Jan 07

Our last day in India. It's been an extraordinary experience and there is much that we will miss about this country.

We had hoped that this trip would offer the kids a broader perspective from which to think about and assess their own culture, prioirities, expectations, needs and wants. I think we have all been challenged on some level to think about what's most important in life. Travelling is good for the soul.

In Tamil, when you take leave of someone, you say "Varanaanga," which means "I will return." Varnaanga India.

And now, what you've all been waiting for... A few words from the OTHER members of the family...

From Arden:
There’s not much to say, my mom has summed it up pretty well. It’s crazy that were leaving tomorrow. I wish I could wrap my arms around India and hug it good bye, but that’s not going to happen so instead I’ll let it know I had a fantastic time and the people here are amazing.

This really was a great experience and I’m so thankful to have parents like mine. I know that if I wasn’t missing everyone so much I could stay another month, or even more! It really is beautiful here, and I can’t get enough of it. This has been one of the best months of my life.

Thank you India!!

From Grady:
This has been one the best experiences in my life. I am so glad that I am lucky enough to have the opportunity to travel to another country. I have no regrets about missing school or anything like that because I think that travelling is the best way to learn. Compared to my mom I am a horrible writer so I don't think I am going to say much in terms of the sights and smells and sounds...
she's got that covered. I will say that whenever I have another chance to travel overseas again I will take it immediatly!

At first I wanted to spend our last two weeks of travel time just cramming in as many sights as possible and traveling as far as we could. I quickly realized that this is not the way to travel. You learn so much just by observing and walking around on the streets and if you are constantly on the move there is no time for that. I loved talking to the kids and just watching people do their daily routines on the streets.

At the orphanage and outside of Kerala this trip really made me realize how lucky I am to have been born in Canada. There are so many kids here my age who have already completely matured and are working to support their family. The fact that people like us in Canada have enough money to just come here for our pleasure and some of the people here can hardly feed their family is quite a
shock.

All in all this was an amazing experience and I am so glad I got to come here and see all these things first hand. For me, reading about the less fortunate and seeing those world aid commercials didn't do much. For it to really effect you I think you need to see these things for yourself. I would encourage anyone who took even a slight interest in our trip and blog to come and see India for
themselves. It's a great country and I loved every bit of it.

From Chris:
Hello friends and family,

Chris here - the writing standard of the blog is about to drop significantly, since the rest of the family is kicking in...

It's our last day here, and the time has flown by. People here live very close to the earth - it reminds me a lot of growing up on the farm - things aren't thrown away, and things function at an individual vs. agency or state level with plants, animals, and the poor and the old and the sick taken care of by the people around them. The garbage that piles up everywhere at the end of the day is swept clean early the next morning. People have jobs to do, but it seems that nobody works too hard - I rarely saw anybody get dirty or sweaty, even doing very physical labor (okay, that part didn't remind me of the farm).

I've loved the sights here. No ride or walk is lacking in interesting things to look at (or sounds to hear). At least a dozen times a day, I wish that I had a photo memory (or sound bite) of something I saw - the architecture, the vehicles, the animals, the people, the businesses, the homes, the countryside - it all is so different from our world at home (though the poverty is overwhelming at times).

I've loved the food here - we all have, but I think I've loved even more than Elizabeth, Grady and Arden. I'm always wanting to try a new restaurant and a new dish, whether I've read about it or seen it or not, and I've rarely been disappointed. We didn't try as many sweets as I thought we would, but that's probably okay. I'm curious to see if I've gained or lost any weight in my month here. Grady cracked us all up after a week or two when he sniffed his armpit and said, "My pits smell like curry, not sweat!" One thing I won't miss is the general lack of refrigeration, and I must say that the difference from how we prepare food in the West takes you aback at times.

I've loved the people here too. Everywhere we've been, the young, the old, men, women and children, whether alone or in groups, the people have generally REALLY watched us (and vice versa), and often, they've wanted to communicate or connect with us, even if it was just a "Hello!" or a "Hi!" - their eyes would lock with ours, and the smiles would be very wide from them and us. It felt very ntense - like being in an audition all day - people wanted to be
noticed and remembered, and wanted to learn about us and our life so far away (though the constant flow of people wanting to sell you something - a product, a mode of transportation, their services - can wear you out at times).

