Adrienne's Indian Adventure Blog

Home again, home again

2008-09-12T08:18:00.000-07:00

You may have figured this out already, but I am indeed back in the U.S., the land of plentiful chocolate and cheeses and olives and several other things and people that I have been missing. It is a nice change so far, though I am still waiting for culture shock to hit.

I had a nice rest of my stay in Pune. I spent one last day at the Deep Griha office and ended up getting to sit in on an introduction to Deep Griha's HIV programs with a group of Swedish Masters of Social Work students. I thought I was pretty well-versed on the basics of HIV, but I now know about three times as much as I did before. The man in charge of the program was incredibly well-informed and thorough with his presentation and in his work at large. And as a result of their efforts, the Deep Griha team now thinks that most slum-dwellers know a whole lot more about HIV than the average educated, middle class member of Pune society. How fantastic!

Deep Griha, being the thorough and effective organization that they are, did not stop at the slums, and are now working to bring HIV education to the whole city. They have started a semester-long Wake Up Pune! campaign. On my last afternoon in India I got to attend the Condom Cricket match that they are sponsoring. Yep, you heard right, Condom Cricket. Deep Griha has gotten the medical colleges/departments from all around the city to form teams and is having a big 2-week tournament on a public cricket field.

It's ingenious, really. The batsmen wear jerseys that say 'YOU' and 'Me', the bowler (pitcher) is HIV, the wickets are 'Your Health', the bat is a condom, the umpire is a doctor, and the players in the outfield are all sorts of symptoms/infections associated with HIV. The point of the game is to block HIV with a condom and prevent your health from being compromised. India is thoroughly cricket-obsessed, so this is a great way to get people thinking and talking about HIV prevention.

One of the volunteers said she saw two outfielders putting on their jerseys before the match. One guy had a jersey which said, 'Oral Thrush', and his friend's jersey said 'Diarrhea'. The players both shrugged their shoulders and gave each other exuberant high-fives. Only in Condom Cricket would such a scene take place.

Well, I have managed to say farewell to having amazing Indian food three times a day, to women wearing saris, to pink elephant statues, to fresh bananas, to monsoons, to beautiful Indian children, to temples, to copious amounts of sunshine and the like. India has been a crazy and fascinating place to be for the last six months, but it is also good to be home again.

*I don't actually know anything about cricket, so I apologize for my lack of a cricket vocabulary and a probably inaccurate description of the game.

The Last Leg

2008-09-05T22:47:00.000-07:00

I have safely arrived in Pune (pronounced Poon-ay), my last stop on this trip. It's a quite nice modern Indian city, and probably a good place to begin making my transition back to the U.S./Western culture.

I have been shadowing Sri Mayasandra with the work he's been doing with, Deep Griha, a truly amazing organization. Deep Griha, which means Light House, was established 32 years ago as a social organization by a local female doctor. Their programs are astoundingly comprehensive: HIV awareness/care, a creche for children under five, a residence for orphaned children, active education/awareness/relief programs in the three large slums surrounding Pune, care for mothers and infants, eye clinics, etc., etc. If any of you are at any time considering volunteering in India, you should look into Deep Griha.

I have been staying at their volunteer's hostile, called The Cultural Center, with 10 or so other European and American volunteers. It has been neat to hear about the work the volunteers have been doing first-hand, as well as start remembering what it is like to be around people who speak English fluently!

I was able to walk through one of the slums, my first visit to a slum in India. The community sustains itself primarily through rag-picking and woodworking. The dwellings are situated very close together and made largely from wood and aluminum. Even though the slum has little in the way of basic infrastructures, the people there seemed well-fed, relatively happy, and friendly. In one area there had recently been a fire and nine houses were burned. When we walked through, it was encouraging to see that the families had reconstructed their houses and were actively using their new cooking pots, all of which were provided through funds from Deep Griha.

In other news, I arrived in Pune on the first night of a 10-day Ganesh festival. There are elephant statues absolutely everywhere. There is a huge statue not far from The Cultural Center, contained within a large peacock light display. At night the light show is synchronized to music. I am especially sorry, now, that my digital camera was given away and I can't show you the spectacle. But if you are picturing very colorful lights, incredibly loud music and a big, pink elephant statue, you are on the right track.

Farewell to Arulagam

2008-08-31T04:18:00.000-07:00

Another month has come and gone, or at least that's what the calendar says. Time has flown by. I will be leaving Arulagam on September 2nd and heading to Pune (near Mumbai) where I will spend a few days with "Uncle" Sri Mayasandra. I fly back to the U.S. on September 10th. Soon!!

I will miss a lot of things about this place. THE FOOD, for one. Luckily, I've written down several recipes. I am counting on the internet to fill in the steps missed due to our communication difficulties.

Two tireless cooks, Rekha and Mouseena, with a big pot of sambar (lentils and vegetables). I spent a lot of time with them in the kitchen.

And I will miss the friendly staff and residents who have been so kind to me. I will even miss being asked 10-15 times per day if I've finished eating. (Saptig illa, or something along those lines, is the only phrase I know in Tamil, after all.) They've been making a real effort to "fatten me up", but, alas, there is only so much you can do in a month.

I am sure I will also miss the (somewhat) peaceful atmosphere of a secluded compound, as well as the activity of children, dogs, a chicken, peacocks, lizards and who knows what else.

What Do Arulagam Residents Do All Day?

2008-08-29T04:54:00.000-07:00

I may have mentioned that part of my duties here are to document the activity at Arulagam. Here are some pictures from several of the classes. The women participate in classes for 4-5 hours per day, Monday to Saturday.

The weaving class:

Weaving instructor, Mannicorrie, winding thread onto a spindle.

Rug-making.

The children's creche:

The sewing class:

Girdle-making.

Muthulakshmi is stitching together a skirt.

