I have been back from Kerola for about a week and I'll get to that, but let me first tell of my adventures there. There were many relaxing days spent relaxing and walking into the village to a "Cool Bar" to get some of the world's best milkshakes. I'm not sure if it was the heat, the mango ice cream, or the novelty of having a milkshake itself, but they made my eyes roll back in my head. We had a milkshake club for a bit, going almost everyday. The store owners looked for us everyday with big smiles. For only under a dollar each, I only have to pay for them on my hips. Which fixed itself, sort of (get to that later).
I have been visiting so many Catholic Churches that I felt I needed to balance it out, so I started seeing other temples. One day (after milkshakes) we went to a famous one called Chottanikkara. There was a big pilgrimage there (and to another famous temple in Kerola) so it was full of pilgrims dressed in black lungees. I entered the temple area with a fellow volunteer who was also a woman. So, we had to look around a lot for clues to know what to do. There were hardly any women, so we paid close attention that there was always at least one. Otherwise we might me breaking some no-woman-in-this-area taboo. The temple wasn't at all as I had pictured it. It was a Hindu temple, and not very big. It was like entering a fairground with lots of smaller buildings and such. The temple itself was closed. People were all flocking instead to a big, sacred tree. The tree was surrounded by a stone platform the pilgrims circled as they prayed. The trunk of the tree itself was covered with nails and MANY plastic dolls. Yes, I have no idea what the meaning of what I saw might be. I bought a book in English on Chottanikkara to figure it out, but it might as well have been in Hindi. There were some shrines I understood for Gnesh and Shiva. I didn't dare take a picture of any of this.
Next day out I went to see an old Dutch Palace that was built for a king in Kelora many years ago as an apology. "Oops, we sort of destroyed some of your temples... but here's a new Palace!" It is now a museum about Kerola. It was a bit boring, but the old Indian art on some of its walls made it worth the effort. And I learned and stuff and junk. I also went to a Jewish synagogue that had beautiful white and blue tiles covering the floor. There were real crystal chandeliers with uncut crystal swaying on the ceiling. I don't know that I have ever been in a synagogue before. A big curtain covered the front alter area. It sparked my curiosity, like a big "do not push" button. What was behind the alter? I tried to peek but aside from breaking some grand taboo and moving the curtain, I was out of luck. Lastly on my church/temple tour I saw St. Francis, the oldest European church in India. 1500 and something was when it was built (That's an exact fact). It very beautiful despite its simplicity. They allowed pictures!
After a very nice train ride back to Pune, I was ready to get back into the swing of things. I was delighted to see a new volunteer from German (so many Germans) was doing my English classes while I was gone. His name is Toby. He is very tall and quite nice. I look forward to working with him for the rest of my time here.
There is another new volunteer who showed up a few days ago. His name is Stephon and he is French (oooh la la). He is also very tall and will be staying till May.
I spent one day resting before I started teaching and... felt a rumble in my stomach. That night was long and lots of unspeakable things happened, but at least I wasn't as sick as I was before. I didn't need to do the doctor. The problem has not been the recovery (I'm totally fine now). The problem now is the healthy fear I have of food: what made me sick? My beloved Indian food looks so innocent and delicious sitting there, how could it ever do me wrong? Why curry, why? Or was it the Lassi? I am telling myself that it's the Lassi. It's the only way I can trust the other food. But I am eating very cautiously now. That much vomiting will do that to person.
I have been teaching English and guitar again. I am so happy to be back. Once you spend time with the children you start to feel at home right away. They are so enthusiastic to learn and interact that it gets contagious. I think I am getting better at teaching too. Not great, but better. I have new games to use as practise. I think the rest of my time here at Maher will go by very fast.
I was thinking that India's new catch phrase could be "Always room for one more!" I thought of it yesterday on my way back to Maher from the closest town, Koregaon. I took a small rickshaw as usual. This one held the record on how many people were in it: 9 adults (counting the driver) and 2 medium sized children. Rickshaws seat 3 passengers comfortably, in my opinion. There are larger sized rickshaws that hold many more, but this is your run-of -the- mill tiny rickshaw. They are cute and look like some kind of bug, say a beetle. Think about the fastest golf cart you can imagine, then change the shape and have only one wheel up front: Indian rickshaw. I have to admit that even with 11 souls traveling slowly down the village road, packed like sardines, I still was thoroughly amused. Rickshaws are fun. Only 8 rupees to the village, too.
