This week was great! Actually, I had kind of an off week with wanting to study Hindi (aka not wanting to study!) but, other things were great!
First, Dev Diwali was this weekend. Diwali is celebrated in most of South Asia, but I think Dev Diwali is celebrated in very few places. However, since we live in the holiest of Hindu cities, of course we celebrate ALL the holidays! Diwali is a day (3) for people to celebrate, but Dev Diwali is a day for the gods to celebrate. We heard there would be thousands of people at the ghats (steps next to the river), so we decided to go down and check it out. It was actually really fun! There were not very many people actually worshipping, but tons of people lighting candles for prettiness and just having fun. There were tons of vendors for food, cotton candy, peanuts, cheap jewelry, balloons, etc. I told Kyle it was a lot like being at the State Fair of Texas. :-) We were not planning on going on a boat ride, because they are supposed to be super expensive on Dev Diwali, but we ended up being talked into it by a very good salesman/boat-rower for a very good price... it was so fun! We got to see the candles along many of the ghats in our city, which is famous for its ghats! It was my first time on a boat on the river here, and it was a very fun experience. It was also Corinth's very first boat ride, and she LOVED it! The pictures I got are terrible, because it was nighttime and my camera stinks at night, but here are a few semi-decent pics!
Also, this week, I hosted my first mehendi party. (Henna is the same thing as mehendi.) Women often have mehendi parties, sometimes before special events like weddings, but sometimes just for fun! I had 12 people there, which I was glad about for my first event. I told a story IN HINDI!!! The story went with the mehendi design, and after we all talked about the story, we all drew the design on each others hands. The evening was pretty much only in Hindi, since I was the only one there who doesn't speak it, so it was great language practice. My friend told me today that there were some GREAT conversations going on that I am so thankful to God for! You can look up the stories at hennastories.org, and have your own henna party! If there is a mid-eastern or South Asian/Indian store close to you, they either have henna or can tell you where to get it! I look forward to having many more mehendi parties!
Also, this week, we got 3 packages! What?!? Yes, 3! Hooray! Corinth got an early Christmas present from her Mimi, we got a small package of wonderful things from my mom (including Christmas ornaments!), and a HUGE box of candy from the Worleys! We couldn't even wait until after we took a picture before eating some! Thank you all for loving us in this way!
First, Dev Diwali was this weekend. Diwali is celebrated in most of South Asia, but I think Dev Diwali is celebrated in very few places. However, since we live in the holiest of Hindu cities, of course we celebrate ALL the holidays! Diwali is a day (3) for people to celebrate, but Dev Diwali is a day for the gods to celebrate. We heard there would be thousands of people at the ghats (steps next to the river), so we decided to go down and check it out. It was actually really fun! There were not very many people actually worshipping, but tons of people lighting candles for prettiness and just having fun. There were tons of vendors for food, cotton candy, peanuts, cheap jewelry, balloons, etc. I told Kyle it was a lot like being at the State Fair of Texas. :-) We were not planning on going on a boat ride, because they are supposed to be super expensive on Dev Diwali, but we ended up being talked into it by a very good salesman/boat-rower for a very good price... it was so fun! We got to see the candles along many of the ghats in our city, which is famous for its ghats! It was my first time on a boat on the river here, and it was a very fun experience. It was also Corinth's very first boat ride, and she LOVED it! The pictures I got are terrible, because it was nighttime and my camera stinks at night, but here are a few semi-decent pics!
Family photo
No, this is not a swastika. It is a backwards swastika, which is the sign for peace. It's all over the place here!
The best picture I could get of the boats.
She was super happy about that balloon, and that made us super happy too!
Also, this week, I hosted my first mehendi party. (Henna is the same thing as mehendi.) Women often have mehendi parties, sometimes before special events like weddings, but sometimes just for fun! I had 12 people there, which I was glad about for my first event. I told a story IN HINDI!!! The story went with the mehendi design, and after we all talked about the story, we all drew the design on each others hands. The evening was pretty much only in Hindi, since I was the only one there who doesn't speak it, so it was great language practice. My friend told me today that there were some GREAT conversations going on that I am so thankful to God for! You can look up the stories at hennastories.org, and have your own henna party! If there is a mid-eastern or South Asian/Indian store close to you, they either have henna or can tell you where to get it! I look forward to having many more mehendi parties!
Some of my friends at the party!
Good discussion too! :-)
Also, this week, we got 3 packages! What?!? Yes, 3! Hooray! Corinth got an early Christmas present from her Mimi, we got a small package of wonderful things from my mom (including Christmas ornaments!), and a HUGE box of candy from the Worleys! We couldn't even wait until after we took a picture before eating some! Thank you all for loving us in this way!
She was genuinely this happy about the candy!
Corinth loves the ring pops!
I just LOVE Christmas!
Oh, and by the way, Happy Thanksgiving! Thank God for all of His blessings!
I love Corinth's extra happy face! It makes me smile big too. I love henna art....maybe we can Skype and you can show me how. Love you guys, and as always lifting you up in prayer.
ReplyDeletereally nice sharing, i like the Mehndi Designs of this blog, We are known for the perfect matchmaking and simplicity.
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