Tuesday, May 19, 2009
New blog
I'm going to start posting at http://anyamitra.wordpress.com I wanted a blog I could share more publicly with friends and family speficially about Brazil, and I realized that I couldn't make some of my posts here private.. I hope to still update this from time to time, but add my wordpress blog to your bloglist too :)
Monday, May 18, 2009
Brazil preparations
Grab your coat and get your hat
Leave your worries on your doorstep
Just direct your feet to the sunny side of the street..
or towards northeastern Brazil!
I've been making preparations for Brazil lately: working on visa paperwork, writing a support letter (need to raise $4300 before Aug), thinking about a packing list, and spending time with family and friends. This past week I emailed the two other young women who will also be going to Brazil with me, Annie and Yajaira. Annie will be living in Monteiro with me, and she will also be doing similar appropriate technology work, but building water cisterns and latrines. I will be talking via skype on Saturday morning with the current SALTer Joel about his experience and the work he's been doing, since I'll also be working on biodigesters, continuing the project he's started. This dream of living overseas is coming true.
I was blessed this past weekend by some quality time spent with my family at Kris's graduation from Penn State. I'm proud of his work in graduating with a degree in mechanical engineering, and he will be working for a refrigeration company in Colmar, which is about 10 min from Lansdale.. too bad he starts the week after I leave Merck! I really appreciated the time spent laughing, talking, eating, and teasing with my family. What a blessing!
Leave your worries on your doorstep
Just direct your feet to the sunny side of the street..
or towards northeastern Brazil!
I've been making preparations for Brazil lately: working on visa paperwork, writing a support letter (need to raise $4300 before Aug), thinking about a packing list, and spending time with family and friends. This past week I emailed the two other young women who will also be going to Brazil with me, Annie and Yajaira. Annie will be living in Monteiro with me, and she will also be doing similar appropriate technology work, but building water cisterns and latrines. I will be talking via skype on Saturday morning with the current SALTer Joel about his experience and the work he's been doing, since I'll also be working on biodigesters, continuing the project he's started. This dream of living overseas is coming true.
I was blessed this past weekend by some quality time spent with my family at Kris's graduation from Penn State. I'm proud of his work in graduating with a degree in mechanical engineering, and he will be working for a refrigeration company in Colmar, which is about 10 min from Lansdale.. too bad he starts the week after I leave Merck! I really appreciated the time spent laughing, talking, eating, and teasing with my family. What a blessing!
Friday, May 1, 2009
May Day thoughts
Tis exciting times in the life of Anya.. I told my boss today about my upcoming adventure in Brazil and how I would be leaving Merck.. She banged her head on her desk, asked why, and then proceeded to tell me that she is proud and excited for me. She's going to try to get a leave of absence for me, but I'm really not counting on it. While I would like to have something lined up when I come back, I don't know where God will be leading me in a year from now. At each crossroad in my life, there are lots of choices, and who knows where the best choice will be in a year. So it feels like my secret of going to Brazil is really out in the open.. just have to work on raising some support and getting my visa -- wahoo!
I was reading today somewhere about advice that was given to a girl who was spending a year abroad as an exchange student in hs. Before she left, she was told to write down a list of 5 things that she enjoyed doing, as a way of reminding herself of who she was. There will be times when I will feel depressed and won't feel like the Anya I am right now, and I'll need to remind myself of things I enjoy doing.. So here's my list on May 1, 2009:
Things I like to do:
1. Go for walks around my neighborhood and in the park
2. Knit, especially in groups, like with my Thursday night Panera knitters
3. Sing along to music, harmonizing :) even making up songs to God
4. Cook and bake for friends and family
5. Be with friends and family; if I can't be together in person, talking on the phone works too.
Here's a fun quote I came across, which gives me inspiration to try new things and take risks:
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?
~ Mary Oliver, The Summer Day
I was reading today somewhere about advice that was given to a girl who was spending a year abroad as an exchange student in hs. Before she left, she was told to write down a list of 5 things that she enjoyed doing, as a way of reminding herself of who she was. There will be times when I will feel depressed and won't feel like the Anya I am right now, and I'll need to remind myself of things I enjoy doing.. So here's my list on May 1, 2009:
Things I like to do:
1. Go for walks around my neighborhood and in the park
2. Knit, especially in groups, like with my Thursday night Panera knitters
3. Sing along to music, harmonizing :) even making up songs to God
4. Cook and bake for friends and family
5. Be with friends and family; if I can't be together in person, talking on the phone works too.
Here's a fun quote I came across, which gives me inspiration to try new things and take risks:
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?
