LAST PHOTOS OF INDIA!!!

Hey everyone! Here's the links to the last few photo albums:

India 11--The City of Pearls and Such

India 12--Kelsey's Keralite Krossing

India 13--Salaam, Budgam

India 14--The Marble Jewel

India 15--Last Goodbyes

Thanks for following everyone!

Che chai? Take tea?

Next we flew from Kerala to Kashmir to stay with Insha’s family. Actually, we were only supposed to stay for a few days, and we ended up canceling our ticket back because we were having such a good time.

(L-R: neighbor girls Pakiza and sister with mom, Insha's mother Maryam, sister Saba, Insha, and brother Naveen)

I don’t even have words for Kashmir. It was by far the best trip I’ve made yet, and in excellent company. We stayed with his family in Budgam, making a couple trips to nearby Srinagar, the capital.

Srinagar endeared us with the Mughal Gardens, which are always fantastic all over India, but particularly in Kashmir where the climate lets them be. It was a comfortable 65˚ the whole time—I was actually cold! Fortunately, Kashmiris are used to this, and a huge part of their culture includes pherans and kangris. Pherans are long, baggy tunic-like overcoats that are made for you to pull your arms and legs inside of it (with beautiful embroidery, as to be expected). Kangris are the BEST MAN-MADE INVENTION EVER! It’s a little clay pot that you just fill with warm coals, but the basket woven around it is made so your hands fit perfectly over the top. I really wanted one, and Insha’s father Javaid helped me look for one. They didn’t actually believe that I wanted a real one, so they kept picking out decorative ones for me, until I explained that a poor student like me tends to live in drafty apartments.

Every morning we awoke to brewing tea and tsod, a flat bread (but not as flat as roti). We sat around for about an hour, sipping and munching on the floor with our backs propped up against pillows against the walls. It was a nice house, but they don’t have furniture. They have nice carpets laid out that sometimes look more like blankets than carpets, and every wall is lined with round and square pillows. We ate rice every day with various soups, which is typical all over India. The spicing is toned down in Kashmir, which my mother’s stomach appreciated. And I did too—it was nice to have a potato that still tasted like a potato. Haak was by far my favorite dish, a sort of salty baby spinach and potato broth. Mom got used to having tea every day—we both agree that America could use a tea/coffee time in the afternoon.

Ultimately, my favorite part of Kashmir was spending time in a community that, frankly, was much like home. The only differences were that they have more mountains and they’re primarily Muslim. Like any religion, there are those more devout than others. Insha’s family is definitely practicing, and certainly devout, but not to the point of being impractical. Impracticality in any religion is something I just can’t stand. That being said, Mom and Insha’s father Javaid had so many discussions about the similarities of Christianity and Islam; our goals for treating everyone generously and contributing to a community are identical. We believe in the same God, we just heard about him through different people. I’m currently reading “Three Cups of Tea,” and although it’s in northern Pakistan, it’s a people not unlike Kashmiris. It makes me miss them so much. Their generosity is beyond any I’ve ever experienced. Mom said she’s never felt so at home with a family that wasn’t her own. Insha’s sister, Saba, just got engaged, so we’ll definitely be back for her wedding a few years from now, insha’allah.

Rub-a-dub-dub

 
Kerala is the state on the southern tip of India, running along the Arabian Sea. It’s the home of Kathakali and backwaters and fantastic butter chicken masala!

This was the next stop on our journey. The plan was to do things in the morning and relax in the afternoon, since it would be very hot and humid. Fortunately, it never got above 85˚ in Kerala, which is a nice change from the arid Deccan Plateau Hyderabad is in, and the humidity was not unlike Iowa in August. Unfortunately, our three days there were crunched down to only two as the country went on strike after a chairman was accused of rigging bets during the national cricket playoffs.

So the first day we walked around, saw the huge Chinese fishing nets Kerala is known for, and visited the few shops that remained open for tourists. It was funny visiting one shop claiming Kashmiri antiques—Insha went with us, and he’s from Kashmir. He took one look in the window and started laughing. He said tourists must get ripped off here all the time, that he could find these things down the street from his home in any store. Either way, it was nice to just take it easy the first day. Mom finally got to relax!