Till next time , sending love back home...
I have been visiting so many Catholic Churches that I felt I needed to balance it out, so I started seeing other temples. One day (after milkshakes) we went to a famous one called Chottanikkara. There was a big pilgrimage there (and to another famous temple in Kerola) so it was full of pilgrims dressed in black lungees. I entered the temple area with a fellow volunteer who was also a woman. So, we had to look around a lot for clues to know what to do. There were hardly any women, so we paid close attention that there was always at least one. Otherwise we might me breaking some no-woman-in-this-area taboo. The temple wasn't at all as I had pictured it. It was a Hindu temple, and not very big. It was like entering a fairground with lots of smaller buildings and such. The temple itself was closed. People were all flocking instead to a big, sacred tree. The tree was surrounded by a stone platform the pilgrims circled as they prayed. The trunk of the tree itself was covered with nails and MANY plastic dolls. Yes, I have no idea what the meaning of what I saw might be. I bought a book in English on Chottanikkara to figure it out, but it might as well have been in Hindi. There were some shrines I understood for Gnesh and Shiva. I didn't dare take a picture of any of this.
Next day out I went to see an old Dutch Palace that was built for a king in Kelora many years ago as an apology. "Oops, we sort of destroyed some of your temples... but here's a new Palace!" It is now a museum about Kerola. It was a bit boring, but the old Indian art on some of its walls made it worth the effort. And I learned and stuff and junk. I also went to a Jewish synagogue that had beautiful white and blue tiles covering the floor. There were real crystal chandeliers with uncut crystal swaying on the ceiling. I don't know that I have ever been in a synagogue before. A big curtain covered the front alter area. It sparked my curiosity, like a big "do not push" button. What was behind the alter? I tried to peek but aside from breaking some grand taboo and moving the curtain, I was out of luck. Lastly on my church/temple tour I saw St. Francis, the oldest European church in India. 1500 and something was when it was built (That's an exact fact). It very beautiful despite its simplicity. They allowed pictures!
After a very nice train ride back to Pune, I was ready to get back into the swing of things. I was delighted to see a new volunteer from German (so many Germans) was doing my English classes while I was gone. His name is Toby. He is very tall and quite nice. I look forward to working with him for the rest of my time here.
There is another new volunteer who showed up a few days ago. His name is Stephon and he is French (oooh la la). He is also very tall and will be staying till May.
I spent one day resting before I started teaching and... felt a rumble in my stomach. That night was long and lots of unspeakable things happened, but at least I wasn't as sick as I was before. I didn't need to do the doctor. The problem has not been the recovery (I'm totally fine now). The problem now is the healthy fear I have of food: what made me sick? My beloved Indian food looks so innocent and delicious sitting there, how could it ever do me wrong? Why curry, why? Or was it the Lassi? I am telling myself that it's the Lassi. It's the only way I can trust the other food. But I am eating very cautiously now. That much vomiting will do that to person.
I have been teaching English and guitar again. I am so happy to be back. Once you spend time with the children you start to feel at home right away. They are so enthusiastic to learn and interact that it gets contagious. I think I am getting better at teaching too. Not great, but better. I have new games to use as practise. I think the rest of my time here at Maher will go by very fast.
I was thinking that India's new catch phrase could be "Always room for one more!" I thought of it yesterday on my way back to Maher from the closest town, Koregaon. I took a small rickshaw as usual. This one held the record on how many people were in it: 9 adults (counting the driver) and 2 medium sized children. Rickshaws seat 3 passengers comfortably, in my opinion. There are larger sized rickshaws that hold many more, but this is your run-of -the- mill tiny rickshaw. They are cute and look like some kind of bug, say a beetle. Think about the fastest golf cart you can imagine, then change the shape and have only one wheel up front: Indian rickshaw. I have to admit that even with 11 souls traveling slowly down the village road, packed like sardines, I still was thoroughly amused. Rickshaws are fun. Only 8 rupees to the village, too.
Till next time , sending love back home...
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