Blogs from Kozencherry, Kerala, India, Asia

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Asia » India » Kerala » Kozencherry March 5th 2010

Hello all, It is on an interesting note that I'm ending my time as a volunteer in Kerala and beginning two months as a tourist in north India. I couldn't be happier about my decision to come and live as a member of the community before departing to see the rest of the country. On Thursday we finally took a visit to the Hugging Mother's ashram and... I found it quite vacant and disappointing! Having visited, and been profoundly moved by, various holy sites this past summer when I travelled to Israel, I was expecting some of the same feelings - we were at a place where thousands of people come to stay every year and worship this woman, where she has had a temple built with images showing her face on Shiva and Ganesh's body ... read more

Asia » India » Kerala » Kozencherry August 8th 2005

I got up a little late on Saturday morning and took the 12:15 train to Kayankulam to get to Amma's. It was about a twenty minute ride. From there I took a rickshaw for about a half an hour, to a traditional ferry (a dugout canoe). A short ferry ride later, I arrived at the ashram. It's a collection of pink buildings on a narrow stretch of land between a river and the Indian Ocean. After checking in, I went up to my room to get settled in. I was sharing what couldn't have been more than an 8 ft. by 8 ft. box with three other women. There were no beds, only foam pads covered in vinyl. With four of us in there, there was hardley any room to walk. My sheets smelled horribly musty. ... read more

Asia » India » Kerala » Kozencherry August 5th 2005

So it turns out the flood was a complete non-event, at least for us. A few houses in the village were flooded, as were a few roads, and school was closed. However, the water didn't come anywhere near our part of the village, so there really wasn't anything to worry about. In the last few days we've been having movie night every evening, and I've found some really good movies that I think even Dad will like. Also, this morning I went with Sumitra (who works in the office) and Danyia (who teaches dance) to the temple, and had the full morning prayers experience (well, maybe not the full experience since as a non-Hindu I wasn't allowed all the way into the inner sanctum). However, I have be blessed many times over, and had three different ... read more

Asia » India » Kerala » Kozencherry August 1st 2005

It has been absolutely pouring rain for the last 24 hours here. The roads are starting to flood. To get anywhere, I have to slog through a knee deep puddle of murky water that is right outside my house. It's actually quite fun. The only thing that concerns me is a power line type thing that is lying in the puddle of water. They tell me it's a telephone line and not to worry. I'm dubious. However, I suppose if it were a live power line I'd know by now. Atma, one of the men who works at the center, keeps warning us about the possibility of the river overflowing. He said that if the flooding gets bad and we can't get out of the house, someone will bring us food. He also said that if ... read more

Asia » India » Kerala » Kozencherry July 29th 2005

Well folks, not much to add today, except I have to brag a little bit. An Indian travel website (Go Here) wants to use my photos and some of my blog on their website. Other than that, it's been raining alot. Also lots of power failures. There's a government regulated power outtage every day for a half hour between four and six p.m. but we've been getting a lot more than that in the last two days. Yesterday I was on the phone to Jo and the power cut out. Ooh, and the power just cut out again (the internet cafe has back-up generators for the computers). Also, I finally got all of my course issues figured out. I'm still not entirely sure what I'm taking, but as registration ends at midnight tonight (Friday), I should ... read more

Asia » India » Kerala » Kozencherry July 28th 2005

Well folks, I've been in India now two weeks and I have two weeks to go (actually it was two weeks yesterday, but close enough). I started woodcarving today, and it's great. I'm making a lotus flower. I find that I'm staying well after my class is over to get parts of it finnished. I'm really excited about being able to bring back some samples of my woodcarving. My ayurvedic massage yesterday was quite an experience. Modesty went out the window. The massage is given on a wooden table with no sheet or anything. On top of that, there don't seem to be many places that are off-limits for massaging. All in all, though, it was a really nice experience. Yesterday I also washed my clothes. This involves pouring water and detergent into a bucket and ... read more

Asia » India » Kerala » Kozencherry July 27th 2005

Well, there's not too much to report since my last update. I've decided to drop dance. It's making me feel exhausted all the time and it's so hot and the dance studio is outdoors. I think the biggest problem is that I'm having a hard time eating most of the non-carbohydrate foods, and so I just don't have the energy for dance in 90 degree weather for two hours a day. I've decided to take up woodcarving instead. Also, I discovered yesterday that my phone will never work in Kerala, and that I'd have to buy an Indian phone, which is too expensive (even though compared to the US it's dirt cheap). Apparently 90% of India works on 900 bandwitdth (which my phone has along with 850/1900), but Kerala and a few other select places work ... read more

Asia » India » Kerala » Kozencherry July 25th 2005

Well, it's been quite an eventful few days. First, I quit the Mohiniattam. It was just too painful. Now I'm doing a different type of dance that starts with a B that I can't spell. It involves a lot of foot stamping. Also, this weekend seven of the students (myself included) went on a weekend trip to Periyar, which is up in the Cardamom hills. It's about a four hour drive on a ridiculously narrow road up the side of a mountain with gigantic buses coming at you from the other direction. There's no guardrails and the fog was intense (actually we were going through cloud we were so high up) and every once in a while a cow would amble onto the road. However, everything was a beautiful lush green, and it was quite cool ... read more
The Cardamom Hills
A Giant Spider
Periyar Reserve

Asia » India » Kerala » Kozencherry July 21st 2005

So I have finally arrived in Kerala. When I got here last night I was a little disappointed. Neither the center nor the state were quite what I had expected and I was feeling quite homesick. However, now that I've started classes and seen a little bit of the surrounding area, my outlook is brightening. The center is four or five buildings scattered throughout a quite small village. About 2 km away is Kozencherry, the closest big town. After breakfast this morning (served on banana leaves and eaten with one's hands) I took the bus to Kozencherry (except I got off at the wrong stop and had to walk a kilometer to get there) to hit the ATM. While I was there, I bought some black fabric to have the tailor down the road from the ... read more




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