The next day we got up early to tour around the Kerala backwaters, which were beautiful, but I have to admit a little less enchanting than the brochures illustrate. Foliage played along the side of the boat as our boatman pushed us through the shallow waters with a huge bamboo stick. We stopped for lunch, and mom happily ate with her fingers! We didn’t even notice until half-way through the meal!

We got back much later than we thought, and made a rushed stop at a tailor for Mom to pick out some really nice Punjabis—actually, she picked one ready-made that I hoped wouldn’t fit her so I could snag it! But it fit, and it the teal/orange/purple/black fabric looks fantastic with her silver hair.

That night we went to a Kathakali performance, which would have made my theatre history professor Jay Chipman positively giddy. I studied this dance-drama in one of his classes, but I didn’t know anything about the actual method of performance. We watched them put on make-up, which was intricate and fascinating. The performance—which traditionally lasts 6 hours—was broken into just a few scenes, and interspersed with Kerala traditional dance in beautiful white and gold saris, and traditional martial arts. I had heard it was terribly boring, but I was so entertained! It was like watching people act like cartoons, but not in the stupid antics of commedia dell’arte. I loved it!

The next morning we got up even earlier for the elephant sanctuary. We got to help bathe a family of elephants before heading to the airport. The three babies and Daddy were in the front for photos, and Mommy was a bit further out in the river. I waded into the water just to get a different photo of the babies, but then the two guys washing the mother beckoned me all the way out in the water! I gave my camera to mom, folded up my pants, and tip-toed over the bigger rocks that kept me knee-deep in what otherwise was 5-8 feet deep. Eventually Insha and Mom came out and joined me…with a little coaxing. At one point, Insha (who was holding my camera!) disappeared under the water! I looked over to see one hand holding up my little silver Canon!

She's baaaack...

  Momma arrived in Hyderabad on Saturday the 24^th, much to the dismay of the airline gods.

I swear, there was someone powerful trying to keep her from arriving! It had nothing to do with the volcanic eruption, because she was flying from Chicago to Abu Dhabi. However, I think maybe some of the backlog from these flights effected all of the major international airports in this part of the world. She was supposed to arrive at 4am, but was delayed for 8 hours in Chicago (she probably wished she could have stayed in Grinnell a few more hours), then was delayed in both Abu Dhabi and Mumbai because neither airport knew that the connecting flight was delayed. So she was cow-herded with about thirty others. She says she made lots of friends, and if any of you know her, this comes as no surprise.

So she finally arrived at 8pm on Saturday, and Insha and I had been waiting at the airport for a few hours. We got her a room in my hostel (pulled a few strings and payed only Rs. 500/-).

Unfortunately, she didn’t get much rest, because we planned on resting all day Saturday, and shopping for some Punjabi sets on Sunday. But because of the delays, we only had Sunday to rest and shop…so she was a tired girl.

She was so funny—her first meal was just some lo mein, which she loved very much (the student canteen has the best lo mein I’ve ever had in my life). But the next day, after shopping, we grabbed some rice and dal for us. It is a really basic dish. It’s considered the soul food of India, and it’s by far my favorite thing I’ve had here. But Momma thought it was too spicy, and she wasn’t quite ready to eat with her hands. She gave Insha such a funny look when he asked her if she wanted to learn how—“Yea…right.”

She is really having to quickly adjust. I didn’t realize how much I’d gotten used to until she pointed so many things out. Things like “No one says please around here,” or “There’s so much trash and dirt—where does it go? Or does it go anywhere?” or “You were right, make-up is worthless in this heat.”  She is also convinced that traffic is a perpetual game of chicken, which isn’t too far from the truth.

Make-up received a good chuckle, but as for please and the dirt/trash issue, I had to do some explaining.

Please is an implied notion in many languages here. There is actually no word for “please” in Hindi. There are requests (+iye) and demands (+o), and so please is sort of implied. So the difference between “Will you please come?” and “Let’s go” is “Aaiye” and “Aao.”

Trash…is something that I’ve overlooked, but by no means have I gotten used to it. It reeks when it’s burned, and it’s everywhere. And in the heat it’s worse. And I couldn’t really explain it to her. All I can say is that plastics were popularized in this country only 30 or so years ago. Before that, everything was wrapped in a banana leaf or poured into a dried clay cup, so your leftovers could just be tossed out the window. And that habit was a hard one to break. There are few trash cans, and the ones that are available fill up quickly.

