weekend in pondicherry

This weekend, we stayed with some cousins in Pondicherry and had SO much fun. The four hour bus ride was well worth it! While we were there, we were able to visit Auroville, a nearby city, known to be a "universal city", and they have built a very impressive gold globe, used for meditation and concentration. Although we were not able to go inside, it was awesome to see, really unbelievable architecture. The family we stayed with was so hospitable and kind..I also got to meet Hannah, Christina, and Jesintha's grandma's sister (confusing family connections, I know) who was so kind and awesome. She worked for the UN during the 50s in Somalia, so it was facinating to hear her stories. Their family was so, so sweet. We also went out to eat at a restaurant called daily bread, where we tried everything from calamari to lasagna. It was quite a feast. Then on Sunday, our last day there, we visited a local choclate shop. Pondicherry was a French colony, so there is significant french influence (there are still french schools, etc.), so the french chocolate shop was delicious and a little overwhelming, haha. We also did a little bit of street shopping, always eager to bargain :) Oh! and I also saw my first Indian film, which was hilarious. I will have to watch a few more of those before I leave. Overall, it was a wonderful trip, definitely one of the most memorable parts of my stay here so far.

Tonight we visited EA, supposedly Asia's Largest Mall. However, it wasn't any bigger than the Mall of Georgia- maybe there aren't too many malls in Asia, haha.

Jesintha will be leaving tomorrow for northern India on a medical missions trip, so please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.

As I've hit the half way mark of my trip, I'm both thankful for the time I've had here and eager for the experiences that I will have before I leave. I've had a great trip so far. We may be doing some more travelling in the coming week, before Christina starts college.

I must run, I'm going to try jack fruit (I don't think it will measure up to mangos, but we'll see).

 Until next time, Abbey :)

The Matrimandir in Auroville

I got in a little bit of trouble for climbing the banyan tree, sacred because it was chosen to be the center of the city :)