day now...maybe that's being cheesy, but who knows what the next weeks will hold. right now though, it's time for bed. pics soon!Mandihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08390644389503212402noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15084214.post-55917872215563411162008-02-01T12:23:00.000-06:002008-12-11T00:06:04.685-06:006 months...wow, my blog is looking pretty sad these days! the formatting seems to be all messed up and no new posts in months and months...sad sad sad!<br /><br />well, i can't promise that i'm totally turning over a new leaf today, but, in honor of the fact that today, february 1, 2008, marks SIX MONTHS since i arrived back in the US, i am posting an update. <br /><br />i haven't blogged in so long that i'm not exactly sure just where to begin...i'm kind of debating about how to do this, but i think i will go back to one of my favorite ways to do big updates...TOP TEN!<br /><br />so, the TOP TEN THINGS/EVENTS/WHATEVER SINCE I'VE BEEN BACK IN THE US <br />(in no particular order...)<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://a309.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/104/l_1d7618929f080b82e47a6efed6ea8b04.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://a309.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/104/l_1d7618929f080b82e47a6efed6ea8b04.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />10. FAMILY<br />well, this one should be fairly obvious i guess. it was so amazing to see my family again after 2 years. so much had changed, and yet so much is still the same. i lived at home with my mom and dad and younger brother for the first 5 months i was home, which was actually pretty good overall. i don't know. it's weird--i doesn't seem possible now that we really went two years without seeing each other, but when i do get frustrated with something family related, i remember that and feel really thankful for the blessing that they've been to me, esp these past few months. by the way, the pic above is of my brother miles (pre-haircut!), my niece lily, my sister andrea and me, right after i got home.<br /><br />9. WEDDINGS!<br /><br /><a href="http://a985.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/108/l_b327ec5954df2ca0cddcd75327270620.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://a985.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/108/l_b327ec5954df2ca0cddcd75327270620.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />edwin and amy's wedding in CA (i was the maid of honor, and also the tallest bridesmaid! haha)<br /><br /><a href="http://photos-989.ll.facebook.com/photos-ll-sctm/v126/95/79/56100989/n56100989_30253958_346.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://photos-989.ll.facebook.com/photos-ll-sctm/v126/95/79/56100989/n56100989_30253958_346.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />danny and alisha's wedding in north georgia(i think i won for tallest bridesmaid here too, and you can kinda tell that my dress is a little to short...)<br /><br /><a href="http://photos-a.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v113/247/49/63500981/n63500981_30246468_7636.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://photos-a.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v113/247/49/63500981/n63500981_30246468_7636.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />sarah and aaron's wedding in lafayette<br /><br />this fall, 4 of my closest girl friends got married. sarah and aaron, just 2 weeks after i got back. alisha and danny in september (and i was a bridesmaid). and then brian and karen and amy and edwin, back to back in december, on opposite ends of the US (alabama and CA!). it's been wild, running around to all these weddings, but also so much fun to see God's hand at work, knitting together the lives of some of my dearest friends. the pic below is from brian and karen's wedding, and ties into the next item up...<br /><br /><a href="http://a230.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/73/l_78ae9ad15c1e1280db53ab98f5e3405d.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://a230.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/73/l_78ae9ad15c1e1280db53ab98f5e3405d.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://photos-a.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v158/95/79/56100989/n56100989_30275388_4808.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://photos-a.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sf2p/v158/95/79/56100989/n56100989_30275388_4808.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />south asia reunion at debriefing!<br /><br />8. REUNIONS!<br /><br />it's been hard to leave india behind, but i've really been blessed this fall with lots of little reunions with friends from my life overseas. i got to see a bunch of people at danny and alisha's wedding and debriefing in sept, then again at brian and karen's wedding in dec, and randomly in other places along the way as well. it never ceases to blow my mind how great God is at knitting our lives together and letting our paths continue to cross in the most suprising ways. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGE8oVsr0fkbqtdGKqWkCcUBMS6NWe8N4zGzrJr8OOWN4vjq-nCq8YcFt0lL_A_yIqgZKQCejZlFQKk3Gnzuyy3jy4XcSAE7d39Gjsit-bBwqDgDeSzEdP9SHCAFgPSnq9iN3mLA/s1600-h/DSCN0241.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGE8oVsr0fkbqtdGKqWkCcUBMS6NWe8N4zGzrJr8OOWN4vjq-nCq8YcFt0lL_A_yIqgZKQCejZlFQKk3Gnzuyy3jy4XcSAE7d39Gjsit-bBwqDgDeSzEdP9SHCAFgPSnq9iN3mLA/s320/DSCN0241.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5162094510421689586" /></a><br /><br />7. TRAVELING!<br />in addition to the 30+ hours it took me to get from india back to lafayette, i've also gotten to travel quite a lot around the US since i got back. i went to the beach in MS with my family the day after i returned home, then up to north LA to visit the Williams, Natchez to visit my best friend Amy. in sept, i went to GA and VA and AL for weddings and debriefing, then to New Orleans for seminary stuff and a conference in Oct and Nov. and then it really got crazy. in December, i went all over the place for the last 2 weddings and also got to spend some time with my aunt and uncle and cousins in CA. in less than two weeks, i was in Baton Rouge, Auburn, AL, Atlanta, Dallas, San Diego, La Jolla and Oceanside, CA...whew!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjby_qaGm-ihaqLduNxSbcHJFJssn6rNllYTdaqePkbWs2Lb1wybDCXisfUA2XnCreMkHH1PqK0gLEJgCwcnNql4qurdgbsli_WwgbW7AJFDPJd5RyjrgeVmgyKl3SUjG5c0xkRQ/s1600-h/DSCN0281.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjby_qaGm-ihaqLduNxSbcHJFJssn6rNllYTdaqePkbWs2Lb1wybDCXisfUA2XnCreMkHH1PqK0gLEJgCwcnNql4qurdgbsli_WwgbW7AJFDPJd5RyjrgeVmgyKl3SUjG5c0xkRQ/s320/DSCN0281.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5162094523306591490" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7MR1DV_byI5jR2Kce_wSuYon4HWHTsqGAXHbv8olyYp_ITUv8yiPJNiHzlnLVAZ5ZXHGURxleWkeuNSfnBtLAe1XW0OuehP_wSsNY9wGRlkrKRvPsThdYoMzGyy6NDfRBd4DF1A/s1600-h/DSCN0622.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7MR1DV_byI5jR2Kce_wSuYon4HWHTsqGAXHbv8olyYp_ITUv8yiPJNiHzlnLVAZ5ZXHGURxleWkeuNSfnBtLAe1XW0OuehP_wSsNY9wGRlkrKRvPsThdYoMzGyy6NDfRBd4DF1A/s320/DSCN0622.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5162092689355556066" /></a><br /><br />6. FBC Lafayette<br />www.lifeatfirst.org<br />i grew up at First Baptist, and have been a member her pretty much my whole life, but it's really just been in these last few months that i feel like God has grown these deep love in my heart for His church--not just here at FBC, but He's used this church to bless me and get me excited about the potential that the Body of Christ has to make an impact. it's truly been awesome, and it flows over into several other of the top 10 here.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgszfmY0R8JJ0VdMOxje3naeZdcjPdOvc0b7FlOHub_IaHXRnqvTB3I19NQcMzv2BKFZTwxlquc8X_uJqQXq44nIle88Dh5y4VGJJQ_vWKeSOeNWmQ_tbFD9n56_VPAhQXU8BFunw/s1600-h/DSCN0593.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgszfmY0R8JJ0VdMOxje3naeZdcjPdOvc0b7FlOHub_IaHXRnqvTB3I19NQcMzv2BKFZTwxlquc8X_uJqQXq44nIle88Dh5y4VGJJQ_vWKeSOeNWmQ_tbFD9n56_VPAhQXU8BFunw/s320/DSCN0593.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5162082334189405314" /></a><br /><br />5. New Job!<br />i just started working at my church, FBC Lafayette, as the Student Ministry Associate. i know that sounds real fancy, but it basically means that i'm working with the youth minister. i'm building relationships with students and also going to be in charge of the new student cafe when the new building opens in a few months. i never imagined i'd be working with youth, but i have to admit that i'm having fun so far. this is a pic of some of the youth playing games at a youth fun day we had on martin luther king day.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiP20oES3meeGFYWcuEore9YXGmawgKvpO9AXSVINgUvH7e-rE8okqnlweBjdQvruJJDLnkYZjt_iv1_iqxjbWaivRAwmaVrOqfd5BGM7isHy-hgMel3bDwxgmZ7aFp1wLrEkvOA/s1600-h/DSCN0618.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiP20oES3meeGFYWcuEore9YXGmawgKvpO9AXSVINgUvH7e-rE8okqnlweBjdQvruJJDLnkYZjt_iv1_iqxjbWaivRAwmaVrOqfd5BGM7isHy-hgMel3bDwxgmZ7aFp1wLrEkvOA/s320/DSCN0618.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5162082351369274514" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3nAKWB9LnXGEXHUkxbGzMrrUIEqPExe4h4V3_b9M3k2DqP3dl95wyPytUXrnzHNJMwPQcpmli7dkmFbdeH8ft5awGxMrjRrER6oQKRtkPSjYrEUGGM_bIlZHqb19f5iwd8QrTDg/s1600-h/DSCN0621.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3nAKWB9LnXGEXHUkxbGzMrrUIEqPExe4h4V3_b9M3k2DqP3dl95wyPytUXrnzHNJMwPQcpmli7dkmFbdeH8ft5awGxMrjRrER6oQKRtkPSjYrEUGGM_bIlZHqb19f5iwd8QrTDg/s320/DSCN0621.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5162082359959209122" /></a><br /><br />4. New Apartment!<br />yes, this ghetto looking little white building is where my new apartment is! after 5 months of living with my parents, i moved into this new place when i started my new job. it's tiny, but it's perfect and it's literally right next to the church (as you can see in the second picture.) i feel really blessed and i've had a lot of fun living there the past few weeks. the first week i was there, i literally had friends over every night! it was wild, but such a blessing! i dont' have a lot of good pics from inside yet because i'm still decorating, but i'll work on putting those up soon. the pics below are from everyone hanging out the first few nights at my place.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8iJ3Lx41kZIzxyuQ2TZ1AUszI9c1yZ1mfKN1n8OpyUcmcj_qeM1GYLMNw0DubX5D6_Sjb0Y8aszCPIDPdNqZqNNcg2WtAaOj7AzUIaB6jndzsia23PuIXltd1sSKe2U8rddW57Q/s1600-h/DSCN0575.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8iJ3Lx41kZIzxyuQ2TZ1AUszI9c1yZ1mfKN1n8OpyUcmcj_qeM1GYLMNw0DubX5D6_Sjb0Y8aszCPIDPdNqZqNNcg2WtAaOj7AzUIaB6jndzsia23PuIXltd1sSKe2U8rddW57Q/s320/DSCN0575.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5162084374298870962" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht5btVp6EuARTS_Mk9aiPe-UueXkMDOmPaDi1Xouq5j22rBG1bxC7IjgTvUI0v1C32mcMnFJ49VeovToWHotEIGf7-qnQQ-6s_oDdIA1jvTVdWHh9dymXPfGJkyCoxyynQ09rDog/s1600-h/DSCN0576.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht5btVp6EuARTS_Mk9aiPe-UueXkMDOmPaDi1Xouq5j22rBG1bxC7IjgTvUI0v1C32mcMnFJ49VeovToWHotEIGf7-qnQQ-6s_oDdIA1jvTVdWHh9dymXPfGJkyCoxyynQ09rDog/s320/DSCN0576.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5162084391478740162" /></a><br /><br />3. Seminary! <br />www.nobts.edu <br />i just started classes this semester at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, and i'm really excited! right now i'm taking an online class on the history of Christianity and then i'll probably take a couple week long workshops this spring. i'm not sure what all God has in store for me with this next step, but i know that it's what i'm supposed to be doing next.<br /><br /><a href="http://a263.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/124/l_cb3845bdeef86c60a69b704728af2606.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://a263.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/124/l_cb3845bdeef86c60a69b704728af2606.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />2. Culture Shock!<br />or maybe, lack thereof. well, that's not entirely true. it has been quite an adjustment being back here, though not in all the ways i'd imagined. the first few days i was home, i kept thinking i was going crazy because it seemed like all the light switches were upside down or something. fortunately, i got over that fairly quickly! i guess the hardest thing has been that every so often i just realize that i used to live in india. that i lived there for 2 years. two years. it doesn't seem real, and it scares me to think about how quickly i'm forgetting things that used to mean everything to me. it's weird, and i imagine there is definitely going to be more culture shock to come in the weeks ahead. the good thing is that i have made some indian friends here, so i have at least some folks who kind of sort of understand me :) the pic above is my friend rohan helping me make chai, which is funny if you know how much i dislike the stuff!<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://a41.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/56/l_2ba7850db677723e6ee15fb0c7e83760.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://a41.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/56/l_2ba7850db677723e6ee15fb0c7e83760.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />1. last but not least...the GAP<br /><br />what is the GAP? technically, it's the Graduates and Professionals young adults sunday school class at our church. but what it's been for me is one of the biggest blessings of my life. when i first got back, there wasn't much going on at church for our age group, but God has started moving and brought together this incredible group over the past 6 months. some are old friends, many are new, but all of us are seeking after Him and long for community and friendship and well, fun. it's been so awesome to see God at work in our lives, both individually and as a group, and i'm so excited about what He has in store for us as we continue to seek His face. <br /><br /><a href="http://a158.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/122/l_e36359f8b7e79477dac40ae832e3811d.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://a158.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/122/l_e36359f8b7e79477dac40ae832e3811d.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://a560.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/111/l_f75653a2e3f9a424d845b03edd6b3c27.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://a560.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/111/l_f75653a2e3f9a424d845b03edd6b3c27.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://a891.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/33/l_850ef9108011db2e0981d8ae483b774a.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://a891.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/33/l_850ef9108011db2e0981d8ae483b774a.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOKpeZcgYWvfrIFLu-4b-zr0pL2HBLIkmdygqVvQgoQm4et_hOOVMsQNgH-vzursHVV5xdmUuF8WwgJqUV2gd7wa2MzbCn6_YHu9PMwqFKNXOsh9Rh6x0ZzeUnAvzVXXlZXbEWHA/s1600-h/DSCN0602.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOKpeZcgYWvfrIFLu-4b-zr0pL2HBLIkmdygqVvQgoQm4et_hOOVMsQNgH-vzursHVV5xdmUuF8WwgJqUV2gd7wa2MzbCn6_YHu9PMwqFKNXOsh9Rh6x0ZzeUnAvzVXXlZXbEWHA/s320/DSCN0602.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5162084400068674770" /></a><br /><br />there are also more pics at our myspace page: www.myspace.com/thegapatfbc <br /><br />well, i think that's about it, or at least, that's all i can think of...until next time!!!Mandihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08390644389503212402noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15084214.post-56684838990391163512007-11-15T00:50:00.000-06:002007-11-15T01:05:47.525-06:00(some live without it)so, i made it home...<br />i imagine you figured that out by now, since it's been over 3 months.<br />wow.<br />so much, SO much, has happened, and so little as well.<br />i'm still living with the fam. still looking for a job. going to lots of weddings, but not married yet. working on starting seminary in the spring. in some ways it seems like not much is going on, and i usually don't have a real solid answer for "what do you do everyday?"<br />but in other ways, amazing things are happening. culture shock hasn't been horrible, but i do feel like my heart and spiritual eyes have just been totally shocked open to God and His amazingness in ways i hadn't imagined before. i'm loving seeking Him and seeking to help others, well, seek Him. following His lead. seeing my short comings, and not totally freaking out about them. having real conversations about hard things with people i love dearly. delighting in the depth and simplicity of community. strategizing passionately and obsessively. reading good books. not blogging or catching up on email. dreaming about what big things God could possibly have in store for me and the friends He's been bringing into my life. thinking about looking for a job, but wrestling with my fears about the big "WHAT'S NEXT?" learning to be an american girl in america again. missing india.<br />missing india...and learning to live with that...sort of. it just doesn't go away.<br />ah, i have so much more to say but it's quite late and i actually do have something to do in the morning. but maybe this will be a start to more frequent blogging, or maybe i'll be back in about 3 months...<br />i'm not going to wrestle with pictures here, but to see some more of what i've been up to, for all of you that are desperately curious, you can check out the myspace for our young adults group at church (this is where my heart is, at least a big part of it, right now). www.myspace.com/thegapatfbc<br />i'll end with a song that's been playing in my mind and heart and computer nonstop lately: <br /><br />Praise and Adore (some live without it) by Wavorly<br />www.myspace.com/wavorly<br /><br />What I have to say is obvious<br />A knowledge free, for all of us are<br />Your Word leaves us with no excuse<br />The paths we choose make us who we are<br />There’s a breeze blowing through here tonight<br /><br />So I praise and adore You<br />Lay it all down before You<br />In every way You’re beautiful<br />From my heart<br />I praise and adore<br />You made the world beautiful<br />I cannot stand and deny<br />You created life<br />And some live without it<br /><br />Wake up morning sunrise in my eyes<br />At night the moon lights all the sky<br />(Still some say You didn’t do a thing)<br />The sound of hope that’s in the air<br />In everything, it’s everywhere<br />(Reveals a truth that’s worth remembering)<br />There’s a breeze blowing through here tonight<br /><br />It’s true, it’s all You<br /><br />And every breath I take<br />There’s no way<br />Accident created this placeMandihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08390644389503212402noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15084214.post-45238206164139829152007-07-30T14:42:00.000-05:002008-12-11T00:06:05.197-06:00heading home...<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib_sCm94Bqdho0QZvd8z1U-S1fLWQEu9D461jDcRB-Xrqb1w2SMGrfxCGTgvBLvjSyscCPy-fqNvwOhVSKaIN8EUzi-4GTlgL3JdkQHtsnJ8BDbICUuiw5CNhfMQlxRvHJObESVQ/s1600-h/DSCN3851.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib_sCm94Bqdho0QZvd8z1U-S1fLWQEu9D461jDcRB-Xrqb1w2SMGrfxCGTgvBLvjSyscCPy-fqNvwOhVSKaIN8EUzi-4GTlgL3JdkQHtsnJ8BDbICUuiw5CNhfMQlxRvHJObESVQ/s320/DSCN3851.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5093078369165629314" /></a><br /><br /> Well, it’s hard to believe, but the time has finally come for me to say goodbye to India. it seems so unreal to think that two years have already passed by, but at the same time, it seems like so much has happened since I left home that it’s been far more than just 2 years! <br /><br /> These past few weeks have been really good, though hard, saying lots of goodbyes and trying to finish up things with work here and close out our house. It’s been hectic and crazy at times, but also incredibly amazing to see how God has been at work and given many opportunities to share with and encourage others, even in our final days here. <br /><br /> 12 hours from now, I’ll be in the car with my roommates Preeti and Sophy, going to Mumbai. They’ll fly back to Delhi in the evening, and I will be flying out of Mumbai airport at about midnight tomorrow night (technically early morning Aug 1st). I’ll arrive in Lafayette that same afternoon (about 24 hours after I depart from Mumbai), and spend a little time with family before going out of town for a few days. I will be back in Lafayette by Monday, August 6th, and I’d love to meet up with any of you that are in town and available! If you want to meet up, you can email me at mandipants2@yahoo.com Right now, my plan is to stay in Lafayette for the time being and spend some time with family while I seek what God has in store for me next.<br /><br /> Well, see you on the flip side!Mandihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08390644389503212402noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15084214.post-75744569051792425782007-07-26T14:15:00.000-05:002008-12-11T00:06:07.646-06:00counting down...<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4IZO569sMLP4teTFVu28RN_utLFusUENYeNZZerifTZoPIFz9bWp8lKyO0rt5-z9U0n0VaSJ2c0blE-Kurlhrob1UTKDP4fyvbYhhq8bDvljOEwDP-JK9KZyFGmF8O0zxva5-CA/s1600-h/CIMG7233.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4IZO569sMLP4teTFVu28RN_utLFusUENYeNZZerifTZoPIFz9bWp8lKyO0rt5-z9U0n0VaSJ2c0blE-Kurlhrob1UTKDP4fyvbYhhq8bDvljOEwDP-JK9KZyFGmF8O0zxva5-CA/s320/CIMG7233.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5091591528797165362" /></a><br /><br />chillin with friends in thailand<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvvvC789V9y158feyF338F1HgZ2oVfa_yYj_10etvFme-gVKbpxdiV-eh0j9HiwcOCoyADJqfd2Z0rPTfiWFBk37m5Hd2W4jPHAN7ubZe-0BKdhfgySkyWgzF-GzipUYx-qENa2w/s1600-h/DSC_0020.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvvvC789V9y158feyF338F1HgZ2oVfa_yYj_10etvFme-gVKbpxdiV-eh0j9HiwcOCoyADJqfd2Z0rPTfiWFBk37m5Hd2W4jPHAN7ubZe-0BKdhfgySkyWgzF-GzipUYx-qENa2w/s320/DSC_0020.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5091592731388008274" /></a><br /><br />goofing off with some of our friends at our apartment. we've been saying a lot of goodbyes these past 2 weeks...<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2qSzhYe2mUpHdXR4HJSZL3u5erbyLiFGAPJJWedZDmUYrKU0EigZ5IC6u25uCHxeuyrpsiFUk5QymLJAEKaPGZqkbxjvN6LMKfYPTQi3273CND4tMajAb2uuc0SFZnteoFpPiWg/s1600-h/DSC_0080.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2qSzhYe2mUpHdXR4HJSZL3u5erbyLiFGAPJJWedZDmUYrKU0EigZ5IC6u25uCHxeuyrpsiFUk5QymLJAEKaPGZqkbxjvN6LMKfYPTQi3273CND4tMajAb2uuc0SFZnteoFpPiWg/s320/DSC_0080.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5091591537387099970" /></a><br /><br />goodbye party at our house<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPYr-2pfcI4hrlldrwYpmk3KUkjaFQCj4E3fgMjPIw3G6EIk32Yhz8QtxyU7IoeD5GjRtJwqmGUpjPKssj99DPyhRHG6IM99kyh0RuwlzIqce8c_nz529gs-ZMVyPSG9a1KQExWw/s1600-h/DSCF0461.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPYr-2pfcI4hrlldrwYpmk3KUkjaFQCj4E3fgMjPIw3G6EIk32Yhz8QtxyU7IoeD5GjRtJwqmGUpjPKssj99DPyhRHG6IM99kyh0RuwlzIqce8c_nz529gs-ZMVyPSG9a1KQExWw/s320/DSCF0461.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5091592800107485042" /></a><br /><br />girls pic at coffee jar on Alisha's last night in town<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV8Sq0HGQLjcbj8N_OZSfCfxxsGDW_-ZMC3Rfq7XTN8uYVhuRQWUjIbmJ4YzhoiKPmZ1FLpqpciI0ZFpjb2n5m6uVSQcYycaH93Xke9XZNZnMG0KtUKWOG6R3vTHgvY0eK-rKeWQ/s1600-h/DSCN3836.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV8Sq0HGQLjcbj8N_OZSfCfxxsGDW_-ZMC3Rfq7XTN8uYVhuRQWUjIbmJ4YzhoiKPmZ1FLpqpciI0ZFpjb2n5m6uVSQcYycaH93Xke9XZNZnMG0KtUKWOG6R3vTHgvY0eK-rKeWQ/s320/DSCN3836.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5091591520207230754" /></a><br /><br />one of the many birthdays we've celebrated in the past week. beware, if i come to your birthday part in the states, something like this could happen!!!<br /><br /><br />according to the little counter on my blog, i have less than 4 days left...i'm not sure if that means in india or until i arrive in america--either way, it's not much time.<br /><br /> i'm sitting on one of my big black trunks, in my near empty room, listening to john mayer, and realizing i really don't feel like i have words to describe this experience--saying goodbye, transition, two years, who i am, who i was, etc--i feel dazed by it all, and yet, somehow, also incredibly alert and focused, working hard to get stuff done, to finish details of moving and leaving and all that. <br /><br /> if you know me well, you'd be amazed by how smooth the packing and all is going. i'm pretty much done, except for stuff i still need. our house is fairly messy, but not out of control. somehow, this is turning out to be one of the smoothest moves i've made so far, which is saying a lot.