Does this look like the Indian Consulate?

We'll be stopping in India for a week on our way to Kenya in January since we already had tickets to return there.  To save time and money, Mandy and I were hoping to get our tourist visas for India while here in Paraguay.  The Indian visa website lists a consulate here in Asunción, Paraguay.  We scribbled down the address and began walking around the city trying to find it.  We found the right street, but we couldn't see the consulate anywhere.  We were so confused.  We asked several people for help, but they could only point us in the direction that the address should be.  Finally we went into Goodyear Tires and asked one of the employees if he knew where the consulate was.  He just simply pointed to the Chevy dealership and said, "It's up there."  [Insert our blank stares here.]

Sure enough, on the second floor, inside the dealership, above the car salesmen's desks, lies the Indian consulate of Paraguay.  It's a small closet with a desk and a few chairs.  The Paraguayan woman who operates it explained that they don't really do visas.  They only collect people's needed documents and mail them to the embassy in Argentina...for a fee.  Of course, she explained that we could do the same thing for less money using DHL.  The whole process takes at least a week.  Needless to say, we don't have our visas yet.

And though we still have no idea what the Indian consulate in Paraguay actually does all day, we do have to thank the Indian government for their contribution to the American auto industry.

Martin Burt featured on I Prize Peace

I don't know how many of you have checked out our other blog www.iprizepeace.blogspot.com.  Each Monday, we post a short spotlight of a social innovator.  It's a fun side project for us.  It helps us learn about social entrepreneurship, do graphic design, and write.

Anyway, this week's post is about Martin Burt, who created the self-sufficient school where we are right now.  We thought it was fitting to spotlight him before we left this school in Paraguay.  If you are interested to learn more about him, there's a short bio, website links, and a cool youtube video on our I Prize Peace blog.

Only one more week in Paraguay.  Crazy.

Graduation & Summer Begins

Graduation was one week ago.  Fifty students received their diplomas to thunderous applause from family, friends...and us.  After the ceremony, there was a fancy dinner, an awards ceremony, a promenade, and then a dance for everyone outside in the courtyard that lasted until 2 AM.  So, basically we ate, drank, and were merry.  Though some of us were only drinking Fanta.  We had never seen the school so busy and loud and festive.  It was a lot of fun. 

The next morning, the school was silent.  Summer had officially started here at La Escuela Agricola San Francisco.  Apparently the slow life here can get even slower.  But not just for us.  Now everyone seems to be moving at a snail's pace.  But that's probably a good thing because it's really hot.  Don't want to overexert ourselves and pass out in the sun.

But this past week has been a good one.  I finished the English curriculum, which is my biggest contribution in the past three weeks.  That and some English classes.  Tay and I are finishing up a website for the school's hotel.  Tay's also finishing some advertisements that they've asked him to do.  Honestly, his graphic design skills have made him very popular here.  He has created stickers, order forms, and posters.  He has good designing skills.  Kind-of like Napolean Dynamite.  And self-sufficient schools only want interns with good skills.

Anyway, one more week here.  Then we'll be back home for Christmas.  :)

Thanksgiving Feast

We managed to pull off a delicious Thanksgiving dinner Saturday night.  We found a turkey in Asuncion and cooked it up at the school.  The past few turkeys that we've cooked have been amazing.  The secret?  Cooking it in a bag for all but the last 30 minutes.  The meat is so moist and delicious.  Since we couldn't find a turkey bag here I had to improvise and make one out of 30 feet of tin foil. 

We also made homemade apple stuffing which turned out awesome.  Cooking around here is always an experiment, and unlike some of our previous experiments, this one turned out great.

We invited a handful of teacher friends from the school and enjoyed a great meal together.  I love thanksgiving.  We missed spending time with family, but we'll be home soon.

A Poem of Thanksgiving...Sort-Of

So strange.  I only remember one poem from elementary, and it is a Thanksgiving poem that I will now type completely, yes COMPLETELY, by memory.  (Are you getting so excited?)

Gobble, gobble,

Says the turkey.

Soon 'twill be Thanksgiving day.

Will you eat me?

How you treat me!

I will run away.

Do you love it?  I do.  Happy Thanksgiving to everyone.  Wish we could be with family on this delightful and delicious holiday, but alas we have run away.  

But we'll be back soon!

Living the Slow Life

In Paraguay, life is slow, and not just for us.  No one ever seems to be in a hurry for anything.  Neither are we.  Each morning, we go about our lives, slowly wake up, slowly read the news, slowly work on projects.  Slowly slurp soup for lunch.  Then everyone at the school has an hour break to nap or chat with friends.  A few hours after lunch, Tay and I slowly walk down to the store on the corner.  We eat empanadas and salad.  We drink chocolate milk or soda.  We can't help watching the novella that the store workers have gathered around, full of suspense.  After we pet the puppies on the way home, we slowly work on projects a little more, slowly play cards, or slowly read.  Slowly slurp soup for dinner.  Maybe chat with family online.  Slowly fall asleep.

That's all.  Maybe it's a little too slow at times, but I must admit there is something wonderful about living the slow life.  

