Pakistani Kite Festival

Yes, you read that right. i know that i just said that my life wouldn't consist of any exotic vacations, and that remains true. but thanks to my awesome cousin Chelsea always keeping her eyes open for fun things to do, we got in a culture packed saturday afternoon right here in phoenix. We headed out to the far end of Mesa for a few hours on saturday to enjoy the 7th annual pakistani kite fesitval And we had a blast! it was a BEAUTIFUL day outside!! There were a lot of people wandering around in traditional clothing (and plenty of people dressed like americans- we weren't too conspicuous), henna tattoos, vendors selling clothes, jewelry, food (if you're interested, ask me sometime about the chicken...) and KITES. i can't remember the last time i flew a kite, but i had no idea it took so much skill. at least these kites did. they're very small, light and fragile. making matters slightly more difficult, there really wasn't much wind. the guys that are pros at this weren't really affected. but for amateurs like ourselves, this presented a huge problem. Chelsea and I actually tried a couple times ourselves resulting in quick crash landings and a torn kite. a quick trip to the kite repair table and some help from the "professionals" was all we needed. we had a very nice man from Bombay, India volunteer to help us out and he was a Great teacher!! He got the kite pretty high, showed me a few tricks, and then let me take over. it was actually a lot of work, but so much fun!! i'm anxious to get out and try it again.

Preparing pakistani food. we tried a few different things. and they were very different tasting.

Getting my first Henna Tattoo- that i definitely didn't leave on long enough.

Me and my Indian friend teaching me how to fly the kite. i did A LOT of watching.

He was ABOUT to hand it over to me.

i FINALLY got it into my own hands!

The kites in the sky on a beautiful day!!

i'm officially a newbie

so i decided since the rest of the world is giving in, it's probably my turn. However, it could be months before i tell anyone about this... if i ever tell anyone at all. I have been pretty hesitant to even make an attempt at this for several reasons. who needs one more thing to do? i have 2 email accounts, facebook, myspace, reading everyone else's blogs, and after all that, still trying to fit in some face-to-face interactions with those around me. but my number one reason for holding out is fear that i won't have anything to blog about. All of my friends that do this are married, and it's mostly a way for them to post pictures and stories about every cute thing their kids do. or their new homes and decorating projects. or vacations to far ends of the earth. mine isn't gonna contain any of these things. i am a 27-year old single person that works way too much, and doesn't take vacations because i can't get time off. however, i tend to keep myself pretty entertained, so i'm gonna see what i can do with this. just give me a little time.