Like a Good Tamil Woman Would Wear

2008-08-25T04:51:00.000-07:00

I guess it is almost surprising that I haven't warn a sari since coming to India until now. It's also surprising that the women at Arulagam have taken three weeks to put me into on. In Tamil culture, men and women dress very traditionally, so I'm sure that what I normally wear is seen as strange. People here are always asking if I'm going to change my clothes before I go somewhere, which is basically a hint that I'm dressed weirdly or not in the traditional Tamil way.

So finally, a group of women came to my room dressed me, did my hair and adorned me in (fake) gold jewelry. They were very pleased with the result. So much so, that they took lots of pictures and set up different poses. I was quite amused.

The photo shoot:

Raekha and I. She is the one who let me borrow her sari and jewelry.

There are many peacocks that live on the hill behind Arulagam. We walked up one afternoon and spotted one showing its feathers off.

Pictures around Arulagam compound

2008-08-20T04:26:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe that I've already been back in Madurai for 2 1/2 weeks. I have only a couple weeks left! I am enjoying my stay more and more. I've begun taking pictures of all the activities that go on here, both for myself and for Arulagam's photo records. I have also been entering some data into the computer and pretending that I know how to use Microsoft Access (I don't really). Anyway, I'm feel like I'm being useful and also keeping myself busy.

I've also started learning how to use a foot-pedal sewing machine. I am not very good at it, but it's been fun to have the women try to teach me. And has resulted in a lot of laughing.

My room at Arulagam with my beloved mosquito net.

Getting the henna treatment.

The morning after. The design might bring me good luck, I am told.

Mussie, Sewati and Raekha. Sewati is all dolled-up to go to the Sunday evening church service, Arulagam's weekly outing.

The food pantry with Deborah and Mussie.

How many people does it take to stir a pot of sambar? Three should do it.

A nice-sized lizard.

And for some strange and random things that I've found out; according to the Tamil calender, the last month (from approx. July 15th to Aug. 15th) is known for it's hot, windy/dusty weather. So much so, that people don't start any new ventures (marriages, businesses, etc.) until after the month is over. No wonder I wasn't able to sleep; last month was practically cursed! And like clockwork, the weather cooled off on the 15th, and we've been having cool weather and occasional evening rains ever since.

I also found out today that the Court often makes the accused pay fines, either monetary or in crop-form, which are then donated to charity organizations. Last week police came and delivered Arulagam received 7 bags of rice from the Court. Good to know where your food comes from, I guess.

India's Independence Day

2008-08-16T04:26:00.000-07:00

Indian's celebrate their independence from Britain on August 15th. At Arulagam, we celebrated by having a free day; no work and a minimum amount of chores for the women here.

The women of Arulagam.

We began the day by gathering on the rooftop of one of the dormitories for a 7:00 AM ceremony. As the "Chief Guest", I had the honor of raising the Indian flag and, after some arm-twisting, also giving a short speech about the U.S. gaining their independence from the British. Then, everyone sang a few songs in Tamil and we all ate some candy.

Much of the rest of the day was spent dancing and generally hanging out, with some people in costume.

A baby (girl) wearing a moustache.

Sales, Palaces and Temples

2008-08-12T04:43:00.000-07:00

My first week with Arulagam has included quite a bit of activity. I've played accountant at two sales of Arulagam handicrafts made by the women residents.

The Arulagam sales booth at a sales fair associated with the Church of South India. Pictured here are ManiCoorie (sp?, pronunciation?), Sylvia, Margaret and her son, Danny.

I also visited the Thirumalai Nayak Palace, which is an impressive 400+ year old structure in desperate need of the reconstruction it is currently undergoing.

I again visited the Meenakshi Temple that I first saw last March. Both the temple and palace were built by the same (presumably filthy rich) king.

A foreigner taking a ride on a beautifully decorated temple elephant.

The temple room of 1,000 carved pillars.

Myself with one of the more intricately carved pillars.

Pushpa posing with a (fake) elephant.

In other news, I think (knock on wood!) that I'm finally adjusting to the climate here. I find that standing under the shower head fully clothed and then lying under a fan feels much like being in air conditioning. Very comfortable. I have also gotten better at securing the mosquito net covering my bed, which makes sleeping through the night a lot easier.

Back Down South to Madurai

2008-08-06T04:56:00.000-07:00

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.

Trains at a Glance

2008-08-04T04:47:00.000-07:00

Trains are definitely the best way to travel around India. They are economical, comfortable (especially in cars with AC) and a great way to view the countryside. The following pictures were taken from a Sleeper Class car. Though un-airconditioned and hot in summertime, Sleeper cars are very conducive to taking pictures through the open windows .

People waiting at a train station somewhere along the way in Rajasthan.

A stopped train. Also note, the more traditional Rajasthani men wear impressively wrapped turbans, which signify one's standing by the color and the way the turban is wrapped.
A man with a lovely pink turban.

People waiting at the Jodhpur train station.

Jodhpur, Rajasthan

2008-08-04T03:58:00.000-07:00

Jodhpur was a very beautiful place to stop through. It is known especially for Mehrangarh Fort, which is a huge and impressive complex some 500 years old. Jodhpur is also known as the Blue City because many of the houses in the old city portion belonging to Brahmins (the highest and priestly caste) were traditionally painted blue. It would have been nice to spend more time in this colorful city and also nice if it weren't so oppressively hot this time of year.

Pictures of the fort:

A royal gathering room inside the fort.

The blue city as seen from the fort's battlements.

Durag Niwas Guest House where we stayed:

Traditional Rajasthani decorations are quite beautiful, I think.

Jesse with a delicious plate of mutton curry.

Jodhpur's clock tower.

*Jesse again gets the credit for most of the pictures in this post.

The Spectacular Road to Leh

2008-07-31T01:07:00.000-07:00

Mmm snow caps.