Sometimes We Just Do This

Six Weeks Late...English Classes

Funny thing.  I originally came to Paraguay planning to spend most of my time working on an English curriculum and teaching English classes here at the school.  Once we got here, the school director informed us that the students would be taking exams for a month.  The school year was almost over, and it really wasn't a good time to begin a new English class.  So, I've focused on creating the English curriculum and working on other projects with Tay. 

Here's the funny part: six weeks later,  I have been asked to teach English classes.  Not sure why, but here we go.  Tay is my trusty assistant and fellow English expert.  We've taught two lessons so far.  It's quite a challenge, actually.  The students are on such different English levels, and English is a bizarre language compared to Spanish.  All the weird stuff like "ph" making an "f" sound etc.  How do you explain that?  Luckily the students are excited to learn, and it's been fun spending more time with them. 

Jessica Jackley: Poverty, money -- and love | Video on TED.com

If you're interested, here's a link to a cool TED talk by the co-founder of Kiva:

Jessica Jackley: Poverty, money -- and love | Video on TED.com

Kiva

We want to introduce all of you to an awesome organization that we have really enjoyed over the past year.  Kiva.org, is an online peer-to-peer lending site to support microfinance and microentrepreneurs all over the world.

Here's how it works.  You create an account, put money on it, browse the site for someone you want to loan money to (in $25 increments), click a button that transfers the funds, wait a couple of months and the money is returned to you.  At that point you can either have it transfered back into your bank account, or you can lend it out again.  Kiva has a 99% repayment rate and has facilitated 170 million dollars of loans to date.

Mandy and I have used this site multiple times.  We've invested in people living in towns we've lived in or traveled to.  Our current loan is to this group from Jinja, Uganda (A town we would travel to for delicious food located on the headwaters of the Nile).

It's really easy, lots of fun, and a great way to make a significant impact.  The best part is that you can do it over, and over, and over.  At least 99% of the time :)

Puppies!

The school has a new set of puppies.  Mandy spent hours with them yesterday.  Their names are Chopper, Osito (little bear), and Hornito (little oven, because he sleeps in the oven).

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


I don't know what to say. I think I'm glad I read it. It's about a Baptist preacher who moves to the Congo with his wife and four daughters. It is kind-of like Little Women, except the sisters hate each other. Though it is long at times, it gives an important perspective on colonial Africa, which still has so much to do with Africa today.



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Writing & Graphic Design Project

So, in some of our spare time, Tay and I have created another blog that we plan to update every Monday.  I want to do more writing and Tay wants to do more graphic design.  A blog seemed like a good idea.  It was originally going to only showcase Nobel Peace Prize winners (hence the name) ... but it has evolved to be about anyone who has done things to make the world a better, more peaceful place--through education, health, business, etc. 

Anyway, we won't send you weekly updates or anything, but if you'd like to look around on it, feel free.  Also, let us know if you have any suggestions for people to spotlight or ideas to improve the site. 

Blog Address: iprizepeace.blogspot.com

Off to Kenya

By now, you are all wondering what in the world we are doing with our lives.  First we spent a summer in Uganda, then I graduated with a degree in accounting and turned down all of my opportunities to work with the national accounting firms, then we moved to India, then to Paraguay, and now to Kenya.

So, either we are crazy or..... crazy.  Let me explain what it is I am trying to do.  Uganda changed our lives in a way we can never really articulate.  It was the catalyst for over a year and a half of reading, networking, and learning about international development and social entrepreneurship.  I went do a bunch of conferences, took classes, read tons of books, and met amazing individuals in the industry and found a passion in what they were doing.   I am so excited about the opportunity to solve social problems through markets.

We spent a few months in India working with some amazing social businesses, and now have spent a month in Paraguay with another internationally acclaimed social enterprise.  All of these opportunities have given us great experience in this international social business space.  Next stop Kenya.

We'll be working for the Asante Foundation (Formally the Pope Foundation).  It is the umbrella organization that owns and operates Yehu Microfinance, Coast Coconut Farms,  Basa Body, and Bonvi.  All of which are social business start-ups.

We'll be living on the beach with the CEO and his wife.  Louis Pope (CEO), is an LDS business owner who recently moved from Springville to Kenya.  He founded US Synthetic, a artificial industrial diamond company.  It has been rated as the best company in Utah to work for, and at one point was the fasted growing company in the United States.  Louis is a very experienced social entrepreneur.   We are really excited to learn from him and work in the industry.

The plan for now is to live in Kenya for at least a year.  My hope is to continue getting international social business work experience for a couple of years and then return to the States to pursue an MBA with an emphasis in social business.

We feel really good about where our life is heading and feel blessed to have so many awesome opportunities.  We are sad to be away from family for so long.  We miss everyone terribly, but feel that this is what we are supposed to be doing at this stage in our lives.  

One of Tay's Designs

This is an example of the type of stickers that Tay's been working on.  As part of their marketing campaign, we think it's important for them to let people know what makes their products unique.  One thing they want to start stressing is that their products are 100% organic.  Hence, the new label. 

By the way, you should check out this recent documentary on food in America.  Tay and I just watched it last week.  It was really well done--an Academy Aware nominee.  It talks about the corn industry, the meat industry, giant seed companies, organic farms, etc.  Pretty interesting stuff.  I wonder if any of the farmers in Goodland have had similar experiences with huge farming companies.  You can watch a trailer and learn more on their website @  http://www.foodincmovie.com/. 

