Yesterday was my host mom’s birthday. I wanted to do something special for her but I knew she wouldn’t just let me through her a party. So, I planned a surprise party. I talked to Salim(my host dad) about it and felt like I was able to explain pretty well what I had planned and that he understood the gist of it. Then I had Karishma(Sitara’s youngest) help me pick out some cloth to give her for a new suit. The next day we went to pick out bangles to match it. My cover was almost blown though when Sitara and I went there the next day to get bangles to match my Id(Eed, a Musl!m holiday) suit because the lady said something about my being there just the day before. I tried my best to just shrug it off.
On Friday I went to the Clover’s house to bake a cake. This was slightly difficult for me because I was fasting with my host family. (The last Friday of R0z0n is pretty important and everyone fasts. They’d been asking me for awhile if I’d fast with them. Suzy’s family was asking her the same thing, so we both decided to fast with our host families.) When I make a cake my favorite part of making it is eating a bit of the batter. I always leave a bit extra in the bowl to lick out. And I couldn’t do that on Friday. But I made it though. Then after dinner I went to Suzy’s house to frost the cake. I still haven’t been able to make frosting just the right consistency here yet, so my frosting was a bit thin and wouldn’t stay on the sides of the cake. I decided to let it sit overnight and fix it in the morning. When I went to Suzy’s the next day the frosting was in great shape to fix the cake. But I couldn’t decorate it because the two kids of the family Suzy lives with wanted to watch and they didn’t get home from school till the afternoon. So, I had to wait. When they got home(and after the parade) I finished the cake and headed home. We had dinner and I tried to get Sitara to let me wash the dishes after dinner, but she insisted on doing them. But I did the last half of them because she had to go answer the phone. Then at about 7:30 everyone arrived. Suzy came with the cake and ice cream and along with her was Amber and the boys(Stephen wasn’t feeling very well) and some new friends of ours(I had wanted to invite them but I didn’t have their phone number) that had met Salim in the market a bit before and said they were stopping by. Sitara was so surprised with everything, and VERY embarrassed!! But after everyone had left and it was just us again, she told me she had a wonderful time and thanked me for her party.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Parade number two!!
Early this week I went down to the internet cafe to print some things off. The family that runs it is Shik and told me that the Shik temple was going to have a parade on Saturday. And that they’d be giving out free food all day. He also told me that if I wanted to help cook the food with the ladies I could. I wasn’t quite sure about that cause I thought I’d be more in the way than any help, but I for sure wanted to make a point of checking out all the festivites on Saturday.
So yesterday Suzy and I went down but were kind of confused about where to go, so we just kept walking and ended up sitting in a restaurant to talk and hang out. We both went home after a bit as it was getting close to lunch. Then after lunch I went back to Suzy’s because the parade was supposed to start at 2. Soon we heard the bands and knew it was about to start. Sure enough up the hill came the parade. They go up the fill first to the bus stand and then come back down again and continue on to the Library side of Mall Road. It wasn’t quite as exciting as the last parade, but it was still fun.
I was getting ready to go down and decorate Sitara’s birthday cake when Iube(Suzy’s host dad) said that there was going to be more festivities down by Clock Tower. So, Suzy and I headed down. She brought her camera and I borrowed the Clover’s. We got down there long before the parade ever did because we took the lower road to avoid all the crowds. When we got there we saw Salim and Sitara at one of the stores buying things for Id. I asked them if they were going to watch the parade and they said sure.
We had to wait for at least half an hour before we heard the bands coming. At first I was kinda disappointed because it was all the same as we saw at the top of the hill. But soon that all changed!
The ambulance(which I thought was just trapped in the middle of the parade) came and the started taking things out of it. It started with a guy swinging this long tin whip around. It was crazy!! The tin was about two inches wide and maybe ten feet long!! I thought for sure someone was going to get whipped with it and start gushing blood! Then there were sward fights and stick fights and all kinds of crazy things! It all ended with a little boy laying on the ground with a banana on his tummy, a guy with one on his head, two boys holding one in their mouths, a guy with a coconut on his head and another guy just kneeling on the ground. Then the blindfolded a guy, gave him a sward and spun him around a coulpe times. He then proceded to cut the bananas in half, took his sward and ran it along the one guys nose and then was given a bat and smashed the coconut.
I got almost all of this all on video and thought I got the very last part, but when I looked at Suzy’s camera last night it wasn’t there. But I did post the rest of the videos, so check them out on my videos page!!
