India reunion

We are so, so thankful that we were able to see (a lot of) our India family all within a weeks time. How amazing is that!? We have been less than great about keeping up with them over the past year, but Chad and I feel connected to them for life. We really love these people and cherish any time with them!

The day before we left Clemson, we headed over to where the Gainors are living during their time in the US. The Coltons were passing through on their way from Atlanta to NC and were able to stop in for lunch. 

G and Wint playing a little bit

Paul, Gray and Chad

 Sarah, Brandy and me

 and Sarala!

Then while we were in Durham, we were able to drive over to the Brier Creek area and see the Snods while they were in town. 

And we got to meet Luci, the newest Snodgrass family member. Oh how we loved seeing this sweet baby girl we had been praying for all last year!

Alright Amy, I'm thinking we need to see you soon :) 

our last couple days in India

It is crazy how much has changed and happened in our life since these pictures that were taken a little over two weeks ago. 

On our last Sunday in India, we went to church at Dennis' church and said goodbye to this sweet family we have spent time with over the past couple of months. 

 Sangeeta was about 9 months pregnant in these pictures!  

 Chad and Dennis

The family gave us some goodbye gifts. Dennis' father is a tailor and they made Chad a shirt. They also gave us flowers... one for Chad and I and a small one for the baby :)

One of our last nights making dinner in the apartment, the power was out and so Chad was making pancakes in the pitch black. ohhh India. So thankful for gas stoves! 

in front of our 2nd home

 This couple (our guard and househelper) really looked out for us! We could hardly communicate with them, but they made me feel so safe. Thankful for them! (and how cute are their granddaughters, Sapna and Pooja??)

 On Monday, we moved out of our apartment and went and spent our last night at the Gainors. The team came over for a meeting and goodbyes. It was an emotional time for us. We love these people so, so much and goodbyes were hard. Gray made us such a thoughtful and sweet video from the team and it was a sweet time for us with these friends. 

with the Snodgrass family

 with the Colton family

 Our last dinner with the Gainors. We went out the same way we came in... living with this wonderful family :) so thankful for their hospitality and friendship

 with the Gainor family

 We flew to Delhi and spent one night there before flying to Italy on Wednesday. We were able to spend lots of time with Amy while we were there because she had taken the SummerLINK team to Delhi a few days earlier. 

What a wonderful, challenging year this was for us. These people were encouraging, supportive and understanding and our friendships with them are one of our favorite take-aways from the year. 

We love each of you so much and already miss living life alongside of you.   

last week

Last week, Chad was gone for most of the week. I am not a fan. I hate being apart. Hate it. It was so great to see him when he came home on Friday!

BUT, if my husband needs to be out of town, the next best thing is to have three new, fun friends staying with me! 

me, Rebekah, Mary Emily and Rachel

These three ladies are part of the SummerLINK team and are living with us for two weeks during their time here. They were here all last week while Chad was gone and will be here this coming week.  They have been troopers while staying with us (squatty potty, cold showers, dealing with us packing up our apartment...) They head out on Saturday to head to Delhi then the US and then we move out of our apartment on Monday. 

This coming week will consist of organizing, packing, hanging out with friends and teammates and getting our fill of Indian food! Can't believe we are down to single digits of our days left in India :(

Amber Fort... Jaipur

On Thursday (while in Jaipur) we went to visit the Amber Fort. This is probably the biggest tourist attraction in Jaipur. It was built in 1592 and is really cool to explore and walk around. 

 You can ride an elephant up to the top of the fort. It was fun to see all the elephants walking around. 

 View of the town from the top. 

See all the elephants lined up below waiting to have passengers? 

jaipur

Last Monday night we boarded an overnight train headed to Jaipur, Rajasthan. We travelled there with the 2012 SummerLINK India team (you can read their blog here). The team arrived at the beginning of July and we have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know them and hang out with them. You may remember we came to India last year with the 2011 SummerLINK India team, and on our mid summer excursion, we visited Udaipur. 

Jaipur is the capital of Rajasthan and is another of the painted cities... the pink city (though I think it looks kind of orangy).   

market shopping

One of the things that is different here is that a lot of the men have ear hair. Some of it is so long that it is quite impressive. While we were waiting at the City Palace, we saw this guard who had quite impressive ear hair. So Chad took a picture with him. I know that is awful, but this is probably one of those little details we would forget about India if we didn't have it documented. 

pure awesomeness

City Palace

getting henna done at the City Palace

all the girls... we have so enjoyed getting to know this team!

I finally bought some peacock feathers...they were fun to get home :)

Jal Mahal "water palace" sits in the middle of a lake... kind of like the one in Udaipur

Our auto drivers took us to where some elephants that work at the Amber Fort live. We spent a couple hours there on Wednesday afternoon. 

I love how people get chai to go and they put it in a bag. This little boy was pouring it for all the men at the elephant place.

team dinner at barbeque nation 

We boarded the night train Friday night to head home. The train station is probably one of my least favorite places to be, but I love traveling to new places so it is worth it. We watched hundreds of rats crawl around (I'm not exaggerating) while waiting for our train to arrive. 

mango mania

It is currently mango season here in India, and we (along with everyone else) are loving it! I always  liked mango, but the more mango I eat, the more I love it! There are mango walas all over the roads near our house. 

and lots of mangos in the stores

We just recently learned that there are lots of kinds of mangos. I never knew there is more than one kind of mango. Chad decided he wanted to have a mango tasting, so we recently bought several different kinds and did a mango taste test. We definitely figured out which kinds are our favorite and which ones we are not so crazy about.