India (Day 1 part 3)

  I just can't bring myself to cut down on photos, can I?  haha

Lunch was delicious!  There was a fried crispy thing, a rice pancake thing, shrimp, and seasoned cauliflower.  Unfortunately my already angry stomach became furious from the spice.  I felt like I was going to be torn open from my inside out.  Not good.  Luckily, I am a pro at functioning despite gut pain and other than a few inquiries about my health, I still got through the rest of the day and had lots of fun.  (It finally got better after my friend gave me a pepto later that night.)

 

After the delicious but dangerous lunch, we had some time to devote to our parasympathetic nervous systems (rest and digest) while we watched a performance of traditional bachlorette party dances.  Of course, it's not called a bachlorette party here, but it's a similar idea.  The bride's friends come together for fun and to tell her all how wonderful the groom to be is.   The dancers were ornately costumed and very precise in their movement.  The background music was complemented by the rhythmic smack of their sticks.  

After the performance, everyone else walked over to an open area and played tug-o-war with the rope we made.  I was not quite feeling up to it so I stayed behind and figured I would stare off into space.  I was rescued from this fate by the bubbly little girl who had initially greeted us when we got to the village.  I learned her name was Anna and she was very excited to be here because it was a school holiday.  We chatted about Toy Story, school, and how we liked to fold things.  She showed me how she could fold a palm leave into a snake and we took turns folding some of the paper I had into different animals.  IT was really fun!  She is one of those kids who you can just tell is bright by talking to her for a few minutes.  I was so engrossed in our conversation and folding session that my group had headed off to the bus the next time I looked up.  OOPS.  (again.)  

  Anna laughed at how worried I was and took me to meet with my group.  Along the way, she pointed out the different plants and told me what they were used for.  The small leave in my hand had a very strong smell and is used kind of like vapor rub when you have a runny nose.  With my expert tour guide, I was reunited with my group just in time.  I said goodbye to Anna and thanked her for the origami and folded palm leave gifts and hopped on the last open rickshaw.  

Now THAT was a fun ride!  The inside of the rickshaw was beautifully decorated with beads and intricately woven fabric.  The driver blasted some uppidy Indian music as we sped through the narrow village streets.  Quite an adrenaline rush!

I could have spent a few hours on that wild ride, but after about ten minutes, we were already back at our bus.  

The bus took us a short way to another side of the lake where we met with a different fishing community.  One of the families invited us into their home!  They ran a small tea shop from the back of their house, and offered us some snacks as we sat and chatted.  SO good, and thankfully not spicy!  I gobbled up more than I would like to admit.  

No big deal, but they also had a pet hawk.  

We wandered around the residential section for a while which was really cool.  I loved how there were bright colors everywhere!  I definitely am going to need a bright blue house in my future.  There was one water station where people could come get water every morning and evening.

We stopped briefly at a church which was a nice POTSie break for me.  We took our shoes off, as is customary, and I really liked walking in the church in just my socks.  I somehow felt much more connected than I usually would in a church.  

What would a trip to India be, without the terror of coming face to face with a hissing cobra?

Ok. I wasn't exactly face to face.  But I was close and I swear that thing made eye contact with me and hissed.  (Maybe it wanted to see if I spoke parseltongue.)  The snake charmer must have had nerves of steel to be within striking distance.  He barely flinched when the snakes would hiss and strike at him.  

I remembered the view of the Chinese fishing nets from Slumdog Millionaire and was really excited to get to see one up close.  They are quite rickety, but I managed to not fall into the water.  We even got to help haul the net up!  Huge rocks act as a counterweight so even I could manage to pull in the net.  

Check out our catch!