More India :)

Day 2!

I woke up at around 6:45 or so and went out to sit on the porch off of our room. I was four stories above this rural town. The sun and most of the people had beaten me to the outdoors. Children were sleepily walking with their mothers, women yelled to each other as they carried baskets on their heads. Men walked down the streets brushing their teeth. A woman on the pavement below us began to put chalk down on the street in symbols that were for the gods and a sign of welcome. Every morning the women of the house was away the previous day’s chalk and reapply the same symbols so as to welcome each day anew.

After our delicious breakfast of rice breadish things, curry, watermelon, and hard boiled eggs we sent out to visit a village for some cultural emersion. When we started to get off the bus we were swarmed by women and men welcoming us. The women would put flowers in our hair and then a bindi in between our eyes for the gods, a yellow smear to cleanse the mind and body, and a red smear for the women. There were at least 4 women doting on each person at all times as we left the bus. During all of this men beat drums to welcome us. They all wore the traditional skirt tied up around their waists. What a reception! After this we walked around town and saw rice paddies, a couple of houses, met a bunch of people, held a baby goat, played soccer with some kids, and went to a children’s center and a government school as well as watching how they make bricks that are used in urban construction. The village worships the Goddess and when a man was done praying all the children, who had previously been running around like crazy, waited patiently their turn for this man to rub ash on their forehead. Then it was back to the craziness of having visitors! A woman started to give me her daughter to hold, but the little girl started sobbing and wouldn’t even look at me let alone let go of her mother. When we went to the children’s center most of the youngest kids just cried and cried when we came near them. Instinctually we all wanted to pick them up and comfort them, but it was us who were scaring them. My RA is Indian and he said that it was probably because they had not seen many white people before and so many big strangers would scare any young child. One boy, who was deaf, had bright blue eyes that were just captivating, especially set in his dark face. They were the brightest blue I have ever seen! The older women said that they call them snake eyes. They were just amazing, and he was one of the few children to smile at us.

After that we went to the government school and hung out with the kids for a little bit. The group of kids I sat down with counted with me and named animals in English, and then I took each of their pictures and showed it to them, which they just thought was the coolest thing ever. When they had to get back to work we went to see the brick making. A couple girls tried it and they had to redo it several times over, and in the end the people working on it redid the ones they did.

As we went back to the bus we were given biscuits and hot tea and then kids out on the porch of the school (the building itself was way too small to house all the kids so at least 20 30 did their work out on the porch) started imitating a couple of us. As we sang songs like the Hokie Pokie and Macerana they sang them along with us and did the motions, and then sang songs back to us for us to follow. It was amazing. So much laughter! When we left they all gathered by the bus and some ran alongside it, waving the whole time. It was magical how we communicated so much just through making faces at each other.

From there we went to a Hindu temple built in devotion to Siva. We prayed with the guru there and were blessed by him. It was amazing to see this place that was over 1,000 years old. Just amazing. And we think going to DC or Philadelphia is a historic experience!

We headed back to the center and had one last amazing lunch and then packed up and headed out. We stopped at a silk store on the way and a couple of girls bought saris and a lot of people bought scarves and shawls and pillow covers and things like that. It was all so beautiful! But, since a lot of it was pure silk, it was an expensive lot! So yeah, I held onto my rupees there. But wow, the colors of the fabric! Gorgeous.

Then it was back to the bus and off to Chennai. We got on the boat at about 6:30 and those of us who were traveling independently to Cochin had to be off at 7:00….so it was a mad dash to our cabins, scarfed some food down, and ran off the gangway! Then we couldn’t get out of the port because customs wouldn’t let us through, so it was back to the boat where they had to do some sweet talking and then we were off.

I had contacted a hotel, but when the taxi driver pulled up we all decided to head out to somewhere else….not in the best part of town! Eventually we found a hotel and then had a late dinner at this amazing place. Oh, mango lassies! So freaking good. And curry and ice cream and rice and the sugar/anis/spice dessert. GHA! Yum Yum.