Red Fort, Qutab Minar, and shopping!!!

I haven’t blogged in a couple of days so here’s what’s been happening! On Monday I really didn’t do anything worth blogging about. Jyoti and Pradeep had some emergency work that they had to do so I just hung with the Aunties all day. That’s really it. I watched a movie and blogged from the day before and laid around all day. Not very exciting.

Tuesday was a lot more exciting! Jyoti took me sightseeing all day! We went to the Red Fort and to this really awesome tower thing here in Delhi. I forget what it’s called, but it was super neat and old! I took a picture of a tomb from 1200 something! I love my country more than any other in the world, but we are so young and we don’t have stuff that old so it’s really cool to see over here. If you are my friend on FB (which you probably are because you are reading this;-) then you have seen some of my pictures from the Red Fort and the Tower. I’m still going to post more, it just takes forever to download.

The Red Fort was really HUGE and red (duh). The same emperor that built the Taj Mahal also built the Red Fort. You could see a lot of similarities between the two. There are lots of buildings inside the fort and several of them were the same white marble as the Taj. A couple of them even had the same pretty orange Lotus flowers. If you put a pen light right on the flower it glows! They are really cool! All over the fort are these big gnarly looking trees and empty old waterways. There was this one building that was in the middle of an empty pool. I’m not sure what it was. On one building there is a balcony that looks like the one, on a much smaller scale, in Aladdin! I think I got a picture of it. It was under renovation so you couldn’t go stand on it. We also saw some places where the emperor used to sit. One of them was all blocked off so you couldn’t get exceptionally close or sit on it. It was really big, and white. On our way out there were lots of little shops and I wanted something from there so I bought a little souvenir before we left.

When we left the Fort we drove through old Delhi, and when I say “old” I mean “old.” I got to see the two oldest temples in Delhi, as they are right outside the Red Fort and down the main road. One of them has three domes and they are covered in gold! They are so pretty and sparkled in the sun! we didn’t get to go inside, but they were cool anyway!

On our way back home we picked Goni up from school. He goes to the biggest Catholic school in Delhi and it is really neat looking. The whole campus is really big. At the main entrance there is a big church painted a kind of rusty red color. We went inside and it was really pretty and peaceful. They had a mass at 1:00 and we listened to a little of it before we went to get Goni.

After dropping Goni off at home and eating some lunch we went back out to the Tower thing. I think it’s called the “Qutab Minar” and I have no idea if that’s how you spell it! The best way to talk about the Tower is to just show you pictures. The tower itself is still very much standing, but there are old ruins everywhere around it. Some were a little more together than others and some were falling apart. All in all it was a really cool place to see!

On our way back from Qutab Minar we stopped by the tailor shops to get my saree and blouse. I think the blouse fits…I couldn’t get the top fastener fastened because I couldn’t reach it. We went back to the house for a few hours before heading back out to possibly get me a nose ring and a petticoat for my saree. I discovered that the post on the nose rings here are so much bigger than mine and, thus, was not able to buy one. I really want one sometime anyway! We found a petticoat to go with my saree, but the legs were way too short! Oh well, I’ll keep looking! I should be able to find one in Nanital on Friday. We ended up coming back to the house with three roles of toilet paper. Woot woot!

After going to the market in the evening it was pretty much off to bed for me! It was a good day and I got to see lots of neat things and take lots of pictures!

Today was a fun day too! Jyoti took me to a really cool market and I got to buy lots and lots of all sorts of bling!!! I was even able to get some pieces for a vintage bling-covered mirror I’m working on! The pieces are actually on ponytail rubber bands, but I’m just going to cut the bands off and… “presto!” I got a few other really pretty pieces and one earring set in particular is my favorite! It’s super cool! It’s green and gold and really dangly and big with these neat extra pieces that you can drape over your ears, back into your hair, or take them off all together and put them wherever you want! I LOVE them!!! I would like to find some more of them before I go.

The market was quite the adventure because it is the festival season here and everyone is in Delhi for it! We were pushing and shoving (literally) our way through the whole time and clutching our bags to us all morning. Sometimes in a little less crowded alley we didn’t have to be so close and we could breath a little. I almost got hit in the head and had to duck or swerve out of the way of an oncoming person with a huge pile of stuff on their head! I cannot imagine how horrible that is for those peoples necks and backs! Watching all the people is way fun and amazing at the same time. I don’t know how someone so small can do what they do! You see these skinny little dudes pushing anything from people, to iron posts, to 100’s of pounds of stuff, piled high, on these  three-wheeled bikes! I’m just thinking to myself, “how do they do it?!” I don’t know.

