The Border Run...

So i left the City Beautiful at like 6 am to catch a bus to Amritsar and then bargained for forever for a taxi to the Wagah Border. (i know some hindi and i'm not gonna be ripped off!) i did finally get a good price - whoohoo. I crossed the border which took about 45 minutes and then E* picked me up on the Pakistan side. I hung out in Laha Land* for 3 days, even learned a couple stories in Urdu. I never realised how seriously close Hindi and Urdu are to one another until i was in a market bargaining and the man behind the counter started smiling and telling me how good my Urdu was. So naturally i just said "why thank you". However, for dinner i did get the chance to go through the "drive through" at McDonalds and got a "beef burger". Drive - thrus are so fun!It was delicious. then the 2nd night E* and one of her friends met us at the market and we went to eat at "Gunsmoke". Which was so fun cuz, well they also had beef burgers and it was like Texas Roadhouse bec you got peanuts on the table and you threw them on the floor. Fantastic!

I did so happen to come the week of Eid, which is the Muslim holiday ending ramadan and where they sacrifice an animal in honor of Abraham and his sacrifice of Ishmael (Muslim tradition claims Ishmael,not Isaac ). So as we were driving around, there were goats and bulls and even camels decorated and tied up or being taken somewhere in preparation for Eid when they would kill them. Poor goats.Here are a few pics from Laha Land*So for you westerners, this may look normal but for those of you in south asia.... please note the lines of cars in their allotted lanes. (do you see the LANES???? so COOL!)

The day after Eid, i hopped a bus up to A* town to see some friends. we watched home alone on a big projector with some other families in town and ate dinner. Then the next day we slept in and went awandering around their market. Their area is much more conservative so we covered our heads before we headed out the door.

Their town reminded me so much of Nimda*!! i loved it!
So i know we always say that we get "stared at" all the time... well i have it on camera! I have this routine of just holding my camera in my hands and just snapping pictures as we wander around places because then it draws much less attention to myself but i saw these guys comin & i snapped away without being a "loose woman" and looking at them. (i am so sneaky muahah) No wonder the men here want their wives covered up like this....

Heehe, i tried on Ash's burka, though its fun for a few minutes- it definitely affects your peripheral vision...

(Oh and i am smiling in this picture..)
Also that night we had a Christmas party with real turkey and dressing - i was so spoiled. and the kids put on a program for us. Then the next day, me and my friends left A* Town at the crack of dawn and headed 12 hours back to the City beautiful on Christmas Eve so they could spend christmas with us. YAY!

A dear friend and I were chatting the other day and we were talking about my most recent venture across the border and back.... and i thought to myself, 2 years ago would i have even considered crossing that border??? and would i have even been bold enough to do it by myself??? a very large resounding NO echoed through my mind and i thought WOW, i wonder how much i have changed in other areas of my life and how much has my friends and fam changed since i left the America??
**** i am feeling a bit contemplative currently so indulge me****

and then i thought, what if people just think i'm that strange asian chic with terretz when in all actuality its just my few favorite hindi words bustin out? ( and preferably i hope mine and julie reagan's dreams of being the COOL asian chics does work out)