<br /><br /> but i think that, while this transition has been pretty smooth so far, there is a very surface level aspect to that. it's like i'm fine now, but i can sense this heart break on the horizon, and i'm not sure how on earth to deal with it, so i'm packing and sorting and cleaning and doing things that normally i'm terrible at. i'm trying to prepare my heart, and asking God to guide me forward, but i don't look forward to the day when the reality of the end of the past two years of my life sinks in...i mean, i'm excited beyond words about seeing my family and friends. it's been almost exactly 2 years since i saw them, and i can't wait for all the hugs and laughs and stories to come. but the friends i've made here, well, they've become family too, and i'm not sure how it's going to be to say goodbye.<br /><br /> but even in that, i still find hope. there have been so many bad days and heartaches and frustrations in these past two years, but God has never failed to teach me through them as i've clung to Him more and more with every step. so, even though i don't know what's in store in the next few months, i have a lot of hope for good things. i mean, i survived india--nothing seems impossible right now!<br /><br /> there's a song i wrote back in november when my friend shannon was leaving, and it's been in my mind and heart a lot lately, so i'll share it and mabye it'll give you an idea of where my heart is now.<br /><br />Reflections on the Journey, or, Joy in the Journey<br />(17 November 2006)<br /><br />It took more than just a step of faith<br />To follow You to such a strange place<br />But now the strange has become home<br /><br />A home like none I have ever known<br />With friends who became my family <br />It turned out not so different from what I left behind<br /><br />But now it’s time for me to carry on<br />A new chapter has begun<br />It’s time to say goodbye to this part of my journey<br /><br />And I’m torn, because I long to see what You have in store<br />But this broken land my heart will not release<br />So I’ll step out in faith like I did when I followed You here<br />Because this strange place has made a home in me<br /><br />There is joy in the journey<br />Though it breaks our hearts to take some steps<br />In faith we find <br />You’ve been leading us all along<br /><br />There is joy in the journey<br />For when we follow You <br />We find out who <br />We really are…<br /><br />I’ve learned it takes more than a step of faith<br />To follow You to each new strange place<br />But somehow You make the strange become home<br /><br />So I’ll rejoice in what the daybreak brings<br />As You teach me new songs to sing<br />Of Your grace, through the joy and the pain<br /><br />And through the sweetest of joys and the hardest of blows<br />My heart can rest where Your Spirit goes<br />Because I know You’ll always be walking with me<br /><br />They say time heals all wounds<br />But I pray that it leaves<br />A broken piece in me<br />To remember each place, <br />And who I became<br />Every step of this journey…<br /><br />There is joy in the journey<br />Though it breaks our hearts to take some steps<br />In faith we find <br />You’ve been leading us all along<br /><br />There is joy in the journey<br />For when we follow You <br />We find out who <br />We really are<br />When we follow You <br />We find out who <br />We really are…<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipkKMFuc40VethXjXCLAffhUoUBojwP11yNVh1GgY-5yynu3C8lKl0ziZFp5WcQ_gOzuRCEvoCFIsfdH-hGsjN2e_SAjR_SDng8kSmC0DqhFVN5oM5RQNBfVOQZiz0OH2JSBVj3g/s1600-h/DSCF0460.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipkKMFuc40VethXjXCLAffhUoUBojwP11yNVh1GgY-5yynu3C8lKl0ziZFp5WcQ_gOzuRCEvoCFIsfdH-hGsjN2e_SAjR_SDng8kSmC0DqhFVN5oM5RQNBfVOQZiz0OH2JSBVj3g/s320/DSCF0460.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5091592765747746658" /></a><br /><br />my family here, goofy as ever, and amazing beyond words...Mandihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08390644389503212402noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15084214.post-5387249986742280692007-06-23T09:20:00.000-05:002008-12-11T00:06:19.927-06:00summer madness!!!well, once again, i'm slacking on the blogging, but i think this should make up for it, and hopefully give you an idea about all that we've been up to lately!<br /><br />MONSOONS!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI3AmkDpwX1TzIph87McMOtLZmOfJrqa_lxsIoI59QTyK6EDZuKWP0CcioeDydkwLDy-I6JoQU4d_Dcp9rXQ11nRazdfUmGaqX5jFuAoVJ7y9ZxP1wXgnHeTJirT4DU4ZvHbSBmg/s1600-h/DSCN3771.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI3AmkDpwX1TzIph87McMOtLZmOfJrqa_lxsIoI59QTyK6EDZuKWP0CcioeDydkwLDy-I6JoQU4d_Dcp9rXQ11nRazdfUmGaqX5jFuAoVJ7y9ZxP1wXgnHeTJirT4DU4ZvHbSBmg/s320/DSCN3771.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5079274009824254114" /></a><br /><br />it's that time of year! the monsoons have officially begun and the weather is getting wet and cool. feels great when you're sitting inside like i am right now...<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA1zPwMbOmVjpy7iWfbZjKCPXFcZ3AbcxPCaJSNP-nJPqvyO0A63PtlJdiBlyHMwBcek9of6pANSryi08xL3CDuyk1PkOXnUhZUrOX4jBEH-Jgf_7dvtk7yN72dAUg4cIg2Bi4zg/s1600-h/DSCN3774.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA1zPwMbOmVjpy7iWfbZjKCPXFcZ3AbcxPCaJSNP-nJPqvyO0A63PtlJdiBlyHMwBcek9of6pANSryi08xL3CDuyk1PkOXnUhZUrOX4jBEH-Jgf_7dvtk7yN72dAUg4cIg2Bi4zg/s320/DSCN3774.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5079274009824254130" /></a><br /><br />...but it's not quite as fun when you're out and about! <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho1Io4dLzDaVHpgVN30j0uYAFY38tHmLd6SKKY0BioAjPy2W7E4SWVOqt1VZ6d_kxFnh202qzSMqf69wNLP_KhCJMUeVosnmuexAPGeiLfNnZUYPAUFygF5J_jaTzzezKDn6l_vg/s1600-h/DSCN3775.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho1Io4dLzDaVHpgVN30j0uYAFY38tHmLd6SKKY0BioAjPy2W7E4SWVOqt1VZ6d_kxFnh202qzSMqf69wNLP_KhCJMUeVosnmuexAPGeiLfNnZUYPAUFygF5J_jaTzzezKDn6l_vg/s320/DSCN3775.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5079274014119221442" /></a><br /><br />as you can see, my friend Merrilea and i had to get creative with me trying to hold the umbrella over us as she drove the motorbike! gotta love monsoons!<br /><br />JUST FOR FUN!<br /><br />before i dive into all the pics from our summer volunteers, here are a couple of the fun things we've done in between all the madness:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7qzaWl5z-wvHMEjJ6gbmGyCT-QOiakSPrEmVNRgjzhMGD4pyk48jAacV4Pyi3nETp3WMBGqJE8KvCqIGIJbMe_ZRGNLombbYRA8-SOk20SGUtHez2_5gdBG0hv7WT8-ARcPJy6A/s1600-h/DSCN3698.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7qzaWl5z-wvHMEjJ6gbmGyCT-QOiakSPrEmVNRgjzhMGD4pyk48jAacV4Pyi3nETp3WMBGqJE8KvCqIGIJbMe_ZRGNLombbYRA8-SOk20SGUtHez2_5gdBG0hv7WT8-ARcPJy6A/s320/DSCN3698.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5079274014119221458" /></a><br /><br />we didn't actually see Ninja Turtles, but a big group of us went to see spiderman 3 and then had a lot of fun goofing off with the Ninja Turtle stuff at McDonalds. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1GGVeFZEiHJC3klYzFHbySenrs2SxiVee-npwLE_o-he_VAp2p2OZAVJS6Yg5wg1FwtiR5nj_xSYB6mduBW_HZjwg_WSOaVdmu-wHD_bcndA4uKSfq_5UYNNjk-ILObg-jSJ5VA/s1600-h/DSCN3716.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1GGVeFZEiHJC3klYzFHbySenrs2SxiVee-npwLE_o-he_VAp2p2OZAVJS6Yg5wg1FwtiR5nj_xSYB6mduBW_HZjwg_WSOaVdmu-wHD_bcndA4uKSfq_5UYNNjk-ILObg-jSJ5VA/s320/DSCN3716.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5079274022709156066" /></a><br /><br />i really love the folks who have become my "family" here, and i especially love it when we can all get together and just have fun. right before the volunteers arrived, we had a night of games and singing and just enjoying being together. it was awesome.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih7yy1qW8e_ql7xg2i_LaFafOA4vp1ljzjPye3MRRUaS6FSiU0rv3Ef64Kx9QAnxPlQ1fqOTcP9DaQOwgKaT059cRAB0NjTqwkkf_FX1Eq92zy9EXOIuqAsKx2OSrZaJqrcMo9Bw/s1600-h/DSCN3735.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih7yy1qW8e_ql7xg2i_LaFafOA4vp1ljzjPye3MRRUaS6FSiU0rv3Ef64Kx9QAnxPlQ1fqOTcP9DaQOwgKaT059cRAB0NjTqwkkf_FX1Eq92zy9EXOIuqAsKx2OSrZaJqrcMo9Bw/s320/DSCN3735.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5079276075703523586" /></a><br /><br />we also took some time out to go bowling with Ally and Alisa, which was great, even thought the lanes were kind of messed up and the pins kept falling over on their own!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7aMJ1CztRchTgsLw_fLDCtab_ERz_4VczG4Ezy8c0Gii7bvEESmOZ1AagNqpDpDUnEsuXesYIT-k1ud-sh2IwX8mTX_KogDKHD8qYsccgs7EOGy44p8SlEU_gXO4eWXGm38a4ug/s1600-h/DSCN3738.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7aMJ1CztRchTgsLw_fLDCtab_ERz_4VczG4Ezy8c0Gii7bvEESmOZ1AagNqpDpDUnEsuXesYIT-k1ud-sh2IwX8mTX_KogDKHD8qYsccgs7EOGy44p8SlEU_gXO4eWXGm38a4ug/s320/DSCN3738.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5079276071408556274" /></a><br /><br />the ride home after bowling was quite an adventure--this is the first time i've ridden with 5 adults in a rickshaw! (imagine 5 people in the back of a closed in golf cart!)<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvhyHv5DjrR6WCKzX617zhdju2ySPmcbMJjESd9pCqTRilfLMbtGpn08wPzwHqkeDndQnxWEdcDkCWXUEw2rQshGV67vEPjlLstKyxhiPZz_06LdR-m_JGrpJ0rDX3_CT7itMiIQ/s1600-h/DSCN3741.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvhyHv5DjrR6WCKzX617zhdju2ySPmcbMJjESd9pCqTRilfLMbtGpn08wPzwHqkeDndQnxWEdcDkCWXUEw2rQshGV67vEPjlLstKyxhiPZz_06LdR-m_JGrpJ0rDX3_CT7itMiIQ/s320/DSCN3741.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5079276075703523602" /></a><br /><br />Ally was brave and managed to squeeze into the little shelf area in the back!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_B8GNA34brabP3if3PismfgTTuxDLFBvz72KN0xcorAt3G5EwS40mqe34WOVMg1-Vr2-rp8D0RUhYncaHRCIlM6M2iEu7ubCJagrW9DXVDpcjJqvtjG11LoDcI2I4iZirHYrMJg/s1600-h/IMG_2556.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_B8GNA34brabP3if3PismfgTTuxDLFBvz72KN0xcorAt3G5EwS40mqe34WOVMg1-Vr2-rp8D0RUhYncaHRCIlM6M2iEu7ubCJagrW9DXVDpcjJqvtjG11LoDcI2I4iZirHYrMJg/s320/IMG_2556.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5079280692793366834" /></a><br /><br />these two pics...well, what can i say...we're pretty goofy at times!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsMfZP3_OJbPBuVmO8uxjxScBf5lsygefYqgBdfRABVlCdizLtsyzHMhnzc6-nkdebBQC31P-ZMexhr0HZdV5hAI3OivTvf9xBaESukobh6ZU_4UUAxbpQP0D6k_QXUVEi9G8ApA/s1600-h/IMG_2558.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsMfZP3_OJbPBuVmO8uxjxScBf5lsygefYqgBdfRABVlCdizLtsyzHMhnzc6-nkdebBQC31P-ZMexhr0HZdV5hAI3OivTvf9xBaESukobh6ZU_4UUAxbpQP0D6k_QXUVEi9G8ApA/s320/IMG_2558.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5079280692793366850" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjPRLK9ENANicme4XXH38f6NPMMRzD-ewiQZPZqVsrklUCVjrFuMPxabpr8nEix-91yLgdw8ifmk1SpF0Ra2VAtaemBBO1aalN_a0CFISYmCZNfd6e4K_vPKV1P6S__nvEEiAHhA/s1600-h/DSCN3701.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjPRLK9ENANicme4XXH38f6NPMMRzD-ewiQZPZqVsrklUCVjrFuMPxabpr8nEix-91yLgdw8ifmk1SpF0Ra2VAtaemBBO1aalN_a0CFISYmCZNfd6e4K_vPKV1P6S__nvEEiAHhA/s320/DSCN3701.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5079273700586608738" /></a><br /><br />right before our teams arrived, a couple who's working with students up north, Brian and Leslie, came down to visit us and see some of the stuff we're doing here. it was a blast, and as you can see, they're pretty fun people! this is brian posing next to one of those really goofy little cars.<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_4P7EHF1LnUo/Rn00hgBy2H<br />I/AAAAAAAAAhE/-SmSXAXVzlY/s1600-h/DSC_0086.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9XIUavzhi63Ly3jToKNAsc-zUmYItp75B0WYbCZVKT2KDGO-HAukSGnrY3fHBWM6LJuyGoniKMskXwkkHRUyFFfJXG9UhH1WjNh5gbNYBZGCuFXFhKm_WMfBpF_keEtLb6P3haA/s320/DSC_0086.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5079273704881576050" /></a><br /><br />this is a hillarious pic of Leslie and Joy, one of our volunteers, riding on a camel. <br /><br />TEAMS!<br />like last summer, we had 2 short term (2 week) teams come in may and june, and it was quite an adventure. the students did an amazing job and even though there were plenty of glitches and surpises along the way, everybody had a lot of fun.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjORHABTpLc6-jk6laDGYpcPlVdKjg8JCpgSl1BvQEnptZA7HkAeNBiubJ0d51mUY11zQz_d61asA83gDYn8aj2dC3UAHeY2mDhPDzsKf0BeBO9TjyPStVnByGI7KXchyAP0B4wkA/s1600-h/DSC_0008.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjORHABTpLc6-jk6laDGYpcPlVdKjg8JCpgSl1BvQEnptZA7HkAeNBiubJ0d51mUY11zQz_d61asA83gDYn8aj2dC3UAHeY2mDhPDzsKf0BeBO9TjyPStVnByGI7KXchyAP0B4wkA/s320/DSC_0008.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5079273709176543362" /></a><br /><br />this is a pic of the team from Georgia during orientation at our house. there were 8 people total on this team, and 1 of the guys, josh, also came last year.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkZo1kSAPnVx3GolWjb_Ta8jO5QYqLPuAzQU_oSD95b-_VC5G6GPgr4nIuoDCNhasnSh7xQynPb8o9pYFI9WUP57XhDM5WrHv5J3OXGKtnoQ5zv7BNrUBFvR7kL3gDMgnDkj-q6g/s1600-h/DSCN3745.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkZo1kSAPnVx3GolWjb_Ta8jO5QYqLPuAzQU_oSD95b-_VC5G6GPgr4nIuoDCNhasnSh7xQynPb8o9pYFI9WUP57XhDM5WrHv5J3OXGKtnoQ5zv7BNrUBFvR7kL3gDMgnDkj-q6g/s320/DSCN3745.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5079273709176543378" /></a><br /><br />after a long day of orientation, we all headed down to the Coffee Jar for a snack and coffee break!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd9EhMQM2s938i-N380njyx6CAxH1NKbr_NBIJCM-Tj8_BY3F2iKDtAPnZPWk8XoExdNv-GA9oiFwYp9TIcH1sFnq3VkL1U3OAy0ftXOufoWdrodAbOj3zDDvlfRjgaa5l2FwWAA/s1600-h/DSC_0039.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd9EhMQM2s938i-N380njyx6CAxH1NKbr_NBIJCM-Tj8_BY3F2iKDtAPnZPWk8XoExdNv-GA9oiFwYp9TIcH1sFnq3VkL1U3OAy0ftXOufoWdrodAbOj3zDDvlfRjgaa5l2FwWAA/s320/DSC_0039.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5079273262499944482" /></a><br /><br />one of the big things the GA team helped with was the Open Forum Discussion we hosted at a hotel here. the topic was relationships and we had a panel that answered questions and interacted with the audience. the evening was really fun and we met a lot of new people. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiIoov0Xg5__BJHS5LpQKkGcb3MtHVVolszRoBT2986Q4-0NBisNu7ZjSGMENPf-SUE06A3FSWisQmU11dMnKwfTqndd6v_o2-Prc_HGy7-byw0Y4b6vl1o5Sx6aaEwISL44oaFQ/s1600-h/DSC_0074.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiIoov0Xg5__BJHS5LpQKkGcb3MtHVVolszRoBT2986Q4-0NBisNu7ZjSGMENPf-SUE06A3FSWisQmU11dMnKwfTqndd6v_o2-Prc_HGy7-byw0Y4b6vl1o5Sx6aaEwISL44oaFQ/s320/DSC_0074.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5079273262499944498" /></a><br /><br />this is Rini, a student here, talking to some friends after the forum.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDecnx_GhHp0tpUAebpF_7WeIy4zXMC4Ntubm1bRznNxRMOjPohGKw_zdSIfv3xI92fsR7yNyMr5X9dgJTjszxyXL31y0s-S5BGRu-bxZ82ickAWr3w0OpE3aBW9oACoKOxTLe6Q/s1600-h/DSC_0083.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDecnx_GhHp0tpUAebpF_7WeIy4zXMC4Ntubm1bRznNxRMOjPohGKw_zdSIfv3xI92fsR7yNyMr5X9dgJTjszxyXL31y0s-S5BGRu-bxZ82ickAWr3w0OpE3aBW9oACoKOxTLe6Q/s320/DSC_0083.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5079273262499944514" /></a><br /><br />Kevin, Ajay, Ahbishek, and Stoffer enjoying snacks after the forum.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKq0QT2y6cC70xRc7Fo1AtAFIcJuy3wS4oigK7OpeP6sSmA4EeYoS9b_gqmNFR_E1Hdl2H_k_JAacmM6POKZBgwCZiSCriNMBzPTk74vvfTm6jU8_PqMF_SeaYKrDgueFv9FYeOg/s1600-h/DSCN3756.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKq0QT2y6cC70xRc7Fo1AtAFIcJuy3wS4oigK7OpeP6sSmA4EeYoS9b_gqmNFR_E1Hdl2H_k_JAacmM6POKZBgwCZiSCriNMBzPTk74vvfTm6jU8_PqMF_SeaYKrDgueFv9FYeOg/s320/DSCN3756.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5079273266794911826" /></a><br /><br />while the team was here, we also went to our friend Ruth's house for her parent's 25th aniversary party. it was quite a big event and a very fun evening.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq4RConF2_f8iSEG3HEOxi5FYgQqEtc_IBrp9AZsVGeJDjqSXjN6Jt3OlKtNr6Y2yEY4atw-cSsPgBumU_SdQTWyfqA3bH4m29n6laOMFKbp7Ka5jFIBQ5iyccPEXUvsfF8s2o2A/s1600-h/DSCF0126.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq4RConF2_f8iSEG3HEOxi5FYgQqEtc_IBrp9AZsVGeJDjqSXjN6Jt3OlKtNr6Y2yEY4atw-cSsPgBumU_SdQTWyfqA3bH4m29n6laOMFKbp7Ka5jFIBQ5iyccPEXUvsfF8s2o2A/s320/DSCF0126.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5079272485110863842" /></a><br /><br />at the end of their time here, the GA team hosted a party for all the new friends they'd made. we had snacks, played games, shared stories, and enjoyed watching the team (esp Matt and Marty here) put on some goofy skits.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkAJoLEQJZHd81JIdZJxp6XQuCPHb8G0vhcYQG2BW3Kg7oh67H9-f86vUKVYR3ns5jZR1fQ_AoqjoUkFb8GRNZnp3OjSqIRF1YQ6dTqfHSsEk25ryAI9BltAaEjvez6AR_3En-BA/s1600-h/DSCN3764.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkAJoLEQJZHd81JIdZJxp6XQuCPHb8G0vhcYQG2BW3Kg7oh67H9-f86vUKVYR3ns5jZR1fQ_AoqjoUkFb8GRNZnp3OjSqIRF1YQ6dTqfHSsEk25ryAI9BltAaEjvez6AR_3En-BA/s320/DSCN3764.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5079272485110863858" /></a><br /><br />after the GA team left, i headed to Delhi to meet 2 of our 6 week summer volunteers. i got to see a lot of friends while i was there, including my friend carolyn! she came from louisiana spend the summer in north india, and it was great to get to see her.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP0KaM1U4abJKTtG266cvRBhgT3xV6LuIR2QopTQUidOfP1Axc_NcRYE9KbtajeLSoZbg_TXzxhYfzhSAsbWZL66hmNTplSrDqC2MPxVUiRatq708W871qo8Az-iY67e1BjrhPiQ/s1600-h/100_0510.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP0KaM1U4abJKTtG266cvRBhgT3xV6LuIR2QopTQUidOfP1Axc_NcRYE9KbtajeLSoZbg_TXzxhYfzhSAsbWZL66hmNTplSrDqC2MPxVUiRatq708W871qo8Az-iY67e1BjrhPiQ/s320/100_0510.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5079272489405831170" /></a><br /><br />our 6 week summer volunteers have been amazing! this is josh and laura who came from mississippi.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU2dyJThnO07IfJiyDMZLsdRYFjgkocOQMCAJOzmgb8XNPD6OBPVa-kVA9A2_yGvUMi7E4GNtQigGjskagJICuHfcxV0656FJMpp0P95b9XTkQJ9Zm2_A73hfXH7qWPbj25xG3rQ/s1600-h/100_0535.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU2dyJThnO07IfJiyDMZLsdRYFjgkocOQMCAJOzmgb8XNPD6OBPVa-kVA9A2_yGvUMi7E4GNtQigGjskagJICuHfcxV0656FJMpp0P95b9XTkQJ9Zm2_A73hfXH7qWPbj25xG3rQ/s320/100_0535.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5079272489405831186" /></a><br /><br />this is a shot of josh from mississippi, along with our other 2 6 week vols, josh and richard. they both were on the Georgia team and stayed on after the team left. this pic is from when we went out to eat for a team meeting and talked them into singing at open mic night at the restaurant. their rendition of "my girl" was hilarious!<br /><br /><br />around the time i got back from Delhi, our second team arrived from Birmingham AL. there were 12 of them in all, and 2 returned from last year, so it was great to see some old friends.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQLYFJ0ZvZXo67hHwz1uPFXIhVAjX_Nj8WggvoJcz_LEjm9k1Yk8fkd2pZtyLmn-Ou2uA7OV5qtO7uX2LzLFV1TzTN_yJUrySni-AgQ-SfKcl_bBDzU2LdepgV7Um2Z1M7U9X4xQ/s1600-h/DSC_0120.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQLYFJ0ZvZXo67hHwz1uPFXIhVAjX_Nj8WggvoJcz_LEjm9k1Yk8fkd2pZtyLmn-Ou2uA7OV5qtO7uX2LzLFV1TzTN_yJUrySni-AgQ-SfKcl_bBDzU2LdepgV7Um2Z1M7U9X4xQ/s320/DSC_0120.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5079271574577797026" /></a><br /><br />we did orientation for the AL team on the 4th of June, and that afternoon after they left, we had an unwelcome guest appear at our house--a mouse! i called joel and kenneth to come and rescue us--here you can see them trying to find him by lifting up the washing machine!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl2fLe8wjShU0wrIZmV4mIxKtOW75i464OM3SldKnPmRI_neZzvIFPmwLl8IuCWFzLnoRZTr-k02soVtE4-58gu_2SUVxU81Rxoe51s9GW7TG1XQoUbj3Eu1YG_hOgpdOp1nbnOg/s1600-h/DSC_0130.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl2fLe8wjShU0wrIZmV4mIxKtOW75i464OM3SldKnPmRI_neZzvIFPmwLl8IuCWFzLnoRZTr-k02soVtE4-58gu_2SUVxU81Rxoe51s9GW7TG1XQoUbj3Eu1YG_hOgpdOp1nbnOg/s320/DSC_0130.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5079271574577797042" /></a><br /><br />that night, after the mouse episode, my roommates and some other friends suprised me at midnight with cake for my birthday! this is a pic of me and nafisa, our friend's daughter. even though it was really late, she was very excited about wishing me happy birthday!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgld_QcCTN2y30LzuA_cY5-Ee1evMwjzZENFM6l1QHrAkI0ZcdkVnONAAWA_2Bav06GzwkP0oDo7QX3AazLZzn9leoqsoJ4KjtBRIormWJgTqKY3I3m-Jnv-1RDvysIgga1DWsEKg/s1600-h/DSC_0129.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgld_QcCTN2y30LzuA_cY5-Ee1evMwjzZENFM6l1QHrAkI0ZcdkVnONAAWA_2Bav06GzwkP0oDo7QX3AazLZzn9leoqsoJ4KjtBRIormWJgTqKY3I3m-Jnv-1RDvysIgga1DWsEKg/s320/DSC_0129.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5079271574577797058" /></a><br /><br />here's my AMAZING carrot cake, made by Lisa, our friend who owns the Coffee JAr with her husband Cini and does all the baking<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmqGFBj1FaXHbchRiExpv3twEBMBxnqEZjDLkhjmXsk5w7ZP6s3bZDzsiBckkSV7THUgDhk_qPvuNcBqnetSeJwYquhUOtiXfhlJG5Fp1GtJWzNS9qcDsnzhEEXXB_ayMvkCMdBg/s1600-h/DSC_0142.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmqGFBj1FaXHbchRiExpv3twEBMBxnqEZjDLkhjmXsk5w7ZP6s3bZDzsiBckkSV7THUgDhk_qPvuNcBqnetSeJwYquhUOtiXfhlJG5Fp1GtJWzNS9qcDsnzhEEXXB_ayMvkCMdBg/s320/DSC_0142.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5079290974945073490" /></a><br /><br />as is the tradition here, my roommates cut me a piece of cake and then smeared it all over my face!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl5JAGiIGdpfyHQoWTUCpz4ZfIkT-7ZAmSnQpbBluYSSncJ34Z8XE5YzcesEVd7OAZY9zwvJO5OZ2XpUDMQVlUVQn4RL8vhtwWI_go8ox4YoJi73GU_it5HCJ1phMOek4VIStHdw/s1600-h/DSC_0140.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl5JAGiIGdpfyHQoWTUCpz4ZfIkT-7ZAmSnQpbBluYSSncJ34Z8XE5YzcesEVd7OAZY9zwvJO5OZ2XpUDMQVlUVQn4RL8vhtwWI_go8ox4YoJi73GU_it5HCJ1phMOek4VIStHdw/s320/DSC_0140.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5079271235275380578" /></a><br /><br />i tried to fight back, but there were too many of them!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibGRKIk3XJxpvRhB1cp8y2soIByZ8irWOZiAxgNj6C2ak5fsVmSMawtagqaHb04VA5v3mJXjJ6pbhDPtf028Ac-6U3hypGGPiVrRdIOFTotfSDPmlEDVOwNEZWKaexnlvGXy6Dqw/s1600-h/DSC_0148.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibGRKIk3XJxpvRhB1cp8y2soIByZ8irWOZiAxgNj6C2ak5fsVmSMawtagqaHb04VA5v3mJXjJ6pbhDPtf028Ac-6U3hypGGPiVrRdIOFTotfSDPmlEDVOwNEZWKaexnlvGXy6Dqw/s320/DSC_0148.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5079271235275380594" /></a><br /><br />here i am, covered in cake, and it sure was good!!!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3MsDE0VjVdPMNjwsDDx3QhUtYFEOzbh0O89I2CqJ9cZ-OerKn-UPA61eLu3dUxASV2ahQCyGmAcXMw3kPQfU0e0Vgq4S_0o9FoytugIyJj0CM2rpOSYjod-R87X3L5Ob1aDU_ug/s1600-h/DSC_0153.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3MsDE0VjVdPMNjwsDDx3QhUtYFEOzbh0O89I2CqJ9cZ-OerKn-UPA61eLu3dUxASV2ahQCyGmAcXMw3kPQfU0e0Vgq4S_0o9FoytugIyJj0CM2rpOSYjod-R87X3L5Ob1aDU_ug/s320/DSC_0153.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5079276079998490914" /></a><br /><br />as you can see, i finally managed to get Preeti with some of the icing!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzzqR5NQCbMuLAdgFEDSue2YhsaCZUocpG6z3wx2t4O2c6wxsQA8G0-GQ1-8D81J7N67_j0VC7349QhGneagu8D3P_RYzYkAv1SbA1jnOR8m8ulDstGdn5irMbZWg8UeY7OPnp9Q/s1600-h/DSC_0161.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzzqR5NQCbMuLAdgFEDSue2YhsaCZUocpG6z3wx2t4O2c6wxsQA8G0-GQ1-8D81J7N67_j0VC7349QhGneagu8D3P_RYzYkAv1SbA1jnOR8m8ulDstGdn5irMbZWg8UeY7OPnp9Q/s320/DSC_0161.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5079271239570347906" /></a><br /><br />here's a pic of all of us girls after all the cake smearing, etc. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgndQp8AK58-AjuPGhsJfdiZJdgD7jAcajQ2CtKOJ0PXxl_9QxrQ-AG63n2eiOMLeyFI4tksNuPwZOH5KKXrgFuiuAOzTKIV3gDRbowXPd-7ZX5F1bofT_vMv2-J7H6cZl37TuCaQ/s1600-h/DSC_0001.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgndQp8AK58-AjuPGhsJfdiZJdgD7jAcajQ2CtKOJ0PXxl_9QxrQ-AG63n2eiOMLeyFI4tksNuPwZOH5KKXrgFuiuAOzTKIV3gDRbowXPd-7ZX5F1bofT_vMv2-J7H6cZl37TuCaQ/s320/DSC_0001.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5079271239570347922" /></a><br /><br />the next day, i had a big birthday party in the basement of coffee jar. here's a shot of laura and preeti getting ready for the party by putting up pics that my mom sent of me growing up. embarrasing but fun!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk0DpXn-M7NgLGQBk28ok8YylIY5pUYgLXFFyYOoaoDyJ9wfNZ39NLXcpD7-Em29-5KY5N8Wje-2zU8m8pw_dszPCgehpvsTHD73I82Z_9FjL7TaMxmGcAhmk_vqGWI7KRLARanw/s1600-h/DSC_0011.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk0DpXn-M7NgLGQBk28ok8YylIY5pUYgLXFFyYOoaoDyJ9wfNZ39NLXcpD7-Em29-5KY5N8Wje-2zU8m8pw_dszPCgehpvsTHD73I82Z_9FjL7TaMxmGcAhmk_vqGWI7KRLARanw/s320/DSC_0011.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5079270926037735202" /></a><br /><br />everybody had a lot of fun playing games and just hanging out.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjdSdsR0Ec6zCJL_JAnlmIppb-yArpg-JAtuGyTAi9fGMrVUmE2MWxMJ_MTtHl1VMEw3DWPudy1f4yZZnREeUmHn3wFVK2s7_JuNeu9GZdcJlGWzW_HfpGEIic5liHSjd-j556mg/s1600-h/DSC_0013.