Everyone was busy shopping for the next festival tomorrow. There was all sorts of bright and colorful decorations everywhere for sale. Fireworks (they call them crackers) are a fun part of Diwali so there were lots of shops that were selling just that. Jyoti bought two big bags! The 26th is Diwali and I leave on the 24th so I won’t get to be here for it and to see all the fireworks. So sad! I’ll miss it by just a hair! Oh well, maybe next time.

We picked Goni up from school after the market and then went home. After lunch I went upstairs to my flat and cleaned it up for some people that are coming to stay for a couple of nights. I swept the whole flat with this short wispy, handmaid broom while I listened to some tunes. It was actually fun and I had a good time! When I was done cleaning I started catching up on writing my blog for a little bit before I went back downstairs.

Jyoti and Sanjivani took me to a place in the market down the street where they used to eat growing up. We had a few new Indian dishes that I hadn’t tried yet and a Chinese spring role with fries. The roll was really spicy and the fries were really good! We also had this chickpea stuff that was my favorite.

We went home after dinner and hung out for a little bit discussing our trip to the mountains tomorrow, before I came upstairs to take a shower and finish catching up on my blogging! Now that that is all done I’m going to bed! I’m not taking my computer on our trip to the mountains so I wont be able to write again until Saturday evening.

Dinner on the roof!

I finally made it up to the roof to write my post for the day! It’s a bit warm so I’ll see how long I last. The longer I’m here the more comfortable and at home I feel. A couple of days ago I was feeling lonely and a little frustrated because I never know what’s going on around me. I have GOT to learn Hindi!!! That’s one of the first things I’m going to do when I get back and settled back into my normal routine.

Yesterday was restful and eventful all at the same time. We went to Jyoti’s church in the morning about 10:30 and it was the English service so that was nice! After church we stopped by the market and got some clotted cream and tomatoes to go with lunch. Pradeep took me to exchange some money and then we went back to the house. I hung around and watched TV in Hindi (mostly) with Pradeep and Goni and the Aunties while Jyoti made lunch. After lunch I went and took a nap until 5:30 and then I went downstairs so we could leave for Jyoti’s maids house.

While I was sitting next to Auntie she saw my scarf that I was wearing and got all excited about it. She was inspecting the edges and said it was very nice. She told me to stand up and put it on my head so she could see how I lookedJ. She said I looked very nice and was smiling from ear to ear. She is so cute sometimes! When I sat back down Auntie told me that I need to get lots of bangles for my wrists and then some henna. When I told her I was going to do both, especially the henna, she started nodding her head, smiled real big and said “Very nice.” It will be fun to show her next Sunday!

We left home about 8:00pm and went to the market again to buy some food for the maid (I have no idea what her name is even though I have been told more than once) and her family. They are very poor and live in a single room, about 10’ by 12’, on top of the roof of a building in a “developed” slum not far from where I’m at right now. It was very interesting to see how they live up on that roof. When we got there several people were there and a few of the women were cooking. One of them had this really cool knife that kind of looked like a mini scythe mounted on a little board.  She was cutting up all sorts of stuff including this veggie called “lady fingers” (or “ladies fingers” not sure) that strongly resembled okra in taste, look, and texture. Maybe it was, I don’t know, but it was good! They made us quite the feast and everything was very good! I was a little concerned because I really had no clue where anything came from and I SO did not want to get sick. As of the following morning I’m all good and feel fine. Whew!

One of the ladies that was there does henna, so she is going to come to the house on Sunday and do it for me! I really like the idea of paying her instead of someone I have never met.  I’m going to get it on my feet to about halfway up my shins, and on my hands and halfway up my arms! So super duper excited! While we were there some of them were goofing around with some henna and I got to see how it’s put on so that was cool.

The family was so nice and, even though I couldn’t understand anything anyone was saying we still had fun. When dinner was done I got my camera  out and started taking pics of them. I got one of me and the maid and a few others as well. In one pic I accidentally cut off someone’s head and they all thought that was hilarious! They are such happy people and you would never know they had practically nothing by the smiles and laughter that was on that rooftop. I felt truly blessed to get to be a part of their lives for even just a few hours.

After dinner I had the “opportunity” (lol) to use their potty up there on the roof. It really wasn’t bad and smelled better than some porta potties I’ve been in. When I came out Jyoti had started praying for the family and friends that had gathered and wanted to be prayed for. As I couldn’t understand her I really don’t know what was going on exactly. I know one girl had a pain in her side and after Jyoti prayed for her it was gone! I only know that because she told me when she was done praying for herJ. After Jyoti was done praying for those that wanted it we took out leave and came home. As it was almost 11:00 the day was over and I went to bed with a happy heart!