La Queseria

Last week, Escuela Agricola San Francisco began selling their products in a high-end shop in Asuncion called La Queseria.  (FYI: "La Queseria" means "the cheese shop" in Spanish.)  Our new friend Julia, invited us to check out the new venue with her.  Armed with our camera, Taylor and I took the bus to Asuncion for the second time.  Unlike last time, which was a little confusing, we went with full details of how to get where we needed to go.  About two hours after leaving home, we arrived at the Marisca Lopez Shopping Mall.  Excellent.  We met Julia and Manuel, who drove us over to the new shop.  It was exciting to see Cerrito (the school's brand) products on display.

That trip to Cerrito has opened up a few more doors for things we can work on here at the school.  We are now working to create a marketing plan for the school, which will include some advertising work as well.  Stay tuned because Taylor has been working on some labels that are looking amazing.  We'll post a few in the next week.

Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World by Tracy Kidder

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I just finished reading this inspiring biography. In medical school, Paul Farmer found his life's calling: to cure infectious diseases and to bring the life saving tools of modern medicine to those who need them most. Tracy Kidder's magnificent account shows how one person can make a difference in solving global health problems through a clear-eyed understanding of the interaction of politics, wealth, social systems, and disease. Profound and powerful, Mountains Beyond Mountains takes us from Harvard to Haiti, Peru, Cuba, and Russia as Farmer changes people's minds through his dedication to the philosophy that "the only real nation is humanity".



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Mandy Saves the Day

We were out taking pictures this morning and found that the door to one of the pig pens was broken . One of the new piglets had gotten out. We cornered it around the side of the barn and Mandy grabbed it. But, not before Chicle (the farm dog) lightly placed his teeth on the piglet's neck! The piglet was squealing in terror.... so was Mandy.

In the end, we secured the piglet and returned it to its hippo-sized mother. Close save.

Double Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to Mumz and Grandpa!  We love you!

General Conference

It's amazing that we can watch general conference on a laptop from a remote farm/school in Paraguay.  Except for a power outage that lasted all Sunday morning, which prevented us from seeing that session, we were able to watch conference streaming live from Utah with no problems.

One of our favorite talks was Elder Richard C. Edgly's talk on choosing faith over doubt, fear, the unknown, the unseen, and pessimism.  Taylor thought Elder M. Russell Ballard's fly fishing analogy was good.  We also liked President Uchtdorf's address on simplifying our lives, though this week we have probably taken his counsel a little further than he would advise.  It's been...a slow around here.

The Blue Sweater: Bridging the Gap Between Rich and Poor in an Interconnected World by Jacqueline Novogratz

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Taylor and I both loved this book.  It's a fascinating and enlightening read by a woman I have come to really respect.  Novogratz has spent her whole life trying to improve the lives of people in developing countries.  She has great insights on what works and what doesn't.  I especially admire the way she is able to balance hard business skills with compassion.  This book will make you laugh, it will make you cringe, it will make you cry.  You don't have to be into social business or development to enjoy it.  I highly recommend The Blue Sweater to everyone.



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Fundacion Paraguaya

For those of you who haven't seen this awesome video about the organization we are working for click on the link below. (I'd just post it here on the blog, but youtube is blocked here at the school) It was created by the Skoll Foundation. They are a fascinating organization created by one of the worlds greatest philanthrocapitalists, Jeff Skoll.

Movie Link

A Wise Man Once Said

"How come we can't ever have just like a salad?"

Well it happened. We had a huge salad bar with beets, carrots, lettuce, cilantro, parsley, cabbage, and onions. It was amazing. We each had two huge plates of it along with our daily allotment of soup. Unfortunately, only the teacher table enjoyed the salad. None of the students ate any of it. They aren't accustomed to eating fresh vegetables and find the idea of them mixed together really gross. At the end of the meal, the professors gave a big lecture about eating healthily and how the students should be ashamed of themselves for wasting food.

Alas, I think our salad days are over for the duration of our stay.

Church in Paraguay

It turns out that we have a branch just down the road from where we are living. It's about a 40 minute walk to a small town called Benjamin Aceval. They have a small church building with an even smaller branch. The members are warm and friendly. My Spanish is coming along slowly, but priesthood meeting was in the local language of Guarani, so that didn't help. We enjoyed the meetings and look forward to getting better acquainted with the branch members here.

We're excited for conference this upcoming weekend. We haven't decided if we are going to travel with the members to the stake center in Asuncion or just watch it online from home. Either way, we are looking forward to a great weekend.

Life on the Farm

We've spent the last few days trying to get to know the school, which is a little difficult when only one other person here speaks English.  Still, we've been able to see and figure out a lot.  I'm realizing that I know a lot more Spanish than I thought.