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjdSdsR0Ec6zCJL_JAnlmIppb-yArpg-JAtuGyTAi9fGMrVUmE2MWxMJ_MTtHl1VMEw3DWPudy1f4yZZnREeUmHn3wFVK2s7_JuNeu9GZdcJlGWzW_HfpGEIic5liHSjd-j556mg/s320/DSC_0013.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5079270930332702514" /></a><br /><br />Nassem from Iran and Maggie from the AL team <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMmwHxg6Lyp0okLbQWEOYs8FXmAuOlEK0H5hlxc-zog49p7lsg7qDEo_EtUWapxdH6_3hBuvy1b6M84fhuEWY7tB5LD2B5IZa6QvstkARJ3BP6EMKLvrAdkKmOFNaXWnvnqFInLA/s1600-h/DSC_0014.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMmwHxg6Lyp0okLbQWEOYs8FXmAuOlEK0H5hlxc-zog49p7lsg7qDEo_EtUWapxdH6_3hBuvy1b6M84fhuEWY7tB5LD2B5IZa6QvstkARJ3BP6EMKLvrAdkKmOFNaXWnvnqFInLA/s320/DSC_0014.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5079270930332702530" /></a><br /><br />Rini, Fatemah, baby Sophy and Alisa<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCwyLIWrUvx1q3faS5SbPf2Xlc3RtLEU4Hp0TWktz-FzGN8FKHnw5DmPzLmj0XwioRhrLsxZF_RoMV8yNGq1Py1lhbc-FaGx6NiCnkPjmT-wbbSR9uiyk2miRBEuzC6fb3QxMSjw/s1600-h/DSC_0015.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCwyLIWrUvx1q3faS5SbPf2Xlc3RtLEU4Hp0TWktz-FzGN8FKHnw5DmPzLmj0XwioRhrLsxZF_RoMV8yNGq1Py1lhbc-FaGx6NiCnkPjmT-wbbSR9uiyk2miRBEuzC6fb3QxMSjw/s320/DSC_0015.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5079270930332702546" /></a><br /><br />my 2nd birthday cake--chocolate chip!!!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN2eqwmRupYMOrwp-4duxPY5IA9wWAbbDtP6GQnALzCciydHq9bwO8Ors19QcLG9J3ekLCmNqp3dHEcWM6O1osruZHYrzkKwGU_TAOUk49C1jqJBrAfxTgKAs18bygiVOScIL6Kg/s1600-h/DSCF0160.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN2eqwmRupYMOrwp-4duxPY5IA9wWAbbDtP6GQnALzCciydHq9bwO8Ors19QcLG9J3ekLCmNqp3dHEcWM6O1osruZHYrzkKwGU_TAOUk49C1jqJBrAfxTgKAs18bygiVOScIL6Kg/s320/DSCF0160.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5079270685519566578" /></a><br /><br />me blowing out the candles<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIk9OuCp61ZuQF06BhDfnMadQSXwWkS1hoSrNrjD24Cshh10ZPumrd44lxopTL-Kbuyv2bfCZy-8usFe8BndCOElsBgoOwgsGBIXvX73eiHTpvzSKnya1IpysQ-x874qsSqQi1IQ/s1600-h/DSC_0020.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIk9OuCp61ZuQF06BhDfnMadQSXwWkS1hoSrNrjD24Cshh10ZPumrd44lxopTL-Kbuyv2bfCZy-8usFe8BndCOElsBgoOwgsGBIXvX73eiHTpvzSKnya1IpysQ-x874qsSqQi1IQ/s320/DSC_0020.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5079270689814533890" /></a><br /><br />as soon as the cake was cut, Deepali moved in to attack me with a piece!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8-NX7C0WQzhWu88Tnodz2kAl-YzNQYOydAfNhrRXlz2xmSHolhhcQztf8gG7vAKCBnWOVT7wEZmEI2lxAJjg5qYk0S4xTXwmPSeIFF7EdudCDT5ZT5k3vwmW7W3dip06p0fSd-A/s1600-h/DSC_0025.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8-NX7C0WQzhWu88Tnodz2kAl-YzNQYOydAfNhrRXlz2xmSHolhhcQztf8gG7vAKCBnWOVT7wEZmEI2lxAJjg5qYk0S4xTXwmPSeIFF7EdudCDT5ZT5k3vwmW7W3dip06p0fSd-A/s320/DSC_0025.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5079270290382575298" /></a><br /><br />but i made sure and got her with some icing too!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioLRE0UR_NzFl1K7Djpm9hrIITvPG636AzsVtpfcBvDjnBtBd8zyErSULwU4Dnm8cxWoAK_cqtVVYdipuuxTfZGP0cfur-yE6sQbYO-6mrdx2Yh_AzQH6JZiH40OT2EP05K9EV0Q/s1600-h/DSC_0030.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioLRE0UR_NzFl1K7Djpm9hrIITvPG636AzsVtpfcBvDjnBtBd8zyErSULwU4Dnm8cxWoAK_cqtVVYdipuuxTfZGP0cfur-yE6sQbYO-6mrdx2Yh_AzQH6JZiH40OT2EP05K9EV0Q/s320/DSC_0030.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5079270298972509906" /></a><br /><br />i wanted to do something special for all my friends to show them how much i appreciated them, so i made a cd for everyone who came to the party. one of the songs on it was written by josh, so i got him to play it at the party.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha7YSxMyVeUXKo6GJdNF5aYda05Lwu45YZM9ijl0vXXGXgv2S5cKfkgJFx_V3qVolkentBOL2aTYLgMG2qd5u7N5KBxQ1fNqdqcvgRL_vB47T16jHL528mGNc21uoCQ2yPjtbTtg/s1600-h/DSC_0066.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha7YSxMyVeUXKo6GJdNF5aYda05Lwu45YZM9ijl0vXXGXgv2S5cKfkgJFx_V3qVolkentBOL2aTYLgMG2qd5u7N5KBxQ1fNqdqcvgRL_vB47T16jHL528mGNc21uoCQ2yPjtbTtg/s320/DSC_0066.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5079270689814533906" /></a><br /><br />an Iranian tradition is to take pics with the people who give you presents as you open their gifts. this is me with Kenneth, Sahil, Ruth, Kevin and Ahbishek--they gave me a cool french press because they know how much i love coffee!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSuABD9OPW4jtW2BOBPmKEYc2vLYLvGTdRv2aTzA5y_6nVvlVVyDUq3OyQEUMnE0gfJ1h8TOOY2oXU151nEY1K547T1J5AjY7xe-cJYpFyYnumzjuaptFsF871uzrW7cL3U-prtw/s1600-h/DSC_0064.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSuABD9OPW4jtW2BOBPmKEYc2vLYLvGTdRv2aTzA5y_6nVvlVVyDUq3OyQEUMnE0gfJ1h8TOOY2oXU151nEY1K547T1J5AjY7xe-cJYpFyYnumzjuaptFsF871uzrW7cL3U-prtw/s320/DSC_0064.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5079270067044275858" /></a><br /><br />me and Nassem <br /><br />not long after my birthday, i had LASIK surgery so now i am glasses free! my vision isn't perfect yet, but my eyes are adjusting and i can see much better than before, which is amazing.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUDbnUZumD2Y-dv4by2USOo3KAShlCNE1eTuQDIKPOxfqLBHb5S9CS1Dy17G5gdodLnb1LaXheZXuG86Z4bkiRUC4Y1RYumydL10T9jZZMlXEqy-46ruM7w8R1EAsRA7ryBJK5mg/s1600-h/DSCN4759.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUDbnUZumD2Y-dv4by2USOo3KAShlCNE1eTuQDIKPOxfqLBHb5S9CS1Dy17G5gdodLnb1LaXheZXuG86Z4bkiRUC4Y1RYumydL10T9jZZMlXEqy-46ruM7w8R1EAsRA7ryBJK5mg/s320/DSCN4759.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5079270071339243170" /></a><br /><br />about a week later, our friend Lindsey from Delhi came down. she works with the student volunteers who spend the summer in different parts of south asia. this is a goofy pic of her, but the reason i took it is because the guy on the right in the back has the most crazy hair style!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9qLZTcHxszT5XkNnjVAvUUPxuhikvuUzutgUHqtssdctZ7avH_KB75m6oRKSUqRSw15vEAM3LdvaVpUfj8XHVhD_ByglD31itnmC-Axhpk8L9j1qQ6DO_HCCb8OIrELQNccwkDQ/s1600-h/DSC_0051.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9qLZTcHxszT5XkNnjVAvUUPxuhikvuUzutgUHqtssdctZ7avH_KB75m6oRKSUqRSw15vEAM3LdvaVpUfj8XHVhD_ByglD31itnmC-Axhpk8L9j1qQ6DO_HCCb8OIrELQNccwkDQ/s320/DSC_0051.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5079270071339243186" /></a><br /><br />near the end of their time here, the AL team also hosted a party for all their friends. this is some of the guys goofing off: Ahbishek, Kevin, Pete, Tim, Richard, Josh and Trey<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLpz88ytn6PF83GsqqwDGSJrY31lKXLVgA8B2vyqrDFVN_0nL-_0-nrjOflMz9NgOMjE67ES3m1I5fb9sa8Ina6zvpQlF8pxhqDf3F4720B0xvK3HBkQaL7Pae0PgzFb9vW_21yQ/s1600-h/DSC_0036.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLpz88ytn6PF83GsqqwDGSJrY31lKXLVgA8B2vyqrDFVN_0nL-_0-nrjOflMz9NgOMjE67ES3m1I5fb9sa8Ina6zvpQlF8pxhqDf3F4720B0xvK3HBkQaL7Pae0PgzFb9vW_21yQ/s320/DSC_0036.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5079269573123036770" /></a><br /><br />Kenneth, Maggie, Kristina, Laura, Nassem, Rini, Mahanaz, Preeti<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbKrKeT_Sge_0_Tv-SRwVCE64-XGOYnV8L1rlywMD-sJ1OeZCoigc_MB5p77ERakwaMSlAljA-P4BOK4R0cs0G7qUyAm_FnJx3CHlQCc9m0dN-Zaf_7bhADYNbbHy8FbuZren8uQ/s1600-h/DSCF0189.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbKrKeT_Sge_0_Tv-SRwVCE64-XGOYnV8L1rlywMD-sJ1OeZCoigc_MB5p77ERakwaMSlAljA-P4BOK4R0cs0G7qUyAm_FnJx3CHlQCc9m0dN-Zaf_7bhADYNbbHy8FbuZren8uQ/s320/DSCF0189.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5079269577418004082" /></a><br /><br />Lindsey, Candace, Janell, Kellie, Preeti<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDZT_Nw4LT2Kq4byUrgqa-lrYza8YUCS8e_OVilBPBYMO5O-2WbcZA0-xMZBdDYkXpLFl4veIdpaEwf1S16LsSwZJEYCJtDFZiYKprtlNR2ViBXS4lBe5gDOXS_uwTwqoamcXGAw/s1600-h/DSCF0193.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDZT_Nw4LT2Kq4byUrgqa-lrYza8YUCS8e_OVilBPBYMO5O-2WbcZA0-xMZBdDYkXpLFl4veIdpaEwf1S16LsSwZJEYCJtDFZiYKprtlNR2ViBXS4lBe5gDOXS_uwTwqoamcXGAw/s320/DSCF0193.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5079269577418004098" /></a><br /><br />Josh, me, Nassem, Brian, Kristina, Mahanaz, Maggie<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqG6W-HRpgsrwQSmT6PUgy4c2kxbnWZxjauUz1tQXBrdlMY2-FllaKp3TSIo_g5Uziw9wxX9manWNRPZw9WPI2AoneiJAMP-ytza1WuRGSzygIz1ncVdcYyfKjE10imJcNCeIuVg/s1600-h/DSC_0065.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqG6W-HRpgsrwQSmT6PUgy4c2kxbnWZxjauUz1tQXBrdlMY2-FllaKp3TSIo_g5Uziw9wxX9manWNRPZw9WPI2AoneiJAMP-ytza1WuRGSzygIz1ncVdcYyfKjE10imJcNCeIuVg/s320/DSC_0065.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5079269349784737330" /></a><br /><br />everybody getting ready to watch the skits<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwF6wpYuxSq-wyebTAynpDtrqHhUhqG92lR9KZjCPJyDlk346Oym_V5gbgUvCnCndcJZ5dDlY224CXHX9a14H-YpqsqIcSJiS5pV1qLxXgBX36DuFpXcg6rQc_F61604g0Ts1TWQ/s1600-h/DSC_0107.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwF6wpYuxSq-wyebTAynpDtrqHhUhqG92lR9KZjCPJyDlk346Oym_V5gbgUvCnCndcJZ5dDlY224CXHX9a14H-YpqsqIcSJiS5pV1qLxXgBX36DuFpXcg6rQc_F61604g0Ts1TWQ/s320/DSC_0107.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5079269349784737346" /></a><br /><br />last year, the AL team did some hilarious skits, so everyone had high expectations for this year. as you can see from this picture, they did not let us down! <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ6nOZhyf-wElpdiQfrP2UJ9Un-6Zz5PqFPqhYzp-Kp-6FnYBcCPUsc5QeQiQDG9tsZ_33rd1FrITX0v6ya0m3Z4mRBPLnNGlax6c6FjfXwgE9fD3NdjZH8_-G2OMtdYke-MgJjA/s1600-h/DSC_0118.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ6nOZhyf-wElpdiQfrP2UJ9Un-6Zz5PqFPqhYzp-Kp-6FnYBcCPUsc5QeQiQDG9tsZ_33rd1FrITX0v6ya0m3Z4mRBPLnNGlax6c6FjfXwgE9fD3NdjZH8_-G2OMtdYke-MgJjA/s320/DSC_0118.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5079269354079704658" /></a><br /><br />at the end we all took a group pic<br /><br />well, if you made it this far, you now have a taste of what's been going on here these past few months! the teams are gone, but our summer long volunteers, josh, josh, richard and laura, will be here until the middle of july. it's sure to be a busy few weeks, especially since alisha and i are heading to thailand wednesday night for a conference, so it may be a while before i blog again... :)Mandihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08390644389503212402noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15084214.post-67726614094524901542007-05-09T02:51:00.000-05:002008-12-11T00:06:25.328-06:00photo update (for lack of a more exciting title!)it's been quite a while since i've blogged...i should be doing other stuff now, working on the orientation schedule for our first volunteer team--they arrive monday night, our time. but, there's a HUGE wedding going on right outside our house (why anyone would chose to get married in the heat of the day on a wednesday beats me) and it's too noisy to really concentrate. so, i think i'll give a little photo overview of the last few weeks:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiApqxDYhxCTMEhh_GusqwAV9rTiLfl0_o5f0QG3qsIpA-4KXWGxND1Ts4ZJJXdZMV11woKj8w5lkJ1CbP3CEtwDsEPPjUP-9ihWn9EQTHeZyvUOa1orbT6dqO6HDnQryZTcv9VcA/s1600-h/DSC_0246.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiApqxDYhxCTMEhh_GusqwAV9rTiLfl0_o5f0QG3qsIpA-4KXWGxND1Ts4ZJJXdZMV11woKj8w5lkJ1CbP3CEtwDsEPPjUP-9ihWn9EQTHeZyvUOa1orbT6dqO6HDnQryZTcv9VcA/s320/DSC_0246.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5062470468735889778" /></a><br /><br />this first picture is just for fun. instead of wearing helmets, girls here wrap their scarves in this crazy bandit style to keep dust and sun from getting on their skin. so we all have scarves now and decided we needed a goofy picture wearing them.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmGBYbxCwjkP3irnPrEnETQ1M3BA0UlLwyn8YafqBbMaTKtM81gHpJzCRczOhl4DmKPQlUewZngfVJUIStTb4-WsK7uSDRk7DS6NCLnDPdZoTkv2Mj-moAXreGv0b4AUUC8Q8-ZQ/s1600-h/DSCN3680.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmGBYbxCwjkP3irnPrEnETQ1M3BA0UlLwyn8YafqBbMaTKtM81gHpJzCRczOhl4DmKPQlUewZngfVJUIStTb4-WsK7uSDRk7DS6NCLnDPdZoTkv2Mj-moAXreGv0b4AUUC8Q8-ZQ/s320/DSCN3680.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5062476855352259010" /></a><br /><br />this is a shot of a family on their motorcycle--several of them are also wearing their scarves "Pune style"<br /><br />PREETI'S BIRTHDAY<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivJXblxFIuisxqqQgUOf5gBpSIKAADvVZLP67HmkCG8L3EKgLBe3IzUHd50T5Yl3XtHKH9NSuSe99mhwIpQTKL8YPcgmJMNnOZPRy7UTCnpH8pnju7UW_kpt-YKhqx46UrFYjVOg/s1600-h/DSC_0315.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivJXblxFIuisxqqQgUOf5gBpSIKAADvVZLP67HmkCG8L3EKgLBe3IzUHd50T5Yl3XtHKH9NSuSe99mhwIpQTKL8YPcgmJMNnOZPRy7UTCnpH8pnju7UW_kpt-YKhqx46UrFYjVOg/s320/DSC_0315.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5062470468735889794" /></a><br /><br /><br />preeti turned 27 at the end of march, and we had quite a good time. one of the traditions here is to wake people up at midnight on their birthday, so alisha and i burst into preeti and sophy's room at midnight with cake and entertainment. we have this joke about preeti doing a monkey dance (people who own monkeys here will have them dance for you if you pay them), and so alisha dressed up and i made a monkey out of construction paper and we cranked up some hindi music and danced around for preeti. it was pretty much hillarious.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW5q2a2XooxowyeCQbQiwxZrIz3WdkWouslF-eciuZeh2Ue5gBwELKqhaoO8S59v6cK8DsctxCOY937yBUk_pVqg-RubEq90NNF4FMtQmjjAWiRAugx_9eFcBa__Vfs7ddEuONxw/s1600-h/DSC_0333.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW5q2a2XooxowyeCQbQiwxZrIz3WdkWouslF-eciuZeh2Ue5gBwELKqhaoO8S59v6cK8DsctxCOY937yBUk_pVqg-RubEq90NNF4FMtQmjjAWiRAugx_9eFcBa__Vfs7ddEuONxw/s320/DSC_0333.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5062470468735889810" /></a><br /><br />the cake we had was AWESOME! chocolate truffle, from our favorite coffee shop/bakery, the Coffee Jar. and of course, we had to smear some on the birthday girl's face (another tradition).<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwqFKvVbGM_pgieTEhupmjArc_jZRhQMIoXfDw2Dywr-FziiprDoAT6HkjPiK5tbxP2M1cc64Q8yGxMBrA-_0DQyLXWha_ZWV537IsF45xZuzPWNA1di9Cmll7dAs4rr2NFD28Kg/s1600-h/DSC_0341.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwqFKvVbGM_pgieTEhupmjArc_jZRhQMIoXfDw2Dywr-FziiprDoAT6HkjPiK5tbxP2M1cc64Q8yGxMBrA-_0DQyLXWha_ZWV537IsF45xZuzPWNA1di9Cmll7dAs4rr2NFD28Kg/s320/DSC_0341.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5062469927570010434" /></a><br /><br />that evening we had a bunch of people over to celebrate. a lot of people couldn't come because of exams, but it was still a fun evening.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimowA67FoLeAN7cNkQWmAKsPJdyG_EA3J3EsKbrmrYlrkbL3a2BEysATSV5T1wPWwREX07bcV6fPjhj7St9j5a4LSJt0jVZkODdEfjSOkf-CFw7cWhb2C9FitDEzJtYvi7sP04ZA/s1600-h/DSC_0357.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimowA67FoLeAN7cNkQWmAKsPJdyG_EA3J3EsKbrmrYlrkbL3a2BEysATSV5T1wPWwREX07bcV6fPjhj7St9j5a4LSJt0jVZkODdEfjSOkf-CFw7cWhb2C9FitDEzJtYvi7sP04ZA/s320/DSC_0357.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5062469931864977746" /></a><br /><br /><br />after Preeti cut the cake at her party, she went around and fed people, but before she got to everybody, she got attacked with cake again (as you can see, she fought back!)<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYqERwFrEmzLC6bWngoN0BNvJ-3ji4KVXYc5xcCwi-fTf3JucaBzMZ3xKYuwXS0DrWFxL-jUwcU_iOI0pIlMgo8Fq4wGB-SvjQf69-czLvTlGXF1h3H-DE2fYvA8CEDTYZGbj9yA/s1600-h/DSC_0379.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYqERwFrEmzLC6bWngoN0BNvJ-3ji4KVXYc5xcCwi-fTf3JucaBzMZ3xKYuwXS0DrWFxL-jUwcU_iOI0pIlMgo8Fq4wGB-SvjQf69-czLvTlGXF1h3H-DE2fYvA8CEDTYZGbj9yA/s320/DSC_0379.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5062469931864977762" /></a><br /><br />this is a persian tradition, taking pictures with people as they give you your gifts--always makes for fun pics!<br /><br />EASTER<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzcFcH96YabqasjUJDNZ2NlZz-YUVQ9rlI9qsIz6BHV1a_bFP2PrxdFxKYnC7Lfu_fD5o6z1ps2mumaEW1t1IS-tia8cDaKNGPGmx_jIrVObCMoY7GZxnaU_xi-T8Y0rFShyphenhyphenfu4w/s1600-h/DSCN3535.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzcFcH96YabqasjUJDNZ2NlZz-YUVQ9rlI9qsIz6BHV1a_bFP2PrxdFxKYnC7Lfu_fD5o6z1ps2mumaEW1t1IS-tia8cDaKNGPGmx_jIrVObCMoY7GZxnaU_xi-T8Y0rFShyphenhyphenfu4w/s320/DSCN3535.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5062467148726169874" /></a><br /><br />not long after Preeti's birthday, we started celebrating Easter. one of our friends had a Passover seder at her house, which was really cool. on Good Friday, our friday night group got together and acted out the Passion of the Christ, which you see above. it was a very cool evening.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMoewJDx2faqOLvr9Dz0kz0Kt9eCHjOer8BgRndwyXEixVyj2zEQR5VujJZ6EdVrWJzrzXLoKPuynSeX3ZZGSyp3hBcc711tL31-hvRRbSfYlG82p2JE0ZRJ80STIzRvKcb2HU0g/s1600-h/DSCN3546.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMoewJDx2faqOLvr9Dz0kz0Kt9eCHjOer8BgRndwyXEixVyj2zEQR5VujJZ6EdVrWJzrzXLoKPuynSeX3ZZGSyp3hBcc711tL31-hvRRbSfYlG82p2JE0ZRJ80STIzRvKcb2HU0g/s320/DSCN3546.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5062467148726169890" /></a><br /><br />on Easter sunday, we enjoyed church and an awesome lunch at our friends' house. later that evening they hosted an Easter egg hunt for the kids in their society (apartment complex). they also got an huge inflatable slide, which was quite a hit.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ2nHTd6RdezE9KakWhwWA-KXFZPIWrfeq1yESqdOOIyk3niq9juWxDzv0gS8qzChphTImCLcgXBpOIv3UH_-K18tBwn-3-Cro0TnmqIcbW_zT3Ka6fYKAo5M7k0ufBu1uPQJrAg/s1600-h/DSCN3621.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ2nHTd6RdezE9KakWhwWA-KXFZPIWrfeq1yESqdOOIyk3niq9juWxDzv0gS8qzChphTImCLcgXBpOIv3UH_-K18tBwn-3-Cro0TnmqIcbW_zT3Ka6fYKAo5M7k0ufBu1uPQJrAg/s320/DSCN3621.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5062467148726169906" /></a><br /><br />the kids also enjoyed playing some new games, like duck duck goose (above) and red rover.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhapqlPilXYurYofXnqi2gaT99HxPI0y60zS7KWcrWj6DQkghTh19gYBnr8wJUBpaZWKjX_QP8nH-I1uV9NSkARvI6mBipcP8tnlxsTPD4OwqTDBRjHdFaoLXjdYpv0ACeNTcWrnA/s1600-h/DSCN3623.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhapqlPilXYurYofXnqi2gaT99HxPI0y60zS7KWcrWj6DQkghTh19gYBnr8wJUBpaZWKjX_QP8nH-I1uV9NSkARvI6mBipcP8tnlxsTPD4OwqTDBRjHdFaoLXjdYpv0ACeNTcWrnA/s320/DSCN3623.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5062466259667939554" /></a><br /><br />this is just a fun shot of one of my favorite 2 years olds ever, nafisa. i was feeding her snacks and she was just having a blast, looking super cute in her Easter dress.<br /><br />SWIMMING LESSONS<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggoVxng3U4jaEewED4FZB6cuxtDLZ7VVPcnbNGmyXrIx-0335YrBy6xK_P1a_PjUjGfie24aY_Ydr3-atESGuDRHqvsjNcA3_6qWl6pTXqHRzNAsG1iOCqqvOA7KGGXALyAtgsBQ/s1600-h/DSCN3644.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggoVxng3U4jaEewED4FZB6cuxtDLZ7VVPcnbNGmyXrIx-0335YrBy6xK_P1a_PjUjGfie24aY_Ydr3-atESGuDRHqvsjNcA3_6qWl6pTXqHRzNAsG1iOCqqvOA7KGGXALyAtgsBQ/s320/DSCN3644.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5062466263962906866" /></a><br /><br />another highlight of April were swimming lessons, for Preeti and Sophy and Ruth, another friend. they all seemed to have fun and learned a lot, and Alisha and i had a blast the day we went to watch them. their coach (the lady in the black wet suit looking outfit--it's actually a common style of swimsuit) was pretty dramatic and funny. i think she just enjoyed waving her arms around!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwVzkDeXhT-ibilq1UVrsksWgfnOLBXoxvl8c3f9JzKatkpan9SkSISOvPrY98gCGuHSVi2RWYGFTS7bjAfWG3JDhamBC1CtA8Wp_z0limr-Ri0bO76KeAvH-7btq0Ap9uOgDrsA/s1600-h/DSCN3652.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwVzkDeXhT-ibilq1UVrsksWgfnOLBXoxvl8c3f9JzKatkpan9SkSISOvPrY98gCGuHSVi2RWYGFTS7bjAfWG3JDhamBC1CtA8Wp_z0limr-Ri0bO76KeAvH-7btq0Ap9uOgDrsA/s320/DSCN3652.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5062466263962906882" /></a><br /><br />after swimming, i rode the bus home with preeti and sophy, which was quite an adventure. i don't think many white people ride the public buses here because i got quite a lot of stares.<br /><br />BABY RACHEL<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6TADx7Cq3wnVznyWMNMbFRJ79Kx-qg0skd4QMoLhV48G7GQgk5Yco-sHacslmIM7u4RZh1qb9qs-xry1gQhqI1MnNb-3v7tcDNDxFEI44ROPm24oLHct1nlQpJy7P7h-u9BxxcQ/s1600-h/DSCN3656.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6TADx7Cq3wnVznyWMNMbFRJ79Kx-qg0skd4QMoLhV48G7GQgk5Yco-sHacslmIM7u4RZh1qb9qs-xry1gQhqI1MnNb-3v7tcDNDxFEI44ROPm24oLHct1nlQpJy7P7h-u9BxxcQ/s320/DSCN3656.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5062465954725261490" /></a><br /><br />our neighbors' daughter, Faisy, got married last year and now has a precious little girl named rachel. she brought her over to see us one afternoon and we had a great time holding her and playing with her.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0aXcs3jMjtHl5xJ0UKhnxEVY9tDZKJAk0iGEYgLr5mo0yKL9ovtS-YmxNfTRTkjwYeVR-On1B5ow1fqokdj0uuKBnFp56owi3LSosIy3PEE4hxug_2TF7ciVUhs01mugHWuMzUg/s1600-h/DSCN3663.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0aXcs3jMjtHl5xJ0UKhnxEVY9tDZKJAk0iGEYgLr5mo0yKL9ovtS-YmxNfTRTkjwYeVR-On1B5ow1fqokdj0uuKBnFp56owi3LSosIy3PEE4hxug_2TF7ciVUhs01mugHWuMzUg/s320/DSCN3663.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5062465954725261506" /></a><br /><br />we were also invited to Rachel's baptism that sunday, which was quite a nice event. this is a shot of us with the family.<br /><br />MORE BIRTHDAYS!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs-kxgTdAAumO2AMJAfPXvRoPcjxYkMJVBWPsySnR-TsG9tn2kLMza49XzCwQ6utIZJrWJQxIz95bJjHBhNGXK2l7RkWZUvdMNO9wL6zrT2VKiMr1qe55fReiLxAK4T7AGt23exg/s1600-h/DSC_0213.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs-kxgTdAAumO2AMJAfPXvRoPcjxYkMJVBWPsySnR-TsG9tn2kLMza49XzCwQ6utIZJrWJQxIz95bJjHBhNGXK2l7RkWZUvdMNO9wL6zrT2VKiMr1qe55fReiLxAK4T7AGt23exg/s320/DSC_0213.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5062465959020228818" /></a><br /><br />at the end of april, our friend merrilea had her birthday. merrilea is a mom of 4 kids, but this doesn't stop her from being one of the most fun people we know here. her birthday was on a saturday, which was going to be busy for us with discussion groups, etc, so we decided to suprise her at midnight with cake. her husband bill and the kids were all in on it, and it was quite a fun suprise. we ended up staying until almost 2 am playing phase 10 and watching the girls practice their ballet--quite an adventure!<br /><br />DISCUSSION GROUPS<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9rwAy66lZuyeLB4IXkN0YiAxkxFFIDW_GD9Rx49ZwZjGsxsYgflx3Byi6tCVDII1tq94X9egDqzYekXqi9BqqDUsAIMVS_Uih_xnLF47xcpkj6GdG4zIIahHs1cGEb6_6UEX2tg/s1600-h/DSCN3678.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9rwAy66lZuyeLB4IXkN0YiAxkxFFIDW_GD9Rx49ZwZjGsxsYgflx3Byi6tCVDII1tq94X9egDqzYekXqi9BqqDUsAIMVS_Uih_xnLF47xcpkj6GdG4zIIahHs1cGEb6_6UEX2tg/s320/DSCN3678.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5062476851057291698" /></a><br /><br />it's been a crazy month, with many people finishing and starting exams, so our discussion groups have been a little different, but it's still been a lot of fun, and we're excited about the summer and the 20+ students that will be coming from the US.<br /><br />WE WEAR OUR SUNGLASSES AT NIGHT!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYzFQoinm0XFWwo3fM2nFfl-sVolN1UpCDWpA6VNAzYtt-D6ttLOZ6qQBnx3tEN-kIFg5WfFkMvzCOQw08B7IfjZ9o1iRtaWMcYwIQymoY9eHXO4N94vQ_Nw9zFKHBUAiFJdDMJQ/s1600-h/DSCN3685.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYzFQoinm0XFWwo3fM2nFfl-sVolN1UpCDWpA6VNAzYtt-D6ttLOZ6qQBnx3tEN-kIFg5WfFkMvzCOQw08B7IfjZ9o1iRtaWMcYwIQymoY9eHXO4N94vQ_Nw9zFKHBUAiFJdDMJQ/s320/DSCN3685.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5062477615561470418" /></a><br /><br />well, Alisha does, at least for a few days! she had laser eye surgery done last weekend and had to wear her sunglasses 24x7 for a day or so, so everybody decided to put on glasses and take a funny picture with her! she's seeing really well now, and i'm also seriously thinking about having LASIK done...we'll see...<br /><br />RANDOM PICS<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYu2UrKp0OfGYBSKjzU-Odcrx9mN2CS8AG11dxesa_P4S43-UBYAOyZ2r0EAPIRVLVEZW8RSYR-6Ngt5ihKPUi9WxQ3owxDMjGp-E9Brf5Z01XWlkpPhHU3D_b05LL7NmVoalXiQ/s1600-h/DSCN3689.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYu2UrKp0OfGYBSKjzU-Odcrx9mN2CS8AG11dxesa_P4S43-UBYAOyZ2r0EAPIRVLVEZW8RSYR-6Ngt5ihKPUi9WxQ3owxDMjGp-E9Brf5Z01XWlkpPhHU3D_b05LL7NmVoalXiQ/s320/DSCN3689.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5062477619856437730" /></a><br /><br />i said earlier that nafisa was one of my favorite 2 years, and here's the other, sophy! these 2 are quite a pair and all of us LOVE playing with them any chance we get. this is a shot of nafisa combing sohpy's hair--she got a little carried away and almost put sophy in a headlock, but sophy's pretty laid back so she wasn't upset and let her keep on combing!