Shore Temples

Happy Pongal to one and all! Today marks the first day in the four day Indian Pongal celebration; a harvest festival centered around rice. We took a drive towards Pondicherry - I think that's East, to see a cultural preservation center that was having Pongal festivities. We got to walk through historical houses that were styled to represent the living style of different castes throughout Indian history. We walked through Brahman and Christian homes, and got to see old murals, artwork, kitchen tools, and architecture. There was a little outdoor market to walk through, and we saw a traditional - very colorful, dance. We also watched a woman break into coconuts and we got to drink the coconut water. I was not a fan, but I never really have been. It was a really neat place to explore. Before that, we made a pit stop at an alligator farm and walked through GIANT pits full of alligators. I think the biggest pit had 165 alligators. You can pay a few rupees to have them feed the alligators too. The gatekeeper would toss huge chunks of meat into the pits and they would jump at it. They started creeping towards the gate right when he brought out the bucket.

When we were done at the Pongal Celebration, we drove to several archaeological sites to view ancient temples. The first temple was right on the shore. We were able to look down the beach and breathe in that nice salty Bay of Bengal air. It was really pretty, and really weird to realize the ground we were standing on was submerged by tsunami waters a few years ago. The first temple we looked at actually, was uncovered a little bit more by the tsunami, and they were able to find another part of it that hadn't been excavated before. There were men selling conch shells there too - they jump at any opportunity to sell something. The temple was really pretty being right on the shore, and I think we got some good pictures. We drove down the road further, and saw another site - I have all the names written down, but I can't remember. It was five clustered structures. There were a lot of tourists, and I noticed when someone was taking a picture of me, that other people were taking the same picture. I wonder how many pictures people from around the world have pictures of us now. We also made another big hill climb - hoping to see monkeys - but only saw some goats. There was a flat rock at the top though that had an amazing tropical view, and another temple high at the top. Overall we had a really fun day - and got lots of sunshine! Today was pretty hot - about 85 and very humid. We are not looking forward to our weather shock when we get to Seattle. It feels like summer! :(

St. Thomas Mount + Snake Park + Shopping

Yesterday morning we set off to St. Thomas Mount to 'hike' to the church at the top. Basically, it is a mile walk up stone steps to the top. There are 185 steps, to represent the 185 steps Jesus took towards crucifixion; different signs along the path mark the points in Jesus' walk where he fell for the first time, where his face was wiped, and so on. We began our walk right as 2-300 uniformed school children began the hike because they were going to listen to a motivational speaker at the top. It is a beautiful walk, but I didn't spiritually get much out of it, because the speaker was blaring on the loudspeaker. The view of Chennai was awesome, even through the smog, and there were a lot of statues to take pictures with. There was also a church that held a lot of supposedly historical artifacts, like the bleeding stone of St. Thomas. We got the usual request to take a picture with us, and although we think taking group pictures with strangers is kind of fun, Vidya usually sends them away.

After we got back to the van, we went to the snake park. Much like a zoo, but way smaller. There were a lot of cool snakes and specimens in jars, and there were other reptiles too. We spotted a couple monkeys around the entrance, but they got too high in the trees before we got our cameras ready. Next door to the snake park is a wildlife park, and it makes Woodland Park Zoo look absolutely amazing. Zoo standards in other countries are very low. The monkey cage was very sad. We ran into another group of school children who told us that meeting us had been the highlight of their field trip. We are very popular, this has actually made me realize that I would hate to be famous. Because I don't think any of you who are reading this have any idea what it is liked to be stared at by dozens of people wherever you go, beggars rush over to you first, people ask for photographs, and alot of times you will look over and someone will be taking a picture of you. That sounds funny, but it is really tiresome. Sara said today, "It's stressful getting stared at!"

