Huh?

They've plastered this billboard ad all over the city recently. I don't think this billboard could win on "Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader".

Ov'r Thur Yonder

I've been trying to step up my game with language learning lately. I have some new language helpers that I study with four days a week and I go out into the neighborhood in the evenings to practice speaking. Sometimes it's really difficult to produce the same sounds as native speakers, so I have to listen to them say the word over and over and then record them saying it so I can listen to it over and over when they leave. Many times, I ask, "What place are you putting your tongue when you say that word? Is it on the roof of your mouth or is it behind your teeth?" This makes a huge difference in correct pronunciation. Everyday I learn new vocabulary words and try to incorporate them into my daily conversations with nationals.

So, I thought it would be fun, and possibly helpful to language learning, to learn how to speak "Southern". I have friends here from Mississippi, Arkansas, South Carolina, Georgia, and Texas, so you better believe I'm getting some good Southern-speak schooling. I figure, if I can speak Southern then surely I can speak Hindi/Urdu, right? The way I see it, this is just helping me get in touch with my Mississippi roots. Here's my current list of Southern vocabulary that I'm working into my daily conversations (with Westerners). If you are a native Southern speaker, please feel free to suggest new vocab words!

1. Thur = "there"
2. Tyre = "tower"
3. Heeyil = "hill"
4. Rine = "Ryan"
5. O'ol = "oil" *this one is so difficult for me!
6. Yonder = "over thur"<--- see #1
7. Fixin' a = "getting ready to"'
8. Feat = "fit"
9. Fyre = "fire"
10. Yuna = "Do you want to?"
11. Yguna = "Are you going to?"

1 Year Countdown

Last week was my "1 Year left" marking point. It's hard to believe I've been here nearly a year and half now! I know the next year will fly which makes me sad, but I look forward to returning to my homeland and seeing you all again :) Here are the places I hope to visit during my first few months back in no particular order:

1. San Francisco
2. Portland, OR
3. National Park Tour (Yosemite, Yellowstone...)
4. Texas
5. Mississippi
6. Alabama
7. Rochester, NY
8. NYC
9. Southern IL
10. Chicago
11. New Orleans
12. Virginia :)

Ok, so this might take more than a few months...

P.S. I'm looking for a road trip buddy!

Wedding #2 of the Season

More pics to come soon.

Let the weddings begin..

It's wedding season around these parts. Here are some pics from the first one of the season:

Friends

The Bride (in red) - brides are traditionally supposed to be "sad" on their wedding day, thus the downcast face. I saw her laughing and giggling at other points during the day though.

Check out this stud. What a cutie!

Read This

Don't miss the feature article at our website live this week only!

http://www.go2southasia.org/ShowArticle.aspx?ID=2009017

The Shack

I finally was able to read "The Shack" during my vacation to Nepal. Some friends had been passing it around the office and I was able to borrow it. I honestly didn't know much about this book at all except that it was about some guy that meets God in a shack...or something like that. Wow! What an incredible and provocative story. I've been thinking about this book on and off ever since I finished it. I felt like I connected to certain parts of the book because it just made sense to me and the way I think.

I hope you'll get the opportunity to pick up this book sometime soon. It's a fast read. My advice is don't read any reviews or discuss the book with anyone you know who has read it. Just go read it, let go of anything that you think this book might be about and take it for what it's worth to you personally.

If you've read this book or if you finish it sometime soon, I'd love to hear your thoughts. Like I said, I'm still processing it all, but would be interested to hear your insights.