Leh must be one of the most beautiful places in the world. Definitely the most beautiful place that I've been. And the highest altitude I've ever experienced- I was out of breath most of the time. But landscape aside, Ladakhi culture is even better yet. I didn't get to experience much on a personal level, but Ladakhis really seem to have it down. From large gardens, to solar panals, to being an almost completely self sustaining and waste-free society to being completely and totally happy and content, I was really impressed and amazed with "Little Tibet". I really wish I could have spent a lot more time here and connected with an NGO, but my traveling is coming to an end. Maybe I'll come back one day.

Leh Palace.

The garden at our guest house.

2008-07-30T23:13:00.000-07:00

A super jazzed-up woman in Delhi traffic. Not sure what the occasion was.

Here's a little snow cap runoff for you in Manali's picturesque green hills.

Prayer flags on a bridge in Manali.

Some nice-sized lizards.

Quite lovely, eh? View from the hotel balcony.

Manali was a nice place to stopover though extremely touristy. We opted to stay in the less-populated area of Vashisht, which had a friendly atmosphere and attracted only the coolest of the tourist bunch. There was a World Peace Cafe right across the road, which was all you'd hope it would be and more. Decent American movies on a big-screen T.V., a sitar, etc. jam session on other nights of the week (this really packed out), and really good food from a dozen different countries, not the least of which included wood-oven fired pizzas, kimchi soup and homemade chocolate-chip cookies. The mango lassies weren't bad, either.

One day we happened upon a wedding party parading through the streets of Vashisht:

Flower-wearing, sword-carrying dancers-- brilliant!

The groom with a bunch of cash hanging off his neck.

And on to Varanasi

2008-07-27T06:31:00.000-07:00

Gause and Jesse walking through the narrow alleys of the old city.

Varanasi is pretty much perfectly what I had envisioned India to be like before I arrived- people, cows, cycle-rickshaws, narrow streets and alleyways, celebrations of life and death, the Ganga (Ganges); this city has it all. I witnessed a marriage ceremony withing the first 15 minutes of arriving in Varanasi's old city- a groom and bride making the ceremonial walk with their bridal clothes tied together (if you don't know what I'm talking about you should watch Monsoon Wedding). We also witnessed more funerals than we could count, since many families bring their deceased family members to be cremated on the banks of the Ganga.

A typical sight in the alleyway.

Nothing special, I just liked the blues.

DAYTIME: The burning ghat as seen from the balcony of our guest house. If you look closely you can see the spot of fire where a body is getting cremated. on the banks of the Ganga.

NIGHTTIME: The dead are cremated around the clock (notice the blue smoke).

Jesse, walking down the steps of our ghat, Schindhia Ghat (the water is just beyond the bottom of the stairs.

DAYTIME: Unfortunately, the Ganga was too flooded at this time for us to safely go on a boat ride and view Varanasi's many ghats from the water. And yes, that is the peak of the rooftop of a submerged building.

NIGHTTIME

Views from the cycle rickshaw--

Schindhia Ghat bathers at sunrise.

Agra Fort

2008-07-27T06:05:00.000-07:00

The Fort, and a little of Dan as well.

View of the Taj from the other side of the river.

Elephant rides outside of the Fort. We didn't actually choose to ride any.

Fatehpur Sikri

2008-07-13T22:54:00.000-07:00

The Moguls built an incredible amount of things in Agra (same city as the Taj), it seems. We went to see a few of them:

We went to see Fatehpur Sikri, a mosque and royal city built by the great Jodha Akbar. The city was never actually used because of water shortage problems, but the mosque is still functioning.

Unfortunately for us, we chose a rainy day to go and had to bypass around flooded streets.

The Jamma Masjid (mosque).

A building in the abandoned royal city. No one is really sure what purpose most of the buildings were meant to serve.

Three rather wet tourists that I know.

So we went to see the Taj Mahal

2008-07-12T06:37:00.000-07:00

and it was all we had hoped for and more. Definitely one of the wonders of the modern world and something to see before you die. And it's really, really magnificent besides. Here are more pictures than you probably care to look at:

Dan and Gause posing just inside the entrance.

Dan, Gause and I taking in the sights.

Lots of picture taking.

It is massive. Those little black specks at the base of the Taj are people.

Dan and the Taj

The mosque next to the Taj.

*pretty much all of the photos on this blog were taken by Jesse

Goodbye Mussoorie

2008-07-11T07:49:00.000-07:00

Mussoorie has been my home for the last two months, and now I am off to various places for the month of July. We ended our time there by throwing a Thai-themed going away party for ourselves, which included some fabulous coconut curry and pad thai. I don't actually have pictures of this event, but a lovely time was had by all.

Here are a few last pictures of the beautiful hill station I've called home:

Monkies playing on the roof outside the window.

A lovely green bug.

The fern-covered oak (?) trees during the monsoon.

Wolf's Burn Guest House.

The view out the front door one morning.

The Day We (finally) Saw the Himalayas

2008-06-30T03:17:00.000-07:00

A bug with beautiful green legs that compliments this geranium very nicely.

Last week we had supper with our Ethiopian friend Immu, who made injera and wut (Ethiopian bread and stew) for us. Needless to say, it was fantastic.

Dan making bunna (Ethiopian coffee)

Immu with her cup of bunna

And just as we were finishing up the meal, our friends Jesse Shoemaker and Andrew Gause arrived, fresh from their travels in Europe. They'll be hanging out in Mussoorie and then doing a little traveling with me around the northern India for the month of July.

The most colorful set of buildings in all of Landour.

Jesse, Hollian (British friend) and Dan on our way down to the bazaar.

Gause stopping to pet the cows.

Magically and incredibly, it stopped raining a couple days ago and cleared up long enough that we got our first good look at the Himalayas. I have been waiting for this day for almost 2 months!

Jesse and Gause have spotted them.

Ta-Da! So lovely.

A peak through the telescope.

My/our favorite dog in the world, Rushka. He lives at Wolf's Burn guesthouse, but likes to go on adventures with us.
These may be just the foothills, but they are also a gorgeous sight.

