harem pants and goddesses

Hello friends!! I am so excited to be writing again, although I am extremely apologetic that I haven't been more diligent in my updates! I can't believe over a week has passed since I arrived in this crazy city, and I can definitely say that with each day I become less overwhelmed and more used to the idea that I am here to stay awhile. I have been crashing with two other girl interns since I arrived, but will be moving into my apartment with my roommate on Wednesday. Let's see- I will attempt to update you in really fun categories- how exciting!


work: The first week went really well, and I spent a lot of time getting adjusted to the office, learning the dynamics in my department, and reading lots and lots of articles, stories, cases, etc. to make myself more familiar with the work. I am loving the 30 minutes of quiet time at the start of each day. I received my first project of stories I am going to be writing about and am stoked to be working on them. I love the other girl in my department and the IT guy- I have been giving him sour patch kids to take home to his daughter in exchange for helping me with my computer- apparently she loves them and I don't blame her. All in all, I am learning so much and am definitely trying to take everything in. The office is full of a very hardworking and dedicated group of people, and with each day I find myself more passionate about justice and more excited about the on-the-ground work that is performed here in South Asia. Speaking of hardworking, in this country it is customary to work and go to school six days out of the week! We work until 6 every night, and then by the time it takes to get home it is already seven. This week I get to go spend the day with some of the interns who work in the aftercare homes and meet all the girls from one of the homes. I am so excited.


food: Oh my. I am not extremely adventurous in this area quite yet because a) I am- simply put- too terrified about getting sick b) I hate spicy food and 3) my palate has not quite adjusted to this region. Last week I basically ate peanut butter sandwiches or went to nicer restaurants for sushi/Italian/muffins. The problem that I am already determining is that it is tricky to eat healthy when eating out all the time. I am excited to move in with my new roommate because I hear that she cooks a lot and it will help me eat more balanced meals. I definitely plan on getting in on that. I also have decided that I want to work out much more regularly because I know it will help me feel more energized and more fabulous altogether-- and there is a gym at our complex! Katherine and I actually had quite the culinary success tonight though- we made chicken pasta stuff, green beans, and bruschetta!! I am also still searching for a place to get this infamous naan bread- because I tried it once at a restaurant here and my taste buds are still in a state of heavenly bliss. 


style: And by style, I mean my own personal style. I am sure you are all dying of curiosity about how my style has evolved since arriving in the third world. I am happy to report that my desired 'bohemian' look has been a huge success and has been quite easy to pull off. I did manage to find a pair of black harem pants and plan on wearing them every day. They are incred - so comfortable, so genie-esque, and look perfect with a pair of big earrings and some gladiators. Pictures coming soon of course. I am living proof that it is possible to go to the third world and not turn grunge. Also, I would add that the 'dress code' here isn't quite as intense as I thought it would be. I was expecting to always have to wear like a loose saclike dress over loose pants with a scarf and that is simply not the case. I think because it's such an enormous city, more Western apparel is acceptable than maybe in more remote areas. So no need to worry about me. 


how I can create a Paradise 4.0: For those unfamiliar with this term, paradise 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0 are the names of the rooms I lived in during the last three years in Chapel Hill. Paradise is the word of choice because somehow- the way that I (together with my various roommates) chose to decorate made everyone who entered feel as if they entered a state of extraterrestrial delight. It's that easy. So obviously for me, this move made me a little nervous that I wouldn't be able to continue the tradition, but I come bearing good news for all. I visited my room on Saturday when I moved some things in and was extremely pleasantly surprised. The walls are blue, the curtains are orange, the bed is a queen and the bed frame is really pretty. It's super important to me that I have one place that is a place of refuge for me in this city, and as soon as I entered I saw potential. Long story short, I found a gorgeous hand-printed bedspread, some festive pillows, and have everything in the works to not disappoint this year. Before and after pics in the next update. Do not fear!


Puja:  I don't know a whole lot about this, but Puja is this enormousss Hindu festival that is going on right now in the city. The only thing I can compare it to is Christmas in the U.S. However, Puja causes way more traffic, commotion and craziness than I have ever seen Christmas cause. The celebration officially starts on Wednesday, and people have been constructing these shrines, buildings, fences, makeshift temples, lights, etc absolutely everywhere. I don't know a ton about this festival, but basically it celebrates the mother goddess of destruction, Durga. At the end of the week, there is a huge processional where the people carry the shrines and statues and dump them in the river. Anyhow, I have never seen actual carved-image 'idol worship' upfront like this. It seems like I read about it in the Bible and have never understood until now the fact that people, millions of them, do place their faith in idols and carved statues. It reminds me of Lev. 26:1, where God commands his people not to "make idols or set up an image or a sacred stone for yourselves, and do not place a carved stone in your land to bow down before it." This is definitely a unique and different experience, and it's really breaking my heart for how lost so many of the people are as I see people stopping to worship the statues everywhere in the city. 


God: My relationship with the Lord is growing already since I have been here. I was definitely excited in coming to be placed somewhere that I will have more of a reliance on Him and more of a need for His constant presence in my life. I am learning slowly that without God's strength I probably can't survive here. It's a hard place to live, and although there is a lot of beauty here, it is a very sad and very very lost place. I am praying a lot lately that God will show me how I fit into the equation here and how I can find my place amongst the darkness. Work definitely keeps me focused on why I came, and it helps me feel my purpose here. However, I want to experience all God has for me while I am here and really live in a way that gives Him glory and makes His name great. God has been helping me realize a lot of things even in the past week. I was talking on Saturday to Vic about how overwhelming the poverty here is, and how I feel so helpless in a place where the need is just SO great. If I had the power, I would give all the kids healthcare, clothes, food, an education, lots of love, toys, etc. We got to talking about the story in the Bible about feeding the 5,000 and how important it is to give something and trust God to multiply your efforts and do with it what He wills. Join me in praying about what that can be for me. In all seriousness, though, I am very humbled and grateful that God is having me go through this year because I don't know if growth would be the same for me at home. 


emails: To everyone who has sent me personal emails, I LOVE THEM SO MUCH. I have been trying to keep up, but honestly I can't express to you how much they mean to me. I definitely feel disconnected to the developed world and home, but emails and Facebook stuff brightens my days so much. I am also able to tell in more detail what is going on here at work that way. I definitely must give a special shout out to my precious boyfriend who has emailed me every single day :)


celeb status: I have never felt so celeb as I do here, and it's awesome because all I have to do is a) be in public and b) be white. I don't know when I am going to get used to people pointing and staring at me, but it is the craziest thing. It's not a very diverse place, so I guess a pale white girl like me is actually pretty exciting. The other day this girl stopped me and my friend on the side of the road and was like "You girls are so beautiful!" It was so presh. I wish that she didn't have to go and we could have been friends. Anyways, just a funny phenomenon that I wasn't really expecting.


That's about all I can think of for now! I seriously love all of my faithful readers so much and feel super awesome knowing that I have gained a respectable readership :) Please keep me in your prayers, keep in touch and let me know if I can do anything for you from afar!


ABBREVE OF THE DAY: natch. Natch is one of my fav abbreves and I use it frequently. Natch would be the abbreve for 'natural' and I especially like to use it to refer to the more Carrboro-esque kind of person. Anyone who wears Chacos (Jessica Jones I am still mad at you), enjoys going without showers, and taking sporatic nature walks would go my general natch folder. 


My dad suggested that I do a special abbreve edition on the blog so that I can familiarize everyone with my lang of choice. Yay or nay?