I've also really loved being here with my wee family. Grady and Arden are at an age where we don't see a lot of them when we're at home, so this trip has been great just to spend time with them, as well as seeing another part of the world. Their friends back home take up a lot of their time, which is fine, but they've been so great to travel with - easy-going, adaptable, patient, and open to experiences and learning large and small. And Elizabeth has all of
those qualities as well, and many more (maybe that's where they got it). I feel blessed travelling with her - through India and through life. Now if we can only figure out how to pay off this trip so that we can save for Paris this summer... In July it'll be 20 years of wedded bliss (at least it's been bliss for me).

Thanks for reading our blog and seeing our pictures!

Chris

One more quick note from E:
Part of the fun of travelling is sharing your experiences with others. Thank you for being our companions on this journey. See you soon. xoE

The Softer Side of India
Kerala (where we've spent most of our time) is unlike the rest of India. Its population is better off economically and the government (which is communist) places great importance on primary education. For this reason, we haven't been exposed to the level of poverty and homelessness that you would see in some of the bigger northern cities. (Mumbai alone has one million homeless - imagine, the whole city of Calgary living on the streets!). The rural regions are a different story, though. The farmers here have been hit hard by unjust genetic patenting practices and the World Bank's self-serving demands. Many farmers have committed suicide in their fields in a last act of defiance and desperation. Travelling through rural and remote regions by bus a few days ago, we saw another side of India. Listless and malnourished children. A few people begging for food when the bus stopped to take on more passengers.

Waste Management
It's amazing to think that, in a country of over one billion people, there is no public waste management system. Garbage is dumped on the street where it is picked through many times over - first by the cows, goats, dogs and rats who feed off of it. Then by the Dalit ("untouchables") who pick through for whatever can be salvaged - and in this country, that's almost everything. Nothing is wasted here.

u]PDA[/u]
There's no PDA here (that's Public Display of Affection for those of you who didn't go to church camp) - at least not between men and women. Young men are very affectionate with one another - walking hand in hand, sitting cradled in one another's arms. Coming from a culture where homosexual men often do not feel comfortable showing affection in public, it still feels strange to see men walking arm in arm.

Time
Time is measured in smaller units here (as is everything else). Because most people don't have refrigerators, food must be purchased on a daily basis. Water has to be fetched from the community tap. Rickshaw and taxi drivers have little money so their tanks are always on "E". When we went from Podanur to the train station, the car was signalling that it was low on gas. The driver stopped and got just enough to get us into Coimbatore. By the time we were approaching the train station about 25 minutes later, the needle was on empty again and the car was signalling that it was low on gas... Very little is automated here. Laundry is done by hand - beaten against large rocks. Life is really lived day to day for most people here. Sometimes I think about all the time that we have available to us, all the conveniences that free us up, and I marvel at how prodigal we are with our time. We take so much for granted.

Mutual Fascination
We can people watch for hours here without ever getting bored. Similarly, they seem endlessly fascinated by us. Crowds gather when we stop sometimes. People sneak photos of us on their cell phones. (We, of course, are sneaking photos of them as well). As we sit waiting at train stations, they watch our every move. It's a little unsettling at times, but still preferable to being in places that are satuarated with westerners, where everything is tailored to tourists.

Rock Stars
We are sometimes accorded a status here that makes us feel a little uncomfortable. This goes well beyond the mutual fascination described above. Women thrust their children and babies at us and are thrilled when we smile at them or say hello. People approach us to shake our hands. Those who know some English ask "You are coming from?" and "What is your good name?" People yell "Hello! Hello!" as we go speeding past in buses. And they invite us into their homes - I can't imagine anyone doing this with a stranger in Canada. Perhaps the oddest thing, though, is that they want their picture taken with us. Yesterday we were at the palace in Mysore and there were many Indian tourists with cameras. We were approached by five different groups of people who asked if we would pose for a picture with them (then they fight over who will stand next to us).

Reading
Despite having the highest literacy rate in India (91%), Kerala has very few readers. I have yet to see anyone reading a book or magazine. (You do see the occasional newspaper being read). There are also no book shops. We came across a "Stationary and Book Stall" but when we went in the "books" were all notebooks. (We did see one for tourists at Fort Cochin, but that was it). It makes me wonder what they draw on when they're formulating their idea of the world and their place within it.

