I'm Outta Here!

Tomorrow morning I'm leaving for a 7-day hike to Baraadsar Lake with twelve 11/12th graders. WAHOO! So, you won't be hearing from me for a while, but in case you're wondering, here's what I'll be doing...

- Eating crackers and tuna for lunch
- Getting blisters the size of my foot
- Peeing on a bush
- NOT showering!
- Getting to know a bunch of kids that I don't know yet. :) High schoolers...YAY!
- Experiencing God's AWESOMENESS!
- Burning lots of calories
- Trying desperately to keep warm
- Missing Chris :(
- LOVING LIFE!

Here I go! I'll take lots of pretty pictures. :)

A Non-Issue In the States

Yesterday and today we've had a rather comedic volley of e-mails sent back and forth on all-staff e-mails, and I thought I'd share them. I took out names to keep the parties involved anonymous, but thought it was quite interesting. In the states, this issue just simply wouldn't come up...and if it did, the responses would DEFINITELY not be so opinionated. Enjoy!

Original E-Mail

On behalf of Mars and Menu Committee, we ask your voting choice of 'Yes' or 'No', in favor of Buffalo meat included on the menu, as Chicken has become expensive and difficult to purchase within the Mars (food service) budget.

Reply #1. "I don't think the stigma surrounding the killing of cows applies to buffalo's. In fact I'm pretty sure of this. They're viewed as a different species - most importantly, buffalos are dark, cows are white.

Still, it might be best to do a quick survey of the employees."

Reply #2. "As far as I know and believe in, being an Indian and a Hindu by religion, eating of both cows and buffaloes is not accepted. though with time, things might be changing a little bit."

Reply #3. "I completely agree, it will be unacceptable to some staff members, parents and even employees (who will be cooking)."

Reply #4. "The idea of buffalo meat gives the same feeling as the thought of cow meat, and both are considered unpalatable by Hindus living in India. I believe that the community around Woodstock will not appreciate this idea either."

Reply #5. "I do not eat in the school dining room but would certainly vote against the buff meat being served here."

Reply #6. "When we were here from 1995 - 1999, buffalo was regularly served. When we arrived in July, I was quite surprised to find this is no longer the case. Most of the same employees were cooking then as now and I never heard anything negative about buffalo on religious grounds. I'd be interested in knowing when and why this changed."

Reply #7. "I humbly request that we stop the all staff replies, which I must take blame for starting even though only a vote of yes or no was requested. Please, high school students and woodstock all staff do not hit the reply to all button. If you want to vote, please feel free to do so. I also would clearly acknowledge that, having lived in India for 30 years, I am aware of the dietary issues, will speak to the head cook, and will suggest an appropriate decision be made. Thank you."

Reply #8. "I have read many of the responses so far. In the '90s buffalo meat was served regularly in the school. The same employees are cooking now, so why is there such an uproar about it now? I think then as now, many of the staff became vegetarian for that meal, and I guess we can do a survey and figure out how it affects meal numbers.

For me personally, as someone who is from both Hindu and Christian background, and who has in the past been non-veg for several years, it does not matter what the meat is as long as it is from a clean and healthy vendor, you either eat or do not eat meat."

Reply #9. "Dear all,

I want you all to know that this appears to be a budgeting decision but it is not.

This issue (from a budgetary perspective) was never discussed with me nor was it ever initiated by me. This was initiated by some students based on a conversation with the head cook in which he had mentioned that chicken was expensive and could not be a part of a specific Menu that they were proposing. This was interpreted to mean that chicken will no longer be served since it is expensive. This assumption is not true.

I am meeting with the appropriate people and will take care of this issue. They are as surprised by all of this as me.

We will not be serving buffalo meat in the Woodstock kitchen.

Thank you for reading and please consider this discussion closed."

And that, non-buffalo eaters, is that!

Prayers and butt dust....

Last night we had a great skype call with my parents, and my mom ended the conversation with a (hilarious!) joke.

One Sunday, a woman and her daughter were sitting in church waiting to pray. The minister began, 'Dear Lord,' with arms extended toward heaven and a rapturous look on his upturned face. 'Without you, we are but dust...' He would have continued but at that moment the very obedient daughter who was listening leaned over to her mom and asked quite audibly in her shrill little four year old girl voice, 'Mom, what is butt dust?'

I laughed...a LOT!

.S. I've posted 7 (I think?!) blogs in the last 2 days! Can't tell if that's totally pathetic or kinda cool...I guess there's just been a lot to share!

