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)

Commission #3: "Mull it over"

So my dear friend T* in delhi asked me to do a painting for her with her families life verse with the world on it. So i wish i could take credit for the creativity of this one but alas i copied the format from a pic i found on the internet... but i indianized it. The details are changed but the format is the same.
anyways - there are several icons to represent india such as the taj mahal in the center, the lotus flower on the left and the peacock on the right. The mountains are the himalayas and the beaches are of kerala or Goa. The ship on the right is the star of india ship. The skies change to represent time zones. (the crazy cloud cover in the center could argueably represent the pollution in delhi...). The tidal waves represent the trials you will face in life - you can follow HIM or you can pull a "Jonah". the people can represent people or desires or families pulling you in different directions - will you choose obedience?
***I would love to hear your thoughts - click on comment button below

Deck the halls with boughs of holley....falalalla

ok so we really don't have halls or holley and especially no boughs of it....

BUT we used construction paper and dyed dupattas to deck this flat!

It took quite a bit of persuasive power to talk haley into letting me put up lots of christmas chains.... I can't remember if you've seen our house so here is our flat with christmas cheer:

one hump or two?

We always thought we were stared at a lot.... but try putting a couple of white chicks on a camel and send them down the street and back - you'd have your own parade!!!
sorry most of the pics are blurry - haven't figured out the buttons for shutter speed at night yet.

so i have officially completed my list: ride an elephant, a yak and a camel. "Check!"

a chrysanthemum fair like none other....

a small soapbox for your reading pleasure...

Let me give you a glimpse of how wonderful the City Beautiful is set up...

1) it is designed with logic by a French architect so there is order and sectors (wow)

2) within each sector are 4 sections - A,B,C,D to make up the square sector (fantastic!)

3) in the middle of each sector is a large park or garden and within each section (a,b,c,d) of the sector contains its own park - its green and clean. (phenomenal!)

Well in our sector there is the Terraced Garden. Its wonderfully kept - there is actual green grass with flower beds - that's right - and even cute little trash cans that are actually used....

well apparently they are having the 2007 Chrysanthemum fair in our terraced garden - quite the hullabaloo. (AND i didn't even have to spellcheck chrysanthemum because i learned how to spell it from watching "Anne of green gables".

We were walking downstairs to head to a market near the fair when my landlord stopped us... he went on for several minutes about it and how we should go. Then he told us that they went yesterday and took pictures with the kangaroos and giraffes and camels.... i became quite excited and i thought "Kangaroos???"so we walked straight there!! little did we know what he meant until we arrived and saw the "kangaroo" and other animals...

an ode to the Beki

Merry Christmas to the Bekkers....

First we'd like to reassure you that the tank is still in tact and guarding your land....

Forbiddia is missing their queen but your royal caretakers are taking good care of it.

Secondly, we found some "wild" donkeys for you - they were awandering around sector 17.... we thought we'd send em to you for christmas but alas, there were a few snafoos with immigration and cargo departments. (crazy paranoid people.... something about potential diseases being brought into the america or something... whatever.... so we tried) and besides the fact you won't return our emails and tell us your new address then i don't know where to send the donkeys.... so sorry "no donkeys for you!"

And finally we thought this pic would make you smile.... ahhhhhh India....

The Guardian Angel of the City Beautiful...

...or at least that's what the headline read about him that was printed in the paper back in 2003 which is copied onto the white paper i am holding. One day we were walking around and headed to a particular market when this man starts talking to the boys then eventually to us. He was QUITE impressed with my hindi - all 3 sentences and several head bobs...

ANywho - in the article it says: " Mr Singh rides around sector 17, saving foreigners from the clutches of the unfair rickshaw wallas and high priced hotels....etc" He informs them of the popular tourist places to visit and if they are interested will show them "hassle-free good priced hotels". The article did speak highly of Mr Singh and praising him as an upstanding citizen. He was quite a comical fellow. I hope Haley will call him up for a tour of the city beautiful when her parents come. That would be great!

At the end of our little walk and chat he gave us his address should we ever need anything and apparently he was quite taken with me since he bestowed as a gift, this very unique piece of material and asked us to take a picture for him. (it is the indian way, bestow a gift but take a picture bestowing so you don't forget, haha) Needless to say it was quite the afternoon and i have never laughed so hard -

So here's to you Mr Singh and to your chivalrous work of saving us foreigners from the clutches of those who try to rip us off.

I hope more people follow your example....

Carnivals are Neat.

So one day i read in the paper that there would be a carnival in one of our sectors.... I was quite proud of myself that i was actually reading the paper and was up to speed on the happenings of my town. Anyways i dragged BG and RR to the carnival...muaha. Sadly Haley was still in Goa so she missed out but i'm sure there will be another one soon. First we walked through the rose garden to reach the "fair area". Rose garden shown below...

We went mid afternoon so there wasn't a huge crowd and it was a pretty small fair... mainly sponsored by the art dept of the local college and the Canada tourism office (odd i know).

We definitely rode the ship of doom and luckily no one got sick.... indians aren't known to have strong stomachs - this i have discovered first hand, particularly on bus rides...

So of course we took our turn on the ferris wheel as most know it in america or the wheel of death as we know it in the india...

At least this one was powered by a motor and not some poor guy pedaling to make it go.... I'm sure this guy loves his job.... Quite satisfying.

But i did make a friend here and so hopefully we'll get to hang out soon. YAY!

city beautiful on bicycle.... rickshaw that is

Just thought i'd provide you with random entertainment.... for those who are unfamiliar with all things transportational... let me enlighten you.
There 6 forms of main transportation: personal bicycle, car, rickshaw (auto or bicycle), scooter (or motorbike), bus, or taxi. on such lovely days as this one, and if you aren't in a big hurry- a bicycle rickshaw is the way to go. Life seems so much more relaxed and you can really take in the sights.... (unless of course a big bus tries to run you over as you are going around the round-about but really, it adds a slight element of excitement, don't ya think??)Also in our great place, a helmet is required of all scooter/motorbike users unless of course you are Sikh (of sikh religion where you always wear a turban) then you are exempt as long as you are wearing your turban... see above. Haley and I were quite enjoying our time.... this is one idea america should implement. its great!

then we finally ended up at one of our favorite markets and helped our friend BG pick out some great पंजाबी जूतेस (shoes)

(its all about the curl on the toe...)

Turkey day without the turkey...

Happy thanksgiving!!

थान्क्स्गिविंग मुबारक हो

My friend Mel came down from the mountains to spend time with me and celebrate the thanksgiving in civilization.

We ate tons of food as in true thanksgiving tradition, though no football to watch.... साद.

Soooooooo we played spades and catch phrase instead - whoohoo.

We even ate B##f pot roast!!! muahahah. though now i'm not such a huge fan of meat. weird.

I am thankful for my city beautiful family. we are so lucky to have a group of amazing people to fellowship with. thanks guys!! And thanks for everyone who traveled from other places to hang out with us.... Below is some of the party goers.