Jesse in front of the Himalayas.

the international social scene

2008-06-23T08:32:00.000-07:00

Here are some of our lovely friends from Dan's language school and elsewhere. Our main interactions tend to revolve around food and more often than not during dinner parties whenever someone is leaving. Below is Andrea's Italian Farewell Dinner Party and, on a separate night, Eva's Mediterranian-themed Farewell Dinner Party. They were both very tasty.

Robert from Washington, Andrea from Italy, Yo from Washington, Eva from Germany and Kate from D.C.

Dan, Ian from England, and David from England enjoying dessert.

Laura from Paraguay, Nina from California, Robert, Andrea, Yo.

And Mediterranian night....

Kate and the ghost of Eva.

Ian and Eva making Moussaka

Hollian from England with bruschetta.

The Day We Almost Saw the Dalai Lama

2008-06-21T08:44:00.000-07:00

It was, in fact, another lama who came for the inauguration of a new Buddhist temple in Mussoorie, though there were rumors that the Dalai Lama himself was supposed to be there. We're pretty sure some people just got their Lamas confused. In any case, it was a neat view into Tibetan culture.

The view of the temple from above.

Tibetans waiting for the arrival of the Lama.

The path leading up to the temple.

Lots of Tibetans and a few curious Indians as well.

His holiness, Sakya Trizin (with the glasses), who is the 41st incarnation and the head of the Sakya sect of Tibetan Buddhism. Sakya is one of the four main Buddhist traditions (schools). (You can look this up on wikipedia.)

More temple

More Lama, with incense

The ceremony involved lots of chanting and occasional percussive instrument playing. Also sweet coconut rice and a salty beverage (I am told it was tea) were served to the entire crowd, perhaps 200-300 people. We sat next to a friendly Tibetan who told us a bit about Buddhism. Quite a nice experience all and all, even if there was no Dalai Lama.

Weekend trip to Surkhanda Devi Temple

2008-06-10T07:40:00.000-07:00

Some views of from my backyard in Landour, do you believe it?

To keep life interesting, Dan, Eva, a new friend from Germany, and I decided to take a trip to the Surkhanda Devi Temple, an hour or so drive from Mussoorie. The temple is located on top of a 10,000 ft. mountain and the climb up was at least half of the fun- 2 km as steep as you can go up to the top amidst a whole mass of pilgrims also climbing up or climbing down the narrow path.

Our adorable friend Eva, who's, like Dan, is taking classes at Landour Language School.

For the less agile pilgrims, horses and guides are available to make the steep climb.

Being at a height of 10,000 ft., one might imagine that there would be spectacular views. This is apparently true if you don't choose a day when the mountain is entirely enclosed in fog. We could barely see 20 ft. in front of us! But, it had a kind of spiritually mystical feel, I think.

Offerings of coconuts for the gods.

Ringing the bell to alert the gods to your worshipping presence.

A shrine to Shiva.

I don't know if this is a northern phenomenon (I never had this happen in the South), but Indians up here love to have their pictures taken with foreigners.

Upon arriving back in Mussoorie, we were pleased and surprised by a random parade of different schools' clubs:

The world is definitely mud-luscious at this point and time, and this balloon man, who is always about on weekends, sure makes me think of e.e. cummings.

Landour at sunset (taken from just above the bazaar)

Prelude to the Monsoon

2008-06-04T07:21:00.000-07:00

This weekend, our friend Esther came to Mussoorie to visit us because she has been unable to get a visa so that she can help out with the relief work in Bhurma. She and Dan met each other doing tsunami relief work together in the Andaman Islands. Now her plan is to spend 3 months in Bhurma, if the Bhurmese government ever lets her in.

Monkey watching.

The beautiful but naughty langur. They are shy monkeys, generally, but they do love to steal fruit from our landlord's garden.

Mussoorie is gearing up for the monsoon; it at least threatens rain just about every day. And sometimes a lot of fog rolls in as can be seen below. I have apparently come during the only period of good weather in Mussorie. The other ten months are either cool and damp or freezing, at least according to Indian comfort levels. But I still find the impending monsoon exciting, probably just because I've never experienced one before.

Our house in the fog. (I stole this picture from Dan.)

A cute old man in the traditional dress of the region on a sunnier day in Mussoorie.

My life in Mussoorie

2008-05-30T07:52:00.000-07:00

I'm settling into a routine of sorts here with my volunteering gig at Woodstock. After a tea-and- homemade/poor attempt at-chapatis breakfast, I make the 45 minute steep hike down the mountain to Woodstock's organic garden. After gardening for 3 hours (mostly a fun game of breaking up the VERY rocky soil), I hike back halfway up the hill to eat lunch in the cafeteria. Depending on a number of factors, I either hike 15 minutes through the woods (also uphill) to Woodstock's environmental center to work on bulletin board displays, or hike halfway down the mountain again and spend a few more hours at the farm. One thing is certain, I am building some serious muscle.

The farm with its many terraces. Beautiful, eh?

The forest path

I finish the day by hiking back up/down to Woodstock, where I meet my neighbor, Immu, who works in the Development Office. She is our landlord's wife, and for all I know the only Ethiopian woman India. I don't know how Dan and I got so lucky as to live next door to her. She's wonderful and has already had Dan and I over for bunna (coffee). I love her quite a bit. And we always make the walk(definitely a stroll) home from school together.

Immu, all decked out in her Ethiopian finest for end of school year celebrations.

Our Crazy Trip to Nainital

2008-05-27T08:17:00.000-07:00

This weekend we took a trip to see our friend Esther at a (Christian) Ashram in Nainital. It was a lovely time, although much too brief. It took us about a 14 hour commute each way, leaving us with just a day and a half with Esther.

Esther (on the right) with her parents and sister, Ruth.

The Ashram was in a remote and beautiful place, with green mountain lakes and lots of jungle. Nainital is still in Uttrakhand (same state as Mussoorie), but it still took us a 10+ hour train ride to get there. India is a big, big place; there is no doubt about it. Nainital is so far north that we were nearly in Nepal.