So yesterday Suzy and I went down but were kind of confused about where to go, so we just kept walking and ended up sitting in a restaurant to talk and hang out. We both went home after a bit as it was getting close to lunch. Then after lunch I went back to Suzy’s because the parade was supposed to start at 2. Soon we heard the bands and knew it was about to start. Sure enough up the hill came the parade. They go up the fill first to the bus stand and then come back down again and continue on to the Library side of Mall Road. It wasn’t quite as exciting as the last parade, but it was still fun.
I was getting ready to go down and decorate Sitara’s birthday cake when Iube(Suzy’s host dad) said that there was going to be more festivities down by Clock Tower. So, Suzy and I headed down. She brought her camera and I borrowed the Clover’s. We got down there long before the parade ever did because we took the lower road to avoid all the crowds. When we got there we saw Salim and Sitara at one of the stores buying things for Id. I asked them if they were going to watch the parade and they said sure.
We had to wait for at least half an hour before we heard the bands coming. At first I was kinda disappointed because it was all the same as we saw at the top of the hill. But soon that all changed!
The ambulance(which I thought was just trapped in the middle of the parade) came and the started taking things out of it. It started with a guy swinging this long tin whip around. It was crazy!! The tin was about two inches wide and maybe ten feet long!! I thought for sure someone was going to get whipped with it and start gushing blood! Then there were sward fights and stick fights and all kinds of crazy things! It all ended with a little boy laying on the ground with a banana on his tummy, a guy with one on his head, two boys holding one in their mouths, a guy with a coconut on his head and another guy just kneeling on the ground. Then the blindfolded a guy, gave him a sward and spun him around a coulpe times. He then proceded to cut the bananas in half, took his sward and ran it along the one guys nose and then was given a bat and smashed the coconut.
I got almost all of this all on video and thought I got the very last part, but when I looked at Suzy’s camera last night it wasn’t there. But I did post the rest of the videos, so check them out on my videos page!!
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Musl!m Pr@yer
So, last night we had some guests over for dinner. My host mom told me that her son had invited two guys over for dinner but I didn’t think much of it. But when they got here I realized that these weren’t just any guys, these were some quasi important Musl!m people. I still am not sure if they were imams or something though. Anywho. We sat down to dinner and ate our fig, then our bowl of fruit and started in on the appetizers(we always have some type of fried thingers that I consider appetizers) when Arif and the two guests stood up. Sitara went and got three pr@yer mats and began to lay them out in the living room/dinning room floor. She then said her and I would eat dinner on the couch(really more like a bed) since the chairs at the table would be in the way. Once we were seated the guys began their pr@yers. It was really an interesting thing to watch since they said all the pr@yers in Arabic. They would recite a prayer then bend over, stand up, and then kneel on their mats with their heads to the floor. It went on for about 15 minuets or so. When they were done they went back to the table and finished eating.
When they left Sitara told me she felt bad because she was supposed to give them each a new suit(not like a suit and tie, but as in the local dress) but she didn’t know till that afternoon that they were coming and it was not enough time to go and get a suit. She also told me that these guys had been at the mosk since R@mmadon started(last week) pr@ying and reciting the Korh@n. It was really quite interesting.
Later that evening we were looking at some of their pictures and there was a picture of a group of men without their shirts and their backs were all cut and bloody. I asked her about it and she said that there are two different sects of Musl!ms in !nd!a. One of them believe that their prophet had done this and that they need to do it also. So, they have a day dedicated to whipping their backs. At the end of the day they go to a certain area of town where they had been burning wood all day. When they get there they walk on the coals barefoot.
It is amazing to me the dedication that other r3l!g!ons have that we Chr!st!ans lack. And to think that we have the hope that they do not. Why can’t I show this same dedication? Why is it so hard for me? Why do I sometimes read my B!ble simply because I feel I should? Why can’t I always do it because I long to know my S@vior better? These are just a few of the thoughts I’ve had while learning about the family I am living with.
When they left Sitara told me she felt bad because she was supposed to give them each a new suit(not like a suit and tie, but as in the local dress) but she didn’t know till that afternoon that they were coming and it was not enough time to go and get a suit. She also told me that these guys had been at the mosk since R@mmadon started(last week) pr@ying and reciting the Korh@n. It was really quite interesting.
Later that evening we were looking at some of their pictures and there was a picture of a group of men without their shirts and their backs were all cut and bloody. I asked her about it and she said that there are two different sects of Musl!ms in !nd!a. One of them believe that their prophet had done this and that they need to do it also. So, they have a day dedicated to whipping their backs. At the end of the day they go to a certain area of town where they had been burning wood all day. When they get there they walk on the coals barefoot.