"Little girls, little girls..."

It’s Sunday morning at about 6:20 and I have been lying here in bed for at least 30 minutes. My body still has about an hour and a half to go before I’m on India time. I have kind of been enjoying getting up early and not wanting to stay in bed. I have developed a little morning ritual of getting up and eating a breakfast cookie while writing the previous days happenings.

Speaking of which…It was a really good day yesterday! From 11:00am-6:00pm I was at a girls home here in Delhi. I taught about six girls the very basics of haircutting and then set them lose on all the little girls! There were a few in particular that really ran with it and did several haircuts! No mannequin heads needed here! There was a little line outside the door and we all just cycled them through. I did several haircuts while at the same time keeping an eye on the girls and helping them as they went. It was quite entertaining at times and there was a lot of giggling and shoulder shrugging as we tried to communicate. A couple of the girls spoke some limited English, and one spoke it pretty good, so I was able to get my points across eventually. The girls were all so eager to learn and it was so much fun teaching them! 

We broke for lunch at 2:00 and I got to eat with the lady in charge. She was very nice and we chatted about her kids and grand-babies over a yummy meal of rice, dal, and battered/fried cauliflower. It was really good! We washed it down with a glass of water and a traditional rice pudding of some sort. Then it was back to the “salon” for the rest of the afternoon!

Jyoti came and picked me up at 6:00 and after we got home I made myself some rice and warmed up some beans from the night before. Jyoti and Pradeep had a meeting to go to so I got to fend for myself. It was fun working in their kitchen and making my own food American style with Indian ingredients. I guess I really didn’t cook much, I just made some rice, but I felt cool anyway and it was fun! I’m not a difficult one to please, that’s for sure! I took my dinner upstairs and watched a movie on my laptop while I ate. After that it was a cold shower (you have to turn on the hot water tank and let it warm up for about 20 min if you want a warm shower, which I usually don’t because I actually like cold showers) and off to bed!

Lights and Diwalli!

I went up on the roof to write today’s post because (a. it’s just cool that I can do that (b. it’s cooler and quite pleasant out and (c. I love to listen to all the city noise and the festival preparations! However, I didn’t stay up there long because the bugs were driving me crazy and now I’m back down in my room;-(

 A festival called “Diwalli” starts tomorrow and it looks like so much fun! From my understanding they give little gifts to each other, string up lots of lights every where and have lots of fun! This evening while we were out and about we saw lots of women that had just gotten henna! There was a row of women in the market that were painting it on other women while they all sat and talked! It was really cool! I want to go out tomorrow night and look around, see the lights and colors and people watch!

Other than the previous paragraph today was a pretty slow day, not too much happened. Because all of the children are in school I haven’t been able to go to the homes as I had hoped. I don’t know why I didn’t think of this before I came! Because my trip is so incredibly short we have not been able to teach like I was planning. We have ended up with just a few hours at the end of the day to teach and it just hasn’t been enough. Things aren’t going exactly like I planned, but I’m trusting that they are going according to His plan! As it stands I have way too many kits. I think I am going to store them and bring them back next time I come. When I have 2-3 months, instead of 2 weeks, I will be able to do a lot more. I am really hoping to come back either next year or maybe March or April of 2012.

Today we went to one of Jyoti’s friends house and I cut her hair and two other ladies as well. Two of their husbands work here and the other one, Regina, is single and I‘m not sure what she does exactly. They are all from the states and one of them is even from Dallas! It was really fun to be able to be able to bless these women with a good haircut from the States.

When we left Regina’s place we ended up having to walk for a little bit because it was coming onto rush hour and we couldn’t find an empty auto. I was enjoying the walk and the experience! We eventually got an auto and made it home rather slowly, because of traffic. All in all it was a nice outing and I had some new experiences and saw some new things!

My evening was spent relaxing and watching Jyoti make dinner while we chatted. I want to help, but she said it’s easier if she does it herself because then she would have to teach me and there’s not really room in their galley style kitchen. Next time I come back and they have renovated and we have more time, she said she will teach me! She has been so sweet in making a different dish every meal so that I can taste new Indian foods. I have really liked them all! Maybe my stomach is cut out for life here! This may sound silly, but it’s so much fun eating with your hands! I have used a fork and spoon too, but mainly just to put whatever I’m eating onto the flat bread stuff and then shove it in! So good!

Tomorrow looks to be like another day on the ranch and I look forward to everything in store for me! I think we may try to go pick up my sari and blouse from the tailors, if they aren’t closed. We shall see! Well, time to end this post and I’ll post again soon!

