Ackkkkk!!

I hate grading papers!!!! Hate it, hate it, hate it!!! Agggggggggggg....... The only thing getting me through this night is a package of Red Hots, some Diet Dr. Pepper, and the thought that summer is coming. It just a few short months away. Oh beloved summer...

(I just had to vent my frustration... I'll be posting more India pictures as soon as I'm not staring at this mountain of paper.)

At the sari fabric warehouse

Scenes from the street

Finally! pictures from my trip...

Here is the view from the little balcony off the guest room in which I slept.



Here is J. in the kitchen. She's going through the gifts I brought from America.

John Barrowman Sound of Musicals Sunset Boulevard

More John Barrowman. Still loving his voice. I think am going through a musical phase. I need to go pull out my "Les Miserables" CDs... :-)

John Barrowman - Maria (West Side Story)

So I stayed home sick from work today. Nothing too serious, I'm just worn out and catching something. (Not a "friend" from India, though!) :-)

Anyway - I've spent way too much time on YouTube today. Boy, that's addictive! I went in search of some clips of John Barrowman. I've been enjoying his role as Captain Jack Harkness on Doctor Who and Torchwood and just wanted to check to see if there were a few interviews with him. Well. Little did I know. The man is an amazing singer. Apparently he's had the lead in 16 West End musicals in London. (That's the UK's version of Broadway, for those of you unfamiliar with the West End.) I have fallen in love with this man's voice. Wow.

Here's a clip of him talking about and then singing "Maria" from West Side Story.

Thankful

I'm back! And very, very tired. I've had about 8-10 hours of sleep since Tuesday evening (Kansas time.) So, all I have the energy to say is, "I'm here; all my luggage made it, and I'm very grateful for large hot water heaters!"

More to come after I've slept for at least 12 hours...

India Update

Hello Everyone!

I've been trying to send e-mail updates, but for some reason, I can't access my e-mail here in India. So - this will have to do. It's Wednesday morning and we were supposed to fly to Delhi today. Unfortunately, our flight has been cancelled. There is an incredible amount of fog/smog on the ground in Delhi, and it's causing delays and cancellations of flights. I am taking Flight #293 at 12:55AM on Friday morning. The same flight is taking off today at 6:30PM. That's basically an 18 hour delay. Hopefully the flights will be back on schedule by Friday morning! (And that we will be able to make it to Delhi by that time!)

Right now, my bro-in law is trying to get train tickets to Delhi. This will mean that we will arrive sometime Thursday. If we can't get train tickets, there is an option of really expensive alternate airline tickets, but with the fog...that's no guarantee. So - Please pray that we would make it to Delhi and that I would get on a plane at the right time! I have to teach on Monday and I really don't want to come straight from the airport... :-)

In other news, the rest of my time here has been awesome. My sister, brother-in-law, and I went boating on the Ganges river yesterday. It was beautiful and sad. The riverside is filled with temples and throngs of people coming to bathe in the river they consider holy. They are searching for peace and hope in a very polluted river. People were burning the dead at two different spots that we passed. The dead are burned on open piles of wood beside the river, and then the ashes are dumped into the river. We also passed people doing their laundry in the river, bathing, and worshipping the river. I'll try to put up a few pictures when I get home.

My sister and I met some of her friends and went shopping for saris on Saturday. It was so fun. The woman who took us is a friend of my sister, but we don't know her name. It would be inappropriate, because she is older than us. She is delightful. She took us to her brother's sari warehouse where we were surrounded in clouds of colorful silk. I bought a blue and silver sari, but I'm not sure where I'll ever wear it! :-) :-)

Update on the travel: The travel agent just called and it looked like we were going to take a 12 hour train that was possibly really dirty...but then he called back! Some seats have opened up on a faster train that is probably a little cleaner. We will leave at 1:00AM (late tonight) and arrive in Delhi at 9:00AM tomorrow. If the train isn't too late...we should still have a little time to see Delhi.

I'll try and write a bit more later. Please pray that everything would work out according to our Father's plan.

P.S. - Mom - I set up a cell phone update on the American Airlines flight that should call your cell phone. If there is a change in the flight time, could you call us here? We will have the cell phones in Delhi.