India Day One - Delhi

I can’t even begin to explain to you how tired I am! I feel like I’ve been living the same day for the last 72 hours.

It started With having to leave early because of snow to get to the airport. 6 hours early to be exact. Then an 8 1/2 hour flight and a seven hour layover in London. Finally, a 9 hour flight to India.

We arrived and Shawn picked us up at the airport where per tradition they presented us with a lay. He then took us to our hotel which was about an hour away and let me just tell you, bit do they drive crazy! I got pretty dang carsick on the way to the hotel. And at one point monkeys ran across the street!!! 

We got to the hotel to freshen up and once I got to my room I showered and changed to go... while I was in the room construction was going on above me and pieces of my ceiling and vents from the bathroom cane crashing down... what an adventure already ! 

We went to Bangla Sahib which was within walking distance of the hotel. They feed $8-10,000 people a day for free there! You have to wash your hands and feet before you can enter, but the building was very beautiful. 

We then took a little taxi to get some food. On our ride there (did I mention crazy driving) Bonnie and Susan got rearended. The driver got out saw no damage and we were on our way again!

We had a meal, (I’m still working on letting the food grow on me) then headed out for some shopping. Eventually, our travel and jet lag set in and we headed back to the hotel for some rest. 

I must say that was a pretty good first day though if you ask me! 

India Day Two - Delhi to Agra

Today I woke up refreshed and ready to go, which was good because it was an early start for us! 

We met in the lobby at 6:30am and we were off to the train station. The lifts were broken and I’ll tell you I was glad I kept my belongs in the smaller bag and I wish I would have packed even less! Maybe next trip I’ll master the light packer mentality...

The train ride was a great experience. It allowed us to see parts of India we wouldn’t have gotten to see otherwise. The diversity here is so amazing and it’s all around you! 

We arrived it Agra and were picked up by our host family. It is a beautiful home and they are so hospititable! They had tea for us, then lunch following. 

After lunch they drove us to Agra Tower, which was amazing and allows for a great view of the Taj Mahal. 

Being blond and white in India is a bit rare and many people came up to me wanting a picture with me because of it, or just took pictures of me, or pretended to take pictures of something else while taking a picture of me, which I suppose is flattering I feel like a movie star in frumpy travel clothes 😂.

When we got back to the house once again we had tea and they gave us a bit of a snack then we went to a shop to see the clothing and souvenirs they had to offer. Beautiful stuff a bit out of my price range, but we also got to see a man making a rug that india is famous for and then they let me try on a Indian wedding dress which was so fun! 

We got back to the house and had coctail hour than we ate a late dinner and had dessert. I can’t even tell you how good the food has been. I was pretty scared I would dislike the food but it’s been lovely here! 

I had such a hard time staying awake during cocktail hour and after dessert! I was just so tired, but truly it was an amazing day! 

Somethings I noticed: the men do the entertaining and the women prepare the meals. I’m so grateful for the women they truly go above and beyond to serve us and there families and the men are so friendly and go out of there way for us as well! 

Our house family has two little boys and they are so very adorable. I’ve given lots of high fives and played “which one” with the kids and they are so adorable! 

The power here because there is so many people will just be cut sometimes so homes have to have back up batteries for when that happens. They aren’t scheduled so you never know when it’s going to happen. 

Switchfoot Extravaganza

 

Today was an amazing day. I can't even begin to explain this day to you but I will try. 

Amy, Brittany, and I left after church on our excursion to Bellingham to go see Switchfoot. 

The car ride went by so fast, we had girl talk

And before I knew it we were already here. 

We grabbed a quick bite and headed to

The concert. 

 

We parked in a lot that turned was donation only, which supported poor children of various countries and in that moment of getting parked and helping support the children we just knew that tonight was going to be our night! 

 

We walked in snagged some seats then waited for the headliners to start. Then we worked are way down to the front to squish as close to the front of the stage as we could, and I must say we were pretty successful! 

 

The headliners were great. It started with The Exchange, a band from Seattle and then was followed by another great artist called Kris Orlowski. When Kris came on stage we weren't quite sure he he was, but the first thing I noticed was (a) he looked like he belonged in Bellingham and (b) he is the only person I have ever seen with a mustache who didn't look extremely creepy. It took him awhile to introduce himself so we decided he was very misterous and we started naming the group for them. We ended up settling on Kris and the Titanium Beards because every single person on stage had facial hair. Amy bought a cd and we got a picture with Kris and then we went outside to wait around Switchfoots bus where we found the band of Kris so we got the chance to share our name ideas with them and they were stoked on it. And then it turns out Amy has some mutual friends with one of the band mates. 

 After the headliners came the reason for the adventure, Switchfoot!

 Boy do they know how to throw a concert! 

 And did I mention how close we got? 