We left the snake park and went back to Niketana and had a little rest, in which we got some ice cream. We have been absolutely craaaaving ice cream. We see all these locals eating soft serve cones, and it feels like summer here. But we have been warned to stay away from cold dairy products, so we bought haagen daaz. But after we ate it, it said it had been packaged in Mumbai. Oh well, it was delicious and neither of us got sick. (Knock on wood). Then we went back to the first few shops we went to on our first day and went nuts. We all have a feel of what is offered elsewhere, and it is easier for us to convert rupees to dollars in our heads. That's all I will write about today since I am behind. More tomorrow!

Bollywood!

Today was another touristy relaxing day. We ate a little toast breakfast, and then set out for the Montessori school again, just to watch their Pongol Festival. Their festival was not great, their Kolum drawings were mostly done by the teachers and not painted correctly. Normally I wouldn't know the difference, but our perfect angels at TVS Academy taught us to do it the right way. So we watched their assembly, more than they watched it, and then we decided we would leave. We never felt welcomed at this school, and the children would not even wave or speak to us. We found out today that alot of these kids have celebrity/rich parents. So they are pretty bratty and don't care about education because they don't need it, they have money.

After that we had a little rest period and ate lunch; Indian egg-fried rice with tempura cauliflower in some sort of hot sauce, and then went to the mall to go to a really cool bangle shop. We picked out a bunch of sparkly bangles, and then we went to see our Bollywood movie. I was reluctant to this because I thought it would be boring, but it was so much fun! Granted, there were no subtitles; but Indian people speak with a lot of facial expression (thats partially why they get confused when we talk alot), so we followed the story line. I really want to own the movie! If you love a movie in another language that's really saying something. The actors were gorgeous. Maybe that's why I liked it. Anyways, the audience would hoot and holler when there was kissing, some people answered phones; but it didnt matter because they play movies really LOUD. And theres an intermission! Afterwards we went to a few more shops and called it a night. Now we are listening to Bollywood music! And I hope to get this movie in my easter basket. I'm a big Bollywood fan now! :)

Montessori?

Today was a sick day. We woke up late, and feeling crappy. We told Vidya we did not feel like interacting with kids because we didn't feel cheery, so she said we could leave early. Then we sickly ordered toast and omelets, but they heard the order wrong, so they brought us idly instead, and idly and sambar does not feel good when you have a cold. So anyways, we get to the school and we are split up to different classes and we cannot take pictures and we have to stay in one class the whole time so as not to 'disrupt' the students from their learning. The classes were totally free (Montessori), the kids ran around everywhere, and I can see how it would work for lower level students, but I don't think its that effective higher. A boy in my class threw up and then a girl walked through it. I guess that was the highlight of my day. The kids in the higher grades had no idea what they wanted to do - a rarity in the Indian school system; and they also disrespected the teacher. The kids are all really rich-- their fathers came to pick them up, their moms were decked out in western clothes, and there were even some white students. Needless to say, we do not want to go back. But we have to go back tomorrow to see their Pongol festival celebration. And we are all very sick so we got the rest of the day off. I will have a more exciting day tomorrow! Goodnight.

Views From Our Tour Bus

Lost in Bangalore - Home from Hosur

Okay I am combining two blog posts, but I will try to keep it short. I am back at Niketana now, so my blog schedule and picture uploading should get up to date. Yesterday was our touristy shopping day. We love visiting schools, but its nice to have a day that doesn't have a time schedule. We ended up driving into Bangalore to visit with Vidya's cousins family in their condo, and then we went into the city. First we wandered down a busy road to take pictures of a legislative building - it was huge and beautiful, but we couldn't get too close. We stopped and got some fresh guava from a street vendor for lunch, and took a few pics with some curious strangers. Thus begins the lost portion of our journey.

