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

Day 2

Today has been quite the long day! We just got back from our New Years celebration. Happy New Year everyone!.. it should swing by you in a few hours. We started our day with lectures about the slums in Kerala and the housing Costford has created to improve the quality of life in slums. It was very interesting. My lovely aunt requested some more information about Kerala so here's what I know so far about Kerala and India.

Kerala is an independent state of India. India has 15 official languages and the states are by and large separated based on the language spoken in the area. In Kerala the language is Malayalam. This separation of languages means that people from different states have trouble communicating so English is often taught and spoken in urban areas (lucky for us). Kerala is one of the only communist states and this was decided democratically. Kerala has a 100% literacy rate and education is highly valued for both men and women. Kerala has a higher rate of women completing higher education than men and 50% of all elected positions are required to be filled by women. Although Costford works to improve the slums in Kerala there is a relatively low number of people living in slums (1.8% of the population) compared to other cities (as high as over 40%). Kerala is also religiously diverse. The state is about one third Hindu, one third Christian, and one third Muslim. Near our hotel around one crossroad is a huge church, a huge mosque, and a huge temple all existing in harmony around a cricket stadium.

The greenery here is beautiful. We are surrounded by palm trees and everywhere we visit I see new plants like rubber trees, pepper vines, and lots of gorgeous flowers. There are dangerous snakes and scorpions here so that makes me a little nervous. Two of the guys in our group found a scorpion in their bathroom sink. Its strange to me to see stray cats and dogs everywhere too. Its amazing they survive the traffic.

After our lectures today we were unable to visit the slums because it was pouring out (which is how we found out our hotel is quite leaky) so we went shopping at a nice clothing store called Fab India for Indian clothing to wear to the New Years Eve party. I bought two tunics and it was fun seeing everyone try to pull off Indian clothes.

For New Years we went to a resort that was designed by Costford on the ocean coast. I was very excited for this cause I've never actually been to the ocean. I got to stick my toes in the water and everything! It was gorgeous. We went down to the beach and were hassled a bit by drunk locals but it was fun. There was a show of several traditional Indian danced performed and we got an extensive buffet meal. There were actually a lot of white people and other non-Indian people at the resort so I felt like we stuck out less. There was a DJ that played a lot of American music and we danced the night away with some of the locals. Christian and I got our midnight kiss since everyone else at the resort seemed to be breaking cultural norms too. It was a lot of sober fun. Well for us at least. Two of the guys took a rickshaw to a bootleg liquor store and brought booze back and now some of our dear classmates are at a staff party at the hotel which is too funny.

Before going to bed I'd also like to recount how awesome it is that our bus driver plays us the Backstreet Boys and how ridiculous it is that Justin Bieber and the song "The Final Countdown" seems to be everywhere.

Night all! Love you!

Day 1

Today we visited Costford which is nonprofit institution which creates low cost sustainable buildings in Kerala. We listened to lectures from the people their and toured their facilities and a campus that they created. We took lots of pictures and if the internet at the hotel starts being more reliable I'll be sure to post them.Very long day and time to get some sleep before an even longer day tomorrow and new years celebration!

And so our adventure begins!

I am now in India! It was a long journey getting here. We first traveled about 14 hours across the Atlantic to Abu Dhabi in United Arab Emirates. We flew Etihad Airways and it was very nice accommodations. I've only traveled domestically so the wide airplane with individual entertainment centers in each seat and two meals served pleasantly surprised me. Abu Dhabi international airport was very nice and new. The UAE was the first country I've been to outside the US but it was not much of a culture shock. We saw people of many different nationalities but it didn't feel much like a foreign country because I was able to order from a McDonald's in English and pay with US dollars.

The flight from the UAE to India was about 4 hours long. This felt like nothing compared to the first flight. We arrived around 3:30 AM Indian time and waited at the airport for other classmates. It was nice being on the same flight with our professor because I felt reassured that I wouldn't end up lost and alone in India with no way of contacting him. Christian and I hung together the whole time and it was great having company on the epic journey even if we were a little worse for wear by the end of it.

Our first view of India was the craziness outside the airport around 5 AM. There was a large crowd of people outside waiting for arriving passengers and it was a bit intimidating to walk into. Our group split into 4 taxis to take us to the hotel and the ride was an experience in itself. I thought New York cab drivers were intense, that's nothing compared to Indian cab drivers. It seems that honking is appropriate for any situation on the road and used liberally. Also the lines of the lanes seem to be taken less seriously here as we weaved in between the two on our left side and sometimes crossed into the right. Its going to take a while to get used to the traffic here.

We made it to the hotel and were checked in by 6 when we all really needed showers and food. Our hotel is western (complete with a western toilet, thank god!) and very nice with the exception of some minor issues like most of our outlets not functioning. My roommate, Jessica from California, and I are getting along nicely. A bunch of us decided after breakfast to go check out the zoo without our professor which is only about 2 km away from the hotel. Christian, Jessica, and another classmate, Sarah, and I crammed ourselves into the back of a motorized rickshaw which was built for 3 passengers tops and our weight caused it to stop running several times but we made it.

Nothing was open until 9 so we walked around the outside area looking at gardens and taking in the people. We got A LOT of stares. Because we didn't have rupees yet to pay for it and were completely exhausted by this point Christian and I decided to walk back to the hotel. This would have been much easier if A. we had any idea where we were going B. we had money to pay someone to take us back (banks don't open til 10) and C. anyone in the city had ever heard of our hotel. After being confused in the city for about an hour, talking to at least 20 people trying to get directions, and me coming very close to panic attack (luckily Christian is less prone to getting hysterical and giving up and handled it), we finally made it to a bank and found a driver who knew where the hotel was.

So far my favorite part of India is looking at the beautiful outfits the women wear. We stick out a lot here mostly because we aren't Indian but I think also because we what we consider conservative dress probably isn't very conservative here. I felt uncomfortable today in a fitted tshirt so I'm hoping we can get a little shopping in to buy some things that are culturally appropriate but not as warm as the long sleeves I brought from America.

We had a short lecture today and ate lunch as a group and now I can't wait to get to bed. We have busy day tomorrow at our sponsoring institute.

Friends and family reading this, I love you guys and will see you soon :).