Cultures, Crazy friends, and Cheeseburgers

Well, when I began to think about this month, I didn't really know where to begin. First of all, I am in America visiting my family and friends, and loving every minute of it. But at the same time, I miss India more than you could probably imagine. God has been teaching me that when you are in a different culture, yes you have to adjust, but you still find wonderful friends that become family to you. Sometimes people wonder why I love living in India. And it's very hard to explain that. It's more than "fun" or "exciting", it's my home now. I have a house there, a dog there, friends, everything. When we lifted off in the plane on the way here, I was so sad and so happy, both at the same time. It was very weird. Home is where the heart is, and that is totally, without a doubt true. I've learned to love life wherever you are and whenever you can. Now, you might be wondering about the title. :) Well since I have been hanging out with all of my crazy, awesome friends in the US, I thought it fit. (Love you guys!) And the cheeseburger part, well, that is pretty self-explanatory.

March Madness

     I have been here for over a year now. I am loving it! My favorite thing is Hindi. For about 11 months now, our Hindi tutor has been coming to our house and teaching our whole family. She is amazing. She teaches Hindi, Marathi, German, and knows almost all the main languages(about 9) of India. I have a blast learning. I've always wanted to learn another language. After Hindi, I want to learn maybe French or German. :D

     Guess what? We are coming to visit the US during April and May! I'm so excited about coming to visit my family and friends, and having some American food. But while we're gone, I'm so gonna miss my friends here! My mom is planning to take some Murg Makhani and Paneer Curry packets to the US so we can still have Indian food! I am taking chai to make for all of my friends and family. Can't wait to see you guys!

     This Thursday is our last day of school! We are having a pool party to celebrate. :) I'm then going to go through my clothes and stuff and clean out my room before we leave for the US, which I also have to pack for. Then, on March 31st, I'm going to Kolhapur because my dad is speaking there. Road trips are super fun! I have an exciting few weeks ahead of me! I'm missing my friend that just left to get a job before college. He's probably going to Liberty, which is a college in Virginia, so hopefully I can visit him one day! :D

     So yes, hopefully I will be more consistent with my blogging, even though I'm not that good at it. :P Oh yeah, by the way, I get my braces off in 2.5 months! :)

New Ideas

So, I'm changing the way I blog. Starting in February, I'm going to do one big post on the 25th of every month that sort of summarizes that month. Every month there will be one post, kind of like a newsletter, but on my blog. With my (crazy, but awesome) full schedule this will work well for me, and then you guys will know to check back on the 25th of every month. Until then, Happy Early Valentines Day! :D

Randomness...

Our week of fall break was awesome! We went to the zoo, we hung out at home a lot, we went to Chili's, and we went to a Diwali party. Diwali is a festival here that is pretty much about light over darkness, but if you ask me, it should be called the festival of fireworks! There were fireworks all night and all day for about 2 to 3 days straight. Not much sleep was gotten in the Hartman house during those days. The party was at an orphanage that we go to sometimes. The kids told about how Jesus is the light over dark instead of Hindu gods or something else. It was a blast!

Chili's was awesome! We went with some of our friends who have just adopted a 1 year old boy. He is so sweet! I had the Ranch Chicken sandwich, fries, and a bottomless Pepsi! Now, for me, an unlimited drink is awesome because no other restaurants here have those! It was great to have a taste of home! We also got their amazing chips and salsa.

My birthday was wonderful! I'm now officially 14 years old! We went to see The Three Musketeers that morning, did some shopping, and had a wonderful lunch at a place with a chocolate fountain on the buffet! Zach ate more chocolate than real food I think! We had Bible study that night, which was cool! My favorite present was... MY FACEBOOK ACCOUNT! I love facebook! It's been fun to catch up with everybody!

So, yep! This is what's been going on lately! Thanks for reading!

Indian Independence Day

I give you, without further ado, Indian Independence Day!!!