indian design everywhere

I mentioned before about how much India has influenced design trends. So I wanted to make an ode to India's style which has flavored my taste without even realizing it. Here are some things after being here that have caught my eye:

1. The printed quilt:

Pottery Barn version:

2. The Lantern:

World Market mass produced version:

3. The hand dyed print:

Pottery Barn version:

Anthropologie version:

4. The window screen: see here

5. The Crewel fabric:

Again, Pottery Barn version:

6. The Indian rug: Also similar to the Persian rug because the Persians or "Mughals" ruled India for many years

homesick and eating Indian style

A salad. A day without sweat. Our very own apartment. Clean parks. Part of me is really starting to miss home tonight. Andrew is out with some students and nearly all of our team is hanging out. I think it's the first time I'm really longing for just an hour at home. To lay on our couch and watch a movie with Andrew. After a meal I'd get to cook with fresh veggies! yum! I really haven't been homesick much, but it's hit me tonight.

I am currently drooling.

We just finished dinner here- about 9:30 am your time! We always have rice and sometimes for lunch they make special Basmati rice, which is a treat love! Tonight for dinner we had paneer, the usual. Its cheese with a funny texture- maybe feta meets jello? kind of crumbly and a little on the slimy side. I can't stomach it, but it always comes in a good sauce. In India many people are vegetarians. Meat (meaning chicken or pork or mutton, no beef) is more of a luxury. We also had dahl which is a kind of soupy lentil mash. It's one of the most mild things to eat. And there's one kind of dahl our guest house makes that has cumin in it and I like to imagine it's some kind of Cuban or Mexican black beans. Chapati is another safe food. Its a grilled tortilla. Authentic Indians eat their food by tearing chapati and using it to pick up the rest of their food. We pretend they are rolls or dinner bread. Actually we had another treat tonight- naan. It's more like flatbread. Thicker than chipati, but also grilled. There's always a vegetable too. Tonight was Alu-gobi. Which literally means potato-califlower. This time they added peas too and it was fiery hot! Early in the week they made okra, which was not only a nice change, but SO good!! I felt like I was in Georgia or something.

We start by loading our plates with rice. Since it was the "good dahl" I loaded my rice with it and then got some alu-gobi on the side. Got some crispy grilled naan and I was set. Tonight was a safe night. Not super hungry and craving a salad. We girls keep dreaming of having fresh fruits and veggies :) We can't eat them here because they are washing with tap water. Indian tap water is well, let's say "not helpful" for your digestive system and will do some damage.

We went for a little shopping at a nearby outdoor bazaar today. I got some earrings, some fun Indian leather flats, and a coin purse I can keep my money in here. Until now a ziploc bag has done the trick, but I was ready for something not quite so see-through. I really enjoyed getting to shop. I'm excited about buying some Indian fabric and making pillows for our place when we get home. I'm also trying to narrow down what to get for our home. I found some Pottery Barn-esque fabric napkins, lanterns, bells and other fun stuff. Seriously, I'm realizing how much Indian elements have become popular in America.

Flats similar to the ones I bought today for only about $10.

Before we went shopping Andrew wanted to boost team morale so we went to KFC. Which you know I haven't stepped foot in probably ever. And the last time I think I went to buy fried chicken was when my sister and I would beg our grandparents to take us to Popeyes when we were maybe 8ish. So KFC in America, thumbs down. KFC in India = my favorite American restaurant we've been too. Weird I know. I saw corn on the cob on the menu and I was coveting it. Because it was steamed, it was ok to eat...at least no problems so far :). So though today was filled with yummy little food surprises and a fun shopping outing, I am starting to miss home.

Almost half way through. A hair under 3 weeks left.

a few images of india

Some pictures from India!

Hubby at the Red Fort- mostly in red limestone. We stopped to take a break and had a mob of Indians taking pictures of us and asking to take pictures with us. The blonde girls especially. Not sure they see a lot of blue eyes, blonde hair, bigger builds or really white people very often. Needless to say we stick out like sore thumbs.


The Taj Mahal! So beautiful, but a stifling day
Arabic writing from the Koran on the Taj

A couple pic in front...I'm wearing a new kurta

I'll add more when we get time. It was just monsooning, so we had a break in our day. Thankfully the crazy rain has stopped and everything has cooled off!

a week in

So our team has been in Delhi for over a week now!

We got to see the Taj Mahal, the India Gate (think Indian version of the Arc de Triomphe), the Red Fort and tour lot of the city and some of the countryside.

The Taj was beautiful! A stark white against the dusty reds and browns. It's perfectly symmetrical and they took into consideration how the eye sees it from far away. There are two narrow towers on either side of it and they actually slant away from the Taj so that when looking at it far away, they appear perfectly straight. Also, there is Arabic writing all around the huge doorways and they actually made the writing thicker at the top so when you look up, it appears to be the same width as all the other writing. This was all done in the 1500s- so that's pretty sweet.