[
Questions
In answer to some of your questions:

Why isn't Chris writing on the blog? Chris wrote a huge entry while we were still at FFC, but the power failed (as it often did) and he hadn't saved a backup. After that, he decided he'd tell his stories in person when he's home. (He's also been doing all of the photo uploads - so his time on the internet has been taken up with that).

The British Airways Strike We just found out that they have agreed to delay the first day of action - it is now scheduled for the 30th, so we'll just make it out on the 29th.

The climb I should have explained that I didn't realize we were climbing a huge dry waterfall. NOthing was said as we set out and I thought it was just a bit of a climb to the waterfall and lake that we were to see... We had no ropes. If we slipped, that would have been it.

Chris has uploaded a few more pictures to photobucket. All for now.

The Secret Beach was spectacular - nothing but white sand, palm trees and fishing boats for as far as the eye can see. Apart from two Europeans who were staying at the same guest house, we were the only westerners there. The kids played in the surf and caught crabs. Chris and I read, swam and talked to some of the fishermen.

When we first arrived, there were about ten boys playing in the surf - Chris and Grady had a great time playing with them while I shot photos. Arden hung back a bit. I think she was a little embarrassed. Half were naked; the other half had only the suggestion of a thong (usually just a piece of string) or underwear that exposed most of their bits and pieces...

We made our way down the beach a fair ways and then settled in for the afternoon. As I sat reading, a young boy (maybe two or three years old) and old man sat squatting a few meters away. Every once in a while the boy would yell "hi" and squeal with delight when we said hi back. Then he'd hide his face in the old man's lunghi (the cloth they wrap around their waist to cover their lower body). Eventually the boy came over and offered me a pinwheel made of palm leaves. The acceptance of that seemed to serve as a signal to others. A short time later, we had half the village standing at a little distance, watching us, smiling, commenting to one another.

It was an incredible couple of days. I couldn't wipe the smile off of my face. I feel so blessed.

The next day, we headed north to a couple of towns near the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary. We didn't see a whole lot of wildlife, but did see monkeys, water buffaloes, snakes, deer, wild boar and a peacock. (Saw lots of elephant scat, but alas, no elephants. Tigers also eluded us...). We saw all kinds of flora though. The kids' favourite was the "touch me not" plant which closes its leaves when you touch it. We also saw peppercorn vines; cardamom, tea, coffee, tapioca and henna bushes; and banana, cashew, cotton, mango, rubber, fig, jackfruit and orange trees.

The only questionable point of the day was climbing a dry waterfall. We'd hired a guide and jeep to take us to the tea plantations and wildlife sanctuary. The guide hadn't warned us that we'd be climbing, so we were all in flip flops. It started off okay - we were scaling pretty big boulders but it wasn't terribly steep - but about halfway up (we thought we were near the end but there was still much to go...), it got very steep and difficult - we really had to reach for the few cracks and crags available to pull ourselves up (good thing we're all tall!). It was incredibly dangerous and I couldn't help wondering what kind of mother gets her kids into such a treacherous situation... (Mother of the year...) but it seemed safer to keep going than to try to go back. Even the 16 year old male among us thought it was crazy and dangerous (aren't they supposed to feel invulnerable at that age?).

We're now in Mysore. We've just had word that British Airways may begin striking on the very day we're scheduled to fly home. We'll keep you posted...

I don't mean to gloat, but cannot help commenting on this beautiful bit of symmetry: when it was minus 33 degrees in Calgary a few days ago, it was plus 33 degrees here. Grady pointed out that that's 66 degrees of separation. Kevin Bacon eat your heart out!

We brought far too many cooler weather things; we haven't needed them even once so far. Yesterday, Chris and I cut the sleeves off our long sleeved shirts. We're hoping to start a new fashion trend...

We spent all morning trying to find an ATM that would accept our bank cards - no luck. So far, we haven't been able to withdraw funds in this state. We cashed the last of our US$ this morning and had to call our friend Ralamy to wire us money... Thank God for Western Union (and Ralamy!).

We were going to head down to one of the famous beaches along this coast but decided against it when we heard how touristy they are. The fellow that runs the homestay we're at (an old Porteguese-inspired family home - lovely) suggested we stay at a homestay at "The Secret Beach" where there is virtually no one but fishermen. Other travellers have raved. A few have even spotted dolphins. If it's as beautiful as it sounds, we may stay a couple of days. Then we'll head north to a wildlife sanctuary. and then onto Mysore. All for now.

