i wrote a letter to myself. have you ever done this? it’s quite a bizarre experience… do you use i or me, you or us… i was afraid to contemplate such pronoun usage for fear of developing a psychological, bi-polar-ish disorder. none the less, i wrote a letter to myself because i wanted to remember and i didn’t want to forget. my indian friends mailed my letter to me a few weeks ago and it’s been sitting unopened, and unread amongst my belongings. i was kind of afraid… i was afraid i had forgotten what it said, which i guess is the purpose of writing it, but not reading its...
Read Moreif you cannot make it to one of my 5 talks this week on india, [i know... all the same week... why do i do this to myself?!] here’s a sampler… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ju-9FOlDty4
dear india. part of me wants to close your cover. i’m ready for the next book and to move past my time with you… i don’t want to tell your stories nor try to figure out how you changed me. i’m ready to write your conclusion and put your numbered book on the shelf with the rest of them. i’ll pick you up again someday, when i’m ready to read you again. but not until then. then part of me is afraid to finish you. i’m beginning to forget what your soap smelled like in the kitchen, the freshness of your morning,...
Read Morei always feel a pressure to make the first and last of something extra special…the beginning should set the tone of the event and the last summarize the experience. i put extra emphasis on something that when placed within the context of the whole story, is really just another page in the story; no more or less important than any other entry… all of this is to say, this post ends the chapter in my indian adventure. i rolled away in the taxi this morning, leaving behind dear friends. i knew this day would come, the goodbye was inevitable; but that...
Read Moreone more hike in the mountains; eric and i traversed our way to pepper pot on this, my last saturday. it’s been on my list of things to do, and eric’s been gone for 2 weeks, unable to help me cross it off. we never really found a path, a storm unexpectedly chased us under a tree to avoid the hail, and we spent the rest of the time slipping and sliding on wet leaves. it only seemed appropriate…we’ve rarely been successful where paths are concerned. that’s what makes it an adventure. we’ve spent the past 10 months together, immersing...
Read Morewe just clicked. right from the beginning, as i sat on the bed in the room her family eats/sleeps/entertains in, i knew she would be one of those kind of friends i would connect with deeply. she has this magnetic personality that draws me to her and leaves me sad when we part. if i could, i would try to fit her in my suitcase and take her home with me. but then i'd be depriving mother india of one of her most beautiful daughters, asha. teaching indians english and foreigners hindi, she is well known in the community. few pass...
Read Morei almost forgot to tell you about it! a staple in the day's schedule, all the country stops for an afternoon chai. we participate in the ritual as well in our office and use the 30 min to tell of recent trips, play speed scrabble, or sit in the sun. chai has always been one of my favorites on the coffee shop menus [and to think i didn't even know it was from india]. even after a year of it most every day, it will continue to remain a favorite; though i have a feeling starbuck's version won't be quite...
Read Morelife. by puja life is so beautiful, when we see it like a mirror. life is like a moving train, life is like the showering rain, life is a gift, accept it. life is a promise, fulfill it. life is a lovely dream, life is a soft gentle stream. life is a miracle of the Lrd, life is a gift of Gd. life is a collection of joy and sorrow. but life is not a thing that we can borrow. i think if i could describe her in one word, i would choose glowing. her features soft and the shape of her face round, she carries a gentle light in her eyes....
Read Moreso two weeks from today, i'm leaving mussoorie...i'm leaving mussoorie...i'm really leaving. i don't think it quite sinks in. it's kind of like when i tried to tell myself i was really coming to india and it wasn't until i got here that i believed it...hmm...sometimes i still don't believe it... where was i? oh yes. i'm leaving mussoorie and as you can tell, i'm having a hard time sorting my thoughts, my emotions, my heart. with no premeditated plan for this post, i just start writing. perhaps typing will slow down my thoughts and help them find some...
Read Morei used to think idols were something of the past and animal sacrifices were only found in the old testament. i didn't think it was humanly possible for one million people to live in one square mile or that a country's average income could be 0.7% of my own. i used to think colorado's rocky mountains were pretty big. i only thought the water/power went out during storms, not because there wasn't enough. i used to think education and sanitation were a given, not a luxury i once thought freedom was a right, not a gift. i didn't think 48hr train rides were even possible, much...
