adventures in grace

This past week was monumental for India. While many of you were going about your daily lives in the west, billions (yes, billions) of people were glued to their TV's for hours upon end. Why, you ask? The stinkin Cricket World Cup was happening!

I kinda hopped on the bandwaggon when India was playing Pakistan in the semi-finals. When fireworks and cherry bombs are exploding all night long and screams and shouts are heard every time a play is made, you gotta join in, right? So, join in I did. We watched the semi-final from the comfort of our flat, but decided to go out big and join the rest of the city to watch the final at the mall down the street. There is a huge flat screen television at the center of the mall and hundreds of people were crammed in there to watch everything unfold.

My understanding of the game grew thanks to my friends from England and Ireland who explained wickets, overs, and other aspects the game. Beyond being the World Cup Champion, I think the best part about India winning is how it brings everyone together. The few hours after the celebrations are the rare times where I feel comfortable with all the men around me. It gives us all a reason to be happy, and I don't have to be on the defensive with them. Everyone was celebrating and they were so happy to see the westerners join in on the celebration. Immediately after the win, people were shaking our hands, asking for pictures with us and asking how we were feeling. Glad I got to be here during a celebration of epic proportions.

Needless to say, I took a ton of pictures. Here's a bit of how it all went down...

first with the picture after the semi-finals.

A little video I shot on the street outside our flat after India beat Pakistan in the Cricket World Cup semi-finals. Things in this video are pretty calm compared to how crazy things got. My favorite is the little man who I told to wave at the camera... haha. I'm thinking he didn't speak English. Oh well! GO INDIAAA!!

It's days like today when I love the city I live in. I blame it on the pleasant spring weather and the lazy Sunday afternoon feel that the streets get when the masses of people are inside rather than out. I'm coming to find that life is just lived out in front of you here. Whether good, bad, harsh or beautiful, it will be shoved in your way without your choosing most of the time. Life here is intense to say the least, but when you take time to slow down, look around you and peel back the layers, one finds beauty in the madness. I am beginning to see it. So, today I decided to bask in the afternoon sunlight and make some neighborhood friends. Here are a few pictures of what I saw...

I don't know about you, but New Year's Eve is one of those holidays that is usually a hit or miss. Many a times I have spent it around a bonfire twirling sparklers wishing my hair and clothes didn't smell like smoke. Or, it seems there have been times with the right mix of people, food, and amazingness that you walk away thinking about how epic it was. This past was New Year's was the latter.

Two new girls had just arrived in the city for the holidays, and we were enjoying just having new company and other Americans around. We headed to a friend's flat, and I consumed my share of ritz crackers dipped in white chocolate, spinach dip(!), and whatever finger food was available. Downstairs some music was blasting (per usual), and there were a few Indians jamming out on the dance floor, so we all crammed on the balcony to watch the events unfold below. Any other night, I wouldn't have thought twice about going down there to join them, but I think we were all feeling the urge to mix it up a little bit and make the night interesting. We asked about the party below, and our friends told us we probably couldn't get in because it cost 600 rupees. We all decided to give it a go. It was the perfect time the play the "dumb, foreigner card". (Many times when I see things that I think are pointless, like bag checks at the grocery store or showing my boarding pass for the 37th time, I just ignore it and act like I don't know what is going on. Don't judge me till you've lived here.) So, we decided to just head in like we owned the place. I was first in the group, so I got in just fine, but the 2 girls at the back of our group got stopped and were told they needed a gate pass. We kinda acted clueless and just stood there trying to reason with the man. He said, "you wait just one minute." We figured he was pretty official because he had a badge and a walkie talkie. After a minute, he came back and very politely told us to enjoy ourselves. SCORE!

After looking around, we headed to the dance floor and laughed pretty much half the time we were out there. I did some of the stupidest, most ridiculous moves I could think of and when I ran out of those, I just started imitating everyone around me. I'm sure everyone pretty much thought we were awesome. :)

Here are some videos and a picture we took that night.








it's kind hard to see, but there is a little sikh guy that we laughed at the whole night. he is in the middle of the stage in white trying to pump the crowd up.

once again... francis chan kicks me in the face. thought this is a good way to start out the new year. here (click on the word "here") is the link to a video about Christ- centered relationships. good stuff.


oh, and interestingly enough, this was not posted at 11:21 pm on Dec. 31st because at that time i was bringing in the new year bustin out my craziest dance moves with a buncha indians and close friends. more on that soon to come.

Moving to South Asia was a pretty big stretch. I mean not many things on a daily basis come across my path and I think, "Oh, this just reminds me of home." Nope. Actually, I'm more likely to think "... this would never happen in America." Then, I have to remind myself I'm not in America; I'm in Asia and just move on.

One of the funnier things I have recently come across that is pretty different here is the concept of exercising. Many people can be seen out briskly walking about 5 am to get exercise. Or there are the type that believe yoga is the way to go and flail their arms about to get the blood flowing. And then there is the breathing yoga which has been recommended a few times-- not really exercise if you ask me.

In our apartment complex, there is a little work out room with a little trainer man whose job is to show us how to use the machines and junk like that. At first, I was pretty stand-offish to him, well, because that's how I am with all Indian men, and because he just started pushing buttons on my treadmill trying to teach me how to use it I guess. I had to politely inform him that I had seen one of these things before, and I knew what I was doing. Then, the staring commenced. Which is pretty normal, but I don't think they had ever seen a woman actually run on the thing before. My friend said she heard them talking about her saying something like, "Oh, she thinks if she runs faster, she will burn more calories...". Wonder what they think about me?

Well, no need to wonder! Turns out my roomie and I are the talk of the gym. We were talking with our neighbor and she was saying how the trainer talks about us and how we can lift all kinds of weights. We laughed so hard! I'm thinking it was that one time I told him to up my quad exercise thing from 10 kg's to 20 kg's. I don't think he thought I could, but when I successfully did it, he exclaimed, "oh..so powerful!" And he just kinda stared like "what has this girl been eating?" Then, the next time I went in, he walked up and saw me bench pressing about 50-60 lbs, which I feel like isn't that much! When he saw me, he just said, "Wow!" Haha. Who knows what I'll impress him with next?

I have the best mom in the world. Not only is she talented, beautiful, funny, she is kind and thoughtful. This week I received a package she sent and it made my heart happy. I'm sure it was a nice, intact box when it left her site, but after I saw it, I'm praising Jesus that it made it over the ocean and to my little post office. Below are some pictures of the outside and what I found inside. Love you, mom!