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXofxz52tNUApzfQsybPeLSrkxz83vBIy7OYvmWA8GBZezRDD4fxHvZyRrOISzFHKOvFy7tCVMDtxQptest5i95ArYW651lMhHaZcKck7CEfKC08E4GdOJYOmmCACZJwPy7Oo8nw/s1600-h/DSCN3667.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXofxz52tNUApzfQsybPeLSrkxz83vBIy7OYvmWA8GBZezRDD4fxHvZyRrOISzFHKOvFy7tCVMDtxQptest5i95ArYW651lMhHaZcKck7CEfKC08E4GdOJYOmmCACZJwPy7Oo8nw/s320/DSCN3667.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5062476851057291682" /></a><br /><br />this is me trying to hold them both in my lap and take a picture! didn't work so well, but it was fun.<br /><br />well, i think that's about it. the wedding party has moved on, so i should probably get to work, esp since the volunteers will be here in 5 days! yikes--it's going to be wild and fun, and just plain busy here until the end of july, so it might be a while before i blog again...Mandihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08390644389503212402noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15084214.post-54320129107827026532007-04-03T11:23:00.000-05:002008-12-11T00:06:25.521-06:00600...<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvVJsJU3Ie7XfhMwfFCzwMuh4HNVzwA424Hr1M7Tyuld4lJgM1NyhNrhXhyphenhyphenkyMnUhoLFx2kkX0UUtiEisIfU2CohwQNb4pdhH8kXlzT-HF-NDuocRQGaiyf0PbAKPHaWe99lX2Og/s1600-h/IMG_3689.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvVJsJU3Ie7XfhMwfFCzwMuh4HNVzwA424Hr1M7Tyuld4lJgM1NyhNrhXhyphenhyphenkyMnUhoLFx2kkX0UUtiEisIfU2CohwQNb4pdhH8kXlzT-HF-NDuocRQGaiyf0PbAKPHaWe99lX2Og/s320/IMG_3689.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5049244449186339442" /></a><br />i just thought i'd post this random pic to give you all a laugh. my friend karen took it and sent it to me--there's actually a small city up north called Mandi, but it's pronounced "Mundi." in Hindi, it means "market," and it's also a word in Malyalum (southern language) that means "silly girl," which i think is quite funny and fitting...<br /><br />anyway, so today is day 600. that is, the 600th day since i landed in India. i know, i know, i'm a dork for counting, but, especially when i first got here, counting made it easier to survive. i could say to myself, wow, i've been here 37 days and i haven't broken down or gone crazy yet--i might just survive this after all! so, to be able to say i've been here 600 days, well, wow. <br /><br />i think it's also just another realization for me of how fast time flies. just a few weeks back i got an email about my 10 year high school reunion...hello! it won't technically be 10 years until may 2008, but still...wow...how is that even possible? how did i get from lafayette high school to india??? i definitely never saw that one coming!<br /><br />the funny thing is that so much has happened in the last 9 years that i honestly can't even remember much of high school, or all the people i feel like i should remember. in some ways, it feels like a dream, or a whole other life time. i think i've changed a lot since then, or grown up a lot at least, but it seems weird that something around which my life once revolved could become so vague and distant.<br /><br />and honestly, i kind of fear the same thing could happen with india. i don't know. india is a little more intense than high school, and has been a huge shaping time for me, but really, high school was too, just in different (and not always the best) ways. <br /><br />what's it gonna be like when i look back on india in 10 years? where will i be? what will i be doing? who will i be with? married? with kids? working? i thought for sure by now some of those things would have already happened, so, while i'm hopeful, i guess there's also no guarantee they'll happen in the next 10 years either! i don't know, but i wonder if it'll feel as much like totally different life time, or if that's just more an effect of the transitional state i've been in for the past 9 years...<br /><br />so this is basically all i have to say. i need to post pictures of preeti's birthday bash, but at the moment i'm feeling more sentimental and caught up in deep thoughts, etc...Mandihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08390644389503212402noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15084214.post-50298185831392757722007-03-27T03:39:00.000-05:002008-12-11T00:06:29.317-06:00dance, Michael Jackson, DANCE!!!i know it's been a few weeks since i've blogged and some of you are wondering what we've been up to lately. sometimes, i wonder myself! but fortunately, i have plenty of crazy pictures to jog my memory. <br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl_Hlsq7LvKwIhd_UpoVt8e4QKi7LtZYEL_4PkNPbyC4zntav80RTMPyQdKedeOBgU_qzNaFsNGq5pnVJhqJemlsIsDHXD3ta4_M_ph-Sp4bNfINtKyRX6hGfBawI17ZlN9tCqPg/s1600-h/DSCN3525.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl_Hlsq7LvKwIhd_UpoVt8e4QKi7LtZYEL_4PkNPbyC4zntav80RTMPyQdKedeOBgU_qzNaFsNGq5pnVJhqJemlsIsDHXD3ta4_M_ph-Sp4bNfINtKyRX6hGfBawI17ZlN9tCqPg/s320/DSCN3525.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5046526140487551234" /></a><br /><br />this picture pretty much defies explanation. i think of it as just a glimpse into the insanity that we experience often on a daily basis. one of our iranian friends invited us over this past weekend to eat dinner as a celebration of their new year (it was last tuesday night). so we go, and they feed us and there's music, but no one dancing...yet. at first the music was persian, and then it suddenly switched to Michael Jackson and this crazy character appears and proceeds to do his best imitation of Michael. all i could think was, thank goodness i have my camera, because no one would ever believe me if i didn't have a picture!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSOwf6G1HeJRwkb0n56Dnyi8aZ6UgjEpdeUpbEHA3Z7vrmQ7rWy9kKeGqSrv_kW0C9PCLDlPwv7mIVHLe8vLxN4HY5ynJcLuzc8QB6fE5tqy8mNY3wLM0JE0Y6IKBwVOXee_WSYA/s1600-h/DSC_0017.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSOwf6G1HeJRwkb0n56Dnyi8aZ6UgjEpdeUpbEHA3Z7vrmQ7rWy9kKeGqSrv_kW0C9PCLDlPwv7mIVHLe8vLxN4HY5ynJcLuzc8QB6fE5tqy8mNY3wLM0JE0Y6IKBwVOXee_WSYA/s320/DSC_0017.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5046526140487551250" /></a><br /><br />backing up a little bit...students are now entering exam time. well, some are at least. unlike the US, all colleges here are on different schedules as far as holidays, exams, etc, but basically, from mid February to early May, somebody's taking exams. it's a crazy schedule, so we decided to invite some of our friends over for lunch a few weeks before their exams actually got started. we had mexican food, which was a first for them, and then we played a few games. it started off tame, but by the end of the day we were dancing and playing leap frog and just laughing like crazy. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI8-cfSe2Ay389B6g-_vqJJo7p17M5XPo89se_u3nknRXsxa4Xx5LRAIPhio-bqj3DmQK-D_wxINXmm33UAAw9pjF_L5D3KJIqI9XFLDw4E_fOv_1L41BavATUXy81s2sZq9HKrA/s1600-h/DSC_0064.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI8-cfSe2Ay389B6g-_vqJJo7p17M5XPo89se_u3nknRXsxa4Xx5LRAIPhio-bqj3DmQK-D_wxINXmm33UAAw9pjF_L5D3KJIqI9XFLDw4E_fOv_1L41BavATUXy81s2sZq9HKrA/s320/DSC_0064.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5046526144782518562" /></a><br /><br />at one point, the girls decided we should build a pyramid, with one of them standing on top! it was a wild afternoon, but probably one of the most fun i've had in a while.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0V41MCnURfLtWT_R_1e3_sqo0MkTpn8_HiuHEnbOKj_yj-sn7nu8Tqr-DZiYgDeUcvaty61GG-2k455V1mZ7wOzNAQW5JKjpnIgo3He-Qy-YleGsbl-87bdGi2gV1wlCJ43HL4w/s1600-h/DSCN3503.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0V41MCnURfLtWT_R_1e3_sqo0MkTpn8_HiuHEnbOKj_yj-sn7nu8Tqr-DZiYgDeUcvaty61GG-2k455V1mZ7wOzNAQW5JKjpnIgo3He-Qy-YleGsbl-87bdGi2gV1wlCJ43HL4w/s320/DSCN3503.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5046525264314222802" /></a><br /><br />a few days later, after one of our discussion groups, we went out to eat at a persian restaurant and some dish called "dizzy," though that's probably not how you spell it. it have goat and potato, in some sort of stew, and you're supposed to mash it up with this plunger thing and then eat it. not bad, overall.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixmbwRoyQ5daop1RNsd5sI1Sz25sKK02ORaxcHYAsmd2_BplvWW_x0hwbEXJm0SftC50hDNpr6aGbYfaULe07LeKaHXw5PMZ2qv8cKOY8NU7-6MghWiIS7gvpUWiEgxEC1SzF6tw/s1600-h/DSC_0089.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixmbwRoyQ5daop1RNsd5sI1Sz25sKK02ORaxcHYAsmd2_BplvWW_x0hwbEXJm0SftC50hDNpr6aGbYfaULe07LeKaHXw5PMZ2qv8cKOY8NU7-6MghWiIS7gvpUWiEgxEC1SzF6tw/s320/DSC_0089.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5046525264314222818" /></a><br /><br />we've also has a ton of birthdays these past few weeks. one of the kids we know here turned 12 a few weeks ago and had a big party at the nice swimming pool in town. it was wonderful, perfectly hot and sunny for swimming.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgybU6dQ-q6u1a8Qw2-LWD1A4iYZkwEXVamOhNXJdEy0Nuh5-iEMhNdpcRPq2XJhOjtdUhMvWjTcLchEckJfTnyHwbzv_8IrzcX7IyXO7WWa1YuyapZh77kcAreacbH0uUcpdSUWw/s1600-h/DSCN3520.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgybU6dQ-q6u1a8Qw2-LWD1A4iYZkwEXVamOhNXJdEy0Nuh5-iEMhNdpcRPq2XJhOjtdUhMvWjTcLchEckJfTnyHwbzv_8IrzcX7IyXO7WWa1YuyapZh77kcAreacbH0uUcpdSUWw/s320/DSCN3520.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5046526990891075890" /></a><br /> <br />we also have 2 friends from holland and one of them, suzanne, called us over for her birthday last week. it was fun, and a nice mix of cultures (dutch, american, indian, african, etc). but it also goes to show that wherever you are or wherever you're from, birthdays are still a great reason to get together and have fun.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd_E8A44hL4xwNMPjaI3wYJW_p-0JC5WAQPLkUDRGHpRp6lNlbN5TExH_YnX9DBeH4DUaYCrzvZVqGxr1sapU5IxxoRjssjshVJlXNnGGQ1q__uh-q36twZex_DLmhN-S1Q_wbfg/s1600-h/DSC_0177.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd_E8A44hL4xwNMPjaI3wYJW_p-0JC5WAQPLkUDRGHpRp6lNlbN5TExH_YnX9DBeH4DUaYCrzvZVqGxr1sapU5IxxoRjssjshVJlXNnGGQ1q__uh-q36twZex_DLmhN-S1Q_wbfg/s320/DSC_0177.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5046525268609190130" /></a><br /><br />then last week, we had the much awaited "Princess Party/Luau 2007." in December 2005, we had all the little girls over that we're friends with here and had a Princess Party--lots of dressing up, make up, games, pizza, movies, etc. well, ever since then, all the girls have been asking when the next party was going to be. since our schedule has been a lot more busy this past year, we had a hard time finding a good day to have it, but we finally pulled it off and it was a blast. everyone came dressed up for the beach, we had lots of good smelling flowers and good food, and we danced and played games and watched movies until well past midnight.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAtHI7Dku77AAP-LlnOvhT-A25EYNgF7jB0USinRYsCCcnuQ86ogUbsM_qs8w3LRIrFp2ZbqgQimKcsJ4T8zohSL1kpWbyWfYzCAx7z4qYk-ip1uxxan1MgSwY3aknyS7wqpD8Lg/s1600-h/DSC_0206.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAtHI7Dku77AAP-LlnOvhT-A25EYNgF7jB0USinRYsCCcnuQ86ogUbsM_qs8w3LRIrFp2ZbqgQimKcsJ4T8zohSL1kpWbyWfYzCAx7z4qYk-ip1uxxan1MgSwY3aknyS7wqpD8Lg/s320/DSC_0206.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5046523249974560930" /></a><br /><br />alisha had the brilliant idea of getting a pinata, and it was quite a hit, as you can see here. (and yes, that's a rolling pin she's using to hit it!)<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjt4HUH6tmpAXnJ89bPABf22j95NFPBdgkKAwMwuLzlNZ-p0i9erFQesv5laCpJhjiPs57n207Gl4bQZvVh4zbbuHdUO3vh2vHIpbaqj3MKhV2N6apVBcn2Osm-HTQmsPAop7boA/s1600-h/DSC_0221.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjt4HUH6tmpAXnJ89bPABf22j95NFPBdgkKAwMwuLzlNZ-p0i9erFQesv5laCpJhjiPs57n207Gl4bQZvVh4zbbuHdUO3vh2vHIpbaqj3MKhV2N6apVBcn2Osm-HTQmsPAop7boA/s320/DSC_0221.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5046523254269528242" /></a><br /><br />even the big kids got to take a couple swings at it!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgru19QA2W2xf8m2EBpCL6bJi6DdlDy-4utoVZjqdN4aPDMiaM33EzH__oPrntn8jVljhu3B2Tz2qJlY258s2Lg2f9QOhTx-yfgHlRjcVuWFgHbao5tDKpojShvvJTaigfuE6kQug/s1600-h/DSC_0241.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgru19QA2W2xf8m2EBpCL6bJi6DdlDy-4utoVZjqdN4aPDMiaM33EzH__oPrntn8jVljhu3B2Tz2qJlY258s2Lg2f9QOhTx-yfgHlRjcVuWFgHbao5tDKpojShvvJTaigfuE6kQug/s320/DSC_0241.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5046523254269528258" /></a><br /><br />when it finally broke, everyone made a mad rush for the candy!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPlqA4Rmc0HEyIatT6bQR1PsZvaEyPT93byyPZUpS9NulbaIM5aEdgbCiKlV9xArcT1cts4BRzN4hwqCnXiYaHvRy-h1BytiMMPcxBvHqNEKPH0SjyQ_J4od-vlqfjHLqN6RkpsQ/s1600-h/DSC_0292.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPlqA4Rmc0HEyIatT6bQR1PsZvaEyPT93byyPZUpS9NulbaIM5aEdgbCiKlV9xArcT1cts4BRzN4hwqCnXiYaHvRy-h1BytiMMPcxBvHqNEKPH0SjyQ_J4od-vlqfjHLqN6RkpsQ/s320/DSC_0292.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5046521708081301618" /></a><br /><br />we also had a blast dancing. we had some fabulous hawaiian and steel drum music, as well as fun hits from movies like "High School Musical" and "Cars."<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVdXt33XAKHxlo3TGsf6nAxFtG4DEjYxX2PasGi8dPhR8MG-aSIGAXob1k_lU0xQAlaIRX5hwHXlAgOc9asaiY7opqZuG0TqMzH-7h-xelDX7W89NaMK8b2STEV-VpnLIDavyjCw/s1600-h/DSC_0308.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVdXt33XAKHxlo3TGsf6nAxFtG4DEjYxX2PasGi8dPhR8MG-aSIGAXob1k_lU0xQAlaIRX5hwHXlAgOc9asaiY7opqZuG0TqMzH-7h-xelDX7W89NaMK8b2STEV-VpnLIDavyjCw/s320/DSC_0308.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5046521712376268930" /></a><br /><br />the four of us big kids dressed up for the party<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcQ1nlYuRgbDiDp9EAnZIHGoXTskXhyphenhyphenM_3cSNKXHv_QV3Swan6Lpzq0KUvw8dui8yILcnwCobEG3oscdHIswAD6qpi4DFlNV6l6sQW0-mGNOQ-tSalMn1l9JSDi-QkS1FxNTsp-A/s1600-h/DSC_0312.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcQ1nlYuRgbDiDp9EAnZIHGoXTskXhyphenhyphenM_3cSNKXHv_QV3Swan6Lpzq0KUvw8dui8yILcnwCobEG3oscdHIswAD6qpi4DFlNV6l6sQW0-mGNOQ-tSalMn1l9JSDi-QkS1FxNTsp-A/s320/DSC_0312.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5046521712376268946" /></a><br /><br />finally, around 1 am or so, we got everybody to go to sleep. i hoped they'd crash, but they were up eating candy and chatting at about 6 am! it was quite a wild night, but a total blast! oh, and i almost forgot...one of my favorite moments of the party happened while we were watching Cinderella 3 (don't hate, it's cool). the bad cat, Lucifer, gets stopped by the mice and one of the girls, who's 4, says, "he got told!" (she has 4 older brothers). oh wow, it was priceless!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmZCa6Q0IY_0vYKZLWnhY-87ZV4zg7o-co6zfE6i_0rbpbYcMQd04GjiwnIUXZDlSbiiaU2LgmN2m4c7-68a967goWR-Q9DDXoa2GE52pf-v0Uj3QK0UwzpoKDW8uVFauEtsvL6g/s1600-h/SnapShirts.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmZCa6Q0IY_0vYKZLWnhY-87ZV4zg7o-co6zfE6i_0rbpbYcMQd04GjiwnIUXZDlSbiiaU2LgmN2m4c7-68a967goWR-Q9DDXoa2GE52pf-v0Uj3QK0UwzpoKDW8uVFauEtsvL6g/s320/SnapShirts.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5046533910083389762" /></a><br /><br />this is random, but i saw it on another friend's blog--it analyzes your blog and makes a "word cloud" with the words used the most...fun times. i think that's about all for now, but be on the lookout for more updates soon, because Preeti's birthday is today, so there should be some fun pics from that.Mandihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08390644389503212402noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15084214.post-52971978441095628992007-03-05T11:02:00.000-06:002007-03-05T11:03:50.615-06:00fire video...<object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/L0u8dplPqcY"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/L0u8dplPqcY" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object><br /><br />you may remember my post from a few weeks back about our crazy BBQ adventure...well, this is the video...enjoy!Mandihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08390644389503212402noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15084214.post-56750039041920648072007-03-05T09:03:00.000-06:002008-12-11T00:06:34.768-06:00hmm, i can't really think of a title...the past few weeks have been busy (suprise, suprise!), but also full of (mostly) fun stuff, and, of course, lots of random adventures and even a few lessons along the way...<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3a64-1fUMpepNz6PGF6bIjdDZBlqS8MM2DXA_c7vYC3iVoy1PrLiEztn2EvxnI-1ESNH_v_YiBCm57qvSAH3oLYP-UTowlPvHvDuQOqqRV0WmpH4WgAPn_eaeUVOMbCxyee_7vA/s1600-h/102_4304.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3a64-1fUMpepNz6PGF6bIjdDZBlqS8MM2DXA_c7vYC3iVoy1PrLiEztn2EvxnI-1ESNH_v_YiBCm57qvSAH3oLYP-UTowlPvHvDuQOqqRV0WmpH4WgAPn_eaeUVOMbCxyee_7vA/s320/102_4304.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5038475706113414114" /></a><br /><br />near the beginning of february, we headed off to a nearby town in the hills for a team retreat. it was a lot of fun and the weather was beautiful. we even got to see a bunch of people paragliding over the vallye near the camp where we stayed!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwDRJwsEe62lxuMYxWKZMwxMAqWeTZZlwVgxwdyBrDz99o42c8kfl-WqJum0RSmt6fnQS2Kw0prhhy_9jSfNUsHA-leWSxsQqCD8bgIkX-3p26DjOlsefpLLqU3-y9j_Aq3frhFA/s1600-h/DSCF0385.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwDRJwsEe62lxuMYxWKZMwxMAqWeTZZlwVgxwdyBrDz99o42c8kfl-WqJum0RSmt6fnQS2Kw0prhhy_9jSfNUsHA-leWSxsQqCD8bgIkX-3p26DjOlsefpLLqU3-y9j_Aq3frhFA/s320/DSCF0385.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5038475706113414130" /></a><br /><br />we had a really good group, and we managed to get a lot of work done while having a lot of fun :)<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVIHYa9vFO7RbtDduWoSrhWZrDBSruJYKfhfWbwCDIY-Jl71_p5pxvbfOfFJppVe__YAyEuYW1XznCSPHO9XeY6-CvnWMWE3jnPwhMObcpoizQ8TNrKEQh3IZqe65IzGfKwtMlaw/s1600-h/DSCF0396.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVIHYa9vFO7RbtDduWoSrhWZrDBSruJYKfhfWbwCDIY-Jl71_p5pxvbfOfFJppVe__YAyEuYW1XznCSPHO9XeY6-CvnWMWE3jnPwhMObcpoizQ8TNrKEQh3IZqe65IzGfKwtMlaw/s320/DSCF0396.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5038475706113414146" /></a><br /><br />one of the high lights was having a bonfire saturday night and roasing marshmellows. marshmellows are not really common here, so several people had never tried roasted marshmellows before, but once they did, they were hooked. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-u87PJcyp3LuRC5T0VXGhkPAuEMcBxK-HDT-ilbZKS-Kyiq-2vS4FSC9rFN7qdRJ8ZxrYeLd6yMhG7hBIR3iFV3SnO9i8gq1EtmYgT5Ug63bNfovt74w6QAf0Yp5W2I_0WsmAQg/s1600-h/DSCF0402.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-u87PJcyp3LuRC5T0VXGhkPAuEMcBxK-HDT-ilbZKS-Kyiq-2vS4FSC9rFN7qdRJ8ZxrYeLd6yMhG7hBIR3iFV3SnO9i8gq1EtmYgT5Ug63bNfovt74w6QAf0Yp5W2I_0WsmAQg/s320/DSCF0402.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5038476775560270866" /></a><br /><br />group pic<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUro6wNNbJi002pRNu35joDX0we59ZsOMWtNaDS6gtnZQkV-YhGfG6ELab9RWi_GIygUS2_htQwIpxWxNA9mCyilpii7oFl95d2gmKWcg8pl5uDmw44fMXimsx0r_POFJjRNUzow/s1600-h/DSCN3483.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUro6wNNbJi002pRNu35joDX0we59ZsOMWtNaDS6gtnZQkV-YhGfG6ELab9RWi_GIygUS2_htQwIpxWxNA9mCyilpii7oFl95d2gmKWcg8pl5uDmw44fMXimsx0r_POFJjRNUzow/s320/DSCN3483.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5038460050957620178" /></a><br /><br />Valentine's day was right after the retreat. the 4 of us went to breakfast at our favorite local coffee shop, The Coffee Jar. then several of our guy friends here went all out and got us flowers, chocolate, sparkling grape juice, and took the 4 of us out to dinner! i have to say, it was a lot of fun and i was highly impressed at all their hard work.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu7YuD2hrSHjU2QrWHXgeA8nFkOOMapdkTV0Gnwlbd6qjO-pTC4DLGngMuBfOx-HbdeEZ0t2cVz0PgByjzbWrcscwSeo-X3-N-FkgREENApodeDFMBtX9iCW0JHduibV889B9yKg/s1600-h/coffee+jar.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu7YuD2hrSHjU2QrWHXgeA8nFkOOMapdkTV0Gnwlbd6qjO-pTC4DLGngMuBfOx-HbdeEZ0t2cVz0PgByjzbWrcscwSeo-X3-N-FkgREENApodeDFMBtX9iCW0JHduibV889B9yKg/s320/coffee+jar.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5038476779855238178" /></a><br /><br />later that evening, just before dinner, we headed back to the coffee jar to pose for picture in the paper for an article another friend was writing. that's me all the way on the right.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh2yLXN5ltUiBO-M7L0OC3OMFqePHai-absnv_40V27OSxBwj5NfbiRL2GBwPvB_bkH0jRbasjme_ez5IdfNMNJPBB9sDiGISHllSMQ6LbDPm-s8yBkcLWRKKbKTcEn-cal6Yuog/s1600-h/DSC_0003.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh2yLXN5ltUiBO-M7L0OC3OMFqePHai-absnv_40V27OSxBwj5NfbiRL2GBwPvB_bkH0jRbasjme_ez5IdfNMNJPBB9sDiGISHllSMQ6LbDPm-s8yBkcLWRKKbKTcEn-cal6Yuog/s320/DSC_0003.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5038459784669647794" /></a><br /><br />we've had discussiong groups several times this month, and it's been a mix as far as participation, but really fun overall. exams are starting, though, so it could be an interesting few months...<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOLmkYnDmLB49Ncoe0_jxzKt8a8WRv6WQpMU25jTkGa4rG9_kqviirrcQfx1zrOoBUnD85TAWKjN4c-_BOwJafPUcnCEHpXDZkPVLI5OoZJq_kiUeM4qp1NhhQacm1B0WbrBRbmQ/s1600-h/DSC_0037.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOLmkYnDmLB49Ncoe0_jxzKt8a8WRv6WQpMU25jTkGa4rG9_kqviirrcQfx1zrOoBUnD85TAWKjN4c-_BOwJafPUcnCEHpXDZkPVLI5OoZJq_kiUeM4qp1NhhQacm1B0WbrBRbmQ/s320/DSC_0037.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5038459784669647810" /></a><br /><br />near the end of February, the 4 of us girls headed to delhi for a conference and some meetings. we decided to be adventurous and take the train there, and we were not disappointed! it was quite a trip.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCXaFHS0Pxw4W0MXICZp6xX189WnthjPpXdPTRdhTIag5FRRKrgxwN62jrCl0L3XLOBkUBgmyA4PsnlP0gfg_sJ0wk8o6X0hFgO_pUxrDvEodcGxUi9kpUlOCJB2EQ_yX9r_0eEA/s1600-h/DSC_0029.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCXaFHS0Pxw4W0MXICZp6xX189WnthjPpXdPTRdhTIag5FRRKrgxwN62jrCl0L3XLOBkUBgmyA4PsnlP0gfg_sJ0wk8o6X0hFgO_pUxrDvEodcGxUi9kpUlOCJB2EQ_yX9r_0eEA/s320/DSC_0029.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5038459269273572226" /></a><br /><br />we had a berth to ourselves, which was nice, and we spent most of the 26 hours talking, reading and making up games to play since we forgot to bring cards!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3mXBCguFlPzB-gB8oCpZCMSkwyPqUMLJbmgaBh205vVbmI9vgXEjNQcuuqwTu1fOjZJ1Iy02-l7pxNbInb-MxBOYgN0OYE16DDjXMFbPzshWezfnHdU7kJrdx-XeNm0xkI2m5-w/s1600-h/DSC_0034.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3mXBCguFlPzB-gB8oCpZCMSkwyPqUMLJbmgaBh205vVbmI9vgXEjNQcuuqwTu1fOjZJ1Iy02-l7pxNbInb-MxBOYgN0OYE16DDjXMFbPzshWezfnHdU7kJrdx-XeNm0xkI2m5-w/s320/DSC_0034.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5038459273568539538" /></a><br /><br />there were some down sides to taking the train, though...we were a little too close to the bathroom and every now and then a wave of stinkyness would come through our area. there was also a serious roach problem and we spent a good bit of time smacking the nasty little things.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpkrXY0oagEabk7wSdz-JdG_ZP0Ze3v49QXZ3_FVsrzgMVS2DERG7I1rLFy_daGsCojh9P6JWAmnY4MEDgDwFwjadtVlHnJChEhjnFRJiHPcQdMjzpDIXFTHT6hSRv3gNCwW78AA/s1600-h/DSC_0036.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpkrXY0oagEabk7wSdz-JdG_ZP0Ze3v49QXZ3_FVsrzgMVS2DERG7I1rLFy_daGsCojh9P6JWAmnY4MEDgDwFwjadtVlHnJChEhjnFRJiHPcQdMjzpDIXFTHT6hSRv3gNCwW78AA/s320/DSC_0036.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5038459273568539554" /></a><br /><br />but overall it was fun and we saw some pretty cool sites, such as this stop along the way: raja ki mandi! (i think this mean's "king's market")<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdLmKEkcXSZqSKZXHvWrgamTyIdg0fqwUdkLPFPyUJicPYP5ULRlBX60snUQ_rEIc5geNNzcosyT-ZDqTmGnax30XtEpd5NpuPI0ErX2kUBTZX5c5ns9x9ubpgYIRowB68dZwosw/s1600-h/DSCN3489.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdLmKEkcXSZqSKZXHvWrgamTyIdg0fqwUdkLPFPyUJicPYP5ULRlBX60snUQ_rEIc5geNNzcosyT-ZDqTmGnax30XtEpd5NpuPI0ErX2kUBTZX5c5ns9x9ubpgYIRowB68dZwosw/s320/DSCN3489.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5038458792532202322" /></a><br /><br />we were all really glad to finally arrive in delhi, even with all of it's quirkiness and crazy traffic.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXwLtvH9b6e6vWy4mV-4JT0sxmacl4AUnLbSEuAyR-ZdwOUljOOJ0ZRZODN2qR-x5hOUPm-6PHiqb0p21fBRbsVMSHkc6VZ0k8M9SGc7Elg9il1YI9pKchSE1FIX9MxtPzeDzRFQ/s1600-h/DSC_0078.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXwLtvH9b6e6vWy4mV-4JT0sxmacl4AUnLbSEuAyR-ZdwOUljOOJ0ZRZODN2qR-x5hOUPm-6PHiqb0p21fBRbsVMSHkc6VZ0k8M9SGc7Elg9il1YI9pKchSE1FIX9MxtPzeDzRFQ/s320/DSC_0078.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5038458796827169634" /></a><br /><br />the conference was friday, sat and sunday night, and it was really good. preeti and sophy got to share about what we've been doing in Pune, and we also had a lot of fun hanging out with their families.