That's India...


By Ashley

Gladys quotes of the day:
1. "Why do they have so many steps around here? It is hard enough to walk as it is and they gotta throw steps everywhere!"

2. Trying to get a bargain in the Jewelry store: "Sir, 200 rupees. It is my birthday. I reaaaallly like them. Please, I am really nice. I like you."

Today we woke up (too early of course) and watched the Sunfeast World 10k come right by our hotel! How cool is that? It was on TV and all. Then we headed out to a pretty big church in a nicer area of Bangalore. It was probably one of the quietest and calmest churches I have ever been to. I don't know how they can sit so quietly for so long! I am used to my hour long worship. After church we ate at KFC (thank you Jesus) and then did some shopping. We actually didn't buy a whole lot. We started on commercial street (more westernized stores) and then headed out to a much wilder and crowded market-type street. That was a little overwhelming and we ended up cutting our shopping short there. So here we are, lying in the bed after a long day of sweating and bumping into people. It is pouring down rain, with high winds and thunder (it is monsoon season after all). We are actually waiting on Pizza Hut. Can you believe this is my first Pizza Hut experience this trip? For those of you who are not aware, last trip we had Pizza Hut 6 times.

But anyways, we ran into a major road block today. It's India, after all. Before coming to India, we had planned for 3 basketball camps daily in 3 different schools. Well, all 3 of those have fallen through. I cannot tell you how devastated I was. I have looked forward to this since we last came 2 years ago. We came halfway around the world with 3o basketballs for basketball clinics, and now we are not going to even need them. As strange as this may seem back home, that is often how it is here. A lot of times in India they don't follow through with things no matter how official it is or how big of a commitment it may seem.

So after staying up late last night frustrated and afraid that we have wasted a trip, I prayed and thought about the true reason we came. We came to minister, and basketball just happened to be the tool we chose to use. God can still use us to minister to the wonderful people of India. In fact, we happened to run into a white guy at church today who has an orphanage with 800 children. So we are working on something there. We are just praying that God would throw things our way. We know He is in control, and we are willing to do whatever it takes to reach the people and make a lasting impact these last 7 days we are here.

So all you blog followers out there (all 3 of you), we would love for you to throw a little prayer out there for us. We are a bit discouraged right now, but we know that it will all work out for the good.

Romans 8:28
"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."
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India at Its Finest


By Ashley


It is 5:45 am here. Sleeping in is not too easy in a different time zone. Yesterday we took the long trek to Mysore with a few stops on the way. Here are some higlights from the trip:
  • We first stopped at the place where Tipu Sultan was born and died. He was a famous ruler in India. He had a palace and everything. We didn't take the time to read about him...but that is what Google is for.
  • Then we stopped at another place where 3 rivers meet. It was a mini-market. We got to see people bowing down to a snake god, bathing in the river, and riding on homemade rafts.
  • Our next stop was at a famous Catholic church. The outisde of this church was incredible. We kept getting shushed and nearly kicked out though because Gladys was talking (and we are white and easy to point out). We will blame it on the native.
  • For lunch we stopped at a hotel and had some Indian grub. Not too bad, but I will say I tried what Emily and Bennett had and I definitely felt it coming out my nose and probably would have breathed fire if I tried. I miss McDonalds.
  • We pulled into the Sandalwood emporium and watched the guys make some incredible things out of sandal wood. I mean this stuff was amazing. The only bad part is, the emporium makes tons of money off these talented men, and they make nearly nothing. We also walked next door to a clothing store. Nissi told us it was too expensive and you cannot bargain with them...so I decided to wait.
  • Bennett then was shown how much he is truly worth. We got pulled over by the Indian police sitting on the side of the road. They charged us 100 rupees because they saw Bennett in the front seat. What they do is, during road blocks they pull you over and will let you pass for 100 rupees, or they will find some reason to fine you. The men stuck our money in their pockets and laughed.
  • We made our way to the top of a mountain to see the whole city of Mysore. We took pictures, but they cannot do it justice. It was awesome, and had great views of all the palaces and different "neighborhoods".
  • Our final desination proved to be the wildest. We went to Mysore Palace. The palace in itself was beautiful. But we immediately were bombarded with beggars, and being pushed and shoved in line. India at its finest. Rojers did some bargaining, and Gladys just egged the men on leaving Rojers to deal with them. Indians like pictures with Americans, especially with Emily and Bennett. They loved the blonde hair, and also how tall they are. They were wild about Big Mama Ghandi, as one lady looked to Mom and said, "Ma'am you are so cute!" I just about fell out on the ground right there.