Haircuts, and autos, and monkeys, oh my!

Thursday was an awesome day filled with new experiences! After a yummy lunch of rice and dahll (sp?) and a little nap, we were on our way to our first home! It was when I got a pair of shears in my hand that I finally felt like myself for the first time since I got here. God created me to have a pair of shears in my hand and that is when I feel most confident and whole! The butterflies I had had in my stomach since I got here vanished and I was a new and happier person! I have never seen myself transform so much and so fast!

Anyway, when we got to the home the girls descended upon us with hugs and smiles and “hi’s.” They were so precious and beautiful and my heart melted! All of the 17, or so, girls in the home are daughters of prostitutes. Their dads are some worthless, unknown, nasty men and their moms live in slavery.

 Lice runs a bit rampant there so most of them had an old fashioned, and super uneven, chili bowl! With it short it’s easier to get the lice out or keep it out all together. A short cut on little girls in India isn’t uncommon so they don’t feel uncomfortable or like boys. Adono is the beautiful lady that cuts their hair so I worked with her on how to cut a better chili bowl and call it a stacked bob. Adono is an amazing young woman! She has been at the home for two years taking care of and loving those girls. She is 28 and I admire her courage and dedication to all those girls!

We cut Adono's hair first since the little girls were still eating their lunch. They have an awesome huge porch on the second floor so we decided to do our thing out there. It was a beautiful day and I love cutting hair outside! After Adono’s cut I started on the little ones. They were so excited and cute, full of smile and chitter chatter! I SO wish I knew what they were saying! After several cuts, teaching Adono some, and lots of giggles…everyone started freaking out and yelling!!! There was a monkey on the roof watching us! They all started running inside and telling me to hurry in too. I wanted to run in too, but to get my camera and go back out! Apparently that wasn’t a good idea because the monkeys are very mean and aggressive. So, I grabbed the little girl, and the stool she was sitting on, and went inside with the others. We all started laughing and they all started talking about monkeys and, I assume, their past adventures with them. I guess someone had fed one of the monkeys one time and ever since then they have been a nuisance. They have even gotten into the house and everything! Their driver had to chase it out with a broom! As a result of said monkeys, the driver climbed the tree in the front yard and started hacking at it with a hatchet! Apparently that’s how they were getting in. The poor tree looks so horrible now!

After the monkey escapade I continued to cut inside until they were all done. I set a new record for myself…seventeen haircuts in 3 hours and 15 minutes!!! Whew! I wasn’t tired when I was done either, though my back hurt a little. One of the girls I even gave an a-symmetrical rocker-do to! Mainly because she kind of already had one! She was so funny because she knew her hair was so bad and she was like “please help me!” she cracked me up! She was so good natured about her bad cut and she and Adono (who was the one that cut it) kept laughing about how bad it was! Thinking back maybe I should have just cut it all short so it could grow in evenly instead of still funky and uneven… oh well.

When they had all had haircuts Jyoti, Lucy (she is kind of in charge of the home we were at, but doesn’t live there. She and her family are here on business) and I left to catch an auto to the metro station. (They call rickshaws “autos” here) The metro was packed with rush hour traffic so we couldn’t get on the first train that came out way. On the metro here they have a car that is for just the women. That was really nice because it’s really uncomfortable and kind of gross to be scrunched in a metro car with a bunch of smelly guys. We left Lucy two stops before she got off and took another auto home and that was pretty much the end of my day! Oh, I talked to my sister, Marley, on skype while I ate and Indian version of Italian pasta. After that I went off to bed!

Shear Love

Greetings from India!

Well, it’s about 5:20 am New Delhi time and I have already been up for two hours. You have to love the jet lag! I was lying in bed thinking about writing this whole experience down and then I had the revelation that I should blog about it! Writing it longhand in a journal just takes sooo long and this way I can share everything with y’all! So here it goes!

My plane rides were both fine, though the first one was more pleasant. I sat next to what looked like a very boring business man, he had a tie on and everything for over a 9 hour red eye flight! I mean, who does that?! (My battery wore out after that last sentence and now it’s Wednesday afternoon) Anyway, he ended up being super nice and we talked off and on for the whole flight. He even watched the first DVD of “Fellowship of the Rings” with me. He was a pleasant guy to sit next to for 9 hours! My second flight kind of sucked, honestly. I sat next to boring people and had a guy behind me that was incredibly rude and thought my chair was his personal punching bag! Anyway, I finally got here and through customs, gathered my bags and met Jyoti and Pradeep!

