Back Down South to Madurai

The compound with what I'm guessing is a mango tree.

I will spend my last month, where I started, in Tamil Nadu, but at Arulagam Women's Hostel. I was hoping that by this time the climate would have improved a little bit, but I think it's even hotter than when I last visited Arulagam in April. My new surroundings, mosquitoes, my steady 90 degree bedroom (day and night) and strong tea are probably all to blame for several nearly sleepless nights I've had since coming here. Thankfully, I got a full night's rest and am feeling way more "with it" than I've been for the past few days. Hopefully, I'll be able to be a little more involved in activity and (limited) conversation.

I have made some friends with the staff members at Arulagam and feel very welcomed by the residents here as well. I get lots of smiles and inquiries about how I'm doing (some in English and some in Tamil with gestures). I have become particularly close to a woman named Raekha who has been with Arulagam for 20+ years, since she was a girl. She is the chief cook for the 40-0dd women living here, which means I'll probably be able to convince her to teach me how to make some South Indian dishes!

This is a truly free-range chicken that wanders all over the compound, including into the office to inspect the contents of the waste bin. I haven't yet figured out if she is a pet or dinner, but I've started calling her Petunia, anyway.

Anyhow, Raekha has taken a liking to me (she is forever grabbing my face and then kissing her fingertips) and we have a good time joking with each other. After I thanked her for bringing me a cup of tea she said something like, "That is 20 thank you's; I will have to open up a bank account," and everyone laughed and then translated what she said to me into English so that I could understand. In Indian culture (both North and South), people don't say thank you that much, and Indians often find it strange that foreigners say it so often.