Read Moreone of the most unique parts about hiking through india is not the 22,000+ high peaks or the expansive view of the himalayan mountain range, but the path which takes you through, not around, the villages. completely surrounded by trees and not a soul in sight one moment and then the next you’ll be walking through someone’s porch and by their front door in order to continue on your journey. my trek to harkidun took us through remote villages and into a more secluded part of india than i have experienced yet. no need for money here, the bartering system...
Read Morethey call it the valley of the gods and i can understand why. if i were a god, i would probably hang out in this valley too. requiring two days of hiking from the nearest highway [ie. a one lane road with a speed limit of 20km, occasional crossing of goat herds, the always expected wandering cows, and frequent potholes you would swear might swallow the front of your car] harkidun is remote and seemingly undisturbed. glaciers confidently cut into the blue of the sky reaching their fingers to heights i cannot begin to fathom. the snow covered peaks allow...
Read Morei thought they could tell of their indian impressions better than i could. the following words come from my mom… It’s almost 5 am CDT, USA. I’m wide awake. My clock is out of whack and a full week later, my battery is still trying to re-charge. We’re not on India time anymore, but not back to normal yet, either. Eleven and a half time zones, 20 plus hours of traveling, and nearly 48 hours without sleep have taken a greater toll than I would have imagined. India. What an incredible adventure. Our trip wasn’t a vacation, but it was the most...
Read Morecan i even begin to explain to you how amazing it was to have my family visit me here in india? are words even enough to TELL the experience? it was like two separate worlds collided, but in a good way. i felt more like me with them here. somehow, when you’re in a foreign place with people who you have such a short history with, it’s easy to adapt yourself to fit the place and the people. this is good to an extent, but often, you let go of parts of ‘you’ in the process. them being here, in...
Read Moreyou can’t choose your family, they say. regardless of what they do or where they go, you are bound to them by blood. people you may never have picked as friends, you join with to celebrate holidays. yes, your family tree may be fractured, splintered and seemingly a pile of firewood, but you are still family. the same bloodline runs through your veins. you don’t have to grow to love each other, there is an instant, family-kind of love reserved for just this relationship. whatever it is, no matter how bad, you are family. i live in india now, half a...
Read Morecross it off of my list of things to do in life. been there, done that; i’ve seen the taj mahal. what did i think? you may ask. overrated. i would reply. i know that sounds arrogant, it’s one of the world’s seven wonders. yes, it’s beautiful. it’s a brilliant white marble tomb. the finest example of mughal architecture, combining elements of persian, turkish, indian, and islamic architctural styles. it’s carefully crafted details, standing majestically in front of the blue sky. but still overrated. one of the earth’s modern wonders? come on now. maybe i was tainted by the city of agra… 45% of the city involved in tourism. money can corrupt a...
Read More5 march his flight was 3 hours late. that didn’t hamper my excitement, though…it heighten it. i had been up since 2:30 that morning for a taxi to dehra dun to catch a train to dehli. we spent the afternoon laying in the shade of one of asia’s nicest parks, watching couples try to snuggle out of view and being followed by mangy dogs. but now? now i am with my father in india! who would have guessed, dreamed, or even imagined such a thing would happen. certainly not me. 6 march it’s fun to watch him take in this new culture. he...
Read Morethis is my family… this is india… this is my family in india… any questions? we will soon return to our regular scheduled programming. brought to you by: the G who orchestrates more amazing things than i could ever imagine…
my lyrical remix from the caedmon’s call cd, share the well. you should really check it out here. cricket for baseball, polo for golf, curry for ketchup and barbeque sauce. i’m looking to find a reason to shine, waiting in richshaws, standing in line. i’m a thumb that wanders through the pages of the national geographic. i did not catch her name, i did not catch her tears. but they hit me like a train, when her story hit my ears. mother of eight sons, father off to war. got no home address, just bricks on a dirt floor. and she said Jesus is all i need. it takes a deeper well...
Read Moreliving buildings operate not as a machine, but a flower. they are not driven by invented, by man, but inspired by nature. they are unique and rooted in place, drawing resources from the immediate land they inhabit. they receive most of their energy from the sun and water from the sky. living buildings do not only support themselves, but those within their walls. architecturally, this is accomplished by simply following the example nature has already set for us. adapting buildings specifically to the site they sit upon will make buildings sensitive to the immediate climate, i.e. winds, sun, rain, etc....