Shortly before we left, Esther's friend, Samson took us to the orphanage that he works at, which was kind of neat. The kids were pretty adorable and seemed happy.

Our trip back to Mussoorie was kind of insane. Dan and I don't actually know how we made it back in time for his Monday classes. First of all, I was really sick. I had a horrendous case of what Indians politely refer to as "lose motion". I had a 2 hour bus ride to survive before we boarded the train (with its blessed and easily accessible bathrooms). It was just our luck (no, really!) that it monsooned on us and we got stuck with a whole ton of other traffic behind a mudslide. The good news is that the mudslide and stopped bus coincided nicely with the worst of my illness and a very nice patch of overgrown jungle. I definitely would not have made it otherwise. After the downpour had stopped and just about the time I was done being awfully sick, some motorcycles and cars started driving over the landslide and eventually our bus was also successful in crossing the obstruction (Dan and I waited for the bus on the other side just to be safe).

The rest of our journey went pretty smoothly, except for 2 little kids that upchucked during our twisty ride down the mountain. We made it to the train station in time for me to be sick some more, somehow got moved from Waitlisted train tickets to each having our own bunk, and reached our stop at about dawn on Monday morning.

Sleeping on the upper bunk of a Sleeper Class train. Riding the train overnight was a first, and a pretty enjoyable way to travel.

2008-05-20T08:01:00.000-07:00

Fossilized waves from when rock that now comprises the Himalayas was under the ocean.

After having a week to recuperate from my bout with a parasite, I decided enough hard-core vacationing and time to find a volunteering gig. I'm now spending time on Woodstock's campus, mostly at their environmental center. Tomorrow I will start working at their organic farm, I think. The two workers on the farm only speak Hindi, and I definitely only speak English, so tomorrow might be a game of charades and a little transplanting along with. We'll see.

Here are some pictures from a geology field trip that I got to go on with the first and second grade classes.

This is the shrub from which Mussoorie gets its name, the Mansur shrub. Its small purple berries are edible and taste sweet.

These are the fossilized trails of prehistoric sea creatures called trilobites. This is a rare and important geologic finding. The fossils will probably disappear as the rock erodes over the next decade.

2008-05-12T07:28:00.000-07:00

Pictures from a weekend of exploration in Mussoorie/Landour. Enjoy!

Landour with its clocktower

The Mall, the main stretch in Mussoorie, was all decked out in streamers this weekend for some Hindu holiday (not sure which one).

Pausing in our climb up the mountain to rehydrate.

Mmm a juice stand.

Traffic going up and down the mountain along the narrow road/walkway/market/

storefronts is insane. We try not to get run over.

Walking around the less-traveled side of the mountain in Mussoorie (and pausing to admire a cemetery).

Looking down on Landour.

A clothing shop in Landour.

Looking back on the mountain road we hike up every time we go into town (the guesthouse is 4-5 kms up the mountain from Mussoorie).

Probably the reason I came to India. I love fruit! It is definitely worth lugging up the mountain.

2008-05-08T08:17:00.000-07:00

Some of you were asking and, yes, I've got an address in Mussoorie for the next month:

---------------------------------

Adrienne Landis

C/O Mr. V. Uniyal

Wolf's Burn, Landour Cantt.

Mussoorie, Uttaranchal 248179

INDIA

My new home in Mussoorie

2008-05-07T07:45:00.000-07:00

Here she is, Mussoorie, the 'Queen of hill stations'

My new house in the town of Landour "the Crown of the Queen",

it's a 5 km hike up from the main drag in Mussoorie

Dan and I are getting situated in our mountain paradise, Mussoorie, a 6-hour train ride northeast from Delhi. Well, almost paradise. We are lacking hammocks and monkeys to peel our bananas. But it's a pretty grand setup nonetheless. The only drawback is that anywhere we want to go is a VERY steep climb down the mountain. Or maybe a bonus, I for one have done entirely too much sitting around and trying not to sweat too much the past month or so.

We've been here for less than a week and Dan has already started his language classes. I am still figuring out what I want to do, if anything, and working on getting well. It seems maybe I'm not completely immune to all illness. I fell sick the instant I left Delhi and have self-diagnosed, thinking myself to be infected with giardia, a rather unpleasant parasite. Luckily, drugs in India are extremely inexpensive, so I've got some medication that should get me back up to snuff at less than 1% of the cost in the States. I was impressed, anyway.

In the pines, in the pines..... The pine-scented, cool mountain air cannot be matched.

Note especially the Tibetan prayer flags. I'm pretty sure there are Tibetans around this area as well as plenty of hippies to account for the prayer flags we've seen flying everywhere.

If it hasn't quite come across yet, I'm pretty excited about my new location. Dan and I have been taking some time to explore some areas near our hilltop home, but we have yet to go all the way down through Mussoorie. Mussoorie is known as a vacation spot for both tourists and Indians as well as a for it's good schools. Landour Language School, where Dan goes, gives some of the best Hindi instruction in the country, and Woodstock, is a premier international K-12 school in this region of the world. There's a lot of culture here-- Indian, Asian, international-- which translates into a lot of neat shops and restaurants that I'm pretty pumped to try out. Oh, and the guest house where we are staying has a full kitchen, which means I get to cook again! And to buy delectable fresh produce from down the mountain.

As if it weren't enough, May is the start of mango season. Between fresh mangoes and banana lasse's (banana yogurt shakes), I'm pretty much in heaven.

The view from Landour. The round building is part of Woodstock School.

Sick of hilltop views yet? I'm obviously not!

some pretty sweet views of delhi

2008-05-05T06:15:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos from Delhi. If this does not suffice, you should probably check out www.danshetler.blogspot.com to get the other half of the story (and photos).

Dan and I in front of the Lotus Temple (a Bahai place of worship).

The Qutb Minar- Mogul ruins from as early as the 12th century.

