Hello all! Today we painted a house for a widow and her daughter.  The paint was made out of watery cement that we coated all over the house. It was hard, sweaty work in the Indian heat.

Later in the day we played with some of the neighborhood kids.  We had thumb wars, poking wars, and we raced with them.  They love down by the banks and playing hand games.  We will dearly miss all the kids.

At night we watched traditional Southern India dance performances. One of the ladies preformed a dance from Tamil (the state next to Kerala) and the other did Kerala dances that told stories about Hindu gods.  The dances were incredible.  One of the dancers had been studying dance for 18 years and is from France.  She even preformed for Prince Charles last week!  It was an experience we will never forget.

Be Well,

Paula

A Day of Experiences!

A few of us started off our morning early; waking up at 6am to watch the sunrise.  It was worth it the early morning, as the sunrise was quite a beautiful sight in the misty jungle morning.  After this, we were off to a housewarming for one of the houses the money we raised built.  The house was built for a mother with two daughters who were previously living in a shack.  The house was small, but secure and permanent.  There was a nice ceremony with incense, flowers, and traditional Kerala flame-lighting.  It was good to see a physical manifestation of the money we raised, and how it affects people on a personal level.

After the housewarming, we shopped in Kottayam.  Many of us found some great items; hopefully some good gifts to bring back to you all!  We found more American food, too, some of us were very excited about the Nutella and Pringles.  We ate lunch at a traditional Kerala restaurant, where there was no silverware and we had to eat with our hands.  A few of us were a little hesitant, but the food was delicious and it was definitely a cultural experience.  

After a break for homework and resting, we enjoyed a dinner with more french fries, which seem to becoming a staple in our diet.  After dinner, we got to view a classical Kerala martial arts performance.  It was really incredible; it involved swords, daggers, and other weapons flying everywhere but somehow not hitting anyone.  The performance also involved very advanced yoga, and the performance was truly a testament to the incredible capabilities of the human body.  Apparently the martial art was used as a defense tactic that defeated an army (or something along those lines) and after seeing the performance, we can definitely see how!  Overall, the day was fantastic.  We miss you all and are looking forward to seeing you!

-Holly

A Wedding and Much More!

Today was quite the day for us! We got to experience an Indian (Hindu) wedding, Indian ice cream and our cultural day. After sleeping in a little later than usual, we were told that the wedding was postponed a few hours to align with the astrological timing. This gave us an opportunity to do homework and practice our dance for the cultural day. A short time before the wedding, the house was buzzing with excitement. The girls were getting dressed in their Sarees, and the boys in their Mundas (Tal calls it a man skirt). After some last minute touches of flowers in their hair for the girls, and some traditional markings and bindis on the forehead, we quickly took some photos. 

WHEW, who knew traditional Indian garb would be SO SO hot. Everyone shared some laughs over the extreme heat and loaded into the rickshaws. After a short ride to the wedding hall, we were greeted by some great bright eyed stares. We were placed in the front row, which did not have fans above it. The bride and groom looked solemn, and the brides clothing was beautiful. The groom seemed more relaxed, although it seemed as though they had either never met, or seen each other once before. The actual ceremony was quite short, consisting of lots of flower tossing, chanting and burning of oil. We all pitched in some money as a present for the couple which Paula went on stage, as it is traditional to present to them. After the wedding, we took a photo with them and then left. 

It was a relief to take off the Indian garb, as we were all extremely sweaty. Some people took walks around the neighborhood and others did more homework. We all went out for ice cream, which turned out to be quite interesting. The milkshakes were more like warm milk and a tiny bit of ice cream. Flavors ranged from chocolate to apple snow bunny to choberry. 

We then raced back to the house to put on our traditional clothing one more time for the cultural ceremony. There were some really cute performances from the kids in the neighborhood which we all enjoyed. We ended the program by singing "This land is your land," and dancing to "Cotton Eye Joe." The whole week, we had been learning a traditional Indian dance, that we successfully performed tonight. 

Dinner was pretty simple, with french fries being the highlight. Right now, we are having a group meeting, and then will go to bed. 

Tootles,

-Us (and Tal)

The day has been long, fun and rewarding.

It was our last day with the two schools we were teaching at and a cultural celebration for all. After a breakfast of (surprise surprise) Indian food we loaded up on the rickshaws and headed to Saint Peters. There is a term called lost in translation; while we thought the day was going to entail a cultural performance from both us and them, it was not the case. Mrs. Robinson was put on the spot to fill the time.  With a go with the flow attitude, we preformed the song This Land and danced to Cotton Eye Joe. We then gathered back into conversation groups shared shack, and exchanged contact information with our new friends. It had been a privilege getting to know and learn from them.

We rickshaw-ed away and to the other school were we were treated to a beautiful and incredible performance of traditional dances from Karala. The entire performance was student directed, with the English teacher telling us how he wants his students to think critically and work together. The product was a highlight of the trip.