Students get up at 5:45 am (so early!) to clean their rooms and do other chores.  Then breakfast.  After that, half of the students go to class and half go to the farm.  Each week, students switch between regular classes and working the farm.  Other than a few hours of break after lunch, all of the students are pretty busy from about 8 am to 4 pm.  After school, students hang out with their friends, listening to music, playing soccer, or watching TV.  Dinner is at 8 pm, and everyone goes to bed by 9:45 pm.  They work hard in school, but they seem to enjoy themselves.  I think they all feel pretty lucky to be able to attend the school.

Taylor and I have now familiarized ourselves with the school, and though we aren't here to work on the farm, it's been fun to see bits and pieces of farm life.  Yesterday, we observed new cows being immunized and tested for diseases.  (Actually, I couldn't really watch much.  I hate shots, and these were the biggest needles I've ever seen.)  The school's method of farming is intense and completely organic, but the teachers here say that it's the most affordable way for the students to learn to farm...at least, in the long run.  They will save money by not buying chemical pesticides and fertilizers, and they won't have to keep moving every few years when the chemicals wear out their land.  I'm still not sure what I think, but it's cool that they can do so much without chemicals.

I am beginning to work on an English curriculum for the school, and Taylor and I have a meeting with the school's director on Monday to discuss the school's finances and marketing strategies.  Excellent.

Living in Nacho Land

WELL, OBVIOUSLY... We have a Nacho Libre in Paraguay park.

This afternoon, Mandy and I realized that this place is a lot like the place where Nacho Libre lives....

• Nacho lives in a Catholic school; we live in a (former) Catholic school.
• Nacho eats soup for every meal; we eat soup for every meal.
• Nacho wears stretchy pants; Mandy wears stretchy pants.
• Nacho speaks Spanglish; we speak Spanglish.
• Nacho wants to be a luchador; Taylor almost got arrested with luchadors. (Joel this is your shout out!)
• Nacho has magical eagle eggs; we washed magical chicken eggs today.

The similarities are endless.

Other news: last night we watched a gigantic pig giving birth to a myriad of little piglets. I think we are now prepared to deliver a litter of our own. We spent the morning milking goats, washing eggs, and talking with an intern that is leaving tomorrow.

We are going to spend the week getting to know the school and getting a better understanding of what the students do here. It's been really fun to learn about a new culture, language, and exciting solution to rural education.

Fundacion Paraguaya

This morning we drove with our new friend Luis from Asuncion to Cerrito, where the agricultural school is located.  We spent the morning meeting people here at the school and touring the facilities.  This place is amazing.  The school houses 150 students in 10th, 11th, and 12th grades.  It has been completely financially self sufficient for the past three years.  The first of its kind in the world.

If you want to watch a short video on youtube about the school and its founder click here. 

Our room is great.  Unlike most of our third world escapades, we have a hot shower, AC, electricity, internet, and a flushing toilet.  Life is beautiful. 

So far the temperature is amazing, though we hear that it will get unbearably hot in another month or so.  We can't seem to beat the heat.

I think we'll spend the next week meeting people, learning about the school, and figuring out how we can help each other.  We have discussed a few potential projects including:

• Teach English classes after school to interested students
• Create a board game based around the school to help students (and other interested people) learn how the school operates and how to conduct best practices.
• Find new vendors and markets for the school's products
• Help with branding and distribution
• Strengthen relationships with the local communities and form partnerships

It's all pretty exciting stuff.  We're looking forward to the adventure.

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Finished this on the plane to Paraguay.  I must say I really loved every moment of reading this book.  The writing is engaging, and it really makes you think.  An eye-opening close-up of poverty in the rural US.



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Sin Gas

Tonight, for the first time ever, we drank water that said it was "sin gas", meaning without gas or air. We had a good laugh. Apparently, all our lives we've been drinking water with gas. This explains a lot. We're looking forward to a life without gas for the next few months. Who knew?

Bienvenidos

So, we made it to Paraguay.... 27 butt-numbing hours later. Travelling around the globe is amazing, but getting there is always such a pain. Two nights of no sleep, 6 meals of airline cuisine, long lines, one McDonald's breakfast, and Mandy squeezing my hand off every time the plane bumped. What an adventure.

Paraguay is amazing. We are loving it here already. We were picked up at the airport by Michael Graham, the intern director, at 2am. He's a great guy who is native to Paraguay, but ironically enough graduated from K State. Come to find out, Kansas and Paraguay are sister states/countries. Citizens from Paraguay pay instate tuition in Kansas. They formed a partnership in the 60's. They are both landlocked. They are both agricultural. Therefore, they love each other. We have met a couple people now that went to school in Kansas. Random.

We spent the morning at Fundacion Paraguaya's main offices. The employees and management are awesome. Everyone is passionate, hard working, and laid back. We really like the people here. We'll spend a few days touring around, meeting people, visiting the school etc. to get a good feel for the organization. We talked about a few projects we can work on over the next few months. Mandy and I will most likely work together the whole time. It'll be fun.

The language will be a bit of a challenge. Mandy has taken a bunch of classes in Spanish so she can usually get the gist of what people are saying. I'm pretty much clueless. This morning everyone was telling me "bienvenidos". I assumed it was a form of greeting so I repeated it back to them. Come to find out it means "welcome." So, I have now welcomed everyone to their own country. Take luck? The first of many linguistic blunders I'm sure.