Let me tell you a little about our dear friend Gladys. Gladys was born and pretty much raised in India until she was nearly a teenager before she moved to the US. Her husband, Rojers, then came to the US at the age of 21 or so to marry Gladys in their arranged marriage. But anyways, Gladys has been our source of entertainment and you would never believe she used to live here. A few examples. While waiting in line at the palace she yells, "These people are so unorganized and disgusting". Example two (probably my favorite). While waiting on the van, we were surrounded with people throwing things in our face to buy. Gladys was fed up and yelled, "Debra I don't hear anyone, do you see anyone talking to me? Is there someone beside you? There is no one here, we are ignoring them." She is a mess, and even said, "I cannot believe I was born here and act like this!" Wow, there are too many stories to tell. She had quite the bathroom experience, but you will have to ask her about that.

We actually got in a little "road rage" or more like "parking lot rage". We were waiting to get out (probably about 10 mins or so) and a group of young Indian men in front of us were tired of waiting so they got out and were just going to leave their car there. Our driver pretty much said HECK NO and honked his horn off. They didn't respond so he put the car in drive and bumped into two of the boys as they walked between our van and their car. After a little yelling and still not wanting to give in, they moved their car. I wish I had a camera...I cannot even describe in words right now what was going on.

So we definitely got to see a lot of the Indian way today. It was great. We actually were walking around the palace when a guy looked at our Indian friend Sam (he had on a Georgia shirt we gave him) and said, "Go Georgia". Come to find out, the two guys are working in Bangalore and live in Lilburn. They live two miles from the Paul family who is with us. How about that?

So now we are getting ready for church and maybe a little shopping. I love going to church in India. They worship so freely...it is incredible. Looking for one last pump me up before the real work begins.

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Elephants Take Days Off?


By Ashley







Well, after only about 2 hours of sleep last night, we woke up and drove to the zoo at 8:30 am (only 30 mins later than we were supposed to). At the zoo we looked at all the animals (what else do you do at a zoo), and then we took the "Grand Safari". In the safari we rode around on a bus with about 30 people or so through a gated area and looked at bears, lions, tigers, white tigers, and other incredible Indian wildlife. We had a blast! The only downfall was the hot bus ride we shared with many people who just have not learned how incredible products such as Secret and Axe are.

After the safari we had to waste about an hour and a half before we could ride the elephants. So we wasted some time looking around, and testing our cultural limits (aka public restrooms). We finally made our way down to the elephants, and let me tell you THEY WERE MONSTERS. I have never seen an elephant as large as one of the ones we saw today. Granted, I am not an elephant expert or hunter by any means, but I have seen some in my lifetime. While waiting by the elephants we laughed at the monkeys as they took food from people and fought over it amongst themselves. A little while later, the elephant keeper (I guess you could call him that) brought the monster over and let us pet him and dodge his trunk (no joke). Much to our dismay, he told us there would not be elephant rides today...apparently elephants need days off today. Let's just say he took a personal day.

So our first day in India was great, and we have not even began the fun stuff: working with the students and people. We were finally able to experience the true India traffic today, and also get a huge taste of culture. We saw cows roaming the streets, people digging through mounds of trash, and Muslims participating in their daily prayer time. There is so much going on in India at once...it is incredible. I love this place. I love the car rides and looking out the window at all the people. I love talking to them and learning about their culture. I cannot wait until we actually get to interact with the people and teach them how to put a ball in a hoop.

