Last Day

So today is our last day in India. Everyone but 6 of us already on their way back. I'll be sure to write about the last few days of the trip when I'm in a better mood but right now I cannot wait for the plane to come. See you guys soon. I'll get into Chicago around 4 pm on the 16th.

Day 14

Today we woke up in Fort Kochi and had about two hours to do day time tourist things before heading out. We went to St Francis church where Vasco de Gama (forgive me if I’m spelling this wrong with not Google available to check) was originally buried before his body was moved to Portugal.  It’s one of the only Catholic churches that survived when the Dutch took over the area. We then headed to the Dutch Palace to learn about how my ancestors really messed up the place. Sadly we had to leave the area pretty quickly to get on our way but not before we made a shopping stop where I managed to spend 8500 rupees ($170) on a large beaded tapestry which was locally crafted by hand. This was my one and only splurge of the trip and I was pretty proud of my newly developed haggling abilities. I got them down from 10,000 rupees and at a different place I laid down the law with a cocky guy who tried to raise the price to punish me for arguing with him and saved myself 360 rupees. 

We then headed to the main land of Cochin by taking our bus on a ferry which we all were pretty entertained by. Another U of Iowa course has been staying in this area so we met up with them to share our experiences so far and get some KFC after. It was another long drive back to Trivandrum but it’s so worth it to be back with my checked bag full of clean clothes and my blow dryer.

Day 13

Turns out it’s just as hard to find wifi in India as you’d think it would be. We’ve been without for a few days and now that we’ve made it back to our home base hotel we still are out of luck because we can’t pick anything up in our room and the tech guys gave up on us. It’s definitely nice to be back though. We were on a five day excursion to various other cities which I described in my last few posts and to Cochin. Day 13 we met up with Costford headquarters and they were excited to see us. Video cameras in the face kind of excited. We listened to lectures from them and then did a few site visits. 

One of these site visits was my favorite of the whole trip so far. We went to a school at which they are sponsoring a lunch program and these kids went insane for us. We walked into the school yard and it was a complete mob of kids with every single one wanting to shake out hands and ask us our names. They thought meeting us was just about the coolest thing ever, except taking pictures with us which was definitely the coolest thing ever. I was shaking an average of about 4 hands per second and almost got knocked over a few times but I definitely enjoyed it. My prof thinks I should come back and teach English. I tried talking to a few younger girls in Malayam but they were too shy and just stared back at me like I was an alien. Christian was too cute with them and was picking some of the boys up. He’s pretty much a giant here so we weren’t sure if they were enjoying the ride or terrified. I wish we could have stayed longer but I almost got left behind in the mob anyway before someone had to come pull me away. We all went through a long of hand sanitizer when we got back on the bus.

We ate lunch near the ocean and of course since we couldn’t read the Malayam warning to stay off the beach we charged right into the surf. It was gorgeous and I really enjoyed messing around on an empty beach with my awesome classmates. 

After lunch we made the drive to Fort Kochi within (or next to… I never know where I am or where I’m headed in this country) the city of Cochin. This is a historic area and super touristy. We saw something we hadn’t seen in quite a while… other white people! Of course most of them were European but it still was nice to be able to wear a spaghetti strap top and pretend we just didn’t know better like the rest of them. We got there at night when it was too late to shop so the Iowa kids decided to do what we do best in a dry country, find a bar. They serve no cocktails here and only one brand of beer which tastes just as bad as the stuff high schoolers at home get their older brother’s to buy them from a gas station. (I’m also curious about how the hotel in Trivandrum can make such a disgusting pina colada in a country that has fresh pineapples and coconuts on every street corner). Regardless we still had a good time socializing and were all responsible and got back to the hotel safe.

Day 12

Today we started our drive down the mountain. On our way we stopped at a botanical garden where we learned about the plants that produce all the spices I know and love in the US but had no idea where they come from beyond the McCormick factory. We spent most of the day in transit but made better time than we expected and arrived in Thrissur before nightfall. Our hotel here is super nice and we really ravaged the restaurant. It's amazing that at a fancy hotel here I can get tea, bottled water, two entrees, and dessert for about $7. Gotta love that exchange rate. Thrissur is a big city surrounding a large temple. We spent some time walking around and it felt more familiar to me than other places we've been to because I could compare it to large cities in the US. Tomorrow morning we will be headed to a new city and new adventure.
Rathri Yatra illa (goodnight in Malayalam according to wikitravel).