Only One Week Left

It's been quite the summer. We are down to just three of us at the house, and by tomorrow it will be just Taylor and I living here. We'll have a lot of clean-up jobs to do with storing things, paying final bills, and returning borrowed items.

We've said goodbye to the people at the branch. For me, they've been the highlight of the summer. I have fully enjoyed seeing the church's growth here in India, and the members are very impressive. We will miss them.

On Saturday morning, we'll be on a flight to northern India. As you can see in the picture, Darjeeling is beautiful. We're going to be spending about three days there. It's a little village at the base of the Himalayas, and it's pretty famous among old-time mountaineers. Taylor's been wanting to go there. Actually, he would really like to go to Nepal. I figure if he can't actually climb Everest (and he is definitely NOT allowed to do that ever), he can at least see it from afar.

Then, we're flying back to the US for a few weeks to be with family.

Then, we're going to Paraguay for thee months to intern at Fundacion Paraguaya at their self-sustainable agricultural school. At this same time, our Indian employment visas should have enough time to process.

And then...we're still a little unsure of the future. Basically we have three options:

Option A: move back to India and take Tay's job offer or internship offer.
Option B: stay on in Paraguay if they offer a job.
Option C: run a climbing gym with two of Tay's best friends
Option D: do something we haven't even thought of yet.

We're planning on Option A with the job offer, but we still have to wait for visas to come through. Plus, I don't want to completely rule out the idea that Paraguay may be amazing and want to hire us full time. We'll see, I guess.

Indian Independece Day

Today is Indian Independence Day. To celebrate, we attended a parade near our house. First we watched the Chief Minister of Andra Pradesh raise the flag and ride around the loop by himself. Then lots of different sets of police came and marched proudly by, swinging their arms so high I thought they'd pull a muscle. Then came floats to represent different government branches. The best one had live animals on it--three cows, a few goats, etc. It was great.

Now we're off to spend our last official week with HELP doing research in a neighboring town called Medak.

Tipping Bucket

This week Rescue Foundation, one of our partners here in India, is trying to raise money using www.tippingbucket.com. Rescue Foundation is an organization that works to rescue, rehabilitate, and reintegrate victims of sex trafficking. All of the money they raise will go towards a flower business that they are trying to start at their largest rehabilitation location near Mumbai, India. Our volunteer team helped to write up their project proposal and connect them with Tipping Bucket.

All it takes is $1 per person. Please pass on the word. Thanks.

Our SKS YouTube Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fg9Ju7Do2Ms

The quality isn't that great, but here is the video that Tay and I made this week. It explains SKS's Ultra Poor Program. Taylor spent two weeks in the jungle doing research with program participants in July. Our team (down to only five of us now) will be spending the next two weeks doing further research with their Ultra Poor Program in a small city called Medak.

Cute Monkeys Outside Our House! Yay!

Indian Heroes

Billboards advertising the latest Bollywood films have been the source of much entertainment this summer. Typical advertisements sell one of two things: romance movies or action films. Romance movie ads look a lot like the covers of trashy romance novels in America--with a sweaty-looking man embracing a gorgeous woman with flowing hair. Action movie ads always have pictures of a man wearing sunglasses and carrying a gun.

Regardless of whether its a romance film or an action movie, the main male character is called a hero. And people seem to take the term "hero" very literally. Many young Indian men seem to want to be like heroes, and we've noticed a distinct heroesque look. This includes what we call hero hair, which is a longer look that can be worn shaggy or slicked back with hair gel. Think of it as a mullet minus the "business in front" part. The look also includes shiny, button-up shirts, preferably in black. Maybe undo a few top buttons to show off your manly chest. Of course, jeans and sunglasses are a must if you want to really look like a hero. (Reference picture above.)

So, if any of you guys are looking for a new back-to-school look, the Indian hero look may be exactly what you need to kick off a killer school year.

Or not.

McDonald's in India

It was Taylor who begged me to cross the street and go to McDonald's. Yes, Taylor is a big fan of McDonald's now that we're in India. Not that he hated it before. He just always preferred Carl's Junior or Wendy's. (Sorry if you're hearing this for the first time, Dad. I've been trying to work on him.) Anyway, I guess that since those two are no longer options, Taylor has decided to root for McDonald's and thus strengthen family relationships.

You may be wondering what McDonald's is like without the beef. I was also curious. It's still good. Fries are the same golden, salty deliciousness as America. The ice cream tastes deliciously the same as well. They even have chocolate dipped cones, and yes we did get them. But the burgers... you have two options: chicken and veg. I think some places have mutton but not Hyderabad's McDonald's. I had an aloo (potato) tikka burger, which was pretty good. It had delicious sauce, but I didn't love the patty, which tasted like a hashbrown collided with green pea soup. I think I'll try chicken next time. But the ice cream and the french fries were worth the trip. Did I mention it's SO cheap? Like $4 for two meals including fries and drinks and ice cream. Too bad our McDonald's bucks don't work here. Think how much we could buy!

Anyway, I thoroughly loved my time at McDonald's and felt right at home. I even thought of applying there, but I don't know if they'd be willing to go through the visa process. Kind-of labor intensive for a minimum wage earner who can't even speak the local language. Ok, and I'm also trying to move on from visor jobs since I've already had two: lifeguarding and McDonald's. The post-work ringhead is more than I can bear!