Dirt—the whole damn city is under construction. They build everything out of iron rods and pack cement around it, leaving leftovers in the front of the building. It will get used soon, or just moved around. But clipped front lawns and pretty exteriors aren’t really an important part of this culture, compared to America. There’s a learned notion of “putting on your Sunday best” that is very appealing about America to Americans. But as my mother soon learned, the priorities that are placed in front of front lawns are things like family tea time had on the floor with cushions.

Off to Kerala next!

96° in the Shade

So...remember a few posts ago when I talked about my Women's Studies professor?

Today is April 15! Time to give both of my power point presentations and turn in my 10-page paper! Guess who didn't show up to our final! Oh yea. My professor. So the girls and I went to the Women's Studies office and they said, "Oh...yea...we've been waiting for her...She's been back in India since Tuesday. She just didn't show up today. I don't think she has any classes."

Yea, except ours.

I reiterate: India, you crazy.

But that's ok--I went back to my hostel to take a nap in the AIR CONDITIONING!!! It's 99°F today. It's cooled off since yesterday--a whopping 113°F.

Mom has booked her tickets to come visit me. We were going to do a desert safari on camels out in Jaisalmer. In the Thar Desert. Along the Pakistan border. At least that was until my friend said, "Well, you can do it, assuming you can handle 55°C."

55°C is 131°F.

PS--We friend an egg on the sidewalk yesterday. I wish I was joking.

If you're Hampi and you know it...

Took a trip to UNESCO World Heritage site Hampi in Karnataka a couple weekends ago. Hampi is a gathering of ruins from the Vijayanagara empire WAY back in 1 CE. It's really cool because even though it's a little tourist-y, it's the really chill tourists that are there to admire the history of the ruins. So I didn't mind them.

Traveled with a couple girls I wanted to get to know a little better, Ashley Sherrill from Michigan and Kristin Mowery from Washington. Ashley is a psychology major with a black sass that I can't get enough of. Kristin knows everything about every comedian ever on television. We stayed at Suda Guest House, which was really cute. It had a little restaurant on top, recommended by Lonely Planet, which we hold so dear.

Anyway, here's the photos! Enjoy.

India 10--If you're Hampi and you know it...

TRIPLE LETTER SCORE!

News so much better than scrabble:

1. Went to a Thai dance performance, which was amazing. Was surprised when my friends that joined me ended up with extra tickets to go see an incredibly talented French R&B/Reggae band organized by Alliance Francaise, a local concert sponsor/organizer folk.

I wasn't looking particularly attractive in my baggy cotton pants and glasses, but I had a corny "saw you from across the dance floor" moment and ended up making friends with this French guy named Olivier who is doing his internship with Alliance Francaise. He said my French, although limited, sounded perfect, which if you know any French folk, this is a big compliment. I'm pretty sure it was the awful cranberry-and-vodka I had. (They make it with cranberry flavored syrup here--blek!) Anyway, made a friend, made a connection for future internship plans. And I practiced my French!

2. I WAS ACCEPTED INTO THE SUMMER AT THE GLOBE ACTING SHAKESPEARE WORKSHOP!!!!! I can't stop thinking about it. India first, then London. GAH. One step at a time. As my friend Jim Goble said, "You can't be in both places at one. It didn't work for the British, and it won't work for you." Haha!

England is my future home. I know it. I've known it since I set foot off the plane my first time abroad in 2006 with Iowa Ambassadors of Music. I felt it. I'm planning on going to grad school somewhere in England. This summer I'll be saying hello to the rest of my life.

3. Jack and Mike have offered a directing position to me for the upcoming season...on the mainstage! My first reaction was, "Wait, that's usually reserved for juniors and seniors" forgetting that I was obviously going to be a senior next fall (scary).

They want a show that will allow for upperclassmen role models and freshmen opportunities. They've opted for "The Odd Couple" male and female versions in repertory, directed by John Gleason Teske and myself, respectively. I told them we should document it and call it "The Odd Couple--Director's Version."

GAH! My life rocks.