Mara and Kara Go To India

We would like to apologize for taking so long to update this blog. We finally got hooked up to the internet, but it is dial up and therefore painfully slow. We will try to update this at least once a week in the future.

We are now in Ayroor staying with our host family Sunny and Gracie, and they are the best host family that we could ask for. Gracie makes us lots of good food. We like the chapattis and perotas, and Mara enjoys the freshly squeezed pineapple juice every morning. Sunny is always looking out for us. He also split open some coconuts with a machete for us and showed us how to drink the coconut milk out of a straw. They took us shopping Monday evening to get churidars and saris. We will get a chance to wear our saris to a wedding of a family friend next week (we will be sure to take lots of pictures).

The first thing we noticed about India is the interesting wildlife. The first night in Ayroor Mara found a spider in the book shelf that was the size of her hand, and promptly named it Big Daddy. After Big Daddy met its demise through our broom-wielding driver Kochiman, we found Big Daddy Number Two on our dinning room table feasting on plantains. It was bigger and hairier than its deceased predecessor; we believe it to be a different species. Big Daddy Number Two lived in Kara’s bathroom for a few days and has since vanished. Needless to say, we are constantly on the lookout for it’s inevitable return. Also, Alfred Hitchcock must have taken his inspiration for his story “The Birds” from the crows here. They are large, loud and aggressive. We have developed a fear of being murdered by birds… birdered. Mara slept on the coach one night after a cockroach disappeared into the folds of her bed. As far as plant life goes, our host family utilizes the coconut, jack fruit, black pepper, curry, chili, papaya, and plantains that all grow around the house.

We were fortunate enough to participate in a procession organized by our host family’s church for it’s 97th anniversary. The procession included, but was not limited to:
-half naked tribal drummers with choreographed dance moves
-a rag tag band consisting of clarinets, pipes, flutes, some brass, and several bass drums.
-a jeep, affectionately dubbed “The Holy Roller” by Mara, tricked out with Christmas lights (the multi-colored blinking kind), photos of Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and St. Ignacious, several speakers blaring out all of your favorite Eastern Orthodox hits, and a generator.
-a string of lights powered by the Holy Roller’s generator. Not only were these lights the long fluorescent tube kind usually reserved for use above ceiling tiles, each one was supported by a man carrying it upright tied onto a stick/pole, and were strung together with electrical wiring. We were further impressed to witness a mid-procession light bulb change without the light holder missing a beat.
As we marched along side the drummers, we held candles that went out frequently and when lit melted hot wax onto our hands and clothes. We passed many driveways decorated with a shrine to Jesus or the Holy Mary. At each of these driveways a priest would bless the family around the shrine using an enormous gold cross. Oh, and there were fireworks.

We began the school program on Monday and it has turned out to be an absolutely insane situation. We spend a lot of time with the kindergarteners which is nice because the teacher lets us get involved, but doesn’t completely strand us with the students (who don’t actually know English) like some of the other teachers seem to think is appropriate. That is, when we even see the teachers. Where are the teachers? Most of the classes we go to have a “free period” or “physical training,” both of which are code for “no teacher.” So it ends up being us in a room full of screaming 2nd standards who steal our purses, or us with 8th standards who try to teach us bad Malayalam words. And no matter what, wherever we go in the school a crowd of screaming children surround us calling “Miss, Miss” and asking us curious questions like “what is your mobile number?” or “what is you grandmother’s name?”

Our practicum at the Pushpigari Hospital is different but no less bizarre. On our first day, we were kidnapped by a lonely nun who took us out to lunch and then to her convent. The day ended with a different nun forcing male nurses to teach us Malayalam while she laughed at us. Today, we attempted to interact with several of the patients who also laughed at our Malayalam attempts. And it turns out the nun who laughed at us is actually very nice. She can also do a fantastic German accent in her broken Malayalam/English. Each day at the hospital ends with us taking a walk to the bus station (we are supervised by a reluctant nurse each time) and put on a bus to make the hour long journey home. But this is no ordinary bus ride. Remember playing sardines as a kid? Take that game, multiply it by ten and hurl it down hilly roads at high rates of speed. Kara was forced to lean out the window for part of the ride today.

The bus rides are almost as entertaining as when we travel in a cab with our personal driver Kochiman. He drives just as crazy as everyone else on the road but he does it 3 times faster. We asked him if there were any driving laws and he said “they’re more suggestions.”

Let’s see… what kind of other zany little adventures have we had?
-Both of us shower by using a cup to draw water from a bucket and pouring it over our heads. Oh, and there is no hot water. Actually, there is rarely water in the taps at all. Flushing the toilet is a game of chance.
-Sunny and Gracie have three dogs, one of which sounds like a cow or dinosaur and frequently escapes to come dig in our garbage.
-Kara almost fainted when she learned of an upcoming carbon sequestration project to take place in the general area.
-We found out that the peanut butter crackers that sustained us the first few days here are being recalled due to a salmonella outbreak. Whoops!
That’s all for now; hope everyone is enjoying the Michigan weather! –Mara and Kara