Sorry to disappoint all of those who were looking for Bennett's elephant ride video, maybe we can get him up on a camel tomorrow. We are exhausted, and are hitting the sack early to get ready for our last tourist day tomorrow. Then the real fun will begin!
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"Misplaced Passports", Paris Airport, Swine "Flue", and Incredible!ndia


By Ashley
Well, we finally made it. Actually, we made it at about 2:30 am Indian Time and 5:00 pm US time. We jumped in the bed for a quick nap, and here we are at 6:30 am getting ready for our first day.

So, flying for 18 hours is NO FUN. From Atlanta to Paris, I don't think any of us slept at all. I couldn't get comfortable, couldn't find anything I wanted to watch or read, and basically ended up with my head on the tray in front of me waiting out the flight. Considering we got to Paris at about 3:30 am at home...this was not good. About the "misplaced passports". Dad likes to act like the trip organizer that he is, and so I randomly made fun of him and yelled "PASSPORT CHECK" about 45 mins before we landed in Paris. Of course, Mom gets frantic, "Do you have mine." Long story short...it was no where to be found. In the meantime Dad and I are laughing so hard we cannot control ourselves (remember it is approximately 2:30 am at home), so Mom is convinced we are hiding it from her...and we are not. But we knew it had to be on there somewhere because she could not board the plane without it. Unfortunately (just kidding), she found it and was able to continue on to Bangalore with us. Dad and I offered to leave some cash with her while we headed on out to Bangalore.

One thing I have learned so far: PARIS AIRPORT STILL STINKS. Literally, and figuratively. It is very unorganized, the signs are not helpful at all, we had to go through security again because apparently we could have snuck something from the terminal in Atlanta to the terminal in Paris, and there was a seating area that would only hold about 1/20 of the people that were supposed to fit on the plane. So yes, it stank as well--from the plethora of perfumes you could sample to the lack of deodorant...you get the idea. Also, I am convinced that the people in Paris just don't like us, and don't care too much when we don't know French. But that is ok, it is their territory.

In the meantime, as we were boarding the plane to Bangalore, Mom and Dad ended up in front of us in checkout (Mom is good about shimmy-ing her way to the front), and then the rest of us kids ended up in a different line. And we truly found out that patience is a virtue. Unfortunate for Mom and Dad, the rest of us were asked if we minded being upgraded to "Business Class". Minded, are you kidding me? Who wouldn't? So we took one for the team and let Mom and Dad sit in the back. I will tell you I felt completely lost trying to figure out the gadgets and menu. But it was an awesome experience and blessing after the miserable flight before.

So, we made it to Bangalore. And PROPS to Bangalore--the airport has changed drastically. It looks great (maybe not smells great) and was very organized. About the "Swine/Swiss Flue", we had to get a thermometer stuck in our ear. If we had a temperature, they escorted you off. Luckily, we were good. But I did seen Swine Flu spelled using "FLUE" and "SWISS" instead of "Swine" on the official documents we had to get filled out. Only in India. I also loved how on the back of our customs card Karnataka titles it, "Increidble!ndia". WOW, talk about pride in your homeland.

Once we got to the hotel, we had about 4 hours to "nap" until we had to start our day. To be honest, that was actually some quality rest time. It was great. We woke up at about 5:45 am to the sound of a gong-like beating. Being the ignorant child I am, I thought it was some religious prayer time. That is, until the sound had no rhythm and started to sound more like a person beating on metal stairs. As you will hear often: That's India....and I LOVE IT. I love the spontaneity. In the meantime, we just decided to start our day a little bit earlier.

And here we are, preparing for a day of "tourism". This excites me beyond belief. I cannot wait to see what Incredible!ndia has to share with me today. I can't wait to see the streets in the daytime action , with people running stop signs and cutting each other off. I am sure it will be AWESOME.

One last thing...we were so excited to jump off the plane and see our buddy Benju. We thought were not going to see him! It was an AWESOME surprise! So, all you prayer warriors, pray that Benjamin would see the light and decide NOT to study so much for his exams so he can hang out with us (is it okay to pray for that)?

Check back later for a video of Bennett riding an elephant...I promised him I would post one for the world to see.
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