Things Are Heatin' Up In Here!

Heat is something that we take for granted in the United States, but NO LONGER, people! I've designated myself "official knowledge imparter of the worldwide norm of non-heated houses". America is ABNORMAL! Lately, Chris and I have been reminiscing about those distant memories of central heaters. "Remember that there's actually such a thing as central heat?" "Remember when we would wake up to a house that was WARMER than it is outside?" And the most unbelievable..."Remember when our heater would turn on...ALL BY ITSELF at 5:45?" Seems like a miracle! Ahh, the days!

We've got four ways to keep ourselves from entering a perpetual hypothermic state once the real cold hits...I thought I would share them with you to ease your minds!

Our bakari...does wonders, but since it's illegal to collect wood or cut down trees in India, we're still not sure what we'll burn! Paper doesn't last long. :P

Our blow heater! We'll move this between the bedroom and living room.

Our little bathroom heater...no blower, but the bathroom's small so it's JUST RIGHT!

Our beloved electric blanket, how we love thee! Since Rachel and Yvonne came, we can now heat up BOTH sides at the same time! I'm telling you, it's the little joys in life. :)

____________________________________________________________________

We'll be using LOTS of sweatshirts, sweaters, and long-underwear for the next few months. Someone said that in a few weeks they'll put on the thermals, and they won't come off 'til end of March. Chris definitely doesn't love the cold, and while I would rather be cold than hot, I'm not sure about CONTINUALLY cold, with few ways of heating up.

Basically, this post is to let all you faithful blog readers know that my posts may be less interesting over the next few months, since I'll be spending every free moment under my electric blanket trying not to shiver to death. :)

5th Grade Friendship Club Sleepover!!!

This last Saturday Chris and I hosted a 5th Grade Friendship Club sleepover. I've been helping with Friendship Club (an elementary Christian club) since the beginning of the year, and seriously LOVE IT! I'm in charge of the music, and then I take the 5th graders. In the past the 5th graders have kind of lost interest, so we're trying to make it "different and fun" for them.

So far we've been working on making picture books out of fabric to eventually send to an orphanage. We want to transition them into the middle school club called "Qwest", which is a Christian/Volunteering club. They're really starting to get into it!

Only 6 of the 5th graders could come to the sleepover, but it was a BLAST! I picked them up at 4:00, we ordered food, made some food, played games, played wii, painted nails, told girl secrets, and watched a movie before they went to bed. Some of these kids are here as boarders, so haven't been with their parents for months now, and it was really fun to see their personalities change in a "home" setting. Lots of hugs and cuddling and "thank you SO MUCH Mrs. Farley!" They're sweet, SWEET kids.

Here are some of the highlights. :)

They'd never had s'mores before! SO, we broke out the supplies that Rachel and Yvonne so generously brought up, opened up the microwave, and get them the "best snack they'd ever had!"

The boys didn't want to watch the same movie as the girls, and then they didn't want to watch the same movie as each other! SO, we set them up with their own laptop and headphones, and they had their own movie experiences. :) Isn't Chris cute between them?

Such a pretty smile!

Self-designated master cook of Wai-Wai.

Making cheese and crackers

Peace out, dude!

A God of BIG Things

I've been trying to use this blog to keep me in the present, focusing on all the little things in life that really make daily life beautiful. The other day, God gave me a gift. He let me remember that He's also a God of the BIG things.

I substitute taught for a friend at Sunday School this last Sunday up on top of the hill that the school is located on (it's called the Chakkar). I haven't been up there since monsoon season was really over, but the snows (snow-capped peaks) were out in all their brilliance! I walked home SO SLOWLY, and just looked...I looked at the huge snow covered mountains standing protectively over all the people living in their shadow, the towering trees that went so far below me down the cud and still stood above me 50 or 60 feet. And then, I looked down and saw the thousands of pine needles, the hundreds of pebbles, all the crawling insects. God is a BIG God...and also a God over the Little Things.

These are pictures that were taken by friends of ours here at Woodstock (I got them off their blog, definitely not claiming them as mine! I think they're SO beautiful...). I haven't gotten many pictures of the peaks yet, though, and wanted to post some so you can see where we live. I felt SO peaceful after my walk, like my inner self understands its place in God's world. It was a beautiful day, and we live in a beautiful place.

Before and After...Ayah!

