Cool Shades!

So remember that adorable little girl I posed with a few weeks ago? Well here she is again... She made a comment about my sunglasses, so I put them on her. Well she was tooooo adorable! So I had to snap her photo!!! She's so cool in these shades! =)

Computer down =(

Sorry for the lack of pics for the past few days... and it will continue to be this way. My computer is sick and at the hospital getting a brain transplant... her second one since moving to South Asia. Perhaps I work her too hard???
Anyway, pr'y for a speedy recovery! =) And until then, no more posts. Only a couple more days at the most!

Daily Doings - Bike Carrier

Remember my post from a couple weeks ago where a lady was carrying grass on her head? So yesterday these people were carrying more grass from point a to point b. It was just fascinating and interesting, so I took a few photos...
First I spotted them and whipped out my camera...


They paused a moment, then started walking...


But meanwhile this one guy was not walking... he wanted his photo taken... so he waited and posed!


All 3 bikes went down this little road...

Security Check Cartoon

So a little over a week ago there was this huge Bollywood actor, Shah Rukh Khan, who got detained in security in an airport in the US. The irony is that he'd just finished shooting a movie in the US about racial profiling.
To read the article, click here: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090815/people_nm/us_india_usa_khan

Well there's this one dairy product company that has this one billboard, and they always have current events for their cartoon. This weeks reflected the SRK incident.
See below:

It's the little things in life that make you giggle! =)

Cheese Paper Dosa

This is my favorite local dish, which is called a "dosa". It's a cross between a pancake and a crepe. This particular one is called a "cheese paper dosa" which means it's as thin as paper, really long, and has only cheese inside. Thus it's not spicy. You can also get spicy ones, they're called "masala dosa".
Then there's 2 small dishes you'll notice... the red one is called "sambar" and the whitish green one is called "chutney". I like them both, but they were both quite spicy last night, so I didn't each much of either of them. Sambar is a tomato based liquid, with some other veggies in there. A typical poor-man's lunch is rice and sambar. Chutney is yummy goodness made from coconut and nuts.
I'm also drinking a banana milkshake which you see in the foreground. Mmm yummm!! Milk products help cut spice, so I always make it a point to have a milkshake. And the fruits are all so tasty here, why stick with boring vanilla or chocolate?? =)

Daily Doings - Spices and Such

So all over the place, these guys walk around selling their goods. This guy was walking around selling spices, after dinner mints, and various other things.


There's also guys that walk around selling vegetables, fruit, plastic containers... all kinds of things are sold on carts on wheels. Usually each person has his own noise/sound he hollers so that the people will know it's him, or he just yells what he's selling... really loudly! This guy wasn't yelling, he was just calmly making his way through the busy traffic in this road.

Daily Doings - Kids at Work

Bring your kids to work... everyday...!!!
This little cutie girl was at the construction site with her mom. I bent down to take photos of her and was trying very hard to get her to smile... finally I got this delightful expression from her!
She was having fun playing with her pots and pans... in the dirt!
Why isn't she in school, you might ask? Good question... while some schools are free, books are not, and many times families can't afford them.

Daily Doings - Construction Site

Picture a construction site... bet this isn't what it looks like!!

Everything here is done by hand... they scoop up the dirt, put it in that machine to make the concrete... there's no big concrete truck.

I've been here so long, I can't think of any other differences off the top of my head... so please post comments as to other differences you see! Thanks! =)

Daily Doings - More Head Carrying

This lady is carrying ROCKS on her head... and I don't mean diamonds! These ladies are working at a construction site... which looks wayyy different from the construction sites we're used to... tune in tomorrow for pics of this construction site! (haha, very sneaky, making you come back, huh??)
I love their bright smiles. I was just walking by and decided to whip out my camera and take some photos. These ladies loved it! and stopped to smile and pose for me! Too cute! I love how even the poorest of ladies still have beautiful colorful saris that they wear.

Toad in the Toilet

So last night I was arranging some things in the second bedroom, and I went to check in the bathroom... why I looked in the toilet, what made me look, I'll never know... but this is what I saw:


Yep! a real, live toad in my toilet! I tried flushing... nope that didn't work, still there. So I called my landlady and she told me not to worry about it; but I had to, I had a friend coming to stay with me. So she told me to go outside, fill a bucket with water, and pour the water into the toilet while flushing, and all that water pressure would make him go away... sure enough! It worked!!
Since animals can crawl up the back-door into my toilet, I'm glad it was only a toad! And actually the lady that lived in this house before me had this same thing happen, so I knew it was possible. All this added up to not that big of a shock... but still... a toad in the toilet.

