We can do hard things!

To be brutally honest - last week was hard. Everything is so different and new and I wasn't sure how I was going to cope with it, but I knew that we have to make this work. This weekend was a huge help towards making that a reality.

I wrote my last post from Gurgaon, a suburb of Delhi which is the new, up and coming, business district. All the major MNCs have an office there as does Western International University. The campus there is great and the students really seemed to be enjoying their time there. They were playing a big Call of Duty tournament (You don't use a sniper rifle in Carentan! Saboteur! Saboteur! - for all you Office fans). Nathan very reluctantly declined their invitation to join as he was meeting with parents of possible future students. After some successful discussions with them, the campus director Pavan (I'm sure that's not how you spell it) took us to the main street to check out the malls there. The closest approximation that I can make to what it looks like it the Strip in Las Vegas. There are gigantic malls with massive advertisements covering the outside flanked by Tuscan looking apartment blocks that are 20+ stories. The shops were very

The Metro Mall in Gurgaon

recognizable and it was incredibly comforting to know that there were places that I could go that would feel a bit more homelike. I realize that I am here for a cultural experience, but it is also nice to know that you can find a sense of personal normalacy as well. Pavan was very excited to take us to Ruby Tuesdays and while I felt bad that we were going American, it was really great to have steamed vegetables!

Sunday morning we were off to church. It is a fairly large branch that seems to be about 70% Indian and very friendly. The crazy thing is that one of the missionaries there is a boy that went to high school with my brothers! Crazy small world! Then we were invited to the Branch President's home for dinner and it turns out that his wife was born in the town that Nathan grew up in (Camberley) and has several mutual friends. She knows the Richards and Sister Punch and a few other people that I can't remember. Her maiden name is Miranda Gurney and she visited Bracknell ward for a few weeks a couple of years ago. Insane, huh? Such a blessing, I can't even begin to say.

Miranda took us around to show us were some of the local shops are. She showed us the local butcher, bakery and grocery store are. We walked into the grocery store and the first thing I saw was a box of Honey Bunches of Oats. I almost did a cartwheel. Wonder of wonder, miracle of miracles! There were tons of food in there that we recognized along side their cheaper Indian counterparts. Sheshowed us a liquid that is used to wash baby bottles that we can use to clean produce so we can eat it too. She also told me to not feel bad about having a rough couple of days and that I would be okay. It was incredibly comforting. I am feeling a million times better today. I really think we can do this!