Kerola: India Light

Well well! I am currently in Kerola, Southern India. I had a lovely oppertunity to travel here with Sister Lucy for the wedding of her neice, and couldn't turn it down. We left on New Years' Day, late in the evening. The train had 6 sleeper benches in each compartment, kinda like hanging bunk beds. I layed down to the sway of the train and it's wonderous white noise, thinking that I would be one of the best nights of sleep ever. Boy, was I wrong. The rocking was nice but sometimes became a violent shake. The noise was okay except when we stopped at each station the brakes would squeal, the air would stop, and suddenly you could hear the snoring all around you. I slept most of the night despite this, and woke to wonderful changing scenery. I had a window seat. I was sooooo happy! I also got up and stood in the open doorways alot- they don't close them- and watched as the world spun by with a thrilling scense of danger. The tunnels roared past my face (and Dad- people scream and hoot and haller in the tunnels, much like the way you'd honk the horn in tunnels on our car trips to the mountains!) Rice paddies, villages, and cashew trees flew by. A much greener India meet my eyes. We crept through moutains too. I saw monkeys.

We arrived in Kerola late the next night, and were escoted to Sister Lucy's brother's house. It is so big I thought it was a church! We were served a FULL meal on banana leaves at midnight.Then we passed out for the night. The engagment party was the next day. It is basically a 2nd wedding, but held at the bride's home. This was my first Catholic Indian wedding. Kerola has the most Catholics in all of India, so I have been told. The engagement was glamourous: full tents, flowers everywhere, catered, etc. There were over a thousand people there. The ceremonies were pretty and the music, as usual, is so loud that I have to plug my ears as subtle- like as possible as to not offend. (Indian people love to crank the volume of everything to a level that is deafening.) After the guests left and it was just Sister Lucy's family they all sang songs and danced. I have hardly any idea of what was said or sang, but one can tell they are a warm and lively group.

We toured the area in the next few days, meeting more and more of Lucy's very large family. Everyone fed us. The area is quite beautiful. Kerola is not flat. the roads twist and turn. Banana trees, cahews trees, and rubber trees are everywhere. They tap the rubber trees like maple trees and collect the liquid in a coconut shell. Then they put it in pans, add something or other to it to make it more solid, and run it through a press that looks like a pasta machine. This is smoked in a smoke house and then they can sell it. You see house after house with lines of drying smoked rubber mats. Lucy took us to the top of a mountain where there was a HUGE tea plantation. That was pretty neat.
Kerola is different than Pune in so many ways. It's cleaner- much cleaner. There is still garbage but so much less. There's so many trees that it's green and lush. There's less people, and they look a bit different. The men wear lungees (i think that's what they are called) which is a wrap. They adjust them as they walk and I feel like I am seeing them get out of the shower or something. It's really hot here- humid sticky hot. I didn't use a blanket last night even though we have a ceiling fan, and I was still having problems falling asleep from the heat. This is the cool season, by the way. Kerola people do not speak Hindi or Marathi- they speak malowi (don't quote me on that). So, I'm back to knowing zero language again. If you were to visit India but noramal India scared the crap out of you, this is your place. Keroloa is India Light. They try to be like the west here and they have alot more money. It shows in their houses, their cars, theirs shops and the tons of gold jewelery than they wear. They looooove gold. I still hate it.
We got on another bus and drove to Kerola's Maher project. The rules in Kerola are different, so this house is for boys only. There are 45 boys here, a much more managable size of children. It's a paradise here- they have a swing, orchard of fruit trees, and best yet, a big deep pond that they can use for a swimming pool. Sister Lucy can't keep out of it either- she loves to swim with the children. I love Maher's Kerola project. The boys are sweet and fun just like all the Maher children. I made them braided palm bracelets and they made me assortments of clever toys made from palms.
I also got to go to a water park- yay!!!!!!!!!!!! It was WAY better than Wild Waves, the biggest in all of India. There were some drastic differences. For one, I didn't want to get water in my mouth. Women wore their punjabi suits on all the slides. So I wasz covered head to toe. And some water rides were for men only. The huge wave pool was divided by sex: 75% for the men, a tiny 25% for the women. Besides that, the water park was so fun I hardly knew what to do with myself. It had regual rides too.
Yesterday, we rented a bus and took all 45 of them out for the day. They sang and dance the whole hour drive to the beach. I then swam in my third ocean. The sand was peachy-brown. The waves were a nice size, warm salty bathwater. Actually, it was salter than any other ocean water I have been in, I think. My eyes stung but I didn't care. I swam the whole time till they forsed me out of the water. It was time anyway. I was the last in and men had sort of inched towards me. Dealing with Indian men is really difficult for me. I basically try to ignore them so that they don't get the wrong idea. It's hard, and occationally I'll accidentally make eye contact or whatever, and then try to casually swim away. It's so strange to avoid half the population. After the beach we took them to park and gave them ice cream, and later out to dinner. They were sooooooo happy. The whole thing cost only about $250 dollars. And that was with staff!
I have soooo much more to talk about but my time is up. I will be back in Pune by the 18th. Enjoy my typos.