My first day was rather uneventful, as I was super tired and jet lagged. I took a 7 hour nap and got up at about 4:30 to come downstairs. I really don’t remember what else happened that day as I was so out of it… I had pizza for dinner, and went to bed about 7:30 I think.

Tuesday was a great and very long day. I woke up at all hours of the night because my body was like “Dude, what are you doing in bed?! Get up!” I finally couldn’t lie there anymore so I got up around 3 or 4. I unpacked everything and started making notes on a sticky pad. My wall is now covered in sticky notes just like at home! As I’m writing this I cant believe that was only yesterday morning, it seams like 3 days ago!  I eventually got dressed and put a face on after I had done 3 or 4 days of my Bible study. Speaking of which, it is sooo amazing!!! God is truly doing a work in me. I am trying to be open and pay attention to what He has to say and is trying to teach me. I am beginning to seriously consider coming to stay here for way longer than 2 weeks next time. I’m thinking minimum 2-3 months, but possibly longer even than that. I don’t know yet.

A little while later I came downstairs and was talking to one of the Aunties that live with my Indian family. Her name is Esther and she has lucid moments. (Actually she seems pretty with it to me, but then I can't understand what she's saying most of the time;-) She absolutely cracks me up! I was sitting next to her in the living room and she took my hand and was looking at it and told me that I would never suffer from disease. (Little does she know how wrong she was) She said I was like her and then told me that “I am 92, see? Natural teeth.” I love her! Esther and her sister, Kathi, live with Jyoti and Pradeep. I believe they both have PhD’s and taught at Oxford back in the 30’s or so. I'm pretty sure Esther did at least, anyway. They are truly forward thinkers for their time! Now they sit with a few chairs in between them, leaning against the wall, and sleep all day and yell at each other! Sounds like me and my sister someday! They are precious and I’m enjoying spending time with them.

Later I came back upstairs to my flat and started putting some kits together. We are waiting on a few phone calls as to where and when exactly I will teach. We have all the possible places for us to go but because of my health issue Jyoti wanted to wait until I got here to finalize things. Today's possible location wasn't able happen so we are going there tomorrow! I'm really excited and anxious to get started!!! Things go at a different pace over here and it is a little hard for me to get used to. Being from the the States, I am used to a much faster way of things. The fist couple of days in such a different time zone, though, have found me really useless for anything of importance and wiped out!

In the afternoon we had some really tasty Indian food and then Jyoti took me to the tailors and  the mall. (It’s the biggest mall in Asia and it’s just a few minutes away!) Jyoti bought me my first sari and it’s so pretty! It’s a beautiful blue with gold accents. We walked around a few corners to the tailors but she couldn’t make my blouse and do something else with the actual sari so we left it with her and took the  blouse material to another tailor. He will have it ready in a week or so! After the tailor we caught a ride in a  rickshaw to the mall! It was really fun and I wanted to take a picture so bad, but I didn’t want to be the stupid American tourist. (As of today I have ridden in one four times and I still think it’s fun!) At the mall I bought three complete Indian outfits and I love them! They are so pretty and I’m going to wear them at home too! My favorite is a bright green one with pink and gold accents. We took another rickshaw home after shopping and we were both beat! We hung out for a while and Jyoti took me up to the roof so she could hang some laundry. It is so cool up there! We could see the mall we were just at! When we came back downstairs Jyoti went to a shop around the corner and got us some naan and this bean dip something rather for dinner. It was really good and my tummy didn’t even throw a fit! We watched “Who wants to be a Millionaire?” and then I went up to my flat and went to bed.


Today I woke up at he decent hour of 6:00 and decided I could definitely get up. I was really excited about having my quiet time and doing my Soul Sisters work on the roof! It was so nice out and I got up there early enough that is wasn’t super hot. I took my phone with some Brandon Heath playing on it  and enjoyed my time in the sun and in the Word.

Two of  Pradeeps missionary friends came last night and they stayed in my flat too. They were really nice and we got to chat this morning when we came out of our rooms. Joseph and his family lived in India for 15 years as missionaries and then 4 years ago they moved to Laos. He has 3 kids and his wife is from Cleveland! The other guy is from here and I don’t remember his name. He has 3 kids too. We were all talking in the living room and he asked me what I do.  After I told him we ended up giving him a haircut out on the balcony! He said he had only had one haircut in the states and that it was in Jacksonville, Mississippi and it was horrible! I had to do something to give him a better experience from an American hair stylist! After the guys left Jyoti and I bought my plane ticket to I'm not sure where and decided to take a taxi to Jaipur next week. After while we went to the electrons store to get me a converter so I could use my computer! And now here I sit writing to whoever reads this! More to come later!