~ Mary Oliver, The Summer Day
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
A food expedition in Lisbon
I've had an amazing array of food in Lisbon, some good and some not as tasty as I'd like.. Last Tuesday night (our first night here), we ate at the Nepali restaurant down the street, as I described in a previous post. On Wednesday night we ate luke-warm delivery pizza at 11 pm that was delivered to Hovione and brought back to our hotel room.. not so yummy after a crazy day. Fortunately we washed it down with some red wine! On Thursday night, we ate at the food court of El Corte Ingles, a large dept store a few blocks from our hotel, where I had cold chicken and pineapple quiche, freshly squeezed orange juice, and pistachio gelato. On Friday night, we went out with our colleages at Hovione to a steak restaurant near the Expo, which was really tasty. Saturday night was Spanish tapas, which were a bit oily, but I enjoyed the potato omlette with green peppers.. It felt like comfort food after a long day. Sunday lunch was Easter buffet of Portuguese food and delicious desserts with dinner of simple bread and cheese and fruit.. On Monday night, Kristin and I tried to be adventurous and wander around a bit, but we ended up right back at our hotel, so we went across the street to the Chinese buffet.. quite a bit like the Chinese buffets back in the US, but there was no white rice that I could see! Tonight we went downtown to Bairo Alto and ate at a Thai restaurant.. We had satay, green curry with tofu, pad thai, and sticky rice with mango.. The mango was really good!
Kristin leaves tomorrow, so we'll see where I end up eating dinner tomorrow and Thursday nights. Maybe some of the guys from the site will come out to dinner with me.. or I might go back to the Nepali place and ask for some dal bhat (which wasn't directly on the menu). The Portuguese usually eat late, after 7 or 8 pm, so I've gotten good at waiting to eat until that time. It leaves less time to do things after dinner, and I end up staying up late, like tonight (it's almost midnight). Gotta get some sleep!
Kristin leaves tomorrow, so we'll see where I end up eating dinner tomorrow and Thursday nights. Maybe some of the guys from the site will come out to dinner with me.. or I might go back to the Nepali place and ask for some dal bhat (which wasn't directly on the menu). The Portuguese usually eat late, after 7 or 8 pm, so I've gotten good at waiting to eat until that time. It leaves less time to do things after dinner, and I end up staying up late, like tonight (it's almost midnight). Gotta get some sleep!
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Feliz Páscoa
Easter Greetings from Lisbon, again. I'm sitting in my hotel room on Easter Sunday evening, with a full tummy, a slightly sunburnt face, and a tired body, listening to music streaming off the internet. I didn't expect to be here when I left Lansdale last week, but we had some delays with the manufacture and experiments that I was planning to have finished by Friday, so I'm still here, until next Friday. Fortunately I'm also here over the weekend with my coworker Kristin, so I have someone else to tour around Lisbon, attend Easter services, and eat meals with. We've been having a fun time together.
Yesterday we went to a little flea market in Lisbon, then to the Vasco da Gama mall on the east side of Lisbon where Kristin bought some clothes to wear over the weekend, and then over to Belem, on the western side of Lisbon. We took the metro around the city and the train out to Belem. Belem is the site of the Monument to the Discoveries, a really tall monument along the river dedicated to Portugal's discoverers who traveled to South America (Brazil), Africa (various countries), and Asia (India, Timor, Macao) and left their mark of culture and language (and probably disease!). The monument had carvings of various people: kings, explorers, priests, scholars, etc. We also ate pasteis de Belem, which are some yummy pastries with cream on top that are native to Belem. We also toured a tropical garden that had peacocks, fun palm trees, and other neat things. We were going to visit a monastery where Vasco da Gama is buried, but given that it is Easter weekend, the line was really long. We also went to a really neat museum that had about 20 - 30 coaches from about the 15th century till the 20th century that were used in Portugal by the royal family or sent to the pope to impress him. Paintings of the royal family lined the balcony above the area that displayed the coaches, so it was neat to see paintings of the people who actually used the horse drawn coaches. Last night we ate a tapas restaurant a few blocks from our hotel.
