Dancing show and snow (TC)

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Didn’t think I could top the brownie last night but today Rupal gave me some of her aunts home made mint chocolates and then made her own brownie for desert tonight! Yum!

Our schedule today said that we were heading to a Jain temple at Moodabidri but the unexpected (or now expected!) happened again and we landed at a Rotary meeting in the town. The people welcomed us warmly with flowers and then told us the plan for the day; a pineapple farm, a wood factory, lunch and then a herbal medicine centre.

The pineapple farm has a long history and the family owners also grow lots of other plants and fruits on their land, as well as having a beautiful guest house. Farmers here really have to think of innovative ways to use their land and make the most of their crops as it is so dry most of the year but the land floods in the monsoon season. At the juice bar, we taste some fresh pineapple juice before having a tour of the site. It is so interesting to learn about where our food comes from! Eating the fresh fruit is an even better experience. It tastes so much better than our own.

We arrive at the wood factory and the company and house are owned by Rotarians. I have never seen so much beautiful wood in one home! We are invited in and given a garland of varnished nuts. We also make presentations to each of the Rotary members who are here. And there are a lot. After entertaining us with some Tulu songs, we are asked to entertain them. We haven’t prepared anything but Emily and Di come to the rescue with a cobbled together version of the Highland Fling. Di also has a go at playing a local flute! Go girls!!

Lunch is amazing and followed by more fruits than I have ever seen in one place. The highlight of my day here is watching the craftsmen at work in the factory. It’s great to see how an item starts and then the end product, all in one place. The attention to detail is amazing and these men are very skilled workers. Some of the pieces we see take around two months to complete and include brass and pearl inlays. I think we are all considering shipping some items home!

Next stop is the Jain temple of 1000 pillars. Again the granite carvings are amazing and have stood here for hundreds of years. It is amazing to think about the history behind these places of worship. Last stop is the herbal medicine factory. The products here are natural and we see the fermentation process as well as the machines used to turn the medicines into tablet form. Many of the items here look like the type of things we buy in Holland and Barrett.

It has been a long day and I head home, back to my host family in Mangalore. Rupal and Punit spend some time explaining the area where they pray in their home. They talk about the various idols which they pray to and tell me that their religion has 30,000 different gods. No wonder I can’t get my head around it. They all pray here every day and ring a bell within the house too. Later, I spend some time outside trying to play cricket with the boys. I think its safe to say im not very good but the boys do try not to laugh at me! They learn cricket at school and Dev is particularly good. After a run around the town in the car and some snacks at a drive thru, we eat dinner and then I spend some time with the boys, who call me auntie. They tell me that they have eaten and thoroughly enjoyed the first stick of Blackpool Rock. I use Google images and maps to show them my house, my street, some of the sights in London and also tell them all about snow. They are fascinated. I hope I have made two pen friends here too!

Tracy x

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Comments

[hunasagatta lingamariyappa ravi]

GSE team from Dist 1190 experiences south indian culture
Hey Tracy and all others. Nice to hear from all of you. Tracy appears to be giving an excellent experience of the team in Moodabidri. Looking forward to host Team Leader Angie and meeting all other team members at Shimoga between 22 Jan and 25 Jan 2013... Hunasagatta Lingamariyappa Ravi, Immediate Past District Governor, R I Dist 3180, Shimoga

[Ruth Otway]

Hello All Your blogs are the first thing I switch on to in the morning [even before breakfast I knew from experience you would all have a wonderful time but It seems to be surpassing all expectations .I love India it is probably the most exciting place in the world that I have been to Living with famililies makes it all even more special . It will live with you for the rest of your lives I feel as tho I am on the exchange with you Keep going !!!! best wishes Ruth