Sunday Cooking - Bhajii

I'm trying to learn how to cook some local cuisine... thus my househelper teaches me!! Yesterday we cooked together. I wanted to try cooking these bean things but I hadn't bought the right ones. I had meant to buy chicken and cook that, but alas laziness took over my morning. So we cleaned out the fridge! =) She saw onions, tomatoes, and broccoli and told me we could make Bhajii. She was explaining to me that she would also put potatoes and paneer (kinda like cottage cheese, high in protein) in there, and I said, "OH! I have paneer!" so we thew that in too! I had to explain to her that this was a "thrown together" meal... thus explaining was fun! haha.
We also made chapati to eat with this. It was quite tasty! Are you hungry??
I love her smile. She's learned so much English since I've been here, and I only speak English with her. She's so happy, and eager to please! =)

Daily Doings - Head Carrying

What's the best way to carry things? Why on your head of course! It's very common to see ladies carrying all kinds of things on their heads... baskets, jugs, and plants. This was a major load, and I thought was perfect for a blog update! I saw this lady as I was walking to work this morning.

For Your Convenience

For your shopping convenience, there are always people selling all kinds of things at major intersections. See here a man selling cell phone chargers. Who needs drive thrus when you can have it delivered to your car?
Not guaranteeing that they would actually work though... just sayin'. Also for sell at most intersections are magazines or newspapers, fun hats, Q-tips (which nasty rumor is they clean dirty hospital ones, eww gross!), flags, maps, rags, sunglasses, and various cheap-o kids toys.

The Kids on my Street

These are a couple of the kids who live on my street. They're precious, they always speak to me with their very little English they they know, but their little faces just light up when I walk on the street and they'll holler at me when I'm still far away... "HI!!!!" It never fails to bring a smile to my face! =)
This little girl is adorable. She had on a pretty dress today. I just wanna squeeze her tight and take her home with me.

Daily Doings - Road Work

I love road work here... there's no announcement, just all of a sudden part of your street is dug up! As you can see it barely leaves enough room for a car to squeeze by. One morning there were about 10 men working on this hole. I guess it's for sewer stuff. Anyway, it just cracks me up.

So this is my street:

Here's a view of "the hole":

There's construction on the main road, but that's no nevermind. We'll just pile all the dirt and random extra concrete blocks up all over this house's wall and the sidewalk... because seriously who uses the sidewalk anyway??

Daily Doings- Veggies

So I have a new goal to take "everyday" type photos... these types of things are everyday for over here, but maybe more unusual for American standards.

On Saturday I went grocery shopping... only it's not so easy as going to Wal-Mart and getting everything there... I went to 5 stores in order to get everything I needed, and even still couldn't find the one particular item I wanted!

Here are bags representing the 5 stores I went to:



And I got lots of yummy vegetables... but they have to be washed in special stuff in order to be able to eat raw. So I drop the crystals in water... it turns purple... then put my veggies in:



my pretty colorful veggies... squash, zucchini, red and green and yellow bell peppers, carrots, tomatoes... yummy!

Dressing Up!

This weekend I went to a wedding, and here's how I looked all dressed up in a sari!

25 randoms

on facebook there's a popular list going around of 25 random things... so i just figured i'd put it up on here too! enjoy! =)

1. i love movies. i love to quote movies. i have almost 200 movies in my collection at my fingertips on my external hard drive. my fav is romantic comedies. and yes i do laugh and cry at them all!

2. i'm learning more and more things about myself and how i am everyday. how i internalize, how i verbally process, how much alone time i need... various things... the Lord reveals to me each day.

3. i knew in 4th grade that i wanted to live overseas and share God's love with others. however i never knew where that would land me.

4. daily i'm learning how to lean on God and view Him as the Lover of my soul. He is my bridegroom, and that won't change even when i have an earthly husband. daily He's teaching me how to lean more on Him and see Him as all i really need.