Delhi traffic

The Covered Bazaar leading into the Red Fort, Old Delhi.

Inside the Red Fort (wonder where it gets its name?)

Some impresseive Mogul ornamentation inside the Red Fort.

Jamma Masjid, "Friday Mosque", Old Delhi.

A crowded street, Old Delhi.

New Delhi, in part

2008-05-02T06:23:00.000-07:00

My trip to the North when even better than I could have expected. As it turns out, trains in India are super comfortable for sleeping (at least the AC sections) and for watching the countryside pass by. I was nervous about getting stuff stolen, but I was lucky enough to have some very kind and trustworthy roommates. And being a foreigner and a woman traveling all by myself, I was treated to everything (food, tea, water) by the business men riding in my compartment. Not a bad deal.

And Delhi is very different from the other views of India I've gotten. It's fast-paced, full of traffic and includes the whole range of slums to ritzy 5-star hotels. I had a fabulous time and successfully met up with my friend Dan and his co-worker, Esther, who showed us an incredible time and tirelessly guided us around, cooked for us and put us up. We took about a million photos, but I'll post them another day. For now, this will have to do.

A colorful shop at a Delhi market (With thanks to Dan for the photo).

Esther and a man hand-stitching a Kashmiri cloth. It will take him 2 MONTHS!! to complete this piece, if he works at it full-time. We didn't ask the price, but I can imagine it costs a pretty penny.

my perilous journey to Kodai

2008-04-26T01:16:00.000-07:00

I have had such a wonderful stay in this city. The Varughese's have shown me a wonderful time including a tour of all the tourist hot spots and a 3 hour hike to a beautiful rocky overlook. (Pictures will be coming later.)

Beautiful, green Kodai mountainside.

Dolphin's Nose, the destination of our hike.

Sitting at a safe distance, there were sheer drop-offs, with George and Kalyan

A friendly puppy that showed us around.

I am so thankful that I was able to make this quick visit. It almost didn't happen. I was a little nervous about traveling to this spot by myself, but I just went for it. I new I'd have to ride 3-4 buses to reach Kodai from Sellipatti and have to change from bus to bus being completely illiterate (in Tamil). Luckily, all of the bus drivers/staff were very patient and extremely helpful to me. All went well until we reached Madurai (major city of 1 million). Before our bus reached my stop, all of the passengers were made to exit. I followed one man who was going to the same bus station I was, and found out from him and some other passengers that there was a city-wide bus strike. No buses would be heading to Kodai that day.

So, what's one to do? I called up my the Varughese's and they advised me to take a taxi for the last leg (120+ km) to Kodai. This was depressing both environmentally and monetarily, but what is one to do when the buses stop running? And the taxi service took full advantage of the situation (me being a foreigner and the bus strike) and charged me 1 1/2 times the normal taxi amount. It could have been worse. I used my almost nonexistent bargaining skills to knock off a couple hundred rupees, but still ended up paying a large sum. But I was very relieved to have a kind enough taxi driver and arrive in one piece (no small accomplishment considering the extremely narrow and curvy two-way road that we drove on very fast the whole way to the top of the mountain!!). But the driver sounded his horn going around the curves and I managed to control my car sickness, and we had a good trip to the top.

I'll be interested to see how my next solo journey by train to Delhi will go. This will be my first train experience in India and I'm excited (and a little nervous). I'll write again once I reach the North!

And first look at Kodai

2008-04-25T06:55:00.000-07:00

I'm up in the clouds!

Kodai Lake

O glorious, mountainous hill station that it is. I have forgotten what it is like to be cold and to not be sweating 24/7. This is a very welcome change! In Sellipatti, the weather reached 100 F or above with 3,000 percent humidity besides. Here in Kodaikanal, it gets up to 80 at most and lows of a chilly 65 F. I have to sleep with blankets; what a novelty!

I am staying with the Varughese family, who I connected with through my good friend, Laura. I have had a wonderful visit so far. My hosts, George and Gigi, have been incredibly kind and hospitable. They have been making me feel quite at home. I wish I could stay longer already! The Varughese's are from the state of Kerala originally, which means I've been eating some amazing Keralan food, including lots of curries, chicken and coconut. Gigi's a fabulous cook!

Gigi and her two children, Roopan and Kalyan.

Pilgrim's rock. There's a tiny cross placed by a pilgrim at the top of the rocky peak at the left. You'd probably need a magnifying glass to see it, though.

A Last Look At Sellipatti

2008-04-25T05:13:00.000-07:00

Here it goes. A ton of pictures for you.....

My house in Sellipatti. The bowl-shaped mortar (minus the pestle) closest to the front is kind of a community resource. There were many different women from are street coming over to grind various food items in it. I love village interdependence!

My street from the doorway to my house.

A beautiful old woman. Some of the villagers told me to take her pictures, so I did. She didn't seem to mind.

Kandasamy and I in the front entryway of the house and a two-wheeler that I sometimes rode on the back of.

A friend, Isvolea (or something similar-sounding) and my favorite baby, Achina. This was Achina's typical style of dress- no clothes but TONS of jewelry.

Flowers are high fashion in South India. My mother would "stitch" them together and pin them in my hair for me on most mornings.

A beautiful crane-like bird with a banana plantation in the background. Just down the road from the village.

Planting sunflower seeds. This was clearly a job for the 65 and older crowd. My host grandmother is the woman in the front.

My host sister, Sankari, rolling paper tubes that will eventually be filled with gunpowder at the firecracker factory. She gets 1 rupee (2 1/2 cents) for every 100 she rolls. But it's something to do during the hot summer vacation.

This woman wanted me to take a picture of her hair. She kept making praying motions and looking toward the sky, so I think her dreads must be some expression of her Hindu faith.

Brinjal growing.

A natural pharmacist friend invited me to celebrate the anniversary of his father's death. This involved a priest giving puja's (some sort of ritualistic prayers) and then a feast with the whole family. It was a neat experience to take part in.