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg5s7EBF9witQn-f4A5u1CDXc_SdaxTaNXOEr2O5Ss37NEe419LKru7nHJ2jxwuJdZH3OIpZH9CCmSmvXQ8VETPd2iguc_RuKPqPiN5ekYIcfD0ArGKPygpT2m7ftIhiYuB8CTTQ/s1600-h/DSC_0085.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg5s7EBF9witQn-f4A5u1CDXc_SdaxTaNXOEr2O5Ss37NEe419LKru7nHJ2jxwuJdZH3OIpZH9CCmSmvXQ8VETPd2iguc_RuKPqPiN5ekYIcfD0ArGKPygpT2m7ftIhiYuB8CTTQ/s320/DSC_0085.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5038458796827169650" /></a><br /><br />sunday night, after the conference finished, we got together with a bunch of friends that were in town and had a girls night--it was great!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNw6PFYRRyb94_gBJlEvDC-PHRkqKeWlTn0aHq6uVGkNjb1GH_fReEHaDXWsnu6kvD64EzXF0eHX33JfenzMQ4CLlNzpbtc0TYFYmvD0g5u7Q4HE1rH0biOWbgoE923vpGvXpQig/s1600-h/DSCN3494.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNw6PFYRRyb94_gBJlEvDC-PHRkqKeWlTn0aHq6uVGkNjb1GH_fReEHaDXWsnu6kvD64EzXF0eHX33JfenzMQ4CLlNzpbtc0TYFYmvD0g5u7Q4HE1rH0biOWbgoE923vpGvXpQig/s320/DSCN3494.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5038458388805276450" /></a><br /><br />then monday our friend kyle came down to visit. we went out for lunch and on the way back got nailed by a water balloon! the festival of Holi was the following weekend and is celebrated by throwing water and colored powder on people. fortunately, we just got hit by water!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfDWRaHPhdiO0iT6WBNV9o7IQhSL1fidsgRmyE1F8l_FeMPpikJoe4hLiRmsm9d_cBImuhYloAydphmmzjKWaUG-ODtaSnC4P7dJF_bpBpT2TCJaJetdlIQ8f90N626PNlGP-RDg/s1600-h/DSC_0095.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfDWRaHPhdiO0iT6WBNV9o7IQhSL1fidsgRmyE1F8l_FeMPpikJoe4hLiRmsm9d_cBImuhYloAydphmmzjKWaUG-ODtaSnC4P7dJF_bpBpT2TCJaJetdlIQ8f90N626PNlGP-RDg/s320/DSC_0095.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5038458393100243762" /></a><br /><br />that evening, things got a little crazy when we found a mouse in the kitchen of the guest house where we were staying. after quite a bit of craziness, we finally managed to catch it under a trash can.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsq6-kAYveUizDDPZMCe-PUoaF_xLNB0Uq39Ewh5W0EILFO0ztqLI0BGnhtdQ-OMw9yJZAah29cT603PRAqKitpD3R4QwlU-z7GDiAM-GCNaPAyMN0rp0ntv1ffTn14pTz3L66Vw/s1600-h/DSC_0122.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsq6-kAYveUizDDPZMCe-PUoaF_xLNB0Uq39Ewh5W0EILFO0ztqLI0BGnhtdQ-OMw9yJZAah29cT603PRAqKitpD3R4QwlU-z7GDiAM-GCNaPAyMN0rp0ntv1ffTn14pTz3L66Vw/s320/DSC_0122.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5038458393100243778" /></a><br /><br />the guys were going to take him outside and dispose of him, but he managed to escape. however, they did get some bricks to block his way in, so hopefully he won't be back!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZG6fZjnZNnfTPOmOCGdUQPHdKBCSrelLBnVk2c1Np6-LmQqS-Uu0xcSlghsbD5jgER85ZaxCxZA4vnIyCiG6TKRm-U6vBUZSpvbP3iesyx8k1ms4Sf4YoLzxxFNn0ClVAmwR3IQ/s1600-h/DSC_0125.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZG6fZjnZNnfTPOmOCGdUQPHdKBCSrelLBnVk2c1Np6-LmQqS-Uu0xcSlghsbD5jgER85ZaxCxZA4vnIyCiG6TKRm-U6vBUZSpvbP3iesyx8k1ms4Sf4YoLzxxFNn0ClVAmwR3IQ/s320/DSC_0125.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5038457748855149330" /></a><br /><br />overall, it was a fun trip and especially nice to get to hang out with friends we don't see so often (Karen and i with the Wei Wei noodles we found at the market!) <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoqDeBxKMKq9_2bsDzKtAgAfMccRKsuJOalGqpdqqjR62VdQs5c23RGwsbeW37BxrcehLfVXFi5lvBYvH-J_DhjoHfvZv0pVXQHdVPVQqmcfgcXZdZC21suNIZwG06hAPNhu2K9g/s1600-h/DSCN3498.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoqDeBxKMKq9_2bsDzKtAgAfMccRKsuJOalGqpdqqjR62VdQs5c23RGwsbeW37BxrcehLfVXFi5lvBYvH-J_DhjoHfvZv0pVXQHdVPVQqmcfgcXZdZC21suNIZwG06hAPNhu2K9g/s320/DSCN3498.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5038457744560182002" /></a><br /><br />alisha and i came back tuesday, but preeti and sophy stayed an extra week to spend time with their families. we had a lot of stuff to catch up on when we got back, and alisha wasn't feeling so good, so we went to the doctor, which turned into quite an adventure. this is a picture of her doctor, who also happens to be who part of the hospital is named after! he was nice and told her that she'd need to have this procedure done where they put a camera down your throat to look at your stomach. it sounds way crazier than it actually was, though the pics of the inside of her stomach were pretty wild. in the end, he prescribed some medicine and told her to drink carbonated beverages to help untwist her stomach...gotta love medical care overseas!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmalVI9wb4OJ6I2bA6hyrr6HldyNEWN6UnHH0fws4tx6yRZiMDUutsn1-s9zm037bCmrkarMmSih7RaKecpqn2JW3WwzqOJ3EPAmaHAN9HPjy8KB0ErBpJsHc8ij3q1VJ4v3CRAQ/s1600-h/DSCN3499.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmalVI9wb4OJ6I2bA6hyrr6HldyNEWN6UnHH0fws4tx6yRZiMDUutsn1-s9zm037bCmrkarMmSih7RaKecpqn2JW3WwzqOJ3EPAmaHAN9HPjy8KB0ErBpJsHc8ij3q1VJ4v3CRAQ/s320/DSCN3499.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5038476779855238194" /></a><br /><br />even after all the maddness at the hospital that morning, our crazy day was just beginning. we had our dicussion group in the afternoon, and then alisha and i hopped in an auto rickshaw to head downtown. however, on our way, 2 guys pulled up beside us on a motorcycle, reached into the rickshaw and grabbed alisha's purse. it happened so fast we hardly knew what was going on. our driver tried to catch them, but they disappeared. we headed back home, quite shaken, and alisha canceled her credit cards. then our friends went with us to the police station and we spent the next 3 hours trying to explain what happened (which included taking the police to the place where the bag was snatched and doing a lot of translating because they mostly spoke marathi). it was not the most fun way to spend an evening since things here take at least 2 or 3 times as long because of bureacracy and out dated facilities and systems (this is a picture of how files are stored at the station...).<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQIPAlbjucjPORVSI-tXFOCCkxbnNz9URa-0mNKzP5Cg44AxNXAujC0Ec2knBoq1fCInkekPaDfx8Zk-jjwH4-tNNjzFGZ6VWQPP8pYrwdygpR7dR5ch0EXVFUWfmmPTkkuWieUQ/s1600-h/DSC_0136.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQIPAlbjucjPORVSI-tXFOCCkxbnNz9URa-0mNKzP5Cg44AxNXAujC0Ec2knBoq1fCInkekPaDfx8Zk-jjwH4-tNNjzFGZ6VWQPP8pYrwdygpR7dR5ch0EXVFUWfmmPTkkuWieUQ/s320/DSC_0136.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5038457744560182018" /></a><br /><br />but, the next day was holi, the festival of colors, and getting to spend time with friends made things a lot better. actually, it's all made me think a lot, because when the purse was snatched, i felt like more anything else, they stole our sense of security. i just wanted to cry because suddenly everything seemed so scary and crazy and wrong. but the more i thought about it all, the more i realized how blessed i really am because i have so many people here who care about me and my roommates. some of our friends stayed with us at the station and came with us the next day to get the report, and every other person we talked to said that if we needed anything at all, they'd do whatever they could. this really helped me to put things into perspective and realize that while bad things do happen, there's also a lot more good out there to outweigh them, if we'll choose to see things from a bigger perspective than our own.Mandihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08390644389503212402noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15084214.post-33431704215377037642007-02-06T09:40:00.001-06:002007-02-06T09:40:35.508-06:00vacation, etc 2007<div><embed src="http://widget-2e.slide.com/widgets/slideticker.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" quality="high" scale="noscale" salign="l" wmode="transparent" flashvars="cy=bb&il=1&channel=8677422&site=widget-2e.slide.com" width="400" height="300" name="flashticker" align="middle"></embed><div style="width:400px;text-align:left;"><a href="http://www.slide.com/pivot?sk=0&tt=24&cy=bb&ad=1&id=8677422&map=1" target="_blank"><img src="http://widget-2e.slide.com/p1/8677422/bb_t024_v000_a001_f00/images/xslide1.gif" border="0" ismap="ismap" /></a> <a href="http://www.slide.com/pivot?sk=0&tt=24&cy=bb&ad=1&id=8677422&map=2" target="_blank"><img src="http://widget-2e.slide.com/p2/8677422/bb_t024_v000_a001_f00/images/xslide2.gif" border="0" ismap="ismap" /></a></div></div>Mandihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08390644389503212402noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15084214.post-24283413481950071132007-02-06T08:57:00.000-06:002008-12-11T00:06:43.057-06:00a day (or two) in my life...it's been a busy, and really fun, past few weeks since i got back to Pune. i'll try to give you an idea about what all we've been up to:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKGIs_i-Q-1x2Tqv8KOMPHjkKIun-kjMJLNouRYUz287XucpI46xeN7dtHCLMBNbwxPhoxEapCT4mZEpvqMNK_Sq8epIkZ-47Q6cZ02fqwQkPuhGRCiJj2HdGLX52ASH_DT-B_4w/s1600-h/DSC_0229.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKGIs_i-Q-1x2Tqv8KOMPHjkKIun-kjMJLNouRYUz287XucpI46xeN7dtHCLMBNbwxPhoxEapCT4mZEpvqMNK_Sq8epIkZ-47Q6cZ02fqwQkPuhGRCiJj2HdGLX52ASH_DT-B_4w/s320/DSC_0229.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5028441628452151426" /></a><br /><br />the weekend after i got back, just a few days after our big BBQ fiasco, DELIRIOUS? was in concert in Pune. actually, the played in a big field just a few blocks from our house! it was a really fun evening.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqFWeu4Oi3ItyJXdCTWBka7d9vmnvMdRwM7DVWf5xtxHYNWBeobWkV4ofONt25847dgkNCwxJYfq9e6c_k9WSeUWS-B1Q7EvsRBnVN5CwUViuQGlfsokIyj1cgG1y97etk6mN42Q/s1600-h/DSC_0234.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqFWeu4Oi3ItyJXdCTWBka7d9vmnvMdRwM7DVWf5xtxHYNWBeobWkV4ofONt25847dgkNCwxJYfq9e6c_k9WSeUWS-B1Q7EvsRBnVN5CwUViuQGlfsokIyj1cgG1y97etk6mN42Q/s320/DSC_0234.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5028441628452151442" /></a><br /><br />the next day, saturday, we had friends over and after our discussion group we all watched High School Musical. it was great, because even though we're all in our 20's, we just laughed the whole time. after everybody left, Preeti and Sohpy and I ended up having a dance party while we cleaned up. let me tell you, "Life is a Highway" (from the Cars soundtrack) is a GREAT song to sing and dance to!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_d8xIdHfCUxs3g4GaIZuGtj7OCsJnoHzmpCR9AjHu3iRaAAfX66Kof31lum4ojjVkp09-ut847ZtP8_C7wRvm59RDzYhQr5PP0HblhgigLi2ZtaLwkd3H0e0Fcs_TikX2v5tLmQ/s1600-h/DSCN3391.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_d8xIdHfCUxs3g4GaIZuGtj7OCsJnoHzmpCR9AjHu3iRaAAfX66Kof31lum4ojjVkp09-ut847ZtP8_C7wRvm59RDzYhQr5PP0HblhgigLi2ZtaLwkd3H0e0Fcs_TikX2v5tLmQ/s320/DSCN3391.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5028469975236305266" /></a><br /><br />sunday evening, after our discussion group, a couple of us went out to eat at this crazy place called Sheesha. the atmosphere was quite fun (we sat on this little couch thing and the ceiling was open so we could see the stars) and the food was really good. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRy9MZIV7bUOeAR33ZOtKUYGkW6L40eVy9AAB_2v2Pd1okEPVuLbw92Maja2IOZEPT_Z1Mv0FauiF2axeAd977oIHA8enbJEnM6Fi0kdeXe3PkE7BNqrPhYXOQZEmcB2atDmK7Tw/s1600-h/DSCN3393.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRy9MZIV7bUOeAR33ZOtKUYGkW6L40eVy9AAB_2v2Pd1okEPVuLbw92Maja2IOZEPT_Z1Mv0FauiF2axeAd977oIHA8enbJEnM6Fi0kdeXe3PkE7BNqrPhYXOQZEmcB2atDmK7Tw/s320/DSCN3393.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5028469979531272578" /></a><br /><br />on tuesday, we went for coffee with some friends that were in town and saw the most crazy mullet-esque hair style ever! (see the bottom right hand corner)<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1SKgoCn1OffLwkX-aB3pm7oRtUtMdjVKMG4nB7_o3LwTwK8qbHU8Kg7jmJEmhsP2SvXPxdU316e6q4KPtZDvYBceZvtiQ3oVwUkvLFVEQ8Yv_K1sWx2yPF8QUsy0zyT-UDA2kFA/s1600-h/DSCN3395.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1SKgoCn1OffLwkX-aB3pm7oRtUtMdjVKMG4nB7_o3LwTwK8qbHU8Kg7jmJEmhsP2SvXPxdU316e6q4KPtZDvYBceZvtiQ3oVwUkvLFVEQ8Yv_K1sWx2yPF8QUsy0zyT-UDA2kFA/s320/DSCN3395.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5028469979531272594" /></a><br /><br />then on thursday we saw a lady driving a rickshaw!!! (for those of you that don't know, this is very rare here).<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilnYtUos3tUQQdTJHXm7LgK5146j7f55h6jozrJku3VcjHpDRem8ibFU6cbAQnmE8-60NEK1fCoy27DsDqnStZbyvbwHPx43XdrFsjyptAZ8QAYGayp-b2BH5wiByu3Fw4TfWgzQ/s1600-h/DSCF0333.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilnYtUos3tUQQdTJHXm7LgK5146j7f55h6jozrJku3VcjHpDRem8ibFU6cbAQnmE8-60NEK1fCoy27DsDqnStZbyvbwHPx43XdrFsjyptAZ8QAYGayp-b2BH5wiByu3Fw4TfWgzQ/s320/DSCF0333.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5028470486337413538" /></a><br /><br />that evening we went to our friend Ruth's house for her birthday. we had some great food and really good cake.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTAJ6GSVTBs4lEDkjfvnLwIzy4e1iw9b1Z4hL1iWvGySDHd7_JvwesxSzS3xnHnVrXgq2o_XS7mMSikKLKfA3Cov8NbmoymQwZ7bQnpxNXnxSJju0ddhEwrF6f_zBz_gHStgztZA/s1600-h/DSCN3400.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTAJ6GSVTBs4lEDkjfvnLwIzy4e1iw9b1Z4hL1iWvGySDHd7_JvwesxSzS3xnHnVrXgq2o_XS7mMSikKLKfA3Cov8NbmoymQwZ7bQnpxNXnxSJju0ddhEwrF6f_zBz_gHStgztZA/s320/DSCN3400.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5028470963078783442" /></a><br /><br />however, her dogs are kind of crazy and sophy was pretty scared! (ok, so, i was too!)<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwL1TpE7T44tha6U8IK2SgOZN-AU2SjnZiu3TatKD4xoGcXwo6T_nMcDSRidtr0xcVqHfG96WuUAaTS1EkLIVTLchPsq0IpVdknypSQ0xjQUdrw_lKN1wHAoNajzud12KGiHW9jw/s1600-h/DSCF0344.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwL1TpE7T44tha6U8IK2SgOZN-AU2SjnZiu3TatKD4xoGcXwo6T_nMcDSRidtr0xcVqHfG96WuUAaTS1EkLIVTLchPsq0IpVdknypSQ0xjQUdrw_lKN1wHAoNajzud12KGiHW9jw/s320/DSCF0344.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5028470486337413554" /></a><br /><br />then after we left ruth's, we headed out to hear our neighbor's band play. they're called purple patch, and they're pretty decent. we all had a good time hanging out.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKcd5VOJQ1x8XEYft63VXRAYX25WlSA8kSUiAarZFpfxfFnWP8M2bq2xcwJyfzfd_Q7Vlrl2kQIfifwIgnxfGG2ibbyWQ582bS4DL1Yk3hp3BkgxjHN4RtRBB2qWVX_dkrsdk1ng/s1600-h/DSC_0289.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKcd5VOJQ1x8XEYft63VXRAYX25WlSA8kSUiAarZFpfxfFnWP8M2bq2xcwJyfzfd_Q7Vlrl2kQIfifwIgnxfGG2ibbyWQ582bS4DL1Yk3hp3BkgxjHN4RtRBB2qWVX_dkrsdk1ng/s320/DSC_0289.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5028441632747118754" /></a><br /><br />then friday was republic day, kind of like the 4th of July--it's when India's constitution was signed. so, to celebrate, we decided to have another BBQ! the guys were in charge of the meat, so they came over to our house to marinate it, and Kenneth and Ronnie also baked a cake (well, 3 cakes actually!).<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiBxetoBncXCTzvZ50NNHyLbv0nrODpn3hDVj6iX9vju8DzD6EU68AoSbceoYzqHudvdQa-5REGMKl3mmJSkrHGmw6oTCkHvX9u23dJwsuoPQYVLODagZ_l8c-EkUpeiJ-6gxu2Q/s1600-h/DSC_0296.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiBxetoBncXCTzvZ50NNHyLbv0nrODpn3hDVj6iX9vju8DzD6EU68AoSbceoYzqHudvdQa-5REGMKl3mmJSkrHGmw6oTCkHvX9u23dJwsuoPQYVLODagZ_l8c-EkUpeiJ-6gxu2Q/s320/DSC_0296.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5028442075128750274" /></a><br /><br />then we drove across town to Sahil's house for the BBQ...<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxHlP3HCpFEdNS58AAZ8VaBv1qKnc8Dogt9g2hQhg69uDe5uKqc8BdgmTd7hvgjmkdJclSSYHKfMq3nt3e7bBzm_iOrameNMSkJe-CCX1hobfK1v1bgT5pEJfjy8NPzUYq6kogKw/s1600-h/DSC_0290.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxHlP3HCpFEdNS58AAZ8VaBv1qKnc8Dogt9g2hQhg69uDe5uKqc8BdgmTd7hvgjmkdJclSSYHKfMq3nt3e7bBzm_iOrameNMSkJe-CCX1hobfK1v1bgT5pEJfjy8NPzUYq6kogKw/s320/DSC_0290.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5028442070833782962" /></a><br /><br />...and on the way we passed the electric creamatorium! (i've been wanting to get a picture of this forever).<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcBWOBd3HcYbdZWjsLxZj0HReyPBAf5zGKN5g4ywPjsCzvTgTSUgJd-7aoaqKWhyphenhyphenWFjOf4begDafuzwSf773nB7fJHheqWlD24IpCV_dvradCLCuCkCDjLcUersD81C7XPAnLrtg/s1600-h/DSC_0319.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcBWOBd3HcYbdZWjsLxZj0HReyPBAf5zGKN5g4ywPjsCzvTgTSUgJd-7aoaqKWhyphenhyphenWFjOf4begDafuzwSf773nB7fJHheqWlD24IpCV_dvradCLCuCkCDjLcUersD81C7XPAnLrtg/s320/DSC_0319.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5028442075128750290" /></a><br /><br />the guys did a really great job with the BBQ and everybody had a lot of fun.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdhJ4hDI0b5zzoVBXjVOwgWzmUUVR7F_L8Bb_gaoEpSA7PFQ_QTHA2DK00vwNk_czvpvqcOOVtJg9xZAvqJEoX7_HyIsb_ajGL0HLETBL_jvvObiMqo3NyaTiQ2UMmY63rNBstVQ/s1600-h/DSCN3404.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdhJ4hDI0b5zzoVBXjVOwgWzmUUVR7F_L8Bb_gaoEpSA7PFQ_QTHA2DK00vwNk_czvpvqcOOVtJg9xZAvqJEoX7_HyIsb_ajGL0HLETBL_jvvObiMqo3NyaTiQ2UMmY63rNBstVQ/s320/DSCN3404.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5028470967373750754" /></a><br /><br />some time that weekend, we saw tons of sheep, all walking down the road of course. i'm not certain, but i think it was most likely connected to a festival going on the next week.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEife3uHc6csVUVdf4DXmdqYGM2rddddRLcp0SXnr8hX64zNzMCT8Bg-VOvNhK6fJd3i01lNZ2neHld03H67N6VA-3PbZzYWJyM2lEcwpeZvA39ZZE4Nrjl9ZnEw0WFTdmlkOIhoOg/s1600-h/DSC_0377.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEife3uHc6csVUVdf4DXmdqYGM2rddddRLcp0SXnr8hX64zNzMCT8Bg-VOvNhK6fJd3i01lNZ2neHld03H67N6VA-3PbZzYWJyM2lEcwpeZvA39ZZE4Nrjl9ZnEw0WFTdmlkOIhoOg/s320/DSC_0377.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5028444437360763122" /></a><br /><br />that weekend, one of our friend's cousin's got married and invited us to the wedding (this is quite common here, getting invited to people's weddings that you've never met). there was a dance party friday night, which we missed, and then a huge dance performance on saturday, and the actual wedding was sunday. we drove out to what seemed like the middle of no where and found that the wedding was at this AMAZING place, with a HUGE stage set up!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQRt-A5WhILnwufcNxDENnDzqGwG890GLSmzZlrWc8CZ5lUiaO7j8j3pQ6rAp_MNrWJzD8Hp2aFZE49Qb_Th9IdzV-koGc-wmefeDw8OMEwo6I73ikuTd7CcI-zCSjxg8knMHQgw/s1600-h/DSC_0335.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQRt-A5WhILnwufcNxDENnDzqGwG890GLSmzZlrWc8CZ5lUiaO7j8j3pQ6rAp_MNrWJzD8Hp2aFZE49Qb_Th9IdzV-koGc-wmefeDw8OMEwo6I73ikuTd7CcI-zCSjxg8knMHQgw/s320/DSC_0335.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5028444437360763138" /></a><br /><br />there were dozens of dance performances, as the bride and groom watched from the side. then the bride got up and danced! it was wild, and there was even a big TV camera on a crane thing set up to record the whole show. we stayed long enough to watch our friend dance, and then had to head to yet another event...<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNyU4zMgTb-SO7X_FDvKWz6m37vzyE5-WJwgykhCRIFQpHf-zN2RiXpBR0Wo-cxoB5hjSfF-LR_b-GKqLYql4Bjv6EesbnAFwnfWFD_03kTNWP7pFeDf06IC2ELOPQ3_PfAQksZA/s1600-h/DSCF0348.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNyU4zMgTb-SO7X_FDvKWz6m37vzyE5-WJwgykhCRIFQpHf-zN2RiXpBR0Wo-cxoB5hjSfF-LR_b-GKqLYql4Bjv6EesbnAFwnfWFD_03kTNWP7pFeDf06IC2ELOPQ3_PfAQksZA/s320/DSCF0348.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5028470486337413570" /></a><br /><br />...a birthday dance party! our friend had everyone out on her terrace and we danced and had a blast and then had some incredible cake. quite a fun, but crazy evening!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh11dI1WkKVfdAEWl_rvodujLDzejm1gE1VCV8sZ6XQXGJmeY3mJ8TZsHPLIdOGfvs9kIxaGpBZXhqjE2cN-wEgtEl7tXmrCYoNTSZ5ZMe9pUoWAGQdDIkI4SFkOV6ne7o90rOUw/s1600-h/DSC_0405.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh11dI1WkKVfdAEWl_rvodujLDzejm1gE1VCV8sZ6XQXGJmeY3mJ8TZsHPLIdOGfvs9kIxaGpBZXhqjE2cN-wEgtEl7tXmrCYoNTSZ5ZMe9pUoWAGQdDIkI4SFkOV6ne7o90rOUw/s320/DSC_0405.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5028444437360763106" /></a><br /><br />the next night was the actual wedding, so we all got dressed up in our saris. mine is kind of see-through, so i decided to be clever and try wearing my swim suit underneath. it worked kind of well, except that the petti coat kept moving around because the suit was so slippery!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8Uo_jpeMkOnYAzrMkBM2Kxo27B2-jMngBCCRoM5vpy1_NWr0_2JdztR9j01svHn6IRtDZLjlAp3u-JAi5S_xGVNUBaYILxTumfm85dVnf8sujCBvY2cAfsGmUG-GJK-GNybP32Q/s1600-h/DSC_0423.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8Uo_jpeMkOnYAzrMkBM2Kxo27B2-jMngBCCRoM5vpy1_NWr0_2JdztR9j01svHn6IRtDZLjlAp3u-JAi5S_xGVNUBaYILxTumfm85dVnf8sujCBvY2cAfsGmUG-GJK-GNybP32Q/s320/DSC_0423.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5028446842542448914" /></a><br /><br />but it looked pretty good once i had it all tied and pinned properly!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitTMjI48PtIqjGKiO7HcaiSobJec537SoC_d_-AvNrpT7uDaReWTX5uGYQBVosqgzXjZQXz5C8QWsjN4mCaw1ZZkeduGN57ZcA-gxWjqKZMswxwSANu4OHcef13m-BNFJqD_ZYWA/s1600-h/DSC_0434.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitTMjI48PtIqjGKiO7HcaiSobJec537SoC_d_-AvNrpT7uDaReWTX5uGYQBVosqgzXjZQXz5C8QWsjN4mCaw1ZZkeduGN57ZcA-gxWjqKZMswxwSANu4OHcef13m-BNFJqD_ZYWA/s320/DSC_0434.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5028446842542448930" /></a><br /><br />all of us all dressed up and ready to go!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX7zPUj-6O8UWBXw38cHB030cxrVn0yhIOldDIo5qF3iQkQayv_XzTG4wYop69Ii-C3dtAM5DqPgbOYyE-i7VtfNhEuSyeIvfFLEGlqnFDXFxvUUFVR2_xB89f0_yK0gLfW-8NNg/s1600-h/DSC_0462.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX7zPUj-6O8UWBXw38cHB030cxrVn0yhIOldDIo5qF3iQkQayv_XzTG4wYop69Ii-C3dtAM5DqPgbOYyE-i7VtfNhEuSyeIvfFLEGlqnFDXFxvUUFVR2_xB89f0_yK0gLfW-8NNg/s320/DSC_0462.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5028449587026551106" /></a><br /><br />like i said, the place where they had this wedding was HUGE! our friend told us they invited around 5000 people!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMYukvdv1goFpwqwDgH5XlNiJcOW8ov01OZV_c18diwg58mO_tWt_ESUXu0OGRJsJHIT_7YEN186QvunqHpxyItqM9fyqMs_sUbjLDOefrRfFArgEqqF5bv99wymVh9e3_5nAQGg/s1600-h/DSC_0477.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMYukvdv1goFpwqwDgH5XlNiJcOW8ov01OZV_c18diwg58mO_tWt_ESUXu0OGRJsJHIT_7YEN186QvunqHpxyItqM9fyqMs_sUbjLDOefrRfFArgEqqF5bv99wymVh9e3_5nAQGg/s320/DSC_0477.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5028449587026551122" /></a><br /><br />me with preeti and sophy standing inside of the hall<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFrKtgXOpeoYcNNcVqam_-JFvy3dysNNZCTt00VMkEPFdGgHrT_9HcmRBflUgX5ZkoRxFmSDhP6yHW5pgXMLXRF1ywyLkTUXRlpofaFZ4WnebmHzej8gv_SJax9P15K30XIauWGg/s1600-h/DSC_0484.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFrKtgXOpeoYcNNcVqam_-JFvy3dysNNZCTt00VMkEPFdGgHrT_9HcmRBflUgX5ZkoRxFmSDhP6yHW5pgXMLXRF1ywyLkTUXRlpofaFZ4WnebmHzej8gv_SJax9P15K30XIauWGg/s320/DSC_0484.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5028449591321518434" /></a><br /><br />the grounds, with the new stage set up for that night<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3lBnFXWtLJ0WBpEUZo6JGYcCDyoS8VLOu2WZUiLUStGEiOEuTFkRTuyJpMZwb-S0xmRoy7MruQPXmbJ5obrN62dwsZlikXC9NELtz8rTvVsKlauYzLPXOgrqAH9OnhBfbWRHWrQ/s1600-h/DSC_0458.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3lBnFXWtLJ0WBpEUZo6JGYcCDyoS8VLOu2WZUiLUStGEiOEuTFkRTuyJpMZwb-S0xmRoy7MruQPXmbJ5obrN62dwsZlikXC9NELtz8rTvVsKlauYzLPXOgrqAH9OnhBfbWRHWrQ/s320/DSC_0458.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5028446846837416242" /></a><br /><br />the four of us with our friend Deepali and the bride and groom (their clothes were AMAZING and probably cost a fortune!)<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOjy4F6fdmkfEeHsyheBItmuCZrPme_z-Ym0CzE74RR_yvL1mCF6rMdiR1KZD6ldPYxvwpCijB6V0ctZchIA5xc0D2eMpyJGIa6SJVUJDFxWUZU09giRt68zNnk9yy2w1ok8_CYQ/s1600-h/DSCN3405.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOjy4F6fdmkfEeHsyheBItmuCZrPme_z-Ym0CzE74RR_yvL1mCF6rMdiR1KZD6ldPYxvwpCijB6V0ctZchIA5xc0D2eMpyJGIa6SJVUJDFxWUZU09giRt68zNnk9yy2w1ok8_CYQ/s320/DSCN3405.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5028470967373750770" /></a><br /><br />we had a rather low key week after our crazy weekend, which was quite a relief! but this past weekend was almost as crazy as last weekend. we had our discussion group on saturday and 22 people came, the biggest group we've had yet. we had a really good discussion, and then had fun afterwards eating snacks and hanging out. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYUsM_rWpGadtRETrsqm85wqai4zDwcUEPInrPmSq8L9OXdmFPC_dYW1xbF35oWc2N9y3AjZqcaAB5zHfxmti1jHiVr1PzLtlpWPbOqzIwWa2RjJ-BlkIFNGTNNqcVC_d9m1qfTQ/s1600-h/DSCN3429.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYUsM_rWpGadtRETrsqm85wqai4zDwcUEPInrPmSq8L9OXdmFPC_dYW1xbF35oWc2N9y3AjZqcaAB5zHfxmti1jHiVr1PzLtlpWPbOqzIwWa2RjJ-BlkIFNGTNNqcVC_d9m1qfTQ/s320/DSCN3429.