Read Morei am officially bound for the south. after a 3am departure from mussoorie monday morning, we’re making our way to the east-central state of chhattisgarh for my final eMi project trip. the best part about this adventure? my father is on it!! he is our civil engineer volunteer! not only gets to see what his daughter has been up to, but offer his expertise, skill and passion to serve to these beautiful indian people. and oh…as if that weren’t enough, a week and a half from now, the rest of my family will be setting their feet on indian soil as...
Read Moreessentially, holi is like a giant community car wash gone wild. water balloons, water guns, and buckets of water are used to douse passers by. most also use powdered dye to add to the effect, chasing each other around and painting each other pink and orange. holi (literally “burning”) is known as the festival of color. it signals the coming of summer and is one of the most popular hindu festivals, especially among young people… i’m just glad it means warmness is coming! at its best, holi is a time when families and friends come together to play and have fun. traditionally,...
Read Morebecause i’m way behind… 16 february i wrapped up the guntur project today [november project trip]. drawings are printed, report is complete. it’s good to see one from beginning to end and this one with my fingerprints all over it. design here must be so much simpler in order for it to be built by day laborers and i am challenged to find beauty in such simplicity. the school was my main focus; there were a few things i had to fight for, but they all made their way through the refining to the final drawings. i’m working on developing a basic...
Read Morebecause i never told you why… i’ll never forget that first day of design studio. ‘what is architecture? what is space? why have you entered this profession?‘ the question seemed easy…but i was at a loss. every answer i could come up with didn’t seem enough. i knew there was more than i understood. i was at the beginning of something. everything i thought about architecture was thrown out the window that day. whatever i knew it entailed or believed it to be needed to be tested, processed, redefined… i had to choose for myself what i believed architecture to be and role...
Read Moredespite my writing love and the skill of my camera, nothing will be able to accurately retell the beauty of today. it was unlike any other view i have ever known. 8″ of snow blanketing the entire indian hillside, the setting sun painting itself uninhibitedly across the virgin, white canvas. the way the light shown, the way my feet sounded, the way my heart swelled… oh, thank you Father. and to those of you on the other side of the globe… thanks for sharing with us. …from my front yard…
living in india, monkeys provide great entertainment and distractions from work… see for yourself… [credit goes to matt for his video skills] just as i posted this, one of the little guys opened our back door, walked into the office, stood on his hind legs and looked around. before we could do anything, he was back out the door again. i wonder how many bananas he won on that bet… video-5
fresh and bright eyed, the two new interns arrived for the spring semester. eric and i were there to pick them up. it seems a paradox to stand on the other side of the gate, just a few months after arriving myself. i still remember my first few arriving moments…the noises, the people, the traffic at midnight! i smile at the normalcy of it now. never imagined i could do this on my own. i look out the train window again…i see the same space, the same scenes, the same people through the same, but different eyes. i’m not glued to...
Read Morei almost feel guilty writing this post. i hear of snow storms back in the states, inches and inches of the white stuff combined with sheets of ice makes for quite a winter. it should be cold here as well, but for the past few weeks, lunch outside in the sun… i try to explain global warming to people, but for some reason, they just don’t understand. . a hole in the sky just makes little sense to them. so perhaps, you on the other side of the planet are enjoying winter enough for the whole globe. . thank you for that. but, for a little while,...
Read Moreit was on a bus to bangkok i realized i didn’t want to go back to india. if my plane decided to make a detour to the plains of kansas instead of to the smelly streets of delhi, i would have been okay with that. the two weeks i had been able to spend in thailand reminded me of what life was like outside of india and i forgot how much i liked it. i forgot the freedom my skin feels uncovered by layers of material and what life free of stares feels like. i remembered travel on highways and...
Read Moresome of my thoughts and ramblings from my two weeks in thailand as the rest remain between me, the pages, and the waves… …my jaw dropped as i stepped into the terminal. i had never seen this much steel and glass in india…er america…uh ever! is this real? does life like this outside of the third world really exist. i’m definitely not in india any more and i’ve forgotten what this life looks like. …so clean and fashionable, so modern and technological, so thin and small! i feel like an overweight giant in this thai world. if there is one...
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