Day 11

Day 11 was spent in the mountain city of Munnar. We started the day off with the event that had convinced Christian and I to choose this course over all others, the elephant ride. This sounds very exciting but as soon as I had bought my ticket I looked closer at the situation and started having second thoughts. The whole concept seemed really wrong to me. I'm sure the trainers feed them and bathe them and all that but it made me really sad to see such amazing creatures being smacked with sticks and spending every day of their lives walking up and down the same slow trek just for human entertainment. I did get on the elephant after much moral debate but that will be the one and only time in my life. If I ever try to become head of an animal rights org these pictures will be sure to haunt me.

After the elephant ride we spent a good chunk of time filing in and out of the van to take gorgeous landscape photos. We also got to do a little shopping and I completed one of my goals which was to successfully haggle. Of course this victory of getting the man down from 250 rupees to 200 was dwarfed when Christian got the same thing for 150 and an Indian woman got it for 70. Whatever, I tried. I also took an ego hit when I excitedly haggled for a bottle of wine for the price of about 2 US dollars (alcohol is a hard find here) and then realized immediately after I bought it that it was nonalcoholic gooseberry juice.

 

 

That evening we attended two shows. One was a traditional Kerala performance art which we had already seen a version of on New Year’s called Kathakali. The performers are in elaborate costumes and face paint in order to tell a nonverbal story. We had no idea what was going on but my roommate’s pretty sure that it was about infidelity and a husband killing his wife because she was getting it on with someone else. The other show was a traditional martial arts demonstration which was pretty awesome. They were incredibly well choreographed to be able to fight each other with swords, knives, spears, and other weapons that really could have hurt each other if they messed up. 

Day 10

Day 10 was full of traveling. We got into the bus and drove to Kumarakom where we got to take a boat ride through the still backwaters of Kerala. This was a beautiful area. The boat contained bedrooms and a kitchen with staff so it was like staying a bed and breakfast but on the water with the wind blowing on us while taking in beautiful nature scenes and relaxing.

The entire rest of the day we spent driving in the van up the mountains. We discovered we were going to the wrong city at one point and because they are in the mountains there's no connection between the two so we got into our next hotel very late. I really enjoyed driving up the mountains at night still even though it was a very long time.

Day 9

Time to play catch up! We’ve been in and out of hotels for a few days so I haven’t been getting good internet to update my blog. Day 9 we visited Kudumbashree which an organization dedicated to eradicating poverty in Kerala by empowering women in the community. It was a really inspiring organization that reminded me a lot of the Crisis Center I volunteer at but on a much larger scale. They have a lot of programs to benefit the communities in Kerala and most are aimed towards women and children. A few of the programs they have are all female collective farming, schools for mentally disabled children, collective community loans, and gender self-learning for women empowerment.

Later that day we visited the slums in the area which Costford has redesigned so that they are better living conditions. Part of the slums have not been redone so it was interesting to see the before and after at the same time. The lay out was really creative and visually pleasing but the homes were very small which is to be expected in slum dwellings. Seeing these small spaces where an entire family would be living made me think about how much more I have than I really need to survive. 

While at the slums the community leader of the slums offered me some coconut meat she had cut herself and I was the only person to not think before I ate it. We were concerned as to what kind of serious gastrointestinal problems I was going to come down but I made it through the next couple days without getting sick so that was awesome.

 

That night after I made spectacle of our room by hanging my hand washed underwear all over ever surface (my roommate is a saint for putting up with me) we did something amazing… we ordered Domino’s Pizza! It wasn’t the best quality but it tasted pretty American so we were quite happy with it. Definitely the highlight of the night.

Reasons to believe

For anyone who hasn't seen this on my facebook yet this is my favorite commercial in India :) Coca Cola Reasons to Believe

Days 7 & 8

Day 7 I wasn't feeling so well so I stayed home, slept, and watched Harry Potter which was a nice break. This is the most productive thing I did all day. That's canned spray cheese, I was pretty impressed with myself.