 The group while performing was so humble and awesome. The lead singer (John) would occasionally just jump in the the audience and sing to the people who were stuck further back it was amazing. 

 

 As I already mentioned we were camped out by the bus after the show talking to the self titled "Titanium Beards" where a bunch of other people were also hanging out. Then all of a sudden and fast as lightening the guitar player walked by and was gone then a large chunk of the fans left. We assumed we had missed our one shot, but being diehards we decided to stick around until the bus actually moved, and were so glad we did. 

 We were three of five people who stuck it out and we got a chance to meet one of the most famous and humble Christian music artists in the industry. He was so kind and was obviously there for his fans. After he let us get a picture and share some quick conversation he personally, yes personally! Invited us to go here him play acoustic at a cafe. 

 Brittany, Amy, and I were obviously over joyed and had to take a quick moment on the pavement to take it all in... Well mostly

Brittany needed the moment but I decided if there were two of us laying there it would seem more normal just in case the bus drove by. 

 

Overall we had such a great night. It was amazing to see how much music can impact and help people through not only the happiest of times, but the saddest of times. It's amazing to think of how God uses their talents to bring people the gospel and because They remained faithful almost thirty years has gone by, with ten albums produced Switchfoot is still out their sharing the good news with others. 

 And to think it all started with two brothers in a band covering LedZeppelin. Whatever talent God gives you, I hope you won't waste it, but take  your lead from the memebers of Switchfoot and use them to make a difference, always stay humble and kind, and keep your eyes up. 

Live the Dash

This winter my friend Yesenia and I decided to be bold and sign up for a square dancing class. We hadn't done it before and we were pretty sure we would be the only people who were let memebers of AARP there, but we thought "oh well let's do this, it will be fun!" So we did it. And just as expected other than one boy who came with his grandma we were just about the only people under thirty there.

But we loved it! We met so many nice people who cared for us and enjoyed our joining in with them. While there we met another newbie named Tom. He is a very kind older widowed  man who is a retired teacher.

At the end of lessons Tom gave Yesenia and I some very thoughtful gifts and invited us on an adventure to go climb a mountain! Though both of us thought that sounded thrilling I must admit we were both a bit apprehensive. So when Tom called we thought we ought to meet with him to get more details and discuss it s bit further before we could completely commit to an adventure with someone we don't know all that well. 

Yesenia and I like to keep our schedules full so we gave him a limited date selection. When we arrived to dinner last night we were seated and starting talking like old friends. He asked us about our studies (both education wise and bible wise) and then he went on to share a story with us. 

He told us the story about his family and going to church and an amazing story about how a cute little first grader came and plopped herself down right next to him the first time he went to church and years later they married. He is truly an amazing story teller and hearing about his wife through his eyes and seeing his family and her on their climbing adventures growing up was truly a blessing.

Then when he was finished he told us that yesterday eating with him so was special to him because April 20th was actually his wedding anniversary and it meant to world to him that we would come and spend some time with him, and that in honor of his wife he wanted to give us a small gift. He always bought her earring so we to got earrings along with a lovely book to read called The Dash, which was inspired by an amazing poem. He was so excited to hear that I had known the poem by Linda Ellis. 

I can honestly say each person at the table got emotional as he shared his love stories about his past wife and how much he missed her. I feel so blessed that God put Yesenia and I in this mans life to bless him, but in turn we are to being overly blessed. In a day an age of technology and business it's not often that we slow down to learn from our elders and connect with new people. God's really challenging me to step out of my shell to slow down connect with people and I am so eager to continue to get to know Tom better along with many others on the journey of "my dash".

Gator! Gator! Gator!

It's our last day in this beautiful city! We woke up bright and early went to a billion (aka three) stores to find bug spray, third stores a charm and we got us some breakfast! Then it was off to the swamp tour!

We had so much fun going up and down the bayou of the Honey Island swamp!

We saw a gator strait away! But it was on the the other side of the boat so I sweet talked a gent from NY with my cute innocent charm and suckered him in to taking pictures with my phone for me. I had him all trained up:

When a Kodak moment appeared without even asking he just took my phone to get some shots for Yesenia and I, so ladies if anyone ever tells you boys can't be trained I insist they are dead wrong. 

We also saw some wild bores, turtles, a lizard, and a snake swimming down the buyou. 

We just basked in the sun and enjoyed the atmosphere!

After the tour we changed our clothes headed out to grab at a place called Huck Finns where we split our meal and some pecan pie! After that browsed some shops I got a great pair of new shoes as a souvenir and we made one last stop for some beingnets. As we were walking back to the hotel a mini fight broke out behind us and the streets were slammed with people so we glad even though it was just a bit before seven to be headed back to prepare for our 4:30am journey tomorrow morning! 

Overall though I'm a huge fan of New Orleans!