India

I am writing from Union Biblical Seminary in Pune, India. Jac and I made it here safely last week... several taxi rides, a 4.5 hour bus trip and a rickshaw (3-wheelers) ride through downtown is for the most part how we got here. Indians can fit rickshaws through mind-boggling traffic openings - they don't bother with lanes, stop signs, traffic lights or pedestrians for that matter, you merge into oncoming traffic and cars dodge and speed by you as if they expected you to merge ... it's a bit unnerving at first but you realize the system works here and you accept your fate because you have to. Jac and I would still be roaming Mumbai with our bags had my dad not been waiting at the airport. It feels good to turn our minds off and let someone else figure out the transportation details. One of India's largest Hindu festivals is going on now, people are partying in the streets all night and fireworks are visible from our balcony. My dad might as well be Royalty here... we eat like kings and our Indian hosts go out of their way to make us feel welcome. Jac is at an orphanage 40 minutes north with some friends and we leave tomorrow morning for Nepal so I will try and get her to post some pics before we depart. We're on our own starting Oct 9th.. nothing is planned after that date... we have some options but we'll see where we end up - maybe the south or northeast.

It's nearly impossible to describe India in words... a person here described it as God's raw land - loving people, ancient culture and history, spirituality, traditional morals & values, beauty and poverty all in one place. I had visions of what the country might look before we arrived - they weren't even close to the reality. I won't go into it now but my first impression is very favorable, mainly because of the Indian people. I love it here already and it's been 4 days... we have many more.
-Aaron

Bonjour

We are only on day 4 of our trip, and boy has it been eventful! We spent 2 nights in London and filled our days with as much as we could. We walked by all the major sites (London Bridge, Tower of London, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, and Hyde Park), attended an Arsenal football game, and saw Coldplay at Wembley Stadium. It was my first time in the city and I definitely want to go back! We departed London yesterday and arrived in Paris at midnight after first missing our flight and sitting at the airport for 3 hours.... yeah we don't really want to talk about it, but I will say we learned our lesson and it all ended up working out. After we landed in Paris we booked a cheap hotel in the center of Paris. When we arrived to the hotel we were pleasantly surprised, for 45 euros a night we have a small but very clean room, a comfy bed, re-modeled bathroom, and a flat-screen TV.... a very good deal for Paris. Today we visited Notre Dame, walked by the Louvre, and enjoyed some time relaxing at a park. We have 3 more days here and look forward to exploring the rest of the city. Here are some pics of our trip so far.... 

Jacque

Londres - Tuneless

Jac and I landed in London yesterday afternoon, semi-rested.  We are here for 3 days, then to Paris.  Some hi/lowlights for the trip so far...  

-Left our only Ipod on plane

-London Bridge at night

-T. Fox hook'd up great Arsenal Seats at Emirates

-Coldplay at Wembley tonight hopefully

-Jay Z Blueprint 3 on the playlist via Jac's Mac until Brent comes thru with a loaded Ipod next Thursday in Mumbai... thanks Beezie.

I will try to post some pics later tonight.

Aaron