Escape to Vizag

So Taylor's back from his village capers with SKS, and he really wanted to take a little vacation. The truth is, we are both pretty dang exhausted. Everyday feels like a job hunt, and I guess it really is. We're hunting for good partner organizations for HELP to work with now and in the future. Anyway, a vacation could be just the thing. This is the only week we could do it, since the other country director will be vacationing the next two weekends and then leaving for home. Taylor and I went to the train station on Tuesday to inquire about tickets and left having reserved a week's stay in Vizag.

Vizag is a smaller city on the eastern edge of the state. We're staying in a cheap hotel right on the ocean. We can hear the waves from our doorstep, and we only have to walk a minute or two to step into the ocean itself. Not to mention, we have the beach totally to ourselves. I don't think anyone else is staying at the hotel. Or maybe they just don't like to swim. Whatever the reason, I'm not complaining. It's totally worth the 12 hours overnight on the train and the cheap price to stay here.

The man who booked our hotel was wondering how we could possibly stay for a week in Vizag without getting really bored. But you know, it's been great. We've been reading and talking and swimming. We finally have some time to put into figuring out our life after this summer. It's a much-needed break.

Indian Weddings & Hanging with the Branch

So, yesterday was one of the longest days of my life. We went with some branch members to a member of the branch's sister's "authentic village wedding". (Don't worry, everyone goes to every wedding. You don't need to know the person.) It was good, but it was long. I don't think I can do it justice, but I'll try:

We (five girls from the team plus Mike Riding from the office) left at 7 am to catch a two-hour train. Everyone on the train kept taking pictures of us, which was funny. Then we took a short bus ride out into the country. The moment we arrived at the wedding hall, we were ushered to the front row to have a close-up view of the bride and groom. Basically, we sat for a few hours, watching them scoop rice onto each others' heads and listening to the nasally singing that accompanied it. After the ceremony, we congratulated the couple and took pictures with them. Then we ate lunch and headed off to see some sights with the 18 branch members who also came to the wedding.

But how do you transport 18 people without a bus? Easy. Pile them into the back of a flatbed truck caked with cow manure! Did I mention that 14 of the members with us were 18 to 26-year-old boys? They were going crazy, climbing all over the truck and yelling songs at the top of their lungs. The ride was hilarious and pretty fun and very long. Everyone stared at us, but that's normal. We went to a lake surrounded by tons of monkeys for about 20 minutes, and then we went to the Thousand Pillar Temple. We only stayed there for about 10 minutes, but it was good to see. It's funny because all the American people were taking pictures of the temple, but all of the Indians were taking pictures of us!

Then we rode another bus to a different train station, where we waited a very long time (again) for the train to come. Once we got on the train, we were pretty exhausted. We finally reached our house again at 11 pm. Like I said, it was long. But that's part of being authentic Indian. Things just take a while.

Maybe I'll become more patient living here.

That wouldn't be a bad thing.

We Have Worms!

So there's this super sweet girl on our team who's way into agriculture. Her family has a huge garden, and they also own a bunch of cows. So, she came out to India all excited to do all these projects with agriculture. The only problem is that we're in the middle of a very big city. Still, she's persistent and has arranged projects in a nearby (2 hour bus ride) village.

The project she's most excited about? Worms! She read about worms being able to turn compost into really great soil, and she's just sure that the village farmers will be thrilled by this concept. But first, she wants to try it out. In our backyard.

Yes, what you're thinking is correct. We have thousands of worms in a big plastic bucket of dirt and rotting food and maggots on the back porch. And yes, they totally escaped on the first monsoon when she left them uncovered. I went to go lock the back door and saw hundreds of tiny worms spreading out in every direction. There was no hope of saving them. We just covered the ones that were still in the bucket and went to bed. The next morning we had dry, dead worms covering the porch.

So, when I say we have worms, take it literally.

We also have a mouse, but I'll save that story for later.

Salar Jung Museum

We had a nice break yesterday (Saturday). Well sort of. We did laundry for four hours and didn't finish it all. Doing laundry by hand, in buckets, is tedious work. We have a veranda/roof top area to wash and hang our clothes. Last time I did laundry I got the worst sunburn I have ever had. So I loaded up with sunscreen yesterday and made it through ok.

We went to the Salar Jung Museum. It's either the largest, or one of the largest, personal collections in the world. The museum is huge and we only got to half of the rooms before it closed. The most incredible piece was the Veiled Rebecca. It's an Italian marble sculpture that was breathtaking. I've never seen a more beautiful marble sculpture.

MVF & Prajwala

So the last few weeks have been pretty busy with meetings. We're still shaping projects and looking for partner organizations. With so much going on plus accidentally using all the available bandwidth at the church, I have definitely been a lame blogger. WiFi is supposedly an option if we can find a local person to sign us up. Taylor wasn't kidding about the bureaucracy here... Anyway, I wanted to tell you about two of the organizations that it looks like we'll be working a bit with.