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5028471465589957122" /></a><br /><br />we met at Kevin's house and he has an amazingly small dust bin! (trash can)<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqegl4DfdNQ1hJJo9FbeYhyQZ30tmUTE0nxfx8SsU1d3ngXlY_xQeJUVeiPYo-zcQ-zOpQt6JVixYDBm55cjijjfjQidwssY1pEWjihy7MYM2VtbFRZzqO5VufGd-jw0R-jL_TYA/s1600-h/DSCN3442.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqegl4DfdNQ1hJJo9FbeYhyQZ30tmUTE0nxfx8SsU1d3ngXlY_xQeJUVeiPYo-zcQ-zOpQt6JVixYDBm55cjijjfjQidwssY1pEWjihy7MYM2VtbFRZzqO5VufGd-jw0R-jL_TYA/s320/DSCN3442.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5028471469884924434" /></a><br /><br />then sunday night, we headed all the way across town to another friend's birthday dance party. it was quite fun, though it got cut short when the neighbors decided we were too loud and cut the power to our friend's apartment!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVFLrgW-W3UxDQl-NfOxmpM60oXa6vviRw-91ZcKX8rOVVsAPLbHyCNv3Df7JGRxeGxi4tKTgCuh-zmeOD63JLYdGacFddoRmMuwl6Y4m0S9oYW-QX6N-ZthiAO3pXbW4DV8eI6Q/s1600-h/DSCN3459.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVFLrgW-W3UxDQl-NfOxmpM60oXa6vviRw-91ZcKX8rOVVsAPLbHyCNv3Df7JGRxeGxi4tKTgCuh-zmeOD63JLYdGacFddoRmMuwl6Y4m0S9oYW-QX6N-ZthiAO3pXbW4DV8eI6Q/s320/DSCN3459.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5028471469884924450" /></a><br /><br />yesterday morning Alisha and i got up early and headed to our friends' house to watch the superbowl. even though it was a pretty early morning (kick off was about 4:30 AM!), we had a lot of fun and a lot of GOOD food!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVeoDVTgWP1tuB1AQd6eAQAf9dOSB1A3buuLHmMct7ZKJrk24LLluaocEAo3z5jTYcYYHcoPs2Lv3OWSr2yfMZSydwKgdY1tocWUk16UidcDRVHF12ozSAhynYL0P1fGqXt5FvyA/s1600-h/DSCN3461.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVeoDVTgWP1tuB1AQd6eAQAf9dOSB1A3buuLHmMct7ZKJrk24LLluaocEAo3z5jTYcYYHcoPs2Lv3OWSr2yfMZSydwKgdY1tocWUk16UidcDRVHF12ozSAhynYL0P1fGqXt5FvyA/s320/DSCN3461.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5028471787712504370" /></a><br /><br />danielle, me and amberly, up early to watch the colts win!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCYov9Z7f14VTXuWvAC7_AH-tMaYKMGv2TFn7jE6I9lkiPsQvSFdnTuFZkvG2GpuZU5h7hVUBKSiy0RT5ZWn9wZv3W1w3q4svHEgb-oUs88t1ISTuXe5S7UVDNxx3MxQogKGK8ew/s1600-h/DSCN3466.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCYov9Z7f14VTXuWvAC7_AH-tMaYKMGv2TFn7jE6I9lkiPsQvSFdnTuFZkvG2GpuZU5h7hVUBKSiy0RT5ZWn9wZv3W1w3q4svHEgb-oUs88t1ISTuXe5S7UVDNxx3MxQogKGK8ew/s320/DSCN3466.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5028471787712504386" /></a><br /><br />today, preeti and i spent the morning at the BSNL office, our phone/internet provider. the building was huge, and it was literally like we stepped back in time. we've had a problem with our billing, and had to make a few phone calls, trying to get things figured out. we still have to look more into it all, but we did find out that they've been billing us incorrectly for the past year and a half...ah, the wonders of government offices here!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR8MOZPZwrve7u2MWzXh7MydH02fbQY_ShIEE6bmmYXu6oEb1PQ1QT5yvKR7Hy-rA8VuDjgTic2w0fNwsH07yet25gmJ3exTHVNyXtFODhEw6OcZ6zmza-tCXx0ks7PvrcD-ejNA/s1600-h/DSCN3468.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR8MOZPZwrve7u2MWzXh7MydH02fbQY_ShIEE6bmmYXu6oEb1PQ1QT5yvKR7Hy-rA8VuDjgTic2w0fNwsH07yet25gmJ3exTHVNyXtFODhEw6OcZ6zmza-tCXx0ks7PvrcD-ejNA/s320/DSCN3468.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5028471792007471698" /></a><br /><br />then i spent the afternoon hanging out with Maria and shopping for new glasses. i think we found some pretty cool ones, and we also stopped to take a picture with this crazy moving mannequin that's on MG road (she has her hands together and they move up and down).<br /><br />That's about it for now. we're going on a leadership retreat this weekend, so i'm sure i'll have more pictures soon. oh, and below this is a slide show from my trip to malaysia, and my time in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, etc. it was a pretty fabulous trip overall, but i sure am glad to be home!Mandihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08390644389503212402noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15084214.post-10875372566073781652007-01-20T14:07:00.001-06:002007-01-20T15:58:30.779-06:00my hot spicy indian wedding!!!so i'm finally catching up on blogging about my 3 weeks of travel...my first big adventure was heading south to Chennai for my friends' (Cynthia and Sam) wedding at the end of December. i first met cynthia when she was studying in Louisiana over 2 years ago, and we quickly became friends. actually, she really became part of our family, so it was awesome to get to spend time with her and her family in india. i've missed quite a few weddings in the US during my time here, so it was really special to get to be there for their wedding.<br /><br /><div><embed src="http://widget-ee.slide.com/widgets/slideticker.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" quality="high" scale="noscale" salign="l" wmode="transparent" flashvars="cy=bb&il=1&channel=288230376154476270&site=widget-ee.slide.com" width="400" height="325" name="flashticker" align="middle"></embed><div style="width:500px;text-align:left;"><a href="http://www.slide.com/pivot?sk=0&tt=15&cy=bb&ad=1&id=288230376154476270&map=1" target="_blank"><img src="http://widget-ee.slide.com/p1/288230376154476270/bb_t015_v000_a001_f00/images/xslide1.gif" border="0" ismap="ismap" /></a> <a href="http://www.slide.com/pivot?sk=0&tt=15&cy=bb&ad=1&id=288230376154476270&map=2" target="_blank"><img src="http://widget-ee.slide.com/p2/288230376154476270/bb_t015_v000_a001_f00/images/xslide2.gif" border="0" ismap="ismap" /></a></div></div><br /><br />it was definitely a fun couple of days. i really enjoyed seeing the city and spending time with cynthia and her family. the wedding was the 29th and was amazing and HUGE--well over 1000 people! the next day, i got to spend more time with the newlyweds and also attend a birthday party for cynthia's baby cousin, Debbie. then on sunday i went to church, spent some time relaxing, and then we went out to the beach for a little while before i met up with some other friends to head to thailand for our conference. it was a quick trip, but truly one of my favorite experiences so far here in india.Mandihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08390644389503212402noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15084214.post-73320668227423116662007-01-17T14:22:00.000-06:002008-12-11T00:06:45.833-06:00so it's about 2:24 am...why am i still up? and blogging at that? well, some stories are just too funny to wait for the morning. ok, well, you know what i mean...<br /><br />so, tonight we decided to try out our new BBQ pit. ok, so i decided we should try it out. i've been traveling for 3 weeks and i just got home yesterday, so i've been a little hyper. i don't think i've ever been more excited to be back in Pune. i mean, i loved traveling and had a great time seeing friends and whatnot (future blogs to come with more details and pics), but i was just so ready to be back here and see my roommates and friends. last night, after we'd had dinner and shared some of our pictures with each other, Preeti said, wow, it sure has gotten a lot louder in the house since mandi got back...haha...oh, how true! but i love it--i love how excited i am to be here, because that can be more of a challenge than some of you can imagine. those that live here probably have some idea about what i mean.<br /><br />but i digress...the BBQ. so, we had some serious fusion food tonight: American BBQ, Thai satay, and Indian Tandori (all chicken, of course, because, well, this is india). we started cutting and marinating, and then realized we should probably light the pit, and this is where the adventure began.<br /><br />we did have anything fancy like the kingston self starting stuff you can get back in the States--just good old coal. so first we took rubbing alcohol and tried to use that to start the fire, but it did nothing. then we headed down to the petrol pump (that's gas station in american) to get some petrol. i didn't really know how much to put, so i just poured a generous amount of the stuff on the pit from the Coke bottle we'd filled up at the station. <br /><br />i lit a piece of newspaper, tossed it in, and nothing happened. so i reached over, cautiously, moved the paper and BOOM, lots of flames. that was crazy enough, but then the flames jumped down to the petrol that had spilled below the little grill! fortunately, alisha was smart enough to have made a special little sand pit under the grill in case anything spilled out, so we managed to not catch the whole balcony on fire. we all freaked out, but the flames died down quickly, and, not so suprisingly, no one around us seemed to be concerned about the flames, smoke, or 4 girls shouting and shrieking.<br /><br />i didn't get any good pictures of this part of the adventure, but we do have it all on video, so hopefully i'll be able to post some of it on myspace before too long. but for now, here are some pics of the rest of the evening.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMCtSntpf_sC9_6CPsvFb9z48WaQdsgeiqtoQbMgzkIbRujtKSC5vr76zxcKXjAk7G6Wp6V909uar9jfnchnH5nN7XgLar03uC4RfLQACIz0Msbw2E_2eb0GaEoYsRDYEQhNB3ig/s1600-h/DSC_0165.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMCtSntpf_sC9_6CPsvFb9z48WaQdsgeiqtoQbMgzkIbRujtKSC5vr76zxcKXjAk7G6Wp6V909uar9jfnchnH5nN7XgLar03uC4RfLQACIz0Msbw2E_2eb0GaEoYsRDYEQhNB3ig/s320/DSC_0165.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5021111156792290402" /></a><br />here's the flame at a lower level--imagine it about 4 feet higher and engulfing the whole grill and you'll have an idea of what it looked like.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK40jtmw-xB-1k_LZALuZ_Z3k_vsbI9-LL-P4mtULG2iOoZFw5VtQwpfWC1mPY_J7lr3hqZoppnLhPxLm7KfbwRLpFaeoTyyEMoh149X03FcMaVCwigxp2G05a9DB-QuvUWlP56w/s1600-h/DSC_0151.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK40jtmw-xB-1k_LZALuZ_Z3k_vsbI9-LL-P4mtULG2iOoZFw5VtQwpfWC1mPY_J7lr3hqZoppnLhPxLm7KfbwRLpFaeoTyyEMoh149X03FcMaVCwigxp2G05a9DB-QuvUWlP56w/s320/DSC_0151.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5021111161087257714" /></a><br />coke bottle of petrol + me = trouble...<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicgRNESekzgWzd7dWamYRTygCnHfYrG_Y7dJ3etb8hODWY29hdjLkxUP4lHnD4Bi-Ce24TtiNB3yCtjYmZqq4Gvv8zya6EfzI1hqJdPlEOx69dEjr2r8rB_83qwEwlDQM9gvnibg/s1600-h/DSC_0130.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicgRNESekzgWzd7dWamYRTygCnHfYrG_Y7dJ3etb8hODWY29hdjLkxUP4lHnD4Bi-Ce24TtiNB3yCtjYmZqq4Gvv8zya6EfzI1hqJdPlEOx69dEjr2r8rB_83qwEwlDQM9gvnibg/s320/DSC_0130.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5021111938476338306" /></a><br />roomies attempting to fan the flame and get the coal to light...<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-Uo44xPc4SKi1K_EzqckaGiQdB-OgEvEyh-PaoQMroMx5ST36uNkwcPtp1mSkvJPGYz1_m1508NHurjIlvc1kkAry6yUpk8dJoZOntzgFxiHcV2FNH8pXAYY8FzMrIP-hCzN_Pg/s1600-h/DSC_0164.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-Uo44xPc4SKi1K_EzqckaGiQdB-OgEvEyh-PaoQMroMx5ST36uNkwcPtp1mSkvJPGYz1_m1508NHurjIlvc1kkAry6yUpk8dJoZOntzgFxiHcV2FNH8pXAYY8FzMrIP-hCzN_Pg/s320/DSC_0164.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5021111942771305618" /></a><br />...which results in sparks flying everywhere...<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUA-tLt8fab3nUbT28Lj9sBCozWP_91qe5xVcfAtTkA7wu0STUl_IPnVaiOLwhy-wjrXRQEID4kvFxUdKU2n6UAjJd9MH4zjxwa6spFlvHbZjF_0H16SQ5pjDYO3TZ5TRXoMX8uQ/s1600-h/DSC_0181.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUA-tLt8fab3nUbT28Lj9sBCozWP_91qe5xVcfAtTkA7wu0STUl_IPnVaiOLwhy-wjrXRQEID4kvFxUdKU2n6UAjJd9MH4zjxwa6spFlvHbZjF_0H16SQ5pjDYO3TZ5TRXoMX8uQ/s320/DSC_0181.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5021112436692544674" /></a><br />after a LOT of work, we finally get the coal burning and put the meat on the fire (this is the thai satay on skewers and the BBQ chicken)<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNlqs-Df5wivNpEeRqel1jtCV8l5pDYqe3JQdK5sQX0ZL10XtFR7_xmg9AANgpdR6OrVUuzVdYJnZqakvCLKF6VwnMZqT_Ma2PPKaHUwB8SA-Bvzar9up-lr29pOkjQt9Hr9Tn-Q/s1600-h/DSC_0173.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNlqs-Df5wivNpEeRqel1jtCV8l5pDYqe3JQdK5sQX0ZL10XtFR7_xmg9AANgpdR6OrVUuzVdYJnZqakvCLKF6VwnMZqT_Ma2PPKaHUwB8SA-Bvzar9up-lr29pOkjQt9Hr9Tn-Q/s320/DSC_0173.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5021112436692544690" /></a><br />me hard at work, trying not to catch anything else on fire<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT7sm7DSyqrWc-gUBBsDp6V7KB3W3gPbFSQoYCV7ILgIahHAxILtNxnG9ucDlIStC9EjOhgjqp6jY5PbM15MQ7EteGF-OR-KxTWgr8Bma40bH9njtTsm3VjfnzDd2Zd1r6OgX5Mg/s1600-h/DSC_0188.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT7sm7DSyqrWc-gUBBsDp6V7KB3W3gPbFSQoYCV7ILgIahHAxILtNxnG9ucDlIStC9EjOhgjqp6jY5PbM15MQ7EteGF-OR-KxTWgr8Bma40bH9njtTsm3VjfnzDd2Zd1r6OgX5Mg/s320/DSC_0188.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5021113046577900738" /></a><br />the tandori chicken took a while to cook, so we finally decided to just eat outside on the balcony while it finished cooking.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCQ_gdwjon1J9lBFzw95m9dGbsiN7Cc4P_fmZu6coDN-IIN71NALzrKRnfyzfU3EmOIhu8TXM4pAGTCRvFPkbr2eFqMnpiGS4oixDTq8QYZIBjWM33aHOM_-rTLbm1oCEBb9hYGg/s1600-h/DSC_0196.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCQ_gdwjon1J9lBFzw95m9dGbsiN7Cc4P_fmZu6coDN-IIN71NALzrKRnfyzfU3EmOIhu8TXM4pAGTCRvFPkbr2eFqMnpiGS4oixDTq8QYZIBjWM33aHOM_-rTLbm1oCEBb9hYGg/s320/DSC_0196.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5021113050872868050" /></a><br />after dinner, we tossed some packets of smores on the grill!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdUm6pK0WRKza-lC_nKkxY29DkxScqiQlkuU5kwK7FUP9F8tgf8Ur_5A1h9lCS1Ew1KItGt3sa-J0iJ57RkyTAcCnysDv1MKy-A0IKqrZj0kXULak4TJ8CGNzfo214HIPb0al7_g/s1600-h/DSC_0202.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdUm6pK0WRKza-lC_nKkxY29DkxScqiQlkuU5kwK7FUP9F8tgf8Ur_5A1h9lCS1Ew1KItGt3sa-J0iJ57RkyTAcCnysDv1MKy-A0IKqrZj0kXULak4TJ8CGNzfo214HIPb0al7_g/s320/DSC_0202.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5021113643578354930" /></a><br />american girls feasting on every kid's favorite, smores! still taste good even though they're made with parle g's instead of graham crackers<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV41VTXCLKikmCaqqFnLpZl-VbCkvYO3Vjvl-mfROq-4mL968Q4KA8aRbQcHtxrlWEs-67YLzuso4E0xLXE5BsG9ou2DdF-xTyugtdz7C8mAO6_jTbcD37VGRdqXRZwhtjNbWGyw/s1600-h/DSC_0200.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV41VTXCLKikmCaqqFnLpZl-VbCkvYO3Vjvl-mfROq-4mL968Q4KA8aRbQcHtxrlWEs-67YLzuso4E0xLXE5BsG9ou2DdF-xTyugtdz7C8mAO6_jTbcD37VGRdqXRZwhtjNbWGyw/s320/DSC_0200.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5021113643578354914" /></a><br />we finished off the evening by roasting marshmellows and just cutting up and laughing. we had good music playing the background, and it honestly was this totally surreal moment, like on a tv show or movie, when the characters sit down for a meal and all you here is the music and see everyone laughing and loving being together. it was truly amazing.<br /><br />it was a good evening, and just what i needed. i'm excited about being back, but also overwhelmed at the thought of all the next 6 months have in store. really, all 2007 has in store. 2006 was an incredible year--lots of ups, and lots of downs, but, in some ways, i think i grew more last year than in the previous 25 years combined. i truly have fallen in love with india, this mad, mad place, in the past year. and i have high hopes for 2007...good things are going happen, and, well, i'm ready! i can't really describe it all, but i just feel really good about being exactly where i am, and i have such joy in that, and also such joy in looking towards the next few months. 2007...i think this is going to be my best year yet, and i love it.Mandihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08390644389503212402noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15084214.post-52979491736007074472006-12-26T07:58:00.000-06:002008-12-11T00:06:51.484-06:00Happy Holidays!!!ah, Christmas...what an adventure! the past week has probably been the busiest time i've spent in india so far, but also the best! i'll let the pictures give you somewhat of an idea about all our adventures this holiday season:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt9Sd6z1dTbQzTulIJ3UwkOZaV8fcoYaBKUfJg5SVFLYfE9x4VY1x67iAzeXR9OqAUWXm7tqVGaVPO3ADNEIPdDYPECi8EYYerRKatQ6r6jSo1SK7x9U4X8XZssxGL-Kzv8eIBgg/s1600-h/DSC_0005.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt9Sd6z1dTbQzTulIJ3UwkOZaV8fcoYaBKUfJg5SVFLYfE9x4VY1x67iAzeXR9OqAUWXm7tqVGaVPO3ADNEIPdDYPECi8EYYerRKatQ6r6jSo1SK7x9U4X8XZssxGL-Kzv8eIBgg/s320/DSC_0005.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5012835010819104898" /></a><br />right after camp, we celebrated sophy's birthday, which was a lot of fun.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg68Bv2Hnk_SjMeXqvsZarXZy62OtdqAhY_sDlk7vKn9FpfbD7Di1dMOq-DCK7CxTOsY4sxF7N47HMQz6fkeamq4V9IkLMl5qsd736CQsz-c79BqS3L2ayGiow9ziDcLfbTB2LlJQ/s1600-h/DSC_0029.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg68Bv2Hnk_SjMeXqvsZarXZy62OtdqAhY_sDlk7vKn9FpfbD7Di1dMOq-DCK7CxTOsY4sxF7N47HMQz6fkeamq4V9IkLMl5qsd736CQsz-c79BqS3L2ayGiow9ziDcLfbTB2LlJQ/s320/DSC_0029.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5012835015114072210" /></a><br />then the next day i had lunch with a friend, did some shopping, and that evening we had a big gift exchange/dessert party with the families we're friends with here. our awesome christmas volunteer, Jeff, also arrived that night just in time for the party. this is me and some of my favorite girls at the gift exchange.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguX87r1dcK9Z2nJ7VjX8re-GDlWMxd9McBwVkLgW7qI5CUtvoCoLJSAtx4tKhxDR8Z8c9O0Q0sQsOp18WTxSAbiqOKEg8b5cdKCtIXj0tR2tYwm1dmYSlam_kCWWcdKC1LgVibXA/s1600-h/DSC_0066.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguX87r1dcK9Z2nJ7VjX8re-GDlWMxd9McBwVkLgW7qI5CUtvoCoLJSAtx4tKhxDR8Z8c9O0Q0sQsOp18WTxSAbiqOKEg8b5cdKCtIXj0tR2tYwm1dmYSlam_kCWWcdKC1LgVibXA/s320/DSC_0066.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5012843424660038034" /></a><br />one of my favorite presents this year was the abby actually let me hold her! she usually cries whenever she sees me!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6EVao3GFiiEjQRluwRdBrrdd9KlV_07GKvOf_E56ILg5K_cUZeneWS_BgH-DEAev_JRHKniKyuLgsUUlD3BsQ8IhY8kDPhzYOx5fiFkG5Va5ICp3oHezgp8zxC4eMJGPYr92mHw/s1600-h/DSC_0052.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6EVao3GFiiEjQRluwRdBrrdd9KlV_07GKvOf_E56ILg5K_cUZeneWS_BgH-DEAev_JRHKniKyuLgsUUlD3BsQ8IhY8kDPhzYOx5fiFkG5Va5ICp3oHezgp8zxC4eMJGPYr92mHw/s320/DSC_0052.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5012843141192196482" /></a><br />some of the kids acted out the Christmas story--soooo cute, esp the little shepherd on the left!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibgxFuHoom25TwKaraHfw9lNuiTJQcWsFYZUv7YxOarZYhGjGJjwj2YWGZW6f_Rl4514pzyHT7mWydlielHWsD-h559MqQJpUk8hTJtSV7xF_Kokb2hsdE-I4nU7ATpBsBWT67HQ/s1600-h/DSC_0040.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibgxFuHoom25TwKaraHfw9lNuiTJQcWsFYZUv7YxOarZYhGjGJjwj2YWGZW6f_Rl4514pzyHT7mWydlielHWsD-h559MqQJpUk8hTJtSV7xF_Kokb2hsdE-I4nU7ATpBsBWT67HQ/s320/DSC_0040.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5012842986573373794" /></a><br />we even had some carolers stop by, which was a special treat.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEdpYur2AqyndqewzBmpGxyo2816Z9ebHISyQXoiXg-EiEJoc6O9RDDdSPbmh90RbdkIxYZcM-RdKpU2CYV8AaOhMf3hThLNG9Mvrxr-ZsXlnG7sti8SFMbKmUkvCmDHlYUSPIzQ/s1600-h/DSC_0044.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEdpYur2AqyndqewzBmpGxyo2816Z9ebHISyQXoiXg-EiEJoc6O9RDDdSPbmh90RbdkIxYZcM-RdKpU2CYV8AaOhMf3hThLNG9Mvrxr-ZsXlnG7sti8SFMbKmUkvCmDHlYUSPIzQ/s320/DSC_0044.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5012842986573373810" /></a><br />and of course, the sweets were one one of the highlights of the evening.<br /><br />we spent the next few days helping Jeff get oriented to life in our city. i also got quite sick for about 2 days, which was not fun. then friday night we spent the evening caroling to some of our neighbors and friends houses. saturday we did last minute shopping (and let me tell you the malls here are as bad as the US this time of year!!!). then we met for our weekly discussion group that afternoon and went out for a friend's birthday that evening. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKZaPZ42u5pLZWzQ500AKCdOOe1yL9boIzEYB6tVqIM-ROirEnKaESb_hOAO5Tv4crAGKBht1l9_L7s9y-ErtOh0KHnlIBCHvMVGdU5Q_Nqe4oVYTNQI2OkUmrI9RRY60G9IqW-g/s1600-h/DSC_0160.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKZaPZ42u5pLZWzQ500AKCdOOe1yL9boIzEYB6tVqIM-ROirEnKaESb_hOAO5Tv4crAGKBht1l9_L7s9y-ErtOh0KHnlIBCHvMVGdU5Q_Nqe4oVYTNQI2OkUmrI9RRY60G9IqW-g/s320/DSC_0160.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5012841547759329602" /></a><br />then came christmas eve--we had some of our close friends and team members over for dinner and another goofy gift exchange.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtkGpyGoz2dHkYUf8JV-HiqUbdWJJ_F-FejzGbzpyeBIDAh3zCHercg4euSDH8UBACPV1AMZNIrL3ES4Iz9FvK3DK1tDhHc1J6YsIkMS1VyTYxX3Mi1YF0kLYoYftc-EoVROBIeQ/s1600-h/DSC_0166.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtkGpyGoz2dHkYUf8JV-HiqUbdWJJ_F-FejzGbzpyeBIDAh3zCHercg4euSDH8UBACPV1AMZNIrL3ES4Iz9FvK3DK1tDhHc1J6YsIkMS1VyTYxX3Mi1YF0kLYoYftc-EoVROBIeQ/s320/DSC_0166.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5012841552054296914" /></a><br />the food was AWESOME, as well as being a fun mix of indian (mutton biryani and rajma) and american (sweet potato casserole, rolls, green bean casserole, etc).<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6-g4rC-iAAY4SB9yXIs9VuRpNmyOuZLq8lU2fPHMB9xO8e77EthpHeNGmOjcjPqaMjgWxIPw5_Af1x2T-QMQ6RFhcVVxH11nXNIXbpfUhfEfrbUsQUN4uRYJvu3JWpGQ_YWoNvg/s1600-h/DSC_0167.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6-g4rC-iAAY4SB9yXIs9VuRpNmyOuZLq8lU2fPHMB9xO8e77EthpHeNGmOjcjPqaMjgWxIPw5_Af1x2T-QMQ6RFhcVVxH11nXNIXbpfUhfEfrbUsQUN4uRYJvu3JWpGQ_YWoNvg/s320/DSC_0167.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5012840942168940834" /></a><br />here's everybody just hanging out<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy7OSrkDEdX5fX5OBT3cj3xtQkLKLun16oxTIVIZ5B4LhsmRnKnpoES0rPVJvoLr_oJIAvrZ00d6GmhRrV_ZN6ta3MRsqc9EZleutml9NZPP9CujE6Qbxt2p6p6iwYSMea3YHdJw/s1600-h/DSC_0174.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy7OSrkDEdX5fX5OBT3cj3xtQkLKLun16oxTIVIZ5B4LhsmRnKnpoES0rPVJvoLr_oJIAvrZ00d6GmhRrV_ZN6ta3MRsqc9EZleutml9NZPP9CujE6Qbxt2p6p6iwYSMea3YHdJw/s320/DSC_0174.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5012840942168940850" /></a><br />Alisha was very excited about her gag gift, esp the colors! go gators! haha<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHhirluTCTjR0mI1wLyV23S8rpQPUsKV7H4l7boveEqfHlyqyuxkyk_RyrwU9Qjl4FjQuWIqArFAEYKqBCJw8PruGKy6xHnFvIBvmMsidgaHoTCfiFhYy2GrMspE_iP_kfeTFy0g/s1600-h/DSC_0192.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHhirluTCTjR0mI1wLyV23S8rpQPUsKV7H4l7boveEqfHlyqyuxkyk_RyrwU9Qjl4FjQuWIqArFAEYKqBCJw8PruGKy6xHnFvIBvmMsidgaHoTCfiFhYy2GrMspE_iP_kfeTFy0g/s320/DSC_0192.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5012840585686655234" /></a><br />sophy, me and ruth<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1HyGn2AKsLdWpDH1ozBA4MAbwfGJunna1utKbA_4Jj4pU6tqEjHn_EEfbbDN8xDp7Gu0vFx2aLtaRHnvsiJvhyphenhyphenJeM42Yo3pxOji6EZsore51bvYOQkG4DFJF2Cfqx8ogHfaAhrQ/s1600-h/DSC_0203.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1HyGn2AKsLdWpDH1ozBA4MAbwfGJunna1utKbA_4Jj4pU6tqEjHn_EEfbbDN8xDp7Gu0vFx2aLtaRHnvsiJvhyphenhyphenJeM42Yo3pxOji6EZsore51bvYOQkG4DFJF2Cfqx8ogHfaAhrQ/s320/DSC_0203.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5012840589981622546" /></a><br />then the next morning we all got up to open presents and stockings!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9X6dTCA3AB6PKdeTAHUGsLrFWILnoXADBuGACeQX-9HX82MRlZfUvdQOIONDWTWIIIJPRD4TrsqPfjh9CpItF7cUxiVrUuI7mz2BS5GiFlBnEM1RdeRYhIzzBg_4yOZ_LpXXABQ/s1600-h/DSC_0240.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9X6dTCA3AB6PKdeTAHUGsLrFWILnoXADBuGACeQX-9HX82MRlZfUvdQOIONDWTWIIIJPRD4TrsqPfjh9CpItF7cUxiVrUuI7mz2BS5GiFlBnEM1RdeRYhIzzBg_4yOZ_LpXXABQ/s320/DSC_0240.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5012836200525045986" /></a><br />i was very excited about all my gifts, esp this horse statue from one of my friends!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdQzd4Lcon1YEiimaR2RtfMqvF1q2bYmxpUL9DbAZ4X5fhQ027Tc79K4RjRlo0gg1uMCfHE5goL6h4jGjsAnkKbb7B6mwf13ijcS3rggFoRx3EU6ALF_ZHAjI2weEqcW5Krrq4dQ/s1600-h/DSC_0246.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdQzd4Lcon1YEiimaR2RtfMqvF1q2bYmxpUL9DbAZ4X5fhQ027Tc79K4RjRlo0gg1uMCfHE5goL6h4jGjsAnkKbb7B6mwf13ijcS3rggFoRx3EU6ALF_ZHAjI2weEqcW5Krrq4dQ/s320/DSC_0246.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5012836200525046002" /></a><br />preeti was also very excited about one of her gifts, a cool fish statue!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijmZXgL8-75miqBWhRHtpAX39sFZHLBDdf9bdCgvPw4vVU-OZqRUdmfx1jJs4m4vqlQIT5MnX0wNdskgOowNbUVeDYOa4ax0YXL7cyerhZhDQ0051k9JOMTLBMGaRucskbQdL0JQ/s1600-h/DSC_0252.