Andrew took me to a European coffee shop yesterday and it was amazing! I had an equivalent of a caramel frappuccino and it was so wonderful! I miss yummy coffee drinks, especially cold ones here. He is so thoughtful. We stayed there for a few hours because it was our off day. We enjoyed walking around without having 10 college students with us all the time. We felt like we got a glimpse of the relief in parenthood when you get a quick break from your kids.

Hubs then took me to Zen, which was a super nice Chinese restaurant for lunch. It was delicious. And it was a welcome break from rice and curry :)

We have been able to meet more people and pick up more Hindi phrases, which has been great. Here are a few below:

• Hello is "Namaste" (pronounced, Naam-aas-tay).
  
• It's a pleasure to meet you is "Aap se milkar kushi hui" (pronounced, Aab say milker koosh-y hooey)
• Counting 1-2-3 is, "ek, do, teen" (eck, doe, teen)

It's been fun to see the surprise on some people's faces when we can speak a little bit of Hindi to them. They kind of light up. And they also start to speak quickly in Hindi so we smile and say we really don't know that much.

India adventure

Well, I've been in India for a few days now and it's been great (and stretching)!

We originally had some delays with our flights and connections because of thunderstorms in Chicago. Though we missed our first flight to India, we all made it on the same flight the next day. We also had a few hang ups with one of our student's visa, but it was all worked out just barely in the nick of time. And looking back we realize our flight was delayed so that we'd have time to work out the visa issue.

It has, as expected, been unbelievably hot. The first day I through my entire shirt- so much for feeling ladylike! Jet lag has taken its toll for a few days but today I feel up and more energized than I have. I think we're finally able to stay up to about 10pm here and wake up around 6am. So we're starting to hit a rhythm. Andrew has been doing great. He seemed to adjust pretty well from the beginning. I must tell you that currently 93 its degrees and it feels amazing! It's cloudy and actually rained/sprinkled for a few minutes today. It was so refreshing! It's been in the 100s so we can really feel the difference!

The food has been good, no one has gotten sick yet. I will tell you though- I am already looking forward to a salad or a turkey sandwich when we get back! Thankfully they have good coffee and chai tea here in the mornings too.

We went shopping yesterday to Connaught Place which is a bustling little shopping area- see pic below (and note it is way hotter than shown in this pic. no one had on jackets!)We got some Kurtas (see below) from FabIndia to wear around and blend in a bit more. Otherwise we get stared at a lot!! Taller, white people are easy to spot here!!

leaving on a jet plane...

Gosh, its been a while since I've looked at this blog let alone written on it. That would be because we have been in Myrtle Beach, SC with the college students we get to work with. It was such a whirlwind but totally worth it.

I got to spend time with some women from Bethel University who I love! Cassie and Greta just finished their freshman year. Kate, Allie, and Maggie are soon-to-be juniors. Christel and Kelsey just finished their fourth year. It's such a joy to see these girls knowing God more, experiencing him and really learning so much! I've already seen them process things differently, speak truth to themselves and they can't wait to share all they've learned with friends and new freshmen this fall. I cannot wait for that!

But first, we're heading over to Delhi for several weeks with some older college students. Thankfully our flight leaves in the late afternoon tomorrow (and not another before-dawn trip).

Andrew and I have been on a TON of flights lately...Minneapolis to Atlanta and back, then back again when we had to make a sudden trip down to be with Andrew's sweet family during a hard time. And most recently...Minneapolis to Myrlte Beach and back. All in a month and a half or so!

Now I feel like I've seen every page of the Sky Mall Magazine multiple times. So in honor of Delta, how they've fed me so many yummy Biscoff cookies, and their laughable SkyMall Magazine, here are my top 5 most ridiculous things in the magazine:

1. "Big Foot Garden Yeti Statue" hmm...who wouldn't want this in their yard? and a bargain at only $100! Weird. In the new July edition, this statue isn't there but there's a yeti hiding behind a tree- what a great tweaking of the yeti don't you think? I think I really could've put the entire "lawn and garden" section on here but at the risk of statue overload I decided not too. If you're flying Delta anytime soon, please check out the life size giraffe statue you can also put in your backyard. It has a cute little kid standing under the giraffe's belly.


2. Sarcophagus shelf. Why buy a normal shelf when you can buy one in the shape of King Tut? This isn't actually the picture they use in the current SkyMall but it's just as wonderful. It's a bargain too at just under $900...


3. Head Massager. I think this one made it partially because of the look on the woman's face. She's trying to look sensual and relaxed with an entire robot on her head. And to think, you could look this weird for only $200.



4. The Step Stretch. This is so funny! Who would spend $30 for this little contraption when you can stretch your heel for free by putting against the wall itself?

5. The Neck Pro: Bahahahaha!!! Seriously?! His head is on a pully system. Enough said!