At first we thought our standard of living had decreased with our move to India...no central heat, lots of mold, big spiders...but THEN, we hired an ayah. :) Our ayah (Ragi) comes every Monday and Thursday afternoon to do general cleaning, dishes, and laundry. And let me tell you, I LOVE employing an ayah!

Kitchen Before

Kitchen After

Bedroom Before

Bedroom After

Living Room Before

Living Room After

I feel quite spoiled. :)

Diwali Pictures!

Each doorway was decorated, filled with well-wishers and smiling faces...and everyone greeted everyone with "Happy Diwali!"

Last weekend was Diwali in India, which is basically the Hindu equivalent of Christmas. It was really fun to experience it first hand...it's actually been really fun to just experience INDIA first hand. Randomly in American T.V. shows we're watching here, or books I've been reading, there'll be references to Indian customs that I would have NEVER picked up on before...and now, I do!

Diwali (a.k.a. "festival of lights") is a five-day festival celebrated predominantly by Hindus, but also by Buddhists and Sikhs (though their legends are different). Each day, the people pray to a different god, requesting favors that relate to that god's "specialty". On one of the days everyone prays to Lakshmi - goddess of prosperity - and everyone is supposed to buy something metal...gold, silver, washing machine, silverware. Here's a picture of the metals store. It was mass chaos!


This is an example of how people would decorate the inside of their house. I didn't take this picture...found it on the internet, but think it's quite representative!


Chris and I walked into town on Saturday morning of the festival. These are some of my favorite pictures. :)




This last one has nothing to do with Diwali, but has great lighting and I just liked it. :)

Beautiful Sunset

Irrational Fears and Victorious Outcomes...

I have an irrational fear of speaking in front of people. It's not debilitating or anything, just extremely uncomfortable. I liken it to Chris' 'fear' of flying...he feels really uncomfortable and nervous until the moment we take off, and then he's fine. Same with me...I fret and worry until I start talking, and then run with it! Yesterday I had just such one experience...

I was asked to speak at the weekly elementary assembly. Now, you might think "what's to fear...they're all little!" I kept trying to tell myself that, but then I'd just keep going back to how QUICKLY these little souls get BORED! You can feel a collective restlessness come over the room as soon as a speaker has overworn their attention spans...first the ECP/KG, then first, and finally 5th. By the time the 5th graders lose it, the little kiddies are all but bouncing up and down in their seats and running down the aisles!

Needless to say, I was feeling the pressure.

I decided to do a "magic show" sandwiched with a two-part story. The story was about a time that I was less than honest about my contribution to a "rule-breaking session" with my brother. Then came the magic show, which...

was AWESOME!

Here's how it went (imagine each performed with my DRAMATIC FLAIR!)

Act 1: Thumb and pointer finger magically create intertwined rings behind my head (courtesy of my Uncle Doug...WITH accompanying vocals)

APPLAUSE!!!
(encouraged by my 5th grade assistant with a sign that said "applause")

Act 2: One finger "jumps" off my right hand onto my left hand (much less cool than it sounds...also with accompanying vocals!)

APPLAUSE!!!

Act 3: The "Disappearing Man". Our friend Steve Luukkonen stands on the "stage"...on the count of three rolled off while three elementary boys jumped in front of where he was (really, they just jumped). The effect was truly mysterious...and maybe not in the good way?!

APPLAUSE!!!

Act 4: "Voice Detection" - I used my AMAZING magical powers to detect which voice was the manly 5th grade teacher...WITHOUT LOOKING! (mind you, the only other option I gave myself was a 5-year-old ECP girl, but it shouldn't diminish your impression of me!)

APPLAUSE!!!

Act 5: I made my scarf disappear! The fact that it only disappeared (through the air) into the first row of 2nd graders didn't phase the audience in the least. :)

WILD APPLAUSE!!!

It transformed into a lesson about how the things we do wrong and then try to hide are actually quite obvious to God, even if not to the people around us. I then encouraged the students to choose to "fess up" when they're tempted to blame someone else...and then come tell me about it. I already had three "fessers" yesterday!

Ultimately, I just feel really thankful that I wasn't assigned to middle school. I feel like the "magic show" would have been less of a "hit"... :)

Mr. Georgia Tech!

SO, my brother is one of three finalists in the Mr. Georgia Tech contest...and he's got a talent on YouTube! Check it out...

Definitely didn't know he was such a country star :) I LOVE YOU BROTHER!!!