MVF is a local organization that fights child labor. They hold town meetings to educate villagers about keeping their kids in school--as opposed to having them start working. When they convince people to pull their kids out of labor and put them into school, they help place the kids or send them to a bridge course camp run by MVF. The bridge course camps are free to the students and are supposed to help students catch up educationally with their age group. Sounds like an educational miracle. I don't know how it works.

Prajwala is another local organization that rescues children who have been trafficked into brothels. They have rehabilitation facilities where they provide counseling, job training, and other educational options. They also work with the villagers to educate them about sex trafficking. It seems to be something that people are tricked into a lot.

For both of these organizations, they would like our help with writing. They would like brochures, photography, interviews, posters, reports, and who knows what else. I'm especially excited for these writing projects, and I hope we'll be able to help them promote themselves more effectively.

Taylor has visited a few Microfinance Institutions and is still waiting for things to get rolling. A few of them have sounded really promising, but it's sometimes hard to tell. We want results. :)

In addition to lining up these projects, Taylor and I have purchased our first-ever gym passes. They were $4 per month per person. That's a price we're willing to pay. Or are we? The equipment and muscle-man posters would make you laugh. The lack of AC would make you sweat. The stationary bikes are rusty and have pedals falling off. The stair-stepper is impossibly high. The only thing that is worth anything are the weights. So, that's what we've been doing. Sort-of.

Pizza Corner

So we spent around six hours trying to find a wifi internet cafe. I googled "free wifi Hyderabad" and found several hits for various locations around the city, one of which was Pizza Corner. We took a rickshaw to the nearest Pizza Corner and were instantly surrounded by waiters begging us to take a seat. I asked them if they had wireless internet at their restaurant and received a half dozen blank stares.

They finally called their manager, who spoke better English, who informed me that this location didn't have internet but that another Pizza Corner farther away definitely did. He gave me the address, and we puttered away on another rickshaw.

When we arrived at the other Pizza Corner, we were greeted by a similar gang of waiters urging us to sit and eat. I tried to explain what we were looking for:

Me: Do you have wireless internet?

Waiter: ??

Me: Do you have wireless internet here in the restaurant?

Waiter: Internet? No, we sell pizza.

Alas, Pizza Corner doesn't have internet at any of it's locations. The entire trip took ages, and we came home defeated, only to find out that the church (a three minutes walk from our apartment) has wifi in the lobby. We had been struggling for weeks to find a decent internet connection and never knew it was right under our noses.

So I am comfortably typing this blog entry at the church in an air conditioned, high-speed, free internet connection.

The church is true!

Western Toilets? Is this India?

I know I've smelled this familiar mix of spices, sewage, incense, mothballs, and who-knows-what-else before. When I stepped off my plane to Mumbai, the smell immediately slammed into me. This time when I arrived in India, I was ready. Ready for the smells, ready for the crowds, ready for the dirt, ready for the insanity of it all. I guess that's why the clean bathrooms in the Mumbai Airport completely surprised me. I'm talking Western toilets AND toilet paper AND soap AND paper towels!

What a contrast to my first Indian experience 15 years ago: my mom and four kids huddled around a hole in the ground that was supposed to be a toilet. Women were sprawled on the floor all around the room, selling toilet paper to foreign suckers like us. I don't remember the details, but by the end of the ordeal, Mom was in tears. I think we bought toilet paper.

I was relieved to finally land at at the Hyderabad Airport, which is much bigger and nicer than the Salt Lake City Airport. It was 4:30 Wednesday morning, and I staggered through immigration and customs, my backpack seeming heavier with every minute spent in line. Somehow I made it without collapsing.

Finally seeing Taylor was strage. He looked so skinny and tired. Both of us so out of place in the madness that is Hyderabad, a sea of curious, staring Indian people. Then us.

Our cab driver raced like an idiot all the way to the hotel, where I found a cup of bamboo shoots quietly waiting on a table with a sweet card from Taylor. It was a perfect welcoming gift. Not quite a dog, but I think Taylor's the only person in the world who knows I've always wanted a bamboo plant.

Now, two and a half days later, I've taken rickshaws all over town, running errands for the team (meeting with a local school teacher, making extra copies of house keys) and a few for myself (buying hangers and shampoo, buying food). I've moved into our yellow, second floor apartment. It has running water and Western toilets! Yay! (Yes, the picture is of our house.) I've been introduced to biryani, Hyderabad's trademark dish. It's a sort-of Indian version of stir-fried rice topped with a spicy sauce. I liked it. I've even seen a peacock in the local “national park”.

No matter where we go or what we're doing, water is often my highest priority. Taylor wasn't kidding about the heat, though apparently it's much cooler this week. I never realized jeans were so hot! It's 95 degrees inside our house, except for the one air-conditioned room, where we spend most of our inside time. I can't tell if it's the sun draining my energy or if I'm jet-lagged or going through culture shock or maybe even a little sick. Maybe it's a combination of all of them. Whatever it is, I'm praying for the monsoons and cooler weather.

Kristen Arrives in India

Kristen came in this morning. She arrived early (5:30am). It's good to have another American around. Not that I don't love being surrounded by Indians, but having a friend that understands your accent, and background is really nice. We spent the day getting Kristen a cell phone and looking at houses. We found a really nice place that is very reasonable. We hope things go through with the landlord.