This morning, after a late breakfast, Kristin and I went to a Baptist church a few blocks away for an Easter service. We first went into the Portuguese service, thinking that this was going to be in English, but then after I asked someone next to me about the English service listed in the bulletin (and we had found it online), they said it was upstairs. So, when the congregation was standing for the reading of Ps 113, Kristin and I snuck out and found our way up to the English service of about 20 people, mostly of African ethnicity. It was definitely different than what I expected, with the loud African preaching style and "Amens" but I enjoyed it. After the service, Kristin and I went back to the hotel for their Easter buffet. Knowing that lots of restaurants would be closed today, we figured it would be the safest bet to eat at the hotel. It was yummy, but really filling!
In the afternoon, we ventured back to downtown Lisbon, and climbed up the winding streets to the Castle do Sao Jorge that looks over the city. It was a beautiful day to look over the city. We climbed the castle walls and toured the museum, which displayed some of the artifacts found near the castle that date back as far as the 5th century. In one of the courtyards of the castle, there was a man playing guitar beautifully. We also stopped along one of the walls to sit in a little nook and smell the honeysuckle that was growing about 20 ft below in a garden. Heavenly!
All the walking around yesterday and today have made my legs sore, particularly since the sidewalks are almost all cobblestone. It has been good to get exercise, since the food here is especially tasty (they use lots of butter and oil to make everything taste so good!). So tonight for dinner, Kristin and I had a "picnic" in my room with some food we bought yesterday at the supermarket: bread, cheese, guavas, bananas, and cookies.. very filling and yummy. It is nice to eat simple meals.
We've been fortunate to have great weather here, which has really helped in helping me make the best of being in Lisbon over Easter. The temperature has been in the mid 60s with warm sun, some clouds, and sometimes a cool breeze. This is a great time to visit Lisbon. I will be coming back here in mid May to do some more work, so I hope the weather is great then as well!
Happy Easter dear friends. May the resurrection of Christ remind you that the hope we have in him is true; we have so much to be thankful for.
Yesterday we went to a little flea market in Lisbon, then to the Vasco da Gama mall on the east side of Lisbon where Kristin bought some clothes to wear over the weekend, and then over to Belem, on the western side of Lisbon. We took the metro around the city and the train out to Belem. Belem is the site of the Monument to the Discoveries, a really tall monument along the river dedicated to Portugal's discoverers who traveled to South America (Brazil), Africa (various countries), and Asia (India, Timor, Macao) and left their mark of culture and language (and probably disease!). The monument had carvings of various people: kings, explorers, priests, scholars, etc. We also ate pasteis de Belem, which are some yummy pastries with cream on top that are native to Belem. We also toured a tropical garden that had peacocks, fun palm trees, and other neat things. We were going to visit a monastery where Vasco da Gama is buried, but given that it is Easter weekend, the line was really long. We also went to a really neat museum that had about 20 - 30 coaches from about the 15th century till the 20th century that were used in Portugal by the royal family or sent to the pope to impress him. Paintings of the royal family lined the balcony above the area that displayed the coaches, so it was neat to see paintings of the people who actually used the horse drawn coaches. Last night we ate a tapas restaurant a few blocks from our hotel.
This morning, after a late breakfast, Kristin and I went to a Baptist church a few blocks away for an Easter service. We first went into the Portuguese service, thinking that this was going to be in English, but then after I asked someone next to me about the English service listed in the bulletin (and we had found it online), they said it was upstairs. So, when the congregation was standing for the reading of Ps 113, Kristin and I snuck out and found our way up to the English service of about 20 people, mostly of African ethnicity. It was definitely different than what I expected, with the loud African preaching style and "Amens" but I enjoyed it. After the service, Kristin and I went back to the hotel for their Easter buffet. Knowing that lots of restaurants would be closed today, we figured it would be the safest bet to eat at the hotel. It was yummy, but really filling!
In the afternoon, we ventured back to downtown Lisbon, and climbed up the winding streets to the Castle do Sao Jorge that looks over the city. It was a beautiful day to look over the city. We climbed the castle walls and toured the museum, which displayed some of the artifacts found near the castle that date back as far as the 5th century. In one of the courtyards of the castle, there was a man playing guitar beautifully. We also stopped along one of the walls to sit in a little nook and smell the honeysuckle that was growing about 20 ft below in a garden. Heavenly!
