The scene as I walked out of the airport in Thiruvananthapuram (tee-roo-vahn-ahn-thah-POO rahm) will FOREVER be etched into my memory. India hit me like a brick wall, so different from anything I had ever seen or smelled or expected, the inside of the airport and the outside of the airport were two totally different worlds. We arrived in India on Tuesday night around 9:30pm after two sleepless days of travel which included an impromptu tour of London during our 11 hr layover. In London, 4 of the 9 of us (6 girls, 3 boys) decided to take the subway into the [View Full Entry]

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I think it is time I was honest about my intentions for spending the summer in India. It wasn't for the performance arts training, or the cultural experience, or the food, or the weather, it was solely and most definitely to experience the Kerala Academy of Magical Sciences. Last week, my roommate somehow booked a private show with the highest ranking magician in Kerala. Though his black mock-turtleneck, blazer, and rimless glasses were not what I expected from an expert in Magical Sciences, his show was amazing! It was complete with card tricks, vanishing coins, and though he couldnt show is [View Full Entry]

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I could spend rolls upon rolls of film on pictures of people wading in the ocean. I think that everyone, from toddlers to grandmothers, inherently knows how to properly wade. That moment when the approaching wave rises higher than expected is absolute perfection. It isnt a successful wade session unless the pants, rolled to the knees, are wetter than intended as a result of pushing the limits of the tide. Two weekends ago we left early Sunday morning to visit the most prestigious performance arts school in Kerala. With the one night we had in Trissur my roommate another friend and [View Full Entry]

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As you may know, there was a little sporting event happening the last couple of weeks called the world cup. I officially decided to root for Portugal because they play dirty and I know a couple of words in Portugese (thank you Cody). Seeing games was tough because most of them were broadcasted after midnight here in India but I knew that somehow I wanted to see the game between Portugal and France. Some of us have been hanging out regularly with a waiter, Makesh, from the restaurant Panchali's. He really enjoys showing us around Trivandrum and having people to practice [View Full Entry]

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After two hours of weaving through tea fields, crossing a mini-waterfall, taking a small and casual spill, and coaching my roommate through her first wilderness "urine passing" my rommate Alia and I made it back to a hotel in Munnar where we planned to camp out and write letters while we waited for our two travel companions to meet us for dinner. It was 8:30 when the other two students, Dan and George, finally came through the restaurant door. Curiously, they were wearing swimming trunks and one look at their legs told us why. Leeches!! It looked like their legs were [View Full Entry]

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Well as expected, there were some computer problems at the program house this last week so I apoligize for the long time with no update. I am now sitting in a little internet cafe about 1.5 miles from my house where the connection is fast and a fan is pointed directly at me. Life is good. We left for our long weekend in Munnar last Thursday afternoon, 4 of the 9 of us decided to trek around Munnar's mountainous tea plantations while another four visited a wildlife preserve and one girl spent a spa weekend in Varkala. As we approached our [View Full Entry]

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I now have officially been in the Bay of Bengal, the Indian Ocean, and the Arabian Sea all in one wading session. On Sunday we visited the southern tip of India, Kanyakumari where we toured a palace and two island monuments. The ocean was breathtaking, as always, and the windy boat trips from monument to monument were just the boating fix I needed. On this trip we saw our first glimpse of mountains and my first Indian beach. We also saw some of our first public garbage cans which are oddly shaped like bunnies and penguins and it was our first [View Full Entry]

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Every weekday when I get home from mohiniattom our cook, Tangama (who is really becoming more like our mother) comes to the doorway of the kitchen to laugh at how sweaty I am. My "working" pants and shirt are always absolutely drenched after the two hours of rigorous dancing in this heat. I actually caught myself thinking it might be nice to have some jacket weather today, which means it must be hot. Whenever I leave the program house, I am always equipped with my nalgene, (courtesy of Katie K) and some occasional breaks in the shade help to ward off [View Full Entry]

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It was already dark when we arrived at the East Fort Junction where we were met by Matthew, one of the program directors. Matthew, his wife Cassie, and their 4yr old son Avi are from Wisconsin but have been living in Thiruvananthapuram for 2yrs while Matthew has been researching ayurveda medicine in Kerala. His wife has been learning Barhata Natyam an Indian dance form. On the steps of the most prominent temple in Kerala Matthew debriefed us about what to expect at the possession we were about to witness. Of all the information he gave, the point he stressed the most [View Full Entry]

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I am beginning to become accustomed to the heat. The 1/2 time walking pace I've eagerly adopted probably has a hand in that. Sometimes I feel like I am barely moving, but Indian clothes just seem to move better when the wearer is moving slowly. Since we arrived, we've gone shopping twice for clothes that agree with the climate. I have found that salwaar kameez are the most comfortable. This consists of a long (just below the knees) dress/shirt, some light-weight parachute pants and a dupatta (a long scarf). The fabrics are unreal. I could spend hours swimming in the folds [View Full Entry]

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