It is amazing to me the dedication that other r3l!g!ons have that we Chr!st!ans lack. And to think that we have the hope that they do not. Why can’t I show this same dedication? Why is it so hard for me? Why do I sometimes read my B!ble simply because I feel I should? Why can’t I always do it because I long to know my S@vior better? These are just a few of the thoughts I’ve had while learning about the family I am living with.
Passport...part three
I realized today that I never finished this ongoing entry. So, here is the rest of the story.
On July 19th Suzy and I got up early and headed to the bus station. This time we had to travel from Muss00r!e so we had an extra leg to our trip. We took a bus from here is D.D. Once there we had to go to the main ISBT(bus station) and get a bus to D3lhi. The trip there was uneventful, no bus crashes or anything.
Once we arrived in D3lhi we found the metro and took it to C@naught Place. We had decided that since we were in D3lhi we would go to Papa John’s for dinner. Oh! It was so good!! We’ve tried Pizza Hut and Dominos here too and I think that Papa John’s is the closest to the pizza from the States.
After dinner we walked to the train station to find a hotel in the bazar there. They tried to get us to take an air conditioned room for twice the price of one without, but it really wasn’t that hot and we were only going to be there for one night. We settled in and went to sleep.
The next morning we took an auto to the embassy to pick up my new passport. We were old pros at this by now. While we waited there was an American couple who were filing for new passports. We talked to them a bit and found out that they had been getting on a train for D.D. when her purse was stolen! Both their passport and their money were in it. So, here they were. They ended up being able to get passports that day because they were going to be heading back to the States later that week.
We left there to go to the FRRO to apply for a new visa. When we got there we had to wait in a HUGE line!! We must have waited maybe an hour and a half. But there were all kinds of people who just went in. I was slightly confused, so I went up and checked it out while Suzy stayed in line. But, it was just the people from Afghan who were going in because they had a separate line. So, back to my spot I went.
When it was finally my turn I went to the reception desk gave them my new passport, the documents they gave me at the embassy, copy of my old one and visa, and the police report. The man looked at it, wrote a number on the top of a form, told me to fill it out and go to counter five.
I filled out the form, attached my passport photo and went to counter five. I was really confused at first because counter five was not clearly marked. I tried to ask a few people but they all told me different numbers. So, I stood in one line for a bit when a guy told me I was in the wrong line, this one was for the Afghans. So, to the next counter I went. It ended up being counter five. The lady there looked at my documents and form then told me I needed copies of my new passport. I asked her where I could get them and she just point to the door. I was a little bit flustered and asked her again, “Where can I get copies made?” And again she just pointed to the door while saying I need copies. Grrr.
So, Suzy and I began to weave our way though all the people to the door. On the way out we saw our friends from the embassy. We told them they would probably need to get copies also so they sent their driver to get copies while they waited in line.
We asked one of the guards outside where we could get copies and he gave us directions. Once I’d made my copies(more than I really needed for the FRRO) we went back and I got in line at counter five. She looked at my copies wrote something on one of them and told me to take it to another counter.
I went to that counter and no one was there. So, I tried to talk to the lady at the next desk but she said to wait till this person came back. So I waited. And waited. And waited. Finally the lady at the other desk made a phone call and then asked to see my papers. I gave them to her and she shuffled through them a bit then told me to leave them (with my new passport) in a pile on this other desk and to come back at four. I was a bit uneasy about leaving the passport I had just got that morning, but didn’t really have a choice.
Suzy and I went to lunch and came back at four. I went to the desk I had left all my documents at and asked if my visa was ready. The lady shuffled though the stack till she found my papers, looked at them and said no, it was not ready yet. She wrote something on the paper and told me to go to the reception desk. I walked over there to find on one there and a sign above that said reception was open until two. But I waited anyway. And while I waited our friends showed up. They also were told to come back at four. Finally someone came and looked at my papers. He wrote something on them and sent me to counter five.
To counter five I went. They lady looked at my papers asked me when I was planning on leaving !nd!a and I told her 180 days from May 13th. She wrote on my papers and sent back to the desk where I’d left my papers before. When I got there the lady looked at what counter five had written and said she had not completed it. I told her she was not sure when 180 days from May 13th was, so this lady thought for a bit and just picked a day in November. Ha! Then she sent me back to counter five. At counter five the women finished writing what she had started before, put a stamp in my passport with some numbers and sent me back to the other counter. This lady then proceeded to sign in some areas, and told me to take one stack of papers back to counter five. I took them, gave them to the lady and she shuffled through them and just set them aside. I waited, but she didn’t tell me anything, so finally I asked if there was anything else and she said no. So, Suzy and I headed out the door with my new passport and temporary visa!