Family Visits and Hindu Experiences

These are some of my favorite pictures from Rachel and Yvonne's visit, and most of them are from this last weekend's trip to Rishikesh. Rishikesh is about two hours away, and is one of the top spiritual locations for the Hindu religion...as well as the yoga capital of the world. I've been particularly interested about the role that the Ganges River plays in the Hindu religion, so have been reading a book specifically on the "Ganga". It was really interesting to experience such a major place in the religion.

The city itself is basically a "hippie" town, filled with "soul-searching foreigners" and Hindus that have devoted their lives to worship.

It is said to be more worthwhile to spend a day near the Ganges river than to live an entire life devoted to worshipping the gods of the religion...so I would imagine that a lot of people would want to live by the river! Here's some of the story...

In short (and I'm SEVERELY abbreviating the story because it's really long!), the Ganges River is the earthly form of the goddess Ganga (so it's considered to actually be holy). One of the most interesting tales I read about the goddess-form of the river is depicted in the picture below.

One day, Ganga laughed at the expense of another god, and as a result was cursed to live forever on earth. However, her earthly form (the river) was SO extreme and powerful that if she had descended to earth directly, she would have "plowed" right through the earth and flooded everything. :) SO, the god in the picture above offered to use his dreadlocks to slow the flow of Ganga, and just moved one of his dreadlocks aside to allow the river to flow as it does today. The spot of origin is a glacier called Gangotri (a trek that we'll eventually make). From Gangotri the river splits into eight forks, which all converge at Hardwar (only about 2 hours away...another weekend trip!). And, Rishikesh is down the river from Hardwar and an important location in the Hindu religion.
We were only in Rishikesh for one full day, but I really feel like we got a good introduction to the city. We took a yoga class in the morning, and got to observe a Hindu festival that happens twice daily. Every morning at sunrise and every evening at sunset a "festival of lights" is put on to worship the river. I'm still trying to figure out exactly what it all means, but here are some pictures. It was really interesting...but I'm still wading through my spiritual/emotional reactions to the whole experience.


Rachel, Yvonne and I decided to wear our saris into town....and WHAT an experience! Apparently, people in Rishikesh are VERY used to foreigners, and are NOT used to foreigners wearing saris. So, what we were expecting to be a "fitting in" experience was actually a "STANDING WAY OUT" experience. We got SO many looks, LOTS of stares and pointing and comments, and even got asked for quite a few pictures! Here's gaggle of women...

Us in our saris. :)

Another really neat experience we had was visiting a local Hindu temple...with a Hindu guide! A guy from our hotel offered to take us to the temple, and was kind enough to entertain my many ignorant questions. Apparently, there are over 33,000,000 gods...did you know that?! Each god represents different aspects of life, and Hindus present their requests to the god that best represents their problem. Then, they ring a bell which sends the spiritual energy out into the universe. Here are some of the physical representations that they pray to...



And lastly, we all got henna tattoos (a.k.a. mindi) done! Unfortunately, we got TOTALLY ripped off (which I found out once I got back to school and compared prices) but it was a fun experience...and Rachel's #1 to do, so I guess it was worth it. It took forever, but now we've got some sweet tattoos for a week or so. Fun fun!

Rachel and Yvonne's visit was SO wonderful, and I feel so thankful to have gotten to be with family. It made me realize how much I miss everyone at home. It's interesting to see how we kind of "partition" ourselves to keep emotionally intact. It's almost like I stop thinking about home, so that I can really be here and not be too sad...and then when I talk to people from home I enter that "self". Having them here was pretty emotional because I couldn't partition anymore, and it made me really face the consequences of our choice to be here. There are good and bad consequences to all our choices, but as this is a fairly HUGE choice that affects everyone close to us, it's good to really think it thorugh a bit. More to come about that later, I'm still trying to process!

One of the favorite activities, WITHOUT A DOUBT, was shopping in Mussoorie. These girls went CRAZY, and brought home so much stuff! Luckily, they had each packed a suitcase full of things for us from home (it was like Christmas when they came!), so they had lots of room to fill up...and they did! My personal favorite was taking them to the fabric store. I always love the experience, but to hear Rachel and Yvonne's exclamations at the fabric colors and designs was priceless! I'll end the blog with some pictures of their "salwar suit" purchases. Can't wait to have an Indian clothing party back home!

We love and miss our family, and said good-bye to Rach and Yvonne with sadness...but we feel SO blessed to have such great relationships in life! Our Living God is so good to us... :)