India! (Day 3)

   What a wonderful day!  I started things out right with waking up extra early to make sure I didn't miss breakfast.  :0)

   When I got to the bus, I was happy to see that my guide from the first day would be leading us again today!  We ended up exchanging e-mails by the end of the trip!  The bus ride was about an hour and a half through the new center of Kochi and out into the suburbs.  We arrived at the Chendamangalam Village where we would spend the day.  The village has many different types of jobs that are independent or funded by the government.  The government here gives everyone a job to ensure that poverty does not exist.  Maybe it does still exist somewhere, but I have not seen evidence of it yet.  I'm telling you, things are run well in this state!  I love it that every kid has an equal opportunity to succeed, not matter what their background is.  I can see why the communist party wins almost all the elections.  (They do have an opposing party but everyone I talk to says that it is a party who only cares about rich people so they never get elected.) 

  We were greeted with jasmine garlands and coconuts to drink when we arrived at the village.  The people putting on the program for us, as well as some prominent people from the village were introduced.  Some of those prominent people were actually kids who met every Friday to discuss important matters, study, and work to support tourism in their village.  I was very impressed at how ambitious and mature the kids were!   

  The greeting also included a drum performance and a dance and singing performance.  In between each act we got to explore the nearby area and talk to the people who lived there. 

 I took the opportunity for a pit stop and was baffled when this was it:

  It's actually easier to use than it looks though.  Luckily, I had my own toilet paper because there was none to be found there.  

   I was getting really hungry and ready for lunch by the time the welcoming was finished.  Lunch was amazing!  It was even more amazing because we got to see a demonstration of how it was cooked and received a copy of the recipe!  In the traditional manner, we were served some truly delicious food on a banana leaf and I opted to only eat with my hands this time.  I swear it makes the food taste better!  

   

   After lunch, we talked a bit more with the villagers and I was presented with the unique challenge of explaining why I used a wheelchair in very basic words.  (Hint:  Dysautonomia and Ehlers Danlos Syndrome are not basic words.)  I think I finally made sense by showing a normal heart beat with my hands and pointing to myself and showing it beating rapidly.  

   We then got a tour of the village.  I wanted to wheel myself to get some exercise, but there was nothing I could say to convince the boys that I could do it myself.  I was getting a little frustrated until I realized that it wasn't about me needing help.  It was about them wanting to help the American girl.  If I insisted on doing it myself, I suppose I would have felt more accomplished, but if I let them push me, they would get so much out of learning to push a wheelchair and being able to help someone.  After all, that's kind of what I am doing in a lot of the service visits; going to people's homes and saying "I'm going to help you now."  So I completely changed my attitude and made sure to thank them many times and give them each and origami bird as thanks at the end of the walk.  Turns out I felt accomplished after all.  :0)

  The village was absolutely beautiful.  The houses were HUGE and painted bright colors, sometimes with carved designs.  We also got to meet more of the people who lived in the village during the walk.

This is one of my wheelchair helpers outside his house. You can't see it because of the trees, but it was a big beautiful white house.  

Snake Tail Fruit

   And of course there were lots of cows!  I was determined to pet one despite the emphatic advise of some of my fellow SASers.  The cows seemed to be pretty scared of people though.  Every time someone would walk close to get a picture, the cow would run away.  But I was determined.  I found that I could get close to the cows to take pictures if I went slowly and talked calmly as I inched forward.  The ladies from the village were laughing hysterically because I was talking to the cows and thanking them for letting me take their picture in the local language.  I suppose that is a bit silly.  haha  I finally got the guts to walk up to a cow and try to pet it.  I was surprised that when I got within a few feet, it actually came towards me.  I let it sniff me and it must have approved because it liked my hand and nudged me trying to be pet.  I spend a while petting it's nose until one of the ladies from the village spotted me and said I should catch up with my group.  From then on, they kept an eye on me whenever a cow was around.  oops.  I can't bring myself to regret it though.  :0) 

   When we got back, we sat back in our seats near the wonderful, beautiful, amazing, fan and cooled off for a bit.  The lady who ran the program came up to me and said, "You look Indian."  I smiled and said I was actually Russian and Italian.  She shook her head and said, "no you ARE Indian.  Not just in how you look.  Welcome home. Welcome home."  IT was truly a beautiful moment.  :0)

  

 After saying our goodbyes (that I must say were almost tearful) we loaded back onto the bus to go to our second to last stop.  This was a fabric weaving factory.  I hate to say it, but it reminded me of the sweat shops I learned about during the American Industrial Revolution.  The room was incredibly hot, and it was full of people working very hard on monotonous tasks.  I was surprised to see how happy the workers seemed.  Of course it could have been an act for us tourists, but it could have been genuine.  The people working there were excited to show us about their craft and explain (in the local language) what they were doing.  

 

  I ventured behind the building to search for another pit stop and found a really dodgy looking bathroom.  I headed inside to go anyway but was met face to face with a spider that was probably bigger than my head.  I held in a scream and was out of there at superhuman speed.  The bathroom stop would have to wait!

  Our last stop was just down the road at the place where the woven fabrics from the factory were being sold.  I bought a bright teal piece of fabric that is usually used as a bath towel, but I'm going to try and make it into a skirt.  

  

 The bus ride home was quite long with the traffic, so I took the opportunity to take a few pictures and doze.

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.