We got some dinner and then headed back to D.D. and then to Muss00r!e. I’ll have to wait till we got to N3pal in October/November to get another ten year visa since they do not issue them in !nd!a.
And that is the end of my passport adventures. Sorry this one was so long, but if you did take the time to read it all I give you kuddo points!! And I’m sure you got a good laugh because of all the red tape.
On July 19th Suzy and I got up early and headed to the bus station. This time we had to travel from Muss00r!e so we had an extra leg to our trip. We took a bus from here is D.D. Once there we had to go to the main ISBT(bus station) and get a bus to D3lhi. The trip there was uneventful, no bus crashes or anything.
Once we arrived in D3lhi we found the metro and took it to C@naught Place. We had decided that since we were in D3lhi we would go to Papa John’s for dinner. Oh! It was so good!! We’ve tried Pizza Hut and Dominos here too and I think that Papa John’s is the closest to the pizza from the States.
After dinner we walked to the train station to find a hotel in the bazar there. They tried to get us to take an air conditioned room for twice the price of one without, but it really wasn’t that hot and we were only going to be there for one night. We settled in and went to sleep.
The next morning we took an auto to the embassy to pick up my new passport. We were old pros at this by now. While we waited there was an American couple who were filing for new passports. We talked to them a bit and found out that they had been getting on a train for D.D. when her purse was stolen! Both their passport and their money were in it. So, here they were. They ended up being able to get passports that day because they were going to be heading back to the States later that week.
We left there to go to the FRRO to apply for a new visa. When we got there we had to wait in a HUGE line!! We must have waited maybe an hour and a half. But there were all kinds of people who just went in. I was slightly confused, so I went up and checked it out while Suzy stayed in line. But, it was just the people from Afghan who were going in because they had a separate line. So, back to my spot I went.
When it was finally my turn I went to the reception desk gave them my new passport, the documents they gave me at the embassy, copy of my old one and visa, and the police report. The man looked at it, wrote a number on the top of a form, told me to fill it out and go to counter five.
I filled out the form, attached my passport photo and went to counter five. I was really confused at first because counter five was not clearly marked. I tried to ask a few people but they all told me different numbers. So, I stood in one line for a bit when a guy told me I was in the wrong line, this one was for the Afghans. So, to the next counter I went. It ended up being counter five. The lady there looked at my documents and form then told me I needed copies of my new passport. I asked her where I could get them and she just point to the door. I was a little bit flustered and asked her again, “Where can I get copies made?” And again she just pointed to the door while saying I need copies. Grrr.
So, Suzy and I began to weave our way though all the people to the door. On the way out we saw our friends from the embassy. We told them they would probably need to get copies also so they sent their driver to get copies while they waited in line.
We asked one of the guards outside where we could get copies and he gave us directions. Once I’d made my copies(more than I really needed for the FRRO) we went back and I got in line at counter five. She looked at my copies wrote something on one of them and told me to take it to another counter.
I went to that counter and no one was there. So, I tried to talk to the lady at the next desk but she said to wait till this person came back. So I waited. And waited. And waited. Finally the lady at the other desk made a phone call and then asked to see my papers. I gave them to her and she shuffled through them a bit then told me to leave them (with my new passport) in a pile on this other desk and to come back at four. I was a bit uneasy about leaving the passport I had just got that morning, but didn’t really have a choice.
Suzy and I went to lunch and came back at four. I went to the desk I had left all my documents at and asked if my visa was ready. The lady shuffled though the stack till she found my papers, looked at them and said no, it was not ready yet. She wrote something on the paper and told me to go to the reception desk. I walked over there to find on one there and a sign above that said reception was open until two. But I waited anyway. And while I waited our friends showed up. They also were told to come back at four. Finally someone came and looked at my papers. He wrote something on them and sent me to counter five.
To counter five I went. They lady looked at my papers asked me when I was planning on leaving !nd!a and I told her 180 days from May 13th. She wrote on my papers and sent back to the desk where I’d left my papers before. When I got there the lady looked at what counter five had written and said she had not completed it. I told her she was not sure when 180 days from May 13th was, so this lady thought for a bit and just picked a day in November. Ha! Then she sent me back to counter five. At counter five the women finished writing what she had started before, put a stamp in my passport with some numbers and sent me back to the other counter. This lady then proceeded to sign in some areas, and told me to take one stack of papers back to counter five. I took them, gave them to the lady and she shuffled through them and just set them aside. I waited, but she didn’t tell me anything, so finally I asked if there was anything else and she said no. So, Suzy and I headed out the door with my new passport and temporary visa!