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijmZXgL8-75miqBWhRHtpAX39sFZHLBDdf9bdCgvPw4vVU-OZqRUdmfx1jJs4m4vqlQIT5MnX0wNdskgOowNbUVeDYOa4ax0YXL7cyerhZhDQ0051k9JOMTLBMGaRucskbQdL0JQ/s320/DSC_0252.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5012835886992433362" /></a><br />sophy was also quite excited about the tea strainer she got in her stocking<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjSH6sGPwdhzHnYuyG6411hnKFSe8_u9hEOPHqTBO2IAVoyD_Itcpbn3W4SaQO0sMWqi-EQSOzLJHjv7ZthDidMaHg8_m6w8v_eg7jGWLZxGU0cS4_EZbti-vVorWfQ3gLXWEYLQ/s1600-h/DSC_0255.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjSH6sGPwdhzHnYuyG6411hnKFSe8_u9hEOPHqTBO2IAVoyD_Itcpbn3W4SaQO0sMWqi-EQSOzLJHjv7ZthDidMaHg8_m6w8v_eg7jGWLZxGU0cS4_EZbti-vVorWfQ3gLXWEYLQ/s320/DSC_0255.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5012835886992433346" /></a><br />then that afternoon, we invited all of our friends over for a christmas party! we had lots of sweets, fun, games, and talked about the real story of Chrismtas.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGpBdv1W7YTI2feAV6TGBiW_ezdbq20xbdp72Ca5vA9F0I7BxG4R1mE1PP9cJ_DRhP-vGAEhyphenhyphenGNZUgaH6LeVFLo65TINrNbM_lkeIoWY0IRaHnhph-1mawlAIG4753CBS3iQYBJw/s1600-h/DSC_0259.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGpBdv1W7YTI2feAV6TGBiW_ezdbq20xbdp72Ca5vA9F0I7BxG4R1mE1PP9cJ_DRhP-vGAEhyphenhyphenGNZUgaH6LeVFLo65TINrNbM_lkeIoWY0IRaHnhph-1mawlAIG4753CBS3iQYBJw/s320/DSC_0259.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5012835380186292402" /></a><br />jenga was quite a popular game at the party<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvKuz0P7wFiaHFboHcLOL-vqjj-myiZRi8lIPbdTXi5kxX007H1gEYgn0iqf0ae7Z3azOYA78wh8cB3dTL3ufGTUtRZ-nj3z9h2pILJFh1w9ewB1QmOZD6G5xEEZJM5o3V6yQKOQ/s1600-h/DSC_0262.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvKuz0P7wFiaHFboHcLOL-vqjj-myiZRi8lIPbdTXi5kxX007H1gEYgn0iqf0ae7Z3azOYA78wh8cB3dTL3ufGTUtRZ-nj3z9h2pILJFh1w9ewB1QmOZD6G5xEEZJM5o3V6yQKOQ/s320/DSC_0262.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5012835380186292386" /></a><br />as was uno, or oh-no as one of our friends calls it!<br /><br />overall, the past week was busy, but a lot of fun. tonight i'm packing for a few weeks of travel--tomorrow i leave bright and early for my friends' wedding in south india, then i head to thailand for a conference, malaysia for vacation, and then to Delhi and finally back to Pune. whew! happy new year!Mandihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08390644389503212402noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15084214.post-37084862650918188562006-12-19T07:15:00.000-06:002008-12-11T00:07:04.488-06:00Christmas Camp 2006monday night, as i nearly collapsed from exhaustion, all i could think was, wow, it's over. camp finally happened, and it's already over! we'd talked and dreamed and planned for this camp for months, and once it finally came, everything happened so much faster than i could have imagined. <br /><br />the idea came from wanting to do something really fun with students, to get away for the weekend and really build relationships with them. we decided on christmas because, well, it's a good excuse to have a camp and share the true story of christmas, as well as some fun traditions. but for a while, it seemed like camp might just be a dream. a lot of plans changed with all the craziness and transition of the past few months, but we worked hard, and by God's grace, all the details fell into place (some at the VERY last minute!). it was a truly amazing weekend, and well, i'll let the pictures tell you the rest...<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBgh6vAvE99x_Ac5ywKJ6FCpquGMJbI3ERUvNRRMdUN24kuF5OquN8AUkzA4-GBA7NAIYt0wFxM9vun9kazO7w120j5KS3sMbo1B9BJAxHK9QpgqxNor36Wj5LR8sIiS927dIBMw/s1600-h/DSC_0280.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBgh6vAvE99x_Ac5ywKJ6FCpquGMJbI3ERUvNRRMdUN24kuF5OquN8AUkzA4-GBA7NAIYt0wFxM9vun9kazO7w120j5KS3sMbo1B9BJAxHK9QpgqxNor36Wj5LR8sIiS927dIBMw/s320/DSC_0280.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5010227372964945554" /></a><br />no, we don't travel light...we had a TON of stuff that we'd worked on all week, from decorations to gifts and cookies and so on<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNDziCE_2T5EDKolcg2pIMXNycoTeb0vQVN9zYwWm_s18tWUNhRvjgnb8r-BpVyq34UXQWhCd5TaDNGtTg8hlo4jF_ybwcb-V__HcVEhISsXXtdykzR1YMn4acp49EysSRBH3xsA/s1600-h/DSC_0282.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNDziCE_2T5EDKolcg2pIMXNycoTeb0vQVN9zYwWm_s18tWUNhRvjgnb8r-BpVyq34UXQWhCd5TaDNGtTg8hlo4jF_ybwcb-V__HcVEhISsXXtdykzR1YMn4acp49EysSRBH3xsA/s320/DSC_0282.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5010228725879643810" /></a><br />packed in the bus and finally on the road<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhblg0A429ZD9lS-nwyWiMbsh-aSLW6RWoNtJWHPaXAhPVa8sHuGrspvyjk1aY9qM4ofk6PRGHpM2FQlv7GG94ydjtrnzjIu1fajKpn43PEzx5szBhTq3pnE-RtNOlmNjAtlUqbiA/s1600-h/DSC_0285.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhblg0A429ZD9lS-nwyWiMbsh-aSLW6RWoNtJWHPaXAhPVa8sHuGrspvyjk1aY9qM4ofk6PRGHpM2FQlv7GG94ydjtrnzjIu1fajKpn43PEzx5szBhTq3pnE-RtNOlmNjAtlUqbiA/s320/DSC_0285.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5010292033697587314" /></a><br />playing some group games after arriving at camp<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0rGvp6QFGCjP5XG8_xzePkQdXOVATlEcSlgGOJ_jmHyWLeM1OzFaxoonVTWL8joJL8CDXcB2J6h3EoUmSVdyHMNqYI5aiPyRLbmmsn_H9TIN7HUnWiQ4OtAyxxYbimtCdqDC45A/s1600-h/DSC_0289.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0rGvp6QFGCjP5XG8_xzePkQdXOVATlEcSlgGOJ_jmHyWLeM1OzFaxoonVTWL8joJL8CDXcB2J6h3EoUmSVdyHMNqYI5aiPyRLbmmsn_H9TIN7HUnWiQ4OtAyxxYbimtCdqDC45A/s320/DSC_0289.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5010291660035432546" /></a><br />Deepali, Preeti, Sophy, Ruth and Alisha putting up decorations in the meeting hall<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQtIPXY_DoOzPktthMjojZUWf9303xR12F_eeL1SjQvjULH3-rl5Y783stJCfWmZEjP7NKKxhbLoceR03qcuPFgyVsIjM6QnRbYyYXNNIHNIa24en-_i7GSkCun4kB23IEzVP_YQ/s1600-h/DSC_0298.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQtIPXY_DoOzPktthMjojZUWf9303xR12F_eeL1SjQvjULH3-rl5Y783stJCfWmZEjP7NKKxhbLoceR03qcuPFgyVsIjM6QnRbYyYXNNIHNIa24en-_i7GSkCun4kB23IEzVP_YQ/s320/DSC_0298.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5010291445287067730" /></a><br />the guys were totally into the basketball court during free time...<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhxTjBu_Qg2iXpwKPyZaE6T82BoK8GLMeuDRtKSVlN2XxA1d-uV72omW0YeyVKXr4KxjN8ruj0OST6hpXXyGcJ8_2wSAZA_bUgKafC3fXYL-vpG2Ah_OY19v8BUdOluYyZe0YMeA/s1600-h/DSC_0317.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhxTjBu_Qg2iXpwKPyZaE6T82BoK8GLMeuDRtKSVlN2XxA1d-uV72omW0YeyVKXr4KxjN8ruj0OST6hpXXyGcJ8_2wSAZA_bUgKafC3fXYL-vpG2Ah_OY19v8BUdOluYyZe0YMeA/s320/DSC_0317.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5010290736617463874" /></a><br />...while some of the rest of us played around with the volleyball!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcJsAlCbAsnRm-S07n98jy59n8c_LpjtZ1DkNM8DRaeM5bE3IDMpFy7ibw_2hlfYaqPY11vMzqGKXOHp7PbLhDlIH7dYCC4s6z3SxhQuUjnEhdwaAS8wBY027i4rzDjnNW6_DjHA/s1600-h/DSC_0320.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcJsAlCbAsnRm-S07n98jy59n8c_LpjtZ1DkNM8DRaeM5bE3IDMpFy7ibw_2hlfYaqPY11vMzqGKXOHp7PbLhDlIH7dYCC4s6z3SxhQuUjnEhdwaAS8wBY027i4rzDjnNW6_DjHA/s320/DSC_0320.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5010290500394262578" /></a><br />enjoying chai and coffee with Shabnam and Sharareh from Iran<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUJvXywxYEWordQxBSbXlwqgxPSDvHXRCEMnB6cI7TcsGMiAlGTH5Y4kM_uzE5kQhMThr7iADQ2fBrO17mvBej9n-xZiVWNPmXRXUuo7F2JdlQyZtr03egvRyUarIL0nsvJK-ufw/s1600-h/DSC_0340.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUJvXywxYEWordQxBSbXlwqgxPSDvHXRCEMnB6cI7TcsGMiAlGTH5Y4kM_uzE5kQhMThr7iADQ2fBrO17mvBej9n-xZiVWNPmXRXUuo7F2JdlQyZtr03egvRyUarIL0nsvJK-ufw/s320/DSC_0340.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5010289838969298978" /></a><br />saturday afternoon we went on a trek/hike. the camp director took us out to the trail in his truck and it was quite a crazy ride<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg90ghgJaPZOFNeL639rXB3oQJfBwtSYbmIQFWrNm5uyyE5bBZ4MwgkUCRgurtBLeG9cDlgbL9DHdRFTatwIHTzaXSjIGWBrheYu8rsoveIJYqGU_b0TE5mwFfleyBubKFtzpV9WA/s1600-h/DSC_0357.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg90ghgJaPZOFNeL639rXB3oQJfBwtSYbmIQFWrNm5uyyE5bBZ4MwgkUCRgurtBLeG9cDlgbL9DHdRFTatwIHTzaXSjIGWBrheYu8rsoveIJYqGU_b0TE5mwFfleyBubKFtzpV9WA/s320/DSC_0357.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5010289589861195794" /></a><br />it was a long trek, but we enjoyed a nice sunset near the top <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpHxW_aHAW1EEQR5EUDuHHL1iggCz7xg7DnSH23_vp8l9Gols04gfXkyin-VdNk0NpFGPTuAylVD_-08jsHktc3hazRqJpqm7gqSM68JxEjoIKzBoJ0Gk5uf1LI-yhs0ud-WOlvw/s1600-h/DSC_0359.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpHxW_aHAW1EEQR5EUDuHHL1iggCz7xg7DnSH23_vp8l9Gols04gfXkyin-VdNk0NpFGPTuAylVD_-08jsHktc3hazRqJpqm7gqSM68JxEjoIKzBoJ0Gk5uf1LI-yhs0ud-WOlvw/s320/DSC_0359.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5010289418062503938" /></a><br />i'm kind of clumsy though, and i totally busted it on the way down the trail. fortunately it was more funny than painful, so me and Lulu took a picture<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL7_719L-dKcuT75dsyiqK5ot9Xyu4JLdiTuuRxqUAOttAAIRcyKbqJJlIErX9d8QZGsujJU895FnPrpJtUDYnPDDwo3JDmUYAV2Fo9YhCl0NYhPNQOv3Znp2ND996EpDc65uAQg/s1600-h/DSC_0374.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL7_719L-dKcuT75dsyiqK5ot9Xyu4JLdiTuuRxqUAOttAAIRcyKbqJJlIErX9d8QZGsujJU895FnPrpJtUDYnPDDwo3JDmUYAV2Fo9YhCl0NYhPNQOv3Znp2ND996EpDc65uAQg/s320/DSC_0374.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5010289173249368050" /></a><br />after the trek, we spent the evening talking about the Christmas story and the gift of Christmas. we also played some fun games and had a really great evening.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIU05pXphbwwWC1lm3IaijYnC92NgvMEXR176Gl-FJZcoR3G0r7zqjBxpUwC2GWF5SbBVF_t_AJAC1_av_wpCp5FciHtkkImr1SXnusLth1R_4bRFBJha84Fe5kmjboOGfOQxm3A/s1600-h/DSC_0376.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIU05pXphbwwWC1lm3IaijYnC92NgvMEXR176Gl-FJZcoR3G0r7zqjBxpUwC2GWF5SbBVF_t_AJAC1_av_wpCp5FciHtkkImr1SXnusLth1R_4bRFBJha84Fe5kmjboOGfOQxm3A/s320/DSC_0376.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5010288898371461090" /></a><br />then later that night, we had a bonfire, which was fun, but a little out of control because of the wind<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivl8Eb7QTx-qHdTujkJTDZHNWNng_W9_VRh_RfP6uJuzR5yMrvEaKPsbXJ097_gQEFEyiyMkmYnJiW9eGTn9fy0DXbSSpATfpCpoOzlD7lG7J61fyYblucxDG5sjeqj7vERzTpwg/s1600-h/DSC_0380.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivl8Eb7QTx-qHdTujkJTDZHNWNng_W9_VRh_RfP6uJuzR5yMrvEaKPsbXJ097_gQEFEyiyMkmYnJiW9eGTn9fy0DXbSSpATfpCpoOzlD7lG7J61fyYblucxDG5sjeqj7vERzTpwg/s320/DSC_0380.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5010288705097932754" /></a><br />we also sang Christmas carols in the candle light (well, while we could keep the candles lit in the crazy wind)<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFu6UKyh01HgCPRCaJHUUuATy3kvQW9NHh4pUV7hPkknXgMHuHiV1czBkFZ3MBL7L18Y2OFXHTw5QtrnUwXAA_qEuf7u586oLvrP0TcIZK6Jtki6-Si1sMqEf7ZmJPGWir0lVX2w/s1600-h/DSC_0390.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFu6UKyh01HgCPRCaJHUUuATy3kvQW9NHh4pUV7hPkknXgMHuHiV1czBkFZ3MBL7L18Y2OFXHTw5QtrnUwXAA_qEuf7u586oLvrP0TcIZK6Jtki6-Si1sMqEf7ZmJPGWir0lVX2w/s320/DSC_0390.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5010288065147805618" /></a><br />and of course, we had lots of goodies, like candy canes, or shepard's stick candy as Kenneth dubbed them!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHpBNBBcYy6J2YHRoDWNc4qCMaM-Ln8SPg_0xeQ6EtkZYCY0hllC0T2hb2RhfedwIuhufMNprtHZIUf5k8keedtOpj5roSxBlO0LRVP-OKvuFN_isTG41QlkwBiGCFxZy0N7kSHQ/s1600-h/DSC_0391.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHpBNBBcYy6J2YHRoDWNc4qCMaM-Ln8SPg_0xeQ6EtkZYCY0hllC0T2hb2RhfedwIuhufMNprtHZIUf5k8keedtOpj5roSxBlO0LRVP-OKvuFN_isTG41QlkwBiGCFxZy0N7kSHQ/s320/DSC_0391.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5010287863284342690" /></a><br />supposedly it's a tradition in Iran to jump over a bonfire on new year's eve, so Zia showed us all how it's done...<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGqOIwKXFgDqBlAW0NKFDRsggtosaZateol4_j18QsHl13g8p7ivCqN5PY43DrIhobeMEBRkogxSSnyi_w-KSL96HHwBslhS5HtP6IsCvg6k-U4xpQwlEnEY3BMzr63cJX9Txnaw/s1600-h/DSC_0389.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGqOIwKXFgDqBlAW0NKFDRsggtosaZateol4_j18QsHl13g8p7ivCqN5PY43DrIhobeMEBRkogxSSnyi_w-KSL96HHwBslhS5HtP6IsCvg6k-U4xpQwlEnEY3BMzr63cJX9Txnaw/s320/DSC_0389.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5010288314255908802" /></a><br />Alisha was next, and as you can see, she totally pulled off the fire jumping with style. kind of reminds me of playing super mario brothers back in the day...<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFR_vLUz7gjBaLwF4TsK7LpuABxWMT4g9zu45gABZJGwLMs1QOFxvdW9PFU4Co2wYJmVyWIzXhclkxzUaV3dxWDPG525ZpVeGcYghYfJ6fwvA3OKR8DeLcIzvccMyPQ4yU9NoZhw/s1600-h/DSC_0394.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFR_vLUz7gjBaLwF4TsK7LpuABxWMT4g9zu45gABZJGwLMs1QOFxvdW9PFU4Co2wYJmVyWIzXhclkxzUaV3dxWDPG525ZpVeGcYghYfJ6fwvA3OKR8DeLcIzvccMyPQ4yU9NoZhw/s320/DSC_0394.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5010287635651075986" /></a><br />then Zia and Alisha decided to join forces and show off their skills<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitPH_ETN5gZfr1tb2UWhebP5JUvnoM4sncJ3FtLfFxq7541yOFqZ1Aj0HgO9dM6DW2MNe6ZYYjR2jDSasFRzflwryweQCgynOZCQRnPeMyS2GgsMvBOFmXvUYDgJJzoqmF-3oevw/s1600-h/DSC_0397.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitPH_ETN5gZfr1tb2UWhebP5JUvnoM4sncJ3FtLfFxq7541yOFqZ1Aj0HgO9dM6DW2MNe6ZYYjR2jDSasFRzflwryweQCgynOZCQRnPeMyS2GgsMvBOFmXvUYDgJJzoqmF-3oevw/s320/DSC_0397.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5010287433787613058" /></a><br />Preeti couldn't be left out of the fun, so she jumped too and just barely made it over the fire...<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkTDpBJ3VZWDeDxrBNESQWxNdYwaX3WSU-tR4qsHu-oMGBQp93uIWtDBr7hwKRBHQTA4dkDJmlu63kjDLnru7jKhXjdoz68mZzwqLHJ_oixqCtdi3Q1EJuqF5wZ5QudlIcCEz7gg/s1600-h/DSC_0416.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkTDpBJ3VZWDeDxrBNESQWxNdYwaX3WSU-tR4qsHu-oMGBQp93uIWtDBr7hwKRBHQTA4dkDJmlu63kjDLnru7jKhXjdoz68mZzwqLHJ_oixqCtdi3Q1EJuqF5wZ5QudlIcCEz7gg/s320/DSC_0416.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5010287004290883426" /></a><br />Sunday morning we got to do the climbing wall and go kayaking in the lake. this is Deepali and Ruchi waiting for their turns on the wall<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyCmYhtlTnNu5VirzK27k8-9x-XAZPLoEXbJCjXATokWj6M-fGYWxfpKBo84rDzEgTyzgi6mIjD5n9iZVr-l1_PqDdgZ8xJyv1shgh3gc84rLcB0Q7eoK61HR_NeomiJc_QWCcJQ/s1600-h/DSC_0415.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyCmYhtlTnNu5VirzK27k8-9x-XAZPLoEXbJCjXATokWj6M-fGYWxfpKBo84rDzEgTyzgi6mIjD5n9iZVr-l1_PqDdgZ8xJyv1shgh3gc84rLcB0Q7eoK61HR_NeomiJc_QWCcJQ/s320/DSC_0415.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5010287214744280946" /></a><br />Preeti attempting to make it up the wall...<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib-LZAb-xPmn3ouls-4CRGhaqi8_v3c_O6MFERstAaOy8Pv6c5PAyKBLxG24NdNijjGYjCclrRnPGFQVUBPrH6ECd5Tjaeq5ATCxND_l1F8tZRefStbAcfzVQ18o1OLhMWSpzlOg/s1600-h/DSC_0421.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib-LZAb-xPmn3ouls-4CRGhaqi8_v3c_O6MFERstAaOy8Pv6c5PAyKBLxG24NdNijjGYjCclrRnPGFQVUBPrH6ECd5Tjaeq5ATCxND_l1F8tZRefStbAcfzVQ18o1OLhMWSpzlOg/s320/DSC_0421.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5010286811017355090" /></a><br />is she going to make it?<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhfAydwmR5fTehsIggTba3CHZljusqB93HJHAVZGNOHNLoXQ8NycZKa-wWwZgbNn3P_EvBOldTD44wrxCUgUjTTABFQDmLz-RHcT7ubQ3omQ8q_89Apco_fIqRXY0T1bMuSVvTpQ/s1600-h/DSC_0436.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhfAydwmR5fTehsIggTba3CHZljusqB93HJHAVZGNOHNLoXQ8NycZKa-wWwZgbNn3P_EvBOldTD44wrxCUgUjTTABFQDmLz-RHcT7ubQ3omQ8q_89Apco_fIqRXY0T1bMuSVvTpQ/s320/DSC_0436.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5010286613448859458" /></a><br />Kambale reaching for the bell at the top<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbF7VgSlXgb8K5_0CAaLkPpEPNsTbjA9C2MtC3NZDgRe2ZpyQlUzVKvh6IwwoVPQGLbBp85vX-zMMipwAYoiib2kfakDf8bBVpEXTasv4DE2b7TpgryV-jgIgCnCBHnhBNVKeQ1g/s1600-h/DSC_0471.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbF7VgSlXgb8K5_0CAaLkPpEPNsTbjA9C2MtC3NZDgRe2ZpyQlUzVKvh6IwwoVPQGLbBp85vX-zMMipwAYoiib2kfakDf8bBVpEXTasv4DE2b7TpgryV-jgIgCnCBHnhBNVKeQ1g/s320/DSC_0471.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5010286424470298418" /></a><br />Ladan climbing the wall<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicaoLnqmMSU6OO7tMVU_LS421WwOrBQyGpHqG0VoU1OkYX-Z-1h8M7wyGh8OmC8dUf9JPNfm-C4l-WhZK-kPzgJJcXtcUJAWVczldWCCffK-ELRphdgNZu2Z5A8qXG18FDPW0TuQ/s1600-h/DSC_0484.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicaoLnqmMSU6OO7tMVU_LS421WwOrBQyGpHqG0VoU1OkYX-Z-1h8M7wyGh8OmC8dUf9JPNfm-C4l-WhZK-kPzgJJcXtcUJAWVczldWCCffK-ELRphdgNZu2Z5A8qXG18FDPW0TuQ/s320/DSC_0484.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5010286201131999010" /></a><br />Ruth and Sahil enjoying the kayaks<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLYV8AWwOc5UeJlyQdrAqMds-ynYWQ-RjnekWs_4WhmdQrNHRrs9St5-CQZVNtW0ZfNP_nLQC92_EwXPGN64np1NOQtPHPcq8hP5_jcvXpSwCHCs85jthRwf7ugKXGNrVn8RLc4g/s1600-h/DSC_0496.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLYV8AWwOc5UeJlyQdrAqMds-ynYWQ-RjnekWs_4WhmdQrNHRrs9St5-CQZVNtW0ZfNP_nLQC92_EwXPGN64np1NOQtPHPcq8hP5_jcvXpSwCHCs85jthRwf7ugKXGNrVn8RLc4g/s320/DSC_0496.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5010285982088666898" /></a><br />Lulu had a little trouble getting out of the kayak...<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAGtNPKEQHz2z3oOpcwRKYxnkALWOyx4T7Hr5tOYA8piLOAALu744aj2Lc45unjcph2La5oiildrqR2gMn-uxbaQmy65Sw23F88Pp8nBfUCdOA1R2MAm0X8A-QJ9bBb6ONdZQAFQ/s1600-h/DSC_0500.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAGtNPKEQHz2z3oOpcwRKYxnkALWOyx4T7Hr5tOYA8piLOAALu744aj2Lc45unjcph2La5oiildrqR2gMn-uxbaQmy65Sw23F88Pp8nBfUCdOA1R2MAm0X8A-QJ9bBb6ONdZQAFQ/s320/DSC_0500.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5010285741570498306" /></a><br />me and Preeti hanging out by the lake, watching people kayak<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuMHIA7PdJmAHLRzb9ra9gjXpbfW3Cn0tgh6e_qd-cuNNySDZIOnaJzOzl_Nvt-8GSzXo5UvDrrIVhmienZi6rXWSKh2aZncPL3H1mmLjMeKuLCGzyYCO9ZB8o0e2v5CFfc_11WQ/s1600-h/DSC_0520.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuMHIA7PdJmAHLRzb9ra9gjXpbfW3Cn0tgh6e_qd-cuNNySDZIOnaJzOzl_Nvt-8GSzXo5UvDrrIVhmienZi6rXWSKh2aZncPL3H1mmLjMeKuLCGzyYCO9ZB8o0e2v5CFfc_11WQ/s320/DSC_0520.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5010285608426512114" /></a><br />Zia chasing after Deepali!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj07r1Xg0jFwbIDIjh2CkI27Uqw9jQu7LQ8DeBr1a-qcB5_hbLdOHNLXxDIU04MmOoK5hXzUB0seCOjkCUFiZXFF8nt04lHiIUMe1mg0sjZwwV5nJByDY1pEjgv1I7Sdrfg1xGmhQ/s1600-h/DSC_0535.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj07r1Xg0jFwbIDIjh2CkI27Uqw9jQu7LQ8DeBr1a-qcB5_hbLdOHNLXxDIU04MmOoK5hXzUB0seCOjkCUFiZXFF8nt04lHiIUMe1mg0sjZwwV5nJByDY1pEjgv1I7Sdrfg1xGmhQ/s320/DSC_0535.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5010285385088212706" /></a><br />some of the guys playing around in the lake<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy_MO9lnMTslbwNIRFQ_RLlZNtXR9NsXsHZMpxgsadNYfasb3jXeiD8nTUHe-41hbgTTOH3DnMOqO8-XnKj7WsKA7Il7kwEk_L3imF_ah6nt5jvQ5ZMdFT60SVzuew8ui0eRIfSg/s1600-h/DSC_0543.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy_MO9lnMTslbwNIRFQ_RLlZNtXR9NsXsHZMpxgsadNYfasb3jXeiD8nTUHe-41hbgTTOH3DnMOqO8-XnKj7WsKA7Il7kwEk_L3imF_ah6nt5jvQ5ZMdFT60SVzuew8ui0eRIfSg/s320/DSC_0543.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5010285002836123346" /></a><br />me and some of the guys after they went swimming<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtTUEYNmlN-NKIhzr2piftqexZ0zIRU3M3vptPdaNCKFHlBGpHjYm-EKZ9kG1giJfFrgp6ZmozeMFU5QaxqJz8PZW9z1rvp-iMTxQZwSiawN5qRu_Sa8J4aagAeXd6ggjX9qDERg/s1600-h/DSC_0552.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtTUEYNmlN-NKIhzr2piftqexZ0zIRU3M3vptPdaNCKFHlBGpHjYm-EKZ9kG1giJfFrgp6ZmozeMFU5QaxqJz8PZW9z1rvp-iMTxQZwSiawN5qRu_Sa8J4aagAeXd6ggjX9qDERg/s320/DSC_0552.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5010229236980752066" /></a><br />group photo--here we have 28 people, from at least 8 countries!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQulQ26KH18xrO-iajoIRbZRYOMHAs_TP3NJYRjrzrtSAPguZg4QXLjt409T71iFGJ-slTaRh8VqtvXLCaKyAE0t4M08jrPwu-aKKUX7WnSC7KTyTbsRDnW6WYDIy7CHbxGs0sLA/s1600-h/DSC_0563.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQulQ26KH18xrO-iajoIRbZRYOMHAs_TP3NJYRjrzrtSAPguZg4QXLjt409T71iFGJ-slTaRh8VqtvXLCaKyAE0t4M08jrPwu-aKKUX7WnSC7KTyTbsRDnW6WYDIy7CHbxGs0sLA/s320/DSC_0563.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5010229005052518066" /></a><br />poor little preeti, always getting picked on :) this is one of the last pics we took, right before we hopped in the bus and headed home. it was an incredible weekend, and i hope you've enjoyed these pics. i'm out!Mandihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08390644389503212402noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15084214.post-78790870359525183502006-12-17T10:45:00.000-06:002008-12-11T00:07:06.871-06:00happy birthday Milo!!!so this post is mainly just a shout out to my "little" bro on his 16th birthday. i say little only because he's 10 years younger than me--he is not little by any means! although it's been over a year since i've seen Miles, or Milo as i like to call him, from what i've seen in pictures, he is getting SUPER tall and turning for a kid into a man, which is NUTS! i can still remember Dec 17, 1990, when my sister and i went tearing through the hospital parking lot, so eager to finally see our new baby brother. and now he's 16! insane...anyway, because we both share a love of pictures (esp funny ones of ourselves), i'm going to post some fun ones of him. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj_-VFBOHosYwGPOZKom4qlzJFfQR31nwUrFqLUdpB4_xFOZGwpTGK3GgiD60JCHQ2TAYf9O7NAXIsFK8nNh8ylkhLhr808GnXPgqJZeSP08B3gTkckDjgXYt0KHALr97omkdyfw/s1600-h/Miles.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj_-VFBOHosYwGPOZKom4qlzJFfQR31nwUrFqLUdpB4_xFOZGwpTGK3GgiD60JCHQ2TAYf9O7NAXIsFK8nNh8ylkhLhr808GnXPgqJZeSP08B3gTkckDjgXYt0KHALr97omkdyfw/s320/Miles.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5009547660030615138" /></a><br />so this is what miles looked like just before i left in 2005. he still had braces, was shorter than me, and had a little kid voice...<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYTosB1IHdUBI1weQzLaZdsA7cHKDl5BbBqJNLpCsfTVnqV494vd6U6fAFF-jZdNfMgyYM3yH_MaavFnQ2WksUWIiKHVEmSSN_k2QHxuqZEmWHQU-wiDbmmxb5GETUPSdxHm-6dw/s1600-h/THANKSGIVING'06005.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYTosB1IHdUBI1weQzLaZdsA7cHKDl5BbBqJNLpCsfTVnqV494vd6U6fAFF-jZdNfMgyYM3yH_MaavFnQ2WksUWIiKHVEmSSN_k2QHxuqZEmWHQU-wiDbmmxb5GETUPSdxHm-6dw/s320/THANKSGIVING'06005.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5009546861166698066" /></a><br />...and this is what he looks like now! this is from thanksgiving, with 2 of our cousins who are both over 6 ft tall. i'm afraid he's changed so much that i'll hardly recognize miles when i get home.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcTIV3xGMI3DwDO7xi1ymt2LxUWfnuk4i5nz15rbsvwd9CSbUpXq5r8LuqK22Q9q4W4T6KyaIqln9gpUX7PheJQ9_zd9NrP_GH_cYHRpDWJ6YUhzoPqbShGhyphenhyphenywJWTI5QVNoaFCA/s1600-h/miles+and+puppy.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcTIV3xGMI3DwDO7xi1ymt2LxUWfnuk4i5nz15rbsvwd9CSbUpXq5r8LuqK22Q9q4W4T6KyaIqln9gpUX7PheJQ9_zd9NrP_GH_cYHRpDWJ6YUhzoPqbShGhyphenhyphenywJWTI5QVNoaFCA/s320/miles+and+puppy.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5009545907683958338" /></a><br />this is my absolute favorite pic of miles! i love it! he is also a huge animal lover, and has a fabulous little cat named Tootsie.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqrMtNXFt4ZJm-GwHjqsSkijJxuvrKnbZqUcTnZuQUt_RO5PIMqpz49uU1yeNo8ODP9e26EDfDB4tckRX_1zs-kz9BwGf4XiEVYFmypQvroPUTJlR0bG6DenllxgE1zsnJ4vXNtw/s1600-h/milesandsnake.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqrMtNXFt4ZJm-GwHjqsSkijJxuvrKnbZqUcTnZuQUt_RO5PIMqpz49uU1yeNo8ODP9e26EDfDB4tckRX_1zs-kz9BwGf4XiEVYFmypQvroPUTJlR0bG6DenllxgE1zsnJ4vXNtw/s320/milesandsnake.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5009548205491461746" /></a><br />and he also loves snakes (this snake is real, but stuffed. however, he is not afraid to have snakes bite him). my brother is seriously destined to be the next croc hunter. ever since he was a kid, he's caught any reptile he could get his hands on, and has had more pet snake than i can count. i'm still trying to convince him to come to india so he can catch a cobra<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW0Fcz8eO8L-ja1CMoQfymOsCz1EZ-bidO40prdmTFJ1gAYePnkAY5yFyWeRAFdhLCBw8Td6U0X1-5TCm0zc1dCieVz983KyYTNbFVcrqhJu5NnLhseqRQBArSLm5soMiyVuQFpA/s1600-h/ghetto+miles.