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!

India (Day 1, Part 2)

  Oh my too many pictures!  I'm going to have to split this up.

Back to coconut processing...

After the husks were dried out, it was time to spin them into rope.  It was a really cool process.  One woman would spin a wheel which would twist the fibers into a rope.  Other women would feed more fiber into the already twisted portion to make the rope grow in length.  They made it look easy, but let me tell you, it was NOT!  I got to try it and was quite fumbly.  I had to add just the right amount of husk fiber at just the right speed or I would get a rope with lumps, or the connection would break and I'd have to go back and start again.  (Both of those things happened.  Frequently.  haha)  

While other people were talking to the women, I needed a POTSie break so a sat down out of the way for a while.  That was when I had the pleasure of meeting this adorable little guy.   He was shy at first, but then was very excited to show me his dancing and how he could throw a ball to his grandma.  I spent a few fun minutes talking to his grandma and watching him play.  

After the coconuts were all processed, it was on to the fishing pools.  The first one we went to had mud crabs in it.  

I was expecting the little crabs I see on the beach rocks at home.  I was kind of right, but thinking about 10X too small!  After much tugging on the crab traps, one of the fisherman caught one and showed it too us.  Of course, I begged to hold it, and they let me as long as I promised not to mess with the claws.  I guess these things can give quite a nasty pinch.  In case you were curious, this was a boy crab as demonstrated by the V on it's shell.  The females have a round shape on their underbelly.  

We also saw one of the men catch some fish in another pond close by.  Unfortunately, I was too far away/POTSie to get a good picture, but I did document part of the catch.  This is what is referred to as a "flatfish."  It is supposed to be very good, but difficult to eat because it is very bony.  

Also, a potter made TWO beautiful pots in the few minutes were gathered around his workspace.

The next stop was the clam cooking area.  The lake clams were boiled until they were opened, and then the mean was separated from the shell by shaking them in a basket with meat-sized holes in the bottom.  The shells were thrown into the large pile you see in the background and would later be used in cement and whitewash for the village's buildings.  Some students tried the clams, but I was already feeling a little too queasy for that.  

The final stop before lunch was to see the palm fronds being processed.  The women would take the leaves and either weave them into large sheets (I'm not sure what they were then used for.  I'm guessing roofing or baskets?) or striped down to the tough fiber and made into brooms.

This lady was such a sweetheart!  She kind of reminded me of my Auntie Di.  During a break from weaving, she came over to me, squeezed my chin affectionately, and said, "You look India!"  (A common consensus, it seems.  I've had lots of people inquire about where I'm from because I "look Indian, but dress American".)  We had a good conversation involving mostly hand gestures, smiles, and a few words.  

India! (Day 1, Part 1)

  

 Is it really possible that I'm in India!?!  It is so amazing to get to go to these places I started dreaming about in childhood.  My first glimpse of India came from my window roughly 15 seconds after my alarm so rudely woke me up.  It was like an instant adrenaline rush to see in person what I had previously seen in photographs.  Houses, hotels, and businesses lined the shore and had to compete with the thick vegetation to stay standing.  Some of the old, abandoned buildings were loosing that battle, but it was beautiful.  It looked just like I always pictured India when I was growing up.  

    Immigration was quite a process.  We had to go to the officials who came on board the ship and get approved face to face.  By the time we were finally cleared to leave the ship, we were almost an hour and a half late.  There was a lot of grumbling but I was secretly happy that I had the extra time to lay down and have my meds kick in.  I was having a bit of a rough morning despite my excitement.  I also learned that it was strongly encouraged for me not to bring the wheelchair on my trip that day, so I needed all the extra rest!

    I always like to take note of how a new place smells.  India smells just like Southern California in the summer, aka smokey.  haha  Just like Ghana, it is common to burn garbage here, so certain areas, like where we are docked have lots of smoke in the air.  Farther away from the garbage burning the air is much more fresh.

   

 I got to take in this fresh air after a short bus ride to a community on the bank of a nearby lake.  Much to my excitement, we were greeted by our second guide who gave us these awesome hats and escorted us onto two huge canoes.  There were two men on each canoe who used long bamboo sticks to push off the bottom and propel the boat.  

   

 There were a peaceful few minutes on the lake when I took in the surroundings and got to know the people in my boat.  It was really fun waving to people on the shore and talking with the ladies who were fishing nearby.  Many of the people who live on the water (including our guide) go out in the morning and evening with a buoyant pot and catch fish with their hands.  Most of the fish were shrimp like critters, but there were some flat fish too.  I don't' know how they could catch the fish with their bare hands!  

   We got off the canoe at the fishing village where we would be spending the rest of the morning.  A bright and bubbly little girl greeted us with a handshake and a flurry of questions.  Where were we from?  What are our names?  How old were we?  A few older kids and adults handed out fresh coconuts for us to drink and eat.  It was a very cool welcome!

    

   The village had a very cool layout with paths winding between cultivated fish, crab, and shrimp ponds.  We walked further into the center where women were working on different stages in the process of turning coconuts into useful products and food.  

The first station was where the coconuts were cracked open.  Just like in Costa Rica, there was a sharpened stick protruding out of the ground and one of the adults would repeatedly whack it with a coconut until the husks came off.  

The next step was scraping out the meat and making it into coconut milk.  I always thought that coconut milk came from the liquid inside that you can stick a straw in and drink.  It actually comes from pouring a bit of water over the shredded meat and then squeezing the mixture out.  The liquid that some out is the coconut milk used in tons of different recipes.  

On the other side of the central area, older women were preparing the husks to be made into rope.  The husks had been soaking for several weeks to soften up.  Then, the women would beat the husks with a club until the fivers came apart.  One thing I can't get over is how strong people are in many of the countries I visit.  These ladies looked so frail and they were able to vigorously thump on the husks like it was the easiest thing in the world.  I think one thump would be enough to do me in.  haha