Sunday, February 14, 2010

Adventures in Vellore

For the first two weeks we were in India, we stayed at the Christian Counseling Center in Vellore. This training Institute not only provides counseling services to the surrounding community, but they have training programs for a wide variety of leaders and students. During our time there, we were privileged to meet a group of students from Hyderabad who were taking a training course for their Master in Psychology program. We made many new friendships and had so much fun hanging out with them.

The first evening we went to an "Exhibition," which is basically like a county fair. We braved the rickety Ferris Wheel--it had no seat belts, low railings, and went way too fast. I would have gladly paid three times the ticket price for them to stop that thing early!



One of the highlights for Airika was when some of the girls offered to do mehndi on her arms and hands. It was a much longer process than we had realized, and it is rather difficult to sleep with henna all over your arms and hands, but the result was quite beautiful.


Swimming with the students in this shallow pool was actually quite entertaining. Apparently it's rare to find water pools deeper than two feet in their part of the country, so for many of them, it was their first time really swimming. Of course no one was prepared for a swim, but once one of them jumped in, that was all it took.

6 comments:

Barb said...

The "pool" pictures are so cool. Makes me imagine people visiting this site in ancient times...

Jen MacNiven said...

OMG...the photos are phenomenal...which i'm sure is only a slight hint as to how your adventures are going. What a treat! Travel channels everywhere should be hunting you all down! ;)
Continue to be safe, have fun and giving back those treasured memories. HUGS to you both!

Hannah S Chen said...

I love all of these shots!!! You guys are amazing, that's all there is to it.

Do you still have the henna on your hands?!

Ausmerican Housewife - Creating with Kara Davies said...

Henna looks gorgeous when done really well. Did Airika like it?

Edit 1 Media said...

Wow...what a beautiful job they did on the henna!! It's simply stunning and I can see why it would take so long! How long did it last?

Kristine said...

First of all... these are just fantastic. I meant to say that the other day when they popped up in my reader. Wow!

Second... Airika thanks for taking the time to leave such a sweet and thoughtful note on the blog. :) These are exciting times, but they aren't without just a little sadness. Looking forward to Monday :)

p.s. will you guys be at WPPI?



seattle wedding photography, seattle photographer wedding, wedding photographer seattle, redmond photograph, wedding photojournalism, wedding photographer, northwest wedding, the knot, wedding channel, bellevue wedding, bothell wedding, seattle photography, documentary photo, wedding, Lake Washington, Pacific Northwest, redmond wedding photographer, redmond wedding photography, www.geraldpope.com , microsoft photography, PRO Sports Club, PRO, Northwest, photojournalist, photojournalism, documentary photography, san diego, california, vacation, weddings, bothell, woodinville, bellevue, redmond, seattle, tacoma, mt. vernon, Pike Place, Alki, Golden Gardens, Discovery Park, bellingham, bainbridge island, orcas, san juans, portraits, senior portraits, photos, kids, children, pet photography, the classic crime, SAM, Olympic Sculpture Park, Gasworks park, erwin wijanto, engagements, Mountain Springs Lodge, Lake Union, Semiahmoo Resort, Long Beach Aquarium, Fairmont Olympic, B & E Wedding show, Fall Bridal Spectacular, Seattle Wedding Show, Seattle Bride, real weddings, Seattle Metropolitan Bride & Groom, Best Seattle wedding photographer, artistic wedding photography, modern photographer, Lairmont Manor, Colorado weddings