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW0Fcz8eO8L-ja1CMoQfymOsCz1EZ-bidO40prdmTFJ1gAYePnkAY5yFyWeRAFdhLCBw8Td6U0X1-5TCm0zc1dCieVz983KyYTNbFVcrqhJu5NnLhseqRQBArSLm5soMiyVuQFpA/s320/ghetto+miles.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5009549004355378818" /></a><br />as you can see, he likes to take crazy pictures (and also has some pretty sweet photo shop skills). i think that in a lot of ways we have a pretty similar goofy/ghetto sense of humor, and both love photography, which is definitely a family thing. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvtQIQDhYA7e8pVIT0AmbkXjxlE_XGwMZ8lgjsd5fu2l4w5kjh71_mjsCvC0XQthiNkkNasc15Co8ODBTa0INH6ZUyYU_UX7hC1fC4ukstOC385cyxhbudIbQraPJAkEIAHqdYVw/s1600-h/dad+and+miles.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvtQIQDhYA7e8pVIT0AmbkXjxlE_XGwMZ8lgjsd5fu2l4w5kjh71_mjsCvC0XQthiNkkNasc15Co8ODBTa0INH6ZUyYU_UX7hC1fC4ukstOC385cyxhbudIbQraPJAkEIAHqdYVw/s320/dad+and+miles.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5009542626328944146" /></a><br />this is a favorite of dad and miles, out fishing and having fun in the gulf of mexico earlier this year. i love that my brother is growing up into such a great guy!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOtJ3IqQudkRvd25jbsv2DwGgRKziXatC6ps1o2kty1X_KVQN1hCJo70A7jLTrnHXTjqcZ5BS38xheuXCOBNaZ4pI_oSe92i6jhTDSyHdO6yyWMzRxMqlTXupaiNcFhLcDvARYtQ/s1600-h/DSC_0003.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOtJ3IqQudkRvd25jbsv2DwGgRKziXatC6ps1o2kty1X_KVQN1hCJo70A7jLTrnHXTjqcZ5BS38xheuXCOBNaZ4pI_oSe92i6jhTDSyHdO6yyWMzRxMqlTXupaiNcFhLcDvARYtQ/s320/DSC_0003.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5009542626328944162" /></a><br />miles is a freshman in high school and he just started playing football this fall (he's number 77). i am SO proud of him and i can't wait to see him play when i'm home next fall!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOZ8XBCLeHwkNz3RP5Fqn1SlYm57h7XXqHE2ZG6tNdES4EHMWhyphenhyphen4KfdK_0ZPlOrX_SUxd_qDe5rx7D37oS9oABHYY_DLqhDYn9J53vl5ykb4mMND3TuxOYYaH0VRRcxkqjKKIupw/s1600-h/DSCN3207.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOZ8XBCLeHwkNz3RP5Fqn1SlYm57h7XXqHE2ZG6tNdES4EHMWhyphenhyphen4KfdK_0ZPlOrX_SUxd_qDe5rx7D37oS9oABHYY_DLqhDYn9J53vl5ykb4mMND3TuxOYYaH0VRRcxkqjKKIupw/s320/DSCN3207.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5009543841804688946" /></a><br />mando and milo at the monster truck show...we can fight like any typical brother and sister, but we also have a lot of fun together :) i love you little bro! i hope your birthday is AWESOME!!!Mandihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08390644389503212402noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15084214.post-71899016337135537282006-12-11T09:13:00.000-06:002008-12-11T00:07:07.150-06:00mom, this post is for you ;)<div>so today, i found this lovely creature on the road just down the street from our house:</div><br /><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5007293760637105410" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrnpDxOHw80pL3HL8ADUwTIXYtfyDxhkzSTEavtGjTj60CBr4-ieBfJF3sDtnKE4kgs0m-Xwl9K9XfhpnDhQobyPNfC0wAM1ieSWv9ci17K5gJDVsZYM75jOpd7ZbupRM6z-YwkA/s320/DSC_0279.JPG" border="0" /><br /><div>those of you who know how big my feet are will realize just how big this beast is (and if you don't, i wear a women's 11 1/2!).<br /></div><div></div><br /><div></div><div> that's about it. it's a busy and crazy week getting ready for the camp this weekend, so please keep us in your thoughts. night!</div>Mandihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08390644389503212402noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15084214.post-36685037471943685022006-12-06T12:46:00.000-06:002008-12-11T00:07:08.922-06:00it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...so today we started preparing for Christmas. we cranked up the music and baked over 10 dozen cookies, plus made candy cane bark..mmm...<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPtyuMrigc5ywJVGMOQF779CjDL-Ysw91Yl3zFpjoGZVUnBxki2opm-57FWsVVJeDY9Z62nSHL1EWzDgXzlWXOTeqkYxREYoHyXhdtureZbm4DQaoAO2bQv29GRwp2CtCEjAerIw/s1600-h/DSC_0247.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5005491704028853442" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPtyuMrigc5ywJVGMOQF779CjDL-Ysw91Yl3zFpjoGZVUnBxki2opm-57FWsVVJeDY9Z62nSHL1EWzDgXzlWXOTeqkYxREYoHyXhdtureZbm4DQaoAO2bQv29GRwp2CtCEjAerIw/s320/DSC_0247.JPG" border="0" /></a> we got creative and cooked up some tasty apple cider<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-PhpR-Uzl_XjbwYQCLWlfCgHrD-B9Ntm8ZTIpMO046Nmilm1DvwxnzfFcnOYmJuAHDkNyMWvgBpftj-uqCsY3bCQVSE8J-ORvfvNr4MT2mGMH0qLSjYl75l8fQU8De9Fl9Q0nvQ/s1600-h/DSC_0248.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5005491704028853458" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-PhpR-Uzl_XjbwYQCLWlfCgHrD-B9Ntm8ZTIpMO046Nmilm1DvwxnzfFcnOYmJuAHDkNyMWvgBpftj-uqCsY3bCQVSE8J-ORvfvNr4MT2mGMH0qLSjYl75l8fQU8De9Fl9Q0nvQ/s320/DSC_0248.JPG" border="0" /></a> we put up the tree and all the lights (still working on the ornaments)...<br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5005491222992516258" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6_86AueIbgco7Uo5LRweqIvUEyJefVOF1h6ckZ31_NrL8BtN0FcAvJl7ZbIn80nCIDCTdNJqcHWIbYX7W3NgjxSOEzG3Pb3Dk5BKGxAyZIdzxc9xmvj3jQ-VlDjjrXH8vbiTxjw/s320/DSC_0237.JPG" border="0" /><br />set up the cool Indian nativity scene...<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5005491222992516274" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDlpohoqIXv_jQ9dFX-b19ZhqF9qySvwj7qC2-39bve2UxuIeauyW617A3aq2jQ0z5u1zbY12jYzoEjfJDfGj7fv0pnXpS3lzM1LkuK_p3Of3O0nI1HLZvFOFsbYdoVWlScZcYAw/s320/DSC_0242.JPG" border="0" />and then got a little crazy...<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5005491218697548930" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz79eaqurfh3OaQeyQEfpUAS7gNtBdKMrs1NB_JjIQ-hVOwNm5i994TXnanUp-NFnxW49Ys_kd9TApyLIO0l1p3cgR_3kMkZJTtc3hqpWTbp91NtZJ2gdqiJ6Ydp5EreyVbefTZg/s320/DSC_0217.JPG" border="0" /><br /> and turned our drying rack...<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5005491222992516242" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghOSn9JESkwipqHKE2Jzrnqh3DJMSzMqCbw_k1JRM7MPtTFMkUTJpaURzEuquaVTLgbdlqtGS3PuUkhVObLnYCMCc2p1GtyNHrTYlxp60dkgJHTo3nebeOO4_1BIxYhsZdtyybsg/s320/DSC_0233.JPG" border="0" /><br />...into a fireplace!!!!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWFM-O7tpdiv22JBwktER5G9lAHHWJKub1H5cSTdmNwmUrxRFOfhUncoxSi-STlZyJ42coWW303eXWbtLyCCFEhIe6LLeDl7vfMdAgRe-jHNpwUG-DkJakhpkmKovatuSrpq4bcg/s1600-h/DSC_0253.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5005491708323820770" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWFM-O7tpdiv22JBwktER5G9lAHHWJKub1H5cSTdmNwmUrxRFOfhUncoxSi-STlZyJ42coWW303eXWbtLyCCFEhIe6LLeDl7vfMdAgRe-jHNpwUG-DkJakhpkmKovatuSrpq4bcg/s320/DSC_0253.JPG" border="0" /></a> so yeah, we've got Christmas spirit in abundance...<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx7uE4aP6VyQBKRFtvxcBCN8-GJOVHmUIEI1KNN9l7ZwLlWUVZyuCx5_eEmPRs5yH578AeBEQL_bDIaBwRohV0h1ImZMou-3phwlNl8n5LqlXZ3nVAFqrgjdIQLPuEbLZIpH3sIQ/s1600-h/DSC_0266.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5005491708323820786" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx7uE4aP6VyQBKRFtvxcBCN8-GJOVHmUIEI1KNN9l7ZwLlWUVZyuCx5_eEmPRs5yH578AeBEQL_bDIaBwRohV0h1ImZMou-3phwlNl8n5LqlXZ3nVAFqrgjdIQLPuEbLZIpH3sIQ/s320/DSC_0266.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><div>stay tuned...more to come :)</div></div>Mandihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08390644389503212402noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15084214.post-42957174768287548352006-11-23T10:50:00.000-06:002006-11-23T11:34:21.905-06:00<div> </div><div> </div><div>Happy Turkey Day!!!</div><div> </div><div>i know it's been forever since i've posted...it's been kind of a crazy month, with lots of changes going on here, and most for good. even some crazy things turned out pretty good (like, our fridge broke, which was not fun, but we got a new one and it's nicer, so it all worked out ok in the end!)</div><div> anyway, even though i'm in india, i still got to celebrate thanksgiving, which was pretty cool. i've been very blessed with good friends here who are really more like family, and we had a great day together, eating LOTS of food and just hanging out. here are some pics:</div><div> </div><div><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger2/2742/1841/1600/154066/DSC_0049.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger2/2742/1841/320/716983/DSC_0049.jpg" border="0" /></a> awesome desserts: cupcakes, pecan pie, some pumpkin cake thing, cherry cheese cake, apple pie<br /><br /><div><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger2/2742/1841/1600/947867/DSC_0048.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger2/2742/1841/320/230494/DSC_0048.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />main course: chicken, mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, dressing<br /><br /><div><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger2/2742/1841/1600/504390/DSC_0047.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger2/2742/1841/320/235251/DSC_0047.jpg" border="0" /></a> SWEET POTATO PIE!!!! this was my favorite thing we had for lunch! cornbread, homemade rolls, brocolli (sp?) and cheese casserole, salad (this was my contribution...well, me and sophy and preeti!)<br /><br /><br /><div><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger2/2742/1841/320/474848/DSC_0054.jpg" border="0" /><br />and we even got to watch a real football game! (american football, that is!). some one had taped the rosebowl from last january, so we had it on in the background while we hung out and played games. it was definitely a treat, esp since it was such an intense game (texas beat usc by scoring a touch down in the last 30 seconds of the game!).</div><div> so, overall, it was a great thanksgiving. i can't believe that i'll be back in the States this time next year...insane! i hope you all had a wonderful day as well, and many things to be thankful for :)</div><div></div></div></div></div>Mandihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08390644389503212402noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15084214.post-41115032437603550002006-10-27T15:58:00.000-05:002006-10-27T17:31:56.570-05:00"i wanna turn the whole thing upside down..."it's almost 3 am, and i'm still up...darn internet...<br /><br /><br />what am i doing up so late? obsessively checking my email (for no real reason, i just do that), listening to a new mix i made on itunes of fun dance music, anxiously awaiting the arrival of my new ipod, trying to look up iranian dance music online, checking myspace and facebook, and playing with this new celebrity face recognition thing i found--check it out:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.myheritage.com" title="MyHeritage - family trees and photo albums" alt="MyHeritage - family trees and photo albums" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.myheritagefiles.com/G/storage/site1/files/03/55/54/035554_830363b7882454ly701i12.JPG" width="500" height="574" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div> </div><div></div><div>i've tried quite a few pictures, and it seems like i most consistently look most like michelle rodriguez (Lost)--random, i know--and candace cameron (Full House), and emma watson (Harry Potter movies), which is pretty cool. however, it also said that i looked like bruce willis, william shatner, and billy idol, so it's not perfect, but definitely fun. </div><div><br /></div><div>this week has been pretty nuts. actually the past 2 weeks. last week, the roommies and i were temporarily relocated to our supervisors' apartment so we could babysit their daughter while they were away. i say babysit, but she's 13, so that's not really the best way to put it. it was interesting, and a bit weird not being at our house, but we had some fun times, and learned a little about what it will be like to parent a teenager...</div><div><br /></div><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/2742/1841/320/DSCN3151.1.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div>monday and tuesday we headed to a nearby hill station on an international student retreat. what a trip--about 70 students from at least 10 countries, sleeping in tents, treking around crazy tourist traps, lots of dancing and singing, nauseatingly scary bus rides, and more. it was wild, but also a lot of fun.<img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/2742/1841/320/DSCN3172.jpg" border="0" /> i have to say, i really love iranians. i mean, they are a blast to hang out with. they are incredibly friendly and generous, and we had so much fun dancing and singing with them the whole trip. even tonight, a bunch of us got together and ended up singing and cutting up like mad in KFC. fabulous. <img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/2742/1841/320/102_3830.jpg" border="0" />oh, and did i mention that there were also 3 buddhist monks on the trip, dressed in their orange robes? they're awesome, and everybody wanted a picture with them.</div><br /><br /><div>the downside of the retreat was that the cooler weather made me sick again. ugh. but i went to the doctor and have been "taking steam" (a whole post in itself...), so hopefully i'll be back to normal soon. </div><br /><div>but i have to admit that i'm starting to wonder, what is normal anyway? i mean, every time i think, "oh, after _____, it'll all go back to normal," i find myself sadly mistaken. not so much disappointed, just wrong, because things here seem to constantly be in a state of change. maybe life has always been that way, and it just seems more pronounced now because i find myself needing something stable/normal/familiar/whatever more here.</div><br /><div>that leads me to the biggest event of the week...when we finally saw our supervisors after we got back from the retreat, they hit us with the big news that they're moving to thailand. like, next week. what?!?! i still have not even begun to really process this, but i know there are a mix of emotions waiting to come out in full force: fear, frustration, sadness, confusion, excitement, etc.</div><br /><div>i know this is where they need to be, so their whole family can be together (the 2 oldest kids are in boarding school there already), but at the same time, the timing of it all just seems so nuts. things here are getting exciting and i can see God opening cool doors for our team and then WHAM...normal ceases to exist...again.</div><br /><div>darn it...i wish i had more answers. i wish i even knew what questions to ask. i wish i didn't have to say goodbye again, especially to people who've been my family for the past year. and yet, at the same time i have this strange sense of peace, of okayness, if that makes sense. i'm sad, and a lot more, but i'm not really freaking out. i wish things didn't have to change, at least not like this, but i also have this confidence that God is in control and He's got good things in store for all of us through this. strange and refreshing...</div><br /><div>i'm hoping this trusting Him becomes my new "normal." i could get used to that.</div><br /><div>well, that's enough processing for now. it's about 3:30 am and i should get to bed, or get back to my fun with face recognition...i'll leave you with this random pic: <img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/2742/1841/320/102_3866.jpg" border="0" />me and my friend shaggy feeding a monkey at the retreat. gotta love these nasty little buggers.</div>Mandihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08390644389503212402noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15084214.post-2118993706669108532006-10-10T10:31:00.000-05:002006-10-10T10:59:08.199-05:00stop the presses!!!<a href="http://www.cinemablend.com/images/sections/1226/1226.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 166px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" height="233" alt="" src="http://www.cinemablend.com/images/sections/1226/1226.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div><div>so the news of "Brangelina" (Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie) and their recent descent upon our city has been all the rage lately. for the past week, both papers we subscribe to have featured pictures and stories and all the latest news on their front pages, which i personally am so grateful for because, honestly, how would i survive the day without knowing what they ate for dinner last night???</div><br /><br /><div>needless to say, i was a little alarmed this morning when all the north korea news took over the front page of both the Times and the Herald. i mean, i need my daily super star fix, folks! but, fortunately, i saw that the Times had just moved the <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/2132760.cms">latest story</a> on the super couple down to the middle of the front page. it seems they took a rickshaw out around town and the Times had gotten an exclusive interview with the driver. the funny thing is that the driver didn't have a clue who was in his rickshaw until someone told him that this couple is as famous around the world as Amitabh Bachan is in India! (this may not be as funny for those of you not familiar with Bollywood...).</div><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 224px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 152px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" height="189" alt="" src="http://www.news24.com/Images/Photos/20061009084351jolie_Pitt.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br /><div>i think what's really funny about this picture is that the driver actually used the meter! (the "for hire" sign is upside down). even if he didn't know they were superstars, it's pretty amazing that he didn't quote them some outrageous price just because they're foreigners. guess it goes to show that there are some honest rickshaw drivers out there!</div><br /><div>anyway, i'll be sure and keep you posted about any breaking news regarding their stay here in Pune, since i know i won't be escaping it anytime soon...</div><br /><div>(disclaimer: just in case you're wondering, i'm being totally sarcastic throughout the bulk of this post...)</div></div>Mandihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08390644389503212402noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15084214.post-53037359285642581512006-10-05T13:23:00.000-05:002006-10-05T13:53:55.835-05:00hmm...<div>i've been reading friends' blogs this afternoon, working on a project for our website (<a href="http://www.connectingstudents.net">http://www.connectingstudents.net</a>) and CD project. it's fun catching up with everybody, but sometimes i also find myself wanting to do what they're doing, feeling even a bit disappointed because they seem to be doing so much cool stuff. traveling all over. seeing the mountains, cold weather and even snow. learning much more hindi than me. getting to visit other friends and just have adventures that i find myself a bit jealous of...</div><br /><div>but when i really think about it, i don't want to be anywhere else. i have to admit, i never imagined i'd be working in the 8th largest city in India, hanging out with college students. i thought i'd live somewhere much more "traditional," like varanasi; or further south, like chennai; or maybe that i'd just spend more of my time here traveling and moving. but fortunately, the choice really wasn't up to me! i mean, it was, but it was more of choice of, do i trust God and follow His lead, or try to make my plans happen? let me tell you, this is another one of those times when i am SO glad that He knows what He's doing, and what i really need!</div><br /><div>there are definitely things i don't like about my city, my job, and my life. it's too polluted. students are so fickle and unpredictable. i miss my family and friends, and i wish we were closer to more of my friends here. it rains too much and it never gets really cool. sometimes i feel like i have no direction and just want something more structured. i wish i wasn't here as a single girl, but with my husband.</div><br /><div>i could go on, but that's not really the point. what i've realized is that my life is so indescribably better than i could have ever imagined it would be. i've screwed up a lot, and i definitely don't deserve to be as blessed as i am. seriously. it still just amazes me when i really stop and think about it all, the bigger picture of my life and how God's had His hand in it, even since before i was born (Psalm 139). and there are also so many cool/funnny/suprising/insane little things always happening around me that i sometimes just need to remind myself of how good things really are. </div><br /><div>here are just a few examples from this week:</div><br /><div>-Monday was Dussera (major Hindu holiday)--ate lunch with my friend and her family</div><br /><div>- and also Ghandi's birthday, which we celebrated by seeing "Lage Raho Munna Bhai", the new hit movie driven by Ghandigiri, or living like Ghandi</div><br /><div>-discovered that Pune has a Mocha, a FABULOUS coffee hangout place--we had great coffee and a fabulous evening of hanging out with friends<img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/2742/1841/320/DSCN3100.jpg" border="0" /></div><br /><p>-<a href="http://www.newkerala.com/news4.php?action=fullnews&id=26461">Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are randomly filming their new movie (about Daniel Pearl's kidnapping in Pakistan) </a></p><p>-i've had a several really cool and deep conversations and connections with people this week, all very unexpected</p><p>-through the marvel of the internet, i was able to talk to one of my dearest friends the other morning, and i just downloaded the first episode of LOST season 3</p><p>i know there's more, but these are just a few cool things. life really is good--i'm just learning that you have to learn how to look at it all the right way. easier said than done, but better than anything else i could imagine. alright, i'm out...LOST is calling my name :)</p>Mandihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08390644389503212402noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15084214.post-1159561499016668892006-09-29T14:52:00.000-05:002006-09-29T15:44:19.180-05:00Team Retreat<div>This week we headed to the mountains for a team retreat. Well, ok, so maybe they were more like hills and plateaus, but for a Louisiana girl, anything above sea level seems mountainous!! Anyway, it was great--the weather was considerable cooler, the scenery was awesome, the pollution was absent, and there was just an overall feeling of peacefulness in this small town (especially when you compare it with a city of over 3 million people!).<br /><br />The ten of us had a great time bonding, planning, and just having fun. I think this next year is going to be really incredible, and I'm excited about getting to work with such great people. Here are some photo highlights of our trip:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h41/mandipants2/DSCN3052.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h41/mandipants2/DSCN3050.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting" /></a><br /></div><br />pretty scenery<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h41/mandipants2/DSCN3055.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">look who's house we found! SRK!!!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h41/mandipants2/DSCN3078.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h41/mandipants2/DSCN3080.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">silly mountain, er, plateau pics<br /></div></div></div></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h41/mandipants2/102_3756.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">beautiful sunrise (i wish i could take credit for this pic, but my roommate took it cause i was not about to get up at 6 am and hike up a big hill!)<br /></div></div></div><a title="DSCN3088.jpg" href="http://s61.photobucket.com/albums/h41/mandipants2/?action=view¤t=DSCN3088.jpg"></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h41/mandipants2/DSCN3066.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">can you tell what i'm eating in this picture? (hint: they served it to us for breakfast)<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h41/mandipants2/DSCN3065.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">if you guessed brain curry, you were right!!! (don't worry, i didn't really eat it, it just made for a really gross picture!)<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h41/mandipants2/DSCN3084.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting" /></a><br /></div><br />group picture<br /></div></div></div></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h41/mandipants2/DSCN3088.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">amazingly smooth and nice road on the drive home (this is totally rare here!)<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h41/mandipants2/DSCN3062.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">and one more just for fun...does this look familiar to any of you ALIAS fans???<br /></div></div></div></div>Mandihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08390644389503212402noreply@blogger.com0