We walked through a few beautiful parks, got sugar cane juice from another vendor (delicious!), and tried not to get hit by cars. We ended up getting some rickshaws to take us to the commercial district of Bangalore. Our rickshaws were so close that Sara and I held hands from separate rickshaws. It's a real open air experience - we were at a stop light and a beggar came up on crutches and stood next to our vehicle for a few minutes staring at us. That's something that's hard to get used to for me, blatantly ignoring beggars. These are not like the homeless people that you are used to, and with our rickshaw being so open, we did not feel very comfortable. Our drivers ended up being affiliated with several clothing stores, and would not take us to the right location (its something you have to watch out for here in India), and we finally gave up. The whole trip ended up costing about a dollar. We walked into commercial street from our drop off point, and its completely hard to describe. I have no idea how to convey the complete chaos and volume of people that were crammed into one street. You have to keep your bags close and watch out for cars and bikes that are driving around you. I'll give you a pic to look at, but none of my pictures capture the magnitude of the street. It was a true Indian experience. And nothing helps clear your clogged sinuses than the suffocating smell of gasoline! We loved getting able to walk around on such a culturally different street- but were very happy to see our driver. We ended up just going back to our rooms and wrote in our journals and got room service.

Today we visited the TVS Academy again and were just as impressed as before. We got to sit in on more classrooms and spend more time talking to students. These children are such sweethearts. Everywhere we walk they invite us into their classrooms and wave. I visited a first year class who was learning to identify spices by using their senses, I talked with lots of students about their pictures they were drawing, we learned how to create 'kolum' with chalk, and we got to watch their Pongol festival celebration which starts this week. -- More on that later! When we left everyone asked if we were coming back tomorrow :( Then we made our trek back to Chennai! Which is where I am now. And very sick. We are just in love with all of our pictures, which I will be posting more of soon! Nighty night. (for me).

I'm Sick!

Blahhh I have a full blown cold. It has spread around our group because we keep trying each others food. And I left my Sudafed in Chennai, but Sara just gave me some. We woke up this morning around our typical 5AM, and the smog was just rising over Hosur. It is really pretty here though. Today we visited the TVS Academy, which is a private funded school and it was awesome. It has really pretty grounds, a large garden where they grow saplings, vegetables, and fruit (starfruit and pomegranate! -- we actually each got a starfruit, it was really sour), and property I can only describe as a wildlife preserve. I got sunburned and eaten alive walking through it, but it was pretty. The children are in school on saturday (older children), each doing a workshop in a different 'extra-curricular' area like art, music, or theatre. Their art studio was awesome, and the music was amazing too. Its a feat in itself that students are able to sit on mats for roughly four hours singing. This school really takes pride in raising well rounded students and it was a really awesome school. Indian school children are really smart and put alot of American students to shame. This school also had a library, which is rare in Indian schools. This school also places a significance on career aptitude, and they try and get kids to realize that they can achieve their goals without being doctors or engineers (which is what 98% of kids want to do).

After this visit, we rested, and then went up the hill to a 1000 year old temple to Shiva the destroyer. I am a little fuzzy on the details, because I am not well versed in Hindu, but I would really like to learn more. It was dusk-ish, so i took a few pics, but no pics in the temple. (not allowed). We went in and at each altar we were blessed by the temple priest, and given ash and red powder to put on our foreheads, and touched the offering flame.  Often we were given part of the offering like bay leaves or raisins. Towards the end of the temple, we were luck enough to witness a rare ceremony that includes transporting the idol (of Shiva or his wife?) through a golden chariot that we followed around the temple. We were also each given flower garlands to wear that had been offerings, which is a great blessing. Afterward we went to another temple to Vishnu, the protector. Haha we have many funny stories to share with that temple. Many mishaps due to us not knowing what we are doing throughout prayer. More on that later-- I'm too stuffy, and it will be boring without pictures.

We have all been talking a lot about how hard it will be to come back to the US, because no one knows what we have experienced except for us, and it will be hard to relate to a lot of things. Some things are even hard to tell, because you would really have to experience it to know what I am talking about. I'm not sure if that made sense.On a lighter note, the vanilla milkshakes we ordered are still sitting on their tray because we decided not to drink. It took forever to explain that we wanted them with no tap water, and I definitely found an ice cube in mine. Grr! It was yummy too. Guess I'll chew a pepto and call it a night!  I'm too tired I think. I will post some more pics tomorrow, we have a full day of shopping and sightseeing in Bangalore!