We're in Alleppay now, which is sometimes referred to as the Venice of the East because it's built on a series of canals. We were walking from our guest house and came across a sign for an internet cafe. The sign pointed in the direction of a dirt path alongside one of the smaller canals. Seemed an unlikely place for an internet cafe, but we followed it along and came across a place with very modern terminals. They greeted us exuberantly and gave us chai and sweets. One man was busily snapping photos of us. Turns out this is their grand opening, and we were their very first customers. (Mom and dad, I know how you love the freebies and grand openings - I thought of you).

We caught the train from Podanur on Sunday, but almost missed it... India has seven classes of rail passage, and we couldn't find the one we were supposed to be on (turns out there was a typo on our ticket...). Anyway, we'd gone almost to the end of the VERY long train, and had several people trying to help when suddenly the train started pulling away. (They give you no warning here). One of the gentlemen trying to help said "Madam, it is more important you get on the train now and find your car later." Indeed! The kids can now say they've hopped onto a moving train. Not an easy feat when you've got backpacks on... We ended up in second class (which sounds better than it is - there about five classes before second class). Hard wooden seats and no air conditioning. We were fortunate to have seats offered to us though, and actually had a lot of fun riding in second class to the next stop where we got off and found our car. Made us appreciate our air conditioned car all the more. The trip included the drama of birth: Grady caught a bug in a water bottle and she proceeded to have about 30 babies about five minutes later. You'll have to ask him all about it - it provided hours of entertainment!

Arriving in Cochin, "The Queen of the Arabian Sea", we underwent another kind of transition/culture shock. We have been in a very rural area with no other westerners. Suddenly, we were surrounded by travellers, as well as people wanting to sell us postcards and trinkets. We also had to adjust to much higher prices (although it's all relative - had an incredible plate full of huge prawn done up in a garlic chili sauce for about $2. Outstanding meal). Nonetheless, it is a beautful place. We took the ferry to Fort Cochin where we bought some snapper and prawns from a vendor and had it grilled at a nearby fishfry. We sipped fresh pineapple juice and pomegranate juice while watching the fishermen hauling in their nets. That evening, we saw a performance of Kathakali dance. You'll have to ask Chris to do his impersonation of "Dr. Devlin" who explained the significance of the makeup (which you get to watch them apply if you go early) and all of the movements. We'll try to post photos later today.

Yesterday, we took a heartstopping bus ride to Appellay. The bus had "Super Fast" painted on the front and was precisely as advertised - holy crap! We were at the very back because there was room for our bags there - so we got the full benefit of every bump. Arden liked that part. She also enjoyed the two elephants we saw along the way.

We were met at the bus station by "Mr. Wilson" from whom we were renting a kettu vallam (rice barge style houseboat) for an overnight stay in the backwaters. Woven palm leaves and jute form most of the structure on a teak base. There were two bedrooms and two bathrooms on board, as well as a kitchen where incredible food was prepared for us. (Again, we'll have to post photos - too beautiful to believe). It was meditative and peaceful cruising through the backwater channels, watching life on the river. Among the sights we saw: men diving for mussels, a school canoe transporting uniformed children (all transporation is by water here), women washing their long dark hair (even saw one wash behind her ears - I didn't think anyone actually did that!), man climbing to the heights of a coconut palm, women working in the rice fields sporting colourful umbrella hats, men pulling up mud from the bottom of the canal and loading it into a canoe (to make bricks?), women washing pots and dishes, birds diving for fish, men chopping a palm tree down (one to do the work and three to watch...).

We docked for the night at about 5:00 and agreed to a canoe ride through the smaller canals for one hour - a mistake. While it was beautiful and interesting, our village host spent the entire hour trying to talk us into two hours. We were also greeted by children who sang out "one pen?" and "chocolate" or "coin?" incessantly. The younger ones were coached by their parents...

We returned to our boat to take in a magnificent sunset and a fabulous fish curry. Then we heard fireworks (again, mom, couldn't help but think of you!) and went up to the upper platform (a small viewing post) to watch them. A great evening.

Thanks to all of you who have written or posted comments - it's so great to hear from you. Sorry I don't have time to reply to them all, but please keep them coming - we love hearing from you.