We got some dinner and then headed back to D.D. and then to Muss00r!e. I’ll have to wait till we got to N3pal in October/November to get another ten year visa since they do not issue them in !nd!a.
And that is the end of my passport adventures. Sorry this one was so long, but if you did take the time to read it all I give you kuddo points!! And I’m sure you got a good laugh because of all the red tape.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Always moving
It seems that my whole time here in !nd!a has been spent moving every few weeks. And each time I move I think, “Ok. This is where I’ll be for at least a couple months.” But then within just a short time I am packing my things again and moving.
This time I have moved in with a Musl!m family, and just in time for Rammadon too! They are a really fun family and enjoy playing games a lot. :D They have one son who is 19, and two daughters who are 16 and 17. Sitara(the mom) speaks really good english and is able to help me with my H!nd! almost every day.
This time I have moved in with a Musl!m family, and just in time for Rammadon too! They are a really fun family and enjoy playing games a lot. :D They have one son who is 19, and two daughters who are 16 and 17. Sitara(the mom) speaks really good english and is able to help me with my H!nd! almost every day.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Hey Macarena!!
If you were in another country that loved to dance and your new friends asked you to teach them a popular American dance what would be the first one that came to your mind? For Suzy and I it was the Macarana. Twice. The first time was at the hostel. And then this afternoon we went over to Mohammed's house and the girls were asking us to teach them an American dance. “Hey! Macarana.” Aksa, his youngest at six years old caught onto it pretty darn quick. It was a lot of fun. I so enjoy going over to their house!!
Tomorrow I am going to teach Aksa how to make a chocolate cake. That should be a lot of fun! : ) She goes to an English medium school but is only in kindergarten so she doesn’t yet know a lot of English. But, I think we should be able to make a cake well enough.
Tonight I was working with Aksa on her English reading. She always get her b’s and d’s mixed up. (something I am sure each one of us did in kindergarten as well!) I tried to help her remember which was which by showing her that b’s point to the right and d’s to the left. We’ll see if she remembers tomorrow.
Anyway. I guess that’s all (for now) folks!
Tomorrow I am going to teach Aksa how to make a chocolate cake. That should be a lot of fun! : ) She goes to an English medium school but is only in kindergarten so she doesn’t yet know a lot of English. But, I think we should be able to make a cake well enough.
Tonight I was working with Aksa on her English reading. She always get her b’s and d’s mixed up. (something I am sure each one of us did in kindergarten as well!) I tried to help her remember which was which by showing her that b’s point to the right and d’s to the left. We’ll see if she remembers tomorrow.
Anyway. I guess that’s all (for now) folks!
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Knitting Community
Since Suzy and I moved into our new place I have looked out my bedroom window and watched the ladies across the alley knitting. They often go sit on each others balconies while they knit and visit with each other. I am also a knitter(though not as good as they are. They knit sweaters without any pattern at all!!) and I have been longing to go sit and knit with them. They always seem like they are having so much fun.
Well, today I got my opportunity. Suzy and I were watching Grayson and Deakin while Stephen and Amber went out for their date night. The boys love to go up on our roof(we have a flat roof) and hang out up there. So, while Suzy cooked dinner I took the boys up there. We were looking down at all the hustle and bustle in the ally and the boys got the attention of the ladies knitting. They smiled at the boys for a bit and then motioned to come down with them! : ) We hurried downstairs and I looked at my pattern to see what squares came next in the blanket I am knitting and headed back to the alley. It was a lot of fun. The boys played with the two ladies children while I knitted away. They even called me their friend!! : ) What a great evening it was!! And now I can say that I am part of the knitting community out back. : )
Well, today I got my opportunity. Suzy and I were watching Grayson and Deakin while Stephen and Amber went out for their date night. The boys love to go up on our roof(we have a flat roof) and hang out up there. So, while Suzy cooked dinner I took the boys up there. We were looking down at all the hustle and bustle in the ally and the boys got the attention of the ladies knitting. They smiled at the boys for a bit and then motioned to come down with them! : ) We hurried downstairs and I looked at my pattern to see what squares came next in the blanket I am knitting and headed back to the alley. It was a lot of fun. The boys played with the two ladies children while I knitted away. They even called me their friend!! : ) What a great evening it was!! And now I can say that I am part of the knitting community out back. : )
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