The priest standing in front of God and doing his thing.

On the day of my departure with my host mother, Jeyanthi, and Sankari.

Traveling, present and future

2008-04-19T22:30:00.000-07:00

Here we are preparing supper. They wanted me to cook something for them, so we made groundnut stew with fresh coconut, banana and pineapple on top. I thought it was really good. My family thought it was interesting. They ate it anyway.

So, you can see I'm still here. I've found that it takes close to 1/2 an hour to upload pictures from the nearby town of Thiruvengadam. I am only posting limited pictures for now. When I get to a bigger city, I'll post more again. I'll try to be more descriptive in the meantime.

I've just returned from a trip to the big city of Madurai about 100 km away from my village (a 3 and 1/2 hour bus ride). I was able to visit the Association of Arulagam, a hostile for exploited/abused women and their children. It was an incredible experience. I was very impressed and encouraged to see the 35 or so women seeming cheerful and purposeful in their life at Arulagam. And I was super depressed and disgusted to hear some of the stories (from the staff) of women who have been through Arulagam. Let's just say that wife beating is widely socially acceptable, and wife suicides are widespread as well.

But, these women that I met, will have a good shot at a new life. At Arulagam, they are taught skills such as weaving, basketmaking, etc. that can help them to find jobs after leaving the hostile. Several of the women were also illiterate upon arrival, and they are now in literacy classes.

To have heard a little of what these women have gone through and to see how kind and friendly they were to me was extremely humbling. At Arulagam they refer to each other as 'Sister'. They were constantly checking in with me: "Sister, have you eaten....Sister, are you happy?" It was very sweet.

I am planning to volunteer with Arulagam for my last month or so in India. I am pretty excited about it.

Next week I leave for a short visit in the hill station of Kodai (think cool weather!!) and then onto Delhi by train (a 2 day journey). I plan to spend the hottest month of the year in India, May, in the hilly city of Mussoorie visiting my friend Dan Shetler, who is doing a 3-year Mennonite Central Committee service term.

Swinging from a Banyan Tree near the village.

I am excited about my travels, but I will also be sad to leave Sellipatti and my friends there. I will probably also miss the quiet, unpolluted, community-based village life.

And again

2008-04-13T00:20:00.000-07:00

Another funeral. Unbelievable! This time there was much less pomp. There were firecrackers at the celebration, but not the drums, etc. as in the last funeral. Apparently, it was the out-of-towners that insisted on all the razzle-dazzle of the last funeral. The deceased this time was a 70-ish year old woman who was jaundiced and had asthma. The villagers new she her death was imminent for a while. And yeah, it was the same sort of thing. A lot of people came to the funeral and to visit my host family (and stare in amazement at me).

The exciting part of this funeral was that the funeral procession went right by our door. The preparation for the event included adding a powder that smelled like chlorine to the sewer running the whole length of our street, sprinkling ash around the doorways to prevent disease from entering, and lots of loud firecrackers. In the actually procession flowers were strewn about and a bunch of men carried the body on an open stretcher to the burial grounds. I noticed that the dead woman's mouth was bound. Kandasamy tells me this was to prevent the spread of bacteria.

Yesterday, I also got to explore some nearby temples(within 20-30 kms), including an "underground" Jain temple carved out of one piece of rock. I have some pretty incredible pictures that I'll post when I have the capability.

Birth and Death and Everything In-between

2008-04-09T22:45:00.000-07:00

It seems that my stay here has been quite eventful. Power outages continue to happen frequently. My host, Kandasamy, says that they have been unusual until this year. He also told me that the power cuts out every time there is lightening. This makes more sense. We have storms most evenings (some more forceful than others) and loss of electricity about as frequently. I don't mind at all. I'm particularly fond of thunderstorms and candlelight. Power outages are an event!

The sister-in-law of Jeyanthi, my host mother, recently gave birth to a baby girl. Kandasamy and I happened to be in the much larger town nearby, while she was in labor. I didn't actually get to see the baby (I didn't want to intrude and wasn't specifically invited into the hospital room), but I spent some time waiting outside with other relatives. I don't know if Jeyanthi's brother and sister-in-law actually live in our village or in the town where the hospital is located or somewhere else, but a bunch of people traveled from my village to visit the family in the hospital.

And, yesterday, the funeral of Kandasamy's primary school teacher was celebrated. And I say celebrated, because it was pretty much a village-wide party. In rural areas, such as Sellipatti, everyone in a village takes off of work for a funeral. It's basically a holiday. Hundreds of relatives from the outside come to town and everyone joins in the festivities. I witnessed a performance of singing and dancing involving 4 male actors. Well, or maybe 2 males and 2 transvestites; they were men dressed as women in any case. I wish I could have taken pictures, but it wasn't appropriate. Anyhow, these people accompanied by several drummers and a horn player sang and danced and performed to express the sorrow the family must feel, except the atmosphere and dancing were upbeat. I don't know if all funerals are like this one. Perhaps if it had been someone other than a seventy-something year old man that had died, the mood would be more somber.

In addition to crossdressing, drumming and dancing, there were also firecrackers and a parade (funeral procession) with the body carried and completely enclosed in colorful and shiny ornamentation, much like a parade float. If this is a funeral, I can only begin to image what weddings must be like! Oh, and Kandasamy says this is the first death in the village in the last 10 or 12 years, so now I feel lucky or honored or something to have been able to witness such a happening.

The funeral procession was apparently going to "burial grounds" where the body would be burned. The teacher, was the first son in the family, so his body must be burned. Apparently, the second or third child can be buried, but the first must be cremated. Kandasamy also said that the brains of the first child are removed and used by "magicians". I don't know exactly what any of this means, but it is fascinating to be sure! I will have to look into Hindu burial practices to figure such things out.

You knew it was coming....

2008-04-07T02:45:00.000-07:00

An ode to food. Let it be said that South Indian food is pretty fantastic. Here are some pictures to prove it: Chilies and lentils drying at my house; idli (rice cakes) and coconut chuntney; and brinjal being sorted.

