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.

Days 3 & 4

So we are getting to the point where India is staring to get old and stressful. Still we've see some awesome things. On the third day we went to a 400 year old wooden palace which was visually and historically pretty sweet. Then we spent the night at a pretty crappy hotel on the southern most tip where we could see the sun rise and set over the ocean from the same spot. Aside from the hotel it was beautiful. The area was really overstimulating though. It was way crowded with people staring at us, begging us for money, trying to sell stuff to us, and overall they were pretty rude. One guy tried to scare Christian by stopping an inch away from him on his motorcycle and some guys pretty much pushed Alana off a bench. I'm sure we'll get used to all the people but its still gives me a lot of anxiety.

On day 4 we woke up at 5 am to watch the sun rise over the ocean which was early but beautiful. Then we stood in an incredibly long line to get on a ferry to a temple which sits on an island. The temple was really nice. We got back to our old hotel around 5 and thankfully we got some down time. We just hung out and ate too much room service which actually had some western food on the menu and was a nice break. People have been starting to get sick already. One guy got food poisoning and two of the girls have some kind of illness that might be contagious. Fingers crossed I'll avoid it but being in a van together for hours doesn't help my chances.

I'm realizing here more than any other time in my life that I'm incredibly spoiled and privileged in the US. There's a lot I take for granted there and I hope that my experiences here help solidify that for me in the future and remind me to appreciate what I have and to give back what I can. Right now though my experiences with people here are making me feel bitter and less empathetic. At home on the crisis line I try my best to empathize with the problems people have and do everything I can to help them figure out what solution would work for them and to support them through it and refer them to other help if necessary. Today a man who was obviously seriously impoverished and had a deformed leg which probably needs medical attention asked me for money and I just ignored him and felt pestered. If someone like this came to me at the crisis center I'd do anything I could to help them. I know the only way I'll get through walking down the street is to ignore all the kids and elderly and disabled beggars but I really makes me feel like a bad person when I do so. At least in Iowa City I know when I turn down someone begging that they have a shelter and a food bank they can utilize. Here it leaves me feeling much more unsettled.

Gotta be up in a couple hours. Night all! Love you!

Here are some pictures so far from my trip. Let me know if you can't follow the link.
India! on Picasa

And here is Christian's blog if anyone wants to hear his side of our story
christiancopple.blogspot.com