All the walking around yesterday and today have made my legs sore, particularly since the sidewalks are almost all cobblestone. It has been good to get exercise, since the food here is especially tasty (they use lots of butter and oil to make everything taste so good!). So tonight for dinner, Kristin and I had a "picnic" in my room with some food we bought yesterday at the supermarket: bread, cheese, guavas, bananas, and cookies.. very filling and yummy. It is nice to eat simple meals.
We've been fortunate to have great weather here, which has really helped in helping me make the best of being in Lisbon over Easter. The temperature has been in the mid 60s with warm sun, some clouds, and sometimes a cool breeze. This is a great time to visit Lisbon. I will be coming back here in mid May to do some more work, so I hope the weather is great then as well!
Happy Easter dear friends. May the resurrection of Christ remind you that the hope we have in him is true; we have so much to be thankful for.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Speaking Nepali in Portugal
Yes, you read that right! I'm in Lisbon this week for work, having arrived yesterday morning flying business class (got upgraded from economy at the gate!). Last night after work we were dropped off at our hotel, and right before we got to our hotel, we passed by a Nepali/Indian restaurant. So, after walking around the area, window shopping, and waiting until it was dinner time (after 7 pm), we ate some yummy saag paneer, dal, chicken tikka masala, rice, samosas, and mango lassi.. And, I was able to remember enough Nepali to order from the menu, talk to the waiters, and feel like I was at home.. it was a nice meal, even though I was exhausted from the jet lag.. So that is my joy of the day among other joys of being in a new culture, particularly an old European culture :)
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Yes -- Brazil!
It is with some anxiety and much excitement that I share with you that I have accepted the MCC SALT position in Monteiro, Brazil. It's been about two weeks since I've said yes, but it has taken some time to inwardly and outwardly process this decision. I wrote an email to a number of close friends sharing the news, and today shared this with my church during sharing time. I didn't expect my Iraqi friend Solaf to cry when I told her that I would be leaving. She said, "My sister is leaving me," and made me promise I would come back after 1 yr.
Yes, this is a hard decision, to leave a community that I have grown to love, but inside, I need to explore this question of whether serving God overseas is something I am called to do in the long term. I need a chance to stretch and grow. Some days I question this decision -- do I really want to leave a stable comfortable place after having sought for so long to find some stability? I will probably keep processing this question and the questions that follow from this answer for some time, so bear with me..
In other news, I'm going to Portugal tomorrow for a week-long work trip. I was originally supposed to go last week, but it was postponed for this week. I'm excited to go, with my coworker Kristin and my boss Cindy. Still have to finish my packing, but I'm almost done. It's just the last details that I have to take care of..
I'm going to start trying to blog more regularly with joys of each day. Here are the ones for today, Sunday, April 5:
- eating a "picnic" lunch of hummus sandwich and yogurt with bananas and choc chips at the picnic table in the backyard while reading a new book: A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg
- going on a 3 mile walk with Jess through Telford and the surrounding countryside
- having an hour long conversation with Caroline
Where did you find joy today?
Yes, this is a hard decision, to leave a community that I have grown to love, but inside, I need to explore this question of whether serving God overseas is something I am called to do in the long term. I need a chance to stretch and grow. Some days I question this decision -- do I really want to leave a stable comfortable place after having sought for so long to find some stability? I will probably keep processing this question and the questions that follow from this answer for some time, so bear with me..
In other news, I'm going to Portugal tomorrow for a week-long work trip. I was originally supposed to go last week, but it was postponed for this week. I'm excited to go, with my coworker Kristin and my boss Cindy. Still have to finish my packing, but I'm almost done. It's just the last details that I have to take care of..
I'm going to start trying to blog more regularly with joys of each day. Here are the ones for today, Sunday, April 5:
- eating a "picnic" lunch of hummus sandwich and yogurt with bananas and choc chips at the picnic table in the backyard while reading a new book: A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg
- going on a 3 mile walk with Jess through Telford and the surrounding countryside
- having an hour long conversation with Caroline
Where did you find joy today?
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