I also particularly love dosas which are rice/lentil creations poured into a thin batter and fried. They are very similar in composition to Ethiopian injera, and eating them makes me feel right at home. My family, because they are Hindu, eat primarily vegetarian food. But today is a holiday, so we had chicken curry for lunch. Excellent and very spicy!!

I am still helping to pick brinjal and occasionally following Kandasamy on business and other friends around town. I am learning a lot about his organization A.C.T.-- Ambiha(sp?) Charitable Trust-- of which he is a director. So far they've provided free medical care for the community (the eye camp is an example) some AIDS education, organic farming, support for an orphanage and I'm not sure what else. Kandasamy hopes to get foreign funding to start an caring facility for "orphaned" elderly people. I am not really sure how all of this is accomplished largely by one person. Pretty impressive.

Okay, more pictures. First, is Ajith a neighbor boy and close friend to the family posing for the camera. Second, a bunch of neighborhood kids in front of the town's temple. Last, the views of my town from the town's water tower. I climbed all the way up the ladder barefoot (ouch!) and attracted some attention and suppressed laughter, if you can imagine.

After Nearly One Week...

2008-04-03T23:28:00.000-07:00

in my village of Sellipati, there's a lot to recall. I've had the priviledge to participate in several activities. Nearly every day, I wake up before 6am and pick brinjal with one or two other members of my host family. The brinjal is less exciting than the big, purple vegetables I am used to, but I have made an important discovery. The brinjal is white, oblong and remarkably similar in appearance to eggs. No wonder it is called eggplant!

On Sunday we conducted the eye camp for people for 20 or so surrounding villages at the nearby government secondary school. I served as unofficial photographer, ambassador from the U.S., Very Important Foreigner and as an American participant in the eye camp. Apparently the eye camp was expecially for old persons, the oldest participant being 96 and still getting about on his own. Amazing! I have some really great pictures, but I think it is beyond this computer's ablilty or the browsers's ability to post them. I also got a lovely tour around the school compound with a few of the students. We visited two temples (chapals [shoes] off, pigment dotting forehead) and peered into the inner rooms.

Though the humidity here is very oppressive, we've been lucky enough to also have some rain (and reprieve from the heat) accompanying it. It rains most evenings at least briefly and cools the air for a time.

My host family has been extremely kind. They continue to make sure I have the best of everything- the best bucket for picking brinjal, the best teacup, etc. etc. They've also taken to stringing night-blooming lilies and pinning them in my hair. Really very sweet and I smell good for once!

Today is the first day that I'm venturing out into the town by myself. I was dropped off here, but I will walk myself home in an hour or two. I think with the few trips that I made here I can do it without getting lost. And hopefully I will be able to travel here more frequently than before. We'll see how it goes.

I've been enjoying myself greatly in our little neighborhood. I rarely leave the house, but the neighborhood usually ends up coming to me/us. I think my house must be a gathering place for a lot of the village. Women often come by to use our large mortar and pestle or to visit and meet me (often staring, smiling and some speaking in Tamil that I don't understand). Once, when the power went out for a couple of hours (this has happened a few times since I've been here), a group of people gathered around our two LED lamps to chat or prepare food. Women and children often bring the smallest children to see what reaction they will have upon seeing me. I am the first white person they've ever seen. They probably don't even know that white people exist. Needless to say, I still often incite tears or at least suspicious looks. But finally, yesterday, the most beautiful baby I've ever seen let me play with her and hold her. It only took 5 exposures for her to get used to me. Actually I think she was attracted to my camera, but I'll take whatever love I can get. Especially from her- Achina.

Alright enough writing and still no pictures. I will try another internet cafe next time and see if I have any luck at posting.

Arrival in Tamil Nadu

2008-03-28T05:19:00.000-07:00

I have arrived at last: exhausted, but all in one piece. I flew into the city of Madurai and got picked up by Kandasamy, the farmer whose house I am staying at. I was feeling awake enough yesterday to visit the most famous temple in Madurai before we made our way to the village. The Sri Meenakshi Temple is also one of the most famous temples in all of India. The basic temple structure has been around some 2,000 years, though the structure seen today was constructed a mere 600 years ago. (This country sure has a long history!) The temple rooms were carved out of one piece of stone, one of which contains 100 colums picturing dieties and other figures- a truely incredible sight. The temple complex features 12 towers with an impossible number of carved and colorfully painted figures covering them.

I am living in a small town of 600 people in a house with 4-5 others. Kandasamy, his wife, Jeyanthi, his daughter, Sankari, Auntie Suganthie and possibly his son who I haven't been introduced to yet. Auntie doesn't speak English and my host mother and host sister speak just a little. Kandasamy is the only one that is fluent, but gestures and expressions get you pretty far. So far my interactions with the family and with people around town have been very good, with one exception. On the bus ride from Madurai to the village I sat down next to a woman and her little 2 yr old son. He took one look at me and started crying. He was incosolable for about 10 minutes until his mother moved to another seat. White people are scary! The news was soon passed around the bus and everyone found this very humorous. I'm glad I can be a source of amusement, if nothing else! A very memorable bus ride indeed.

I took some pictures of the temple, but I will wait until another time to see if have the technical ability to post them. Sorry.

So far I haven't done any farm work (they let me sleep in this morning) but perhaps I'll help pick brinjal (eggplant) tomorrow.

2008-03-25T06:22:00.000-07:00

I fly out of Chicago this afternoon and have 2+ days of travel ahead of me. If all goes well, I should arrive in my destination Madurai on March 27th in the afternoon . I'll be spending my first 4 weeks on a farm 100 km southwest, I believe, in the extreme southeastern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. I think I'm in denial that this might really be happening, but I'll be sure to let you all know when I come to terms with reality.

Thanks to you all for your support and advice thus far. I'll update again soon, I hope.