Catch Up Post

I haven't blogged in a while, so here are some pictures of random things we've done in the past few weeks! 

My wonderful neighbor Ronnie took Craig and I and her daughter Maggie to a local Sai Baba temple. Sai Baba is a very popular saint and is revered within Hinduism and Islam throughout the world (thank you Wikipedia). It was a fancy temple!

Craig, Maggie, Ronnie.

The room got super smoky from all the lit candles and incense.

Chanting.

There were a lot of people there. Ronnie knew someone and so somehow we got front row spots.

Lighting the candles.

We went to a local Aquarium on Beach Road. Small, but nice!

Sting ray

Turtles! Turtles are cute.

Swimming fast...

Shark's mouth!

Afterwards we went to a lovely restaurant in the same building upstairs called The Chocolate Room. We're always up for ice cream around here : )

They had a big menu and apparently they serve nachos (I want to go back to try them sometime!) I just had to photograph this gem of a caption. I have seen many an amusing sign or caption like this here in India.

Indians be like, "What is cinco de mayo!?!" 

This is random, but I wanted to capture the local ironing man. He irons shirts all day every day outside at his post. People from around the neighborhood supply him with shirts and other fabrics. Indian men are very particular about wearing very crisp collared shirts every day. They often look nice, regardless of their class or caste. In this picture they are more casually attired, but I have always been impressed with how Indian men dress. 

Some neighbors were chatting with him and wanted to be in the picture too: 

The iron is filled with hot coals. I can't imagine having to do this when the heat becomes unbearable!

Speaking of heat, it has been getting hotter here. I am getting used to it slowly. I have found that you just have to accept that you will always be sweaty or sticky no matter what. Some days are better than others and I hardly notice it. I have learned to vastly appreciate fans and wind. 

Things are winding down with the BYU students. We have the rest of this week, next week, and the week after that we are all going to Rajamundry for a trip. It has been a tradition to do this trip with the BYU students and was included in the cost of the study abroad. When we get back from that we have a few days before we fly home. Crazy to think about! I'm excited but I have no doubt that tears will be shed when we leave. I will miss the little things about living here. The sounds outside every morning, the beautiful garden we live next to, the hospitality, the slow pace of life, listening to people speak in Telugu, etc. 

That's it for now! More to come soon.