Everyone here is so kind and thoughtful. People go out of there way to help. They are willing to drop everything they have to help you out. I don't know how to thank them or to refuse them. They are so generous.

We went to the seminary graduation tonight at the ward building. It was fun to see so many people involved in seminary. They had between 20 and 30 people graduate from seminary. One of my favorite things about traveling is meeting members of the church around the world. They are so active and excited about the gospel. I have a lot to learn from them. I am excited to associate myself with these great people over the next four months.

Sunday with the Branch

Today was great. Sunday's are always awesome while traveling. I feel like I am back on my mission again. We went to the Hyderabad 2nd branch which we will most likely be attending for the remainder of the summer. It was wonderful. The members here are so committed and excited to be apart of the church. I miss that excitement. Uganda was the same way. The church was fresh, exciting, and adventurous. It's so pure and real. I really appreciated it. The branch has bent over backwards for us. They have been so kind and so helpful. I am amazed at how much they are willing to do.

We had dinner at the branch presidents home. His wife cooked us a delicious meal of Biranyi. It's a rice and curry dish that Hyderabad is famous for. It was absolutely delicious. We all sat around on a mat on the floor and talked about our families. They are such wonderful people. I love them already.

Hopefully tomorrow we will have a house to move into. It would be so nice to have something set up and ready when our volunteers get here.

It's Fun to Stay at the YMCA

Today was a long long day. I spent the majority of the night in the airport waiting for flights, going through security check points, and standing in lines. I arrived in Hyderabad around 3:00am but didn't leave the airport until 4:30am. I made it through customs and immigration thankfully. The woman at the customs desk was angry at another employee and simply looked at my passport and visa, stamped it and shooed me through. I have no complaints.

Hyderabad is enormous. It is similar to Kampala in many ways only much much larger. The city blocks stretch on and on. I started walking yesterday to familiarize myself with the neighborhood. I walked for an hour in one direction and then turned back. Nothing in the scenery had changed. Thousands and thousands of people with thousands and thousands of cars cramming through small streets lined with shops selling everything you can imagine.

I met up with Kumar, the elders quorum president. He was so kind and generous. He took me around town on his motorcycle to help me set everything up. We got my cell phone working after many hours of trying. He took me to an “American” buffet which really was delicious. After several days of airplane cuisine I was so grateful to stuff myself with good food. His friend Rajeev spent several hours with me helping me with understanding the currency, the customs etc. They are both so kind and helpful. I get the feeling from them and others that Indian hospitality is something I can expect throughout my stay here. I need to figure out how I can thank them.

I am currently staying at the YMCA. I got an air conditioned room (thank goodness) with a bathroom and shower for a few dollars. The room is a small step up from the multi choice, and the bathroom is similar to the one at the second hotel we used in Gulu. I can't complain. I have a secure place to store my things and a cool room to sleep. The YMCA is a happening place. Outside there are classrooms, meeting rooms, and a basketball court. There are hundreds of people outside roller staking, playing basketball, ping pong, running, yoga etc. It's a community hub.

Kristen is supposedly arriving in a few minutes. I hope everything with her flights worked out ok. I am so glad to be here. It will be such an amazing experience.

Hyderabad: Hot, Humid, Chaotic, Incredible

So the internet situation here has been more difficult than I anticipated. Due to recent terrorist attacks and threats in India, everyone is extremely paranoid. Every internet cafe requires a copy of your passport, cell phone number, and e-mail address. They don't easily let you use a USB drive to transfer pictures or documents, so my blogging has been poor.

However, I now have a decent internet connection and some time to share my experiences with all of you.

Where to start?

I arrived here in Hyderabad, India over a week ago. I landed in Hyderabad at 3am after a very long and complicated flight. As Mandy mentioned earlier I lost my passport in Chicago and ended up delaying my flight 24 hours. Luckily the airlines found it and sent it to me in Chicago. That was a very stressful afternoon. I left Utah on Tuesday morning and landed in Hyderabad on Friday morning.

It's been a wild ride over the past week, but I absolutely love it here. I've never experienced heat like this though... Hyderabad is in the middle of a record high heat wave. It's well over 110 with 70-80 % humidity. We are buying an AC today so that will help a lot, though the power has been in and out nearly everyday. I've been drinking between 7 and 8 liters of water a day and still feel a bit dehydrated.

The branch that we are attending (Hyderabad 2nd) is amazing. The church here is growing quickly. I love the members. They have been extremely inviting and helpful. I am excited to get to know everyone better and to spend time with them.

Tay Arrives in India

Though losing his passport set him back a day, Taylor was able to arrive in Hyderabad safely. Since then, life has been frantic as he and Kristen (plus Will) have been trying to get things ready for the new volunteers. They found a house close to the church and an internet cafe. They have also spent a lot of time meeting with potential partners for the summer. The branch members have been particularly hospitable and helpful. Two volunteers arrived on Saturday, and that's the latest that I've heard.

As for myself, I am counting down the days until summer. (It's 8.5 days, if you were wondering.) I still have a few things to wrap up, but I'm feeling ready to go.

I promise that this blog will get more exciting and even include some pictures in the near future, so stay posted. :)