Visiting the two schools and getting to know the students was eye openings. Though we come from different sides of the earth, we really aren't different after all.

We then enjoyed lunch and the girls began getting ready for the wedding we will attend tomorrow. With the girls all fitted with sarees, we began then long process of getting henna on our hands and feat. When we weren't being pampered, we spent our time outside, playing with the local children. When we had to go, they watched us from the windows.

It has been a wonderful day and we are all excited for the wedding tomorrow and the rest of our I time in India. We hope Portland is enjoying its cold weather, but that the snow holds off until we return.... Please let there be snow days then.

Xoxo

Maddy H

Today and yesterday, we visited the schools we met with again. At them, we talked to the students, and particularly today, we taught lessons about English and held discussions about American and Indian culture and politics. We were surprised by how well we could communicate even despite the language barrier, and we're able to have shockingly in depth discussions about subjects like religion, politics, and marriages. We made a lot of friends at the schools, and when we played cricket and kickball with kids in the neighborhood. Tomorrow, we will present some of the dances and songs we have been learning and practicing for the two schools.

Nate

Today was our first day going to the schools for the ESL tutoring and going for motorized rickshaw rides. This morning was another hurry up and wait moment. We ate breakfast at 8 but didn't leave until 10. After a fast and bumpy rickshaw ride we arrived at the first school, St. Peter's Higher Secondary School (HSS). We were welcomed with various long speeches about the English language. Hopefully tomorrow we will be able to interact with the students more. After watching a couple dances and a skit they performed, we came back to the house, ate a wonderful lunch (with lots of Indian fry bread), and rested until we left to visit the next school. The second school we are tutoring is called Ithithanam Higher Secondary School. We were greeted with a warm welcome of the traditional bindis and roses. We stepped right into the ESL tutoring and talked with the students by exchanging questions and answers. Then after a quick turn around we headed off to the tutoring center in the clinic to help the neighborhood kids with their English homework. To finish the day we had our second traditional Indian dance lesson and ate a delicious dinner.

Yesterday was a busy day. After a delicious breakfast, we got on the bus to go to St. John's School. When we got off of the bus all of the elementary students were waiting to greet us. Some parents even came to meet us. All of the kids were wearing their best clothes. We got to watch multiple singing and dance performances by the kids, and even a Bollywood dance by one of the parents. While at the school we were able to inaugurate the new filtration system installed at the school with the help of Hope Charities. They showed their gratitude to us by making us a cake, which we all got a piece of and the leftover was given to the kids. We were also able to give each student a Riverdale pencil. After a few words of thanks from one of the teachers, we said goodbye.

Back at the house we ate lunch and had some time to rest. The girls got measured for their sarees. We decided that today would be a good day to go to the beach. After an hour long bus ride most of us went on a short camel ride along the beach. We sat and watched the picturesque sunset, while Tal took a timelapsed. After the sunset we went back to the house to eat dinner and have our first dance lesson. Even though we were tired from the long day we tried our best. We started with some simple steps, but after awhile we all decided to go bed. Now we are waking up and waiting to eat breakfast.

Be Well,

Paula

School Bound

It’s Monday, and that means the school week has begun! Today we had the privilege of attending of the Corporate Management of Schools Diamond Jubilee, a student-led conference consisting of over 3500 students from different schools in Kottayam.  We watched a series of two-minute presentations given by the top students of each school. Each student was given the opportunity to address what they believe are flaws within their education system. Students voiced concern over many different issues, ranging from the incorporation of technology into classrooms to the quality of bathrooms. The presentations gave us a unique perspective of the Indian education system. At then end of the presentations, we got a chance to present what we believe are the core values of the American education system. Overall, the exchange was quite the cultural experience!

Following the Jubilee, we headed in to Changacherry for some shopping. Although we didn’t find exactly what we were looking for, we did end up buying some traditional Kerala teas for our friends back home.

Tonight, there was tutoring down at the clinic. We got to play and interact with the kids, which was loads of fun! The night was full of multiple rounds of hide & go seek and ninja, and we were challenged to a game of cricket tomorrow afternoon!

Looking forward to seeing all of you soon!

XOXO

Today is the second day we’ve spent in Kerala, and it went great.  After a delicious breakfast on the terrace, we headed into Kottayam, the closest major city to the clinic, to do some shopping.  The girls all purchased beautiful saris, and the boys got munds; both traditional formal Indian clothing.  We plan to wear these the last few days here, and we were all talking about wearing them at prom.

Next we headed to lunch at a local hotel.  The food was a little different than what we’ve had in Northern India, but it was delicious.  After lunch, we enjoyed an afternoon on the backwaters of Kottayam on a beautiful houseboat.  After an interesting discussion of education systems around the world, which helped us with topics to debate and discuss at the Indian schools, we spent the afternoon relaxing on the river.  We read, napped, and played cards while watching an intense rainstorm outside the boat.

 We are now back at the house; about to practice what we will be performing at the school tomorrow.  We are all really excited to visit the schools and miss everyone at home!

Holly