Today (day 8) we attended a seminar and visited the late Laurie Baker's home and our program coordinator Sajan's house he is currently building. They were both unique homes and interesting to learn about. We learned about all the eco sensitive components of the construction which makes me want to be more eco sensitive in my own life.

I'm really surprised by how well I'm doing with the food here. I'm getting used to spicy foods and liking a lot of it. We are all starting to miss western food though. The other day our group found an Italian restaurant in Trivandrum with a more extensive vegetarian menu than any place I've been in the US and was delicious. When I get home though I am so excited to eat mac and cheese and mashed potatoes. Christian and I day dream together about all the American food and beverage we are gonna ingest as soon as we get back.

I've met some pretty awesome animals in the past couple days so I think I should share. We went to a place with livestock the other day and this little guy has just been born. I mean just born and I know because when i looked down I saw a fresh amniotic sac at my feet. That was kinda gross but he's a cutie. This type of goat is actually a Boer goat. I assume he's related to us Beemsterboers.

Like I explained in a previous post there are stray dogs and cats everywhere here but this litter I found underneath a car and found to be way too precious to pass up feeding them nutter butters.

Then the coolest interaction we've had with an animal occurred without even leaving our hotel room. We heard scratching at our 6 floor window and had no idea what it could possibly be. When we opened the curtains we discovered that Hedwig from Harry Potter had come to bring us our letters inviting us to Hogwarts! She's gorgeous and was kind enough to let us have a photo shoot.

 
After tomorrow we will be going to other cities, one of which has what sounds like a pretty amazing wild life sanctuary. I'll be sure to take lots of pictures of us riding elephants!

Day 6

Ending the day early while others go get a massage so I can write my paper. Today we visited another non profit org. It contained The People's College which provides education to the underprivileged. It was interesting. We also visited local organic farms run by women where they grow bananas and other foods. Better get writing. Have great days in the U.S.

Day 5

So before I recount the day's events I think its time to reflect on what I've learned from this experience so far. Less than a year ago I was in my Critical Cultural Competency Certificate Program professor's office talking about what I could do to fulfill my cultural immersion experience requirement and he suggested I go on the India trip and I gave him a look like he was asking me to go on a weekend trip to Mars. I hadn't been abroad ever and had only been on a short plane ride once. I knew nothing about India except what he had described to us in class that the food was so spicy that some of the students couldn't eat it at all and they visited people who literally lived in a garbage dump. Let's just say I've come a long way since then. As a homebody and a germaphobe this has really put me out of my comfort zone. Here are some things I've learned already about myself and I'm sure I'll add to the list several more times since its over:

1. I can spent 14+ hours on an airplane without going crazy.
2. I can use a public squat toilet... barefoot! (as she reads this I'm sure my mother is having a minor heart attack at the thought).
3. I can eat spicy foods and survive. Even the pickled lime which is my least favorite thing I've tried here.
4. I can tell a man who is extremely insistent on selling me sunglasses to get the hell away from me.
5. I can spend a whole week with my boyfriend and not want to kill him.
6. I can pull off an Indian tunic.
7. I can go an entire week without texting (I know, I didn't think it was possible either).

I'm proud of myself for braving these new situations and hope to come back to the US with many more. My major goal is to have a successful haggle before I leave. Oh and ride an elephant!

Today was a pretty interesting day. We listened to several lectures at Costford about ecosensitive building methods. After we went next store to a small building which houses SEWA, the self employed women's association. They are an organization in which they make their own paper from scraps of cotton textile scraps, other used paper scraps, and some local plant sources like pineapple and banana leaves. It was really interesting to see how they make it and to learn about how being self employed empowers women in society. 

We also went to a building Costford designed for the International Institute of Social Entrepreneurs. This nonprofit houses Braille Without Boarders and is designed specifically with the needs of the blind people who will be using the space in mind. This does not mean making it blind friendly to navigate in because that would not prepare them for the real world. Instead it has special acoustics so that they can navigate better by clapping and getting sensory input from the soundwaves. The organization also trains people from around the world to create projects to be advocates for people with disabilities. It was very inspiring to see such a successful nonprofit organization and interesting to learn about how the building was both low cost and eco friendly.

Night all! Still got a paper to write :/ Have great days.