5. i am a Mac snob. i have a little MacBook named Fiona. Yes Fiona Apple. Mac is superior to all other systems, i'll believe it forever, don't argue me down!

6. scrapbooking is so much fun and my release. i can tell when i haven't spent time with it in a while, and i need to release myself in this creative often.

7. i guess i'm destined to have cancer one day... i freeze my water bottles. yes pick up your jaw! i know, shocking! but i love really cold water! it's so good. ohh and yes i heat up leftovers in plastic containers, and i'm sure i do a whole lot more that means for sure i'll have cancer one day!

8. i'm not a faithful journal keeper. but i write what i feel when i feel it. sometimes it's music lyrics, or a prayer to my Heavenly Father, or my ventings, or whatever i feel.

9. i have to feel something to really say it. i can't throw around words. if i don't say it, then i'm not feeling it in that very moment. i'll say whatever when i feel like it.

10. i avoid confrontation at all costs! even if this means misery or sadness on my end!

11. i love to bake, although things i bake don't always make it into cooked form. i love raw batter... cake batter, cookie dough... ahh!!

12. icing and peanut butter is perhaps the best combo ever. also pb & choc.

13. i have the best 2 best friends in the whole world! katie and heidi. i consider them both wonderful gifts from God!

14. i have wonderful parents! my mom and i are like best friends! she's my movie and tv buddy. it's really hard to be away from her and not share these moments with her. hence most of our phone calls involve recaps on tv shows and discussions! =) and my dad and i have great conversations about theology. i'm so thankful to have a smart dad who i can go to and ask tough questions to, and discuss things with! i can't wait till i'm in sem'nary and get to discuss all kinds of things with him!

15. i love to shop. retail therapy is the best thing ever! it's especially nice when you live in a place where things are so cheap! and if you don't like anything in the stores you can always buy fabric and take it to tailors!

16. if i could hold any job for one day, i'd be an orchestra director. in fact sometimes when i'm really moved listening to a song i start waving my hands in this fashion.

17. i'm a Hard Rock Cafe junkie! i've been to over 30 worldwide! i have almost that many tshirts too! i'm an All Access Pass holder, which gives me 10% off.

18. i love coffee! and i'm becoming more addicted everyday! starbucks, fancy drinks, or regular drip from my pot. i love it all! especially this new coffee i got in Thailand! yummy!!

19. i miss my dogs so much! what i'd give to have a Missi girl in my lap, petting her super soft fur. or play chase with Elvis in the backyard. or see Lexi with her super red eyes because i just woke her up. but thankfully my heavenly Father gave me a GR who lives upstairs from me, Bruno.

20. i love animals, specifically dogs. i want to take in so many street dogs, oh and i talk to dogs, all dogs, street dogs or domesticated pets. there are 4 kinds of dogs i want to own (separately) at some point in my life: a great dane, a golden retriever, a king charles cavalier spaniel, and a maltepoo.

21. i love to study God's Word! it's so exciting! right now i'm working on reading the whole Book! i think it's kinda sad that i've been a believer for 19 years but never read the whole thing, cover to maps! and what would i say when i get to heaven and see a minor prophet and he asks, "so, how'd ya like my book?" and you'd have to say, "umm i didn't read it." (i borrowed that quote/story/question) oh and i color my Bible, like mark specific words specific ways, it's all about Precept!

22. i used to be more talkative and outgoing. but then i realized that when people were talking to me and telling me things, i didn't really really care care about what they were saying, and figured that others felt the same way about my babbling. so i stopped talking and being outgoing. now i'll only really talk to you if you ask me something specific. i don't volunteer much info. i try to gauge your interest before spilling my whole life story.

23. i want the next guy i date to be the man i marry. i don't want to date just to date. i want to be purposeful. and i don't want to know it's him. i want God to tell him, and for me to be completely surprised!

24. i love to read. i'm always in the middle of a book. my 6th grade teacher told me, "never be caught anywhere without a good book!" and i've lived up to that advice!

25. just like all creative people, i have good days and bad days. on the bad days i want to stay in bed all day, crying, watching tv/movies, reading, whatever. it's only because i know where i'll go when i die that allows me to get out of bed on these days. especially when i know that most of the people around me won't go there, and my getting out of bed that day could affect their knowing the Truth.