Toilets, Swollen Feet, and Cows

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Tuesday morning, December 13

Yesterday was a full day kick started by a foot massage/pedicure/hot paraffin dip in the hotel spa. THAT was great. After that we took a little road trip with Anond and Pretty. This time we did away with the “driver” (who is typically hired along with a vehicle) and Anond drove us himself.

We went to the Indian Institute of Technology where Praveen attended before coming to the US to work on his masters degree. It’s a huge sprawling campus that includes lots of wooded type areas within it. Spotted deer roam about freely and are quite tame. They are actually “wild” deer who just come to live there on their own. There are monkeys there too but we didn’t see them even though we looked. Praveen showed us all his old stomping grounds including his dorm which is called a hostel here.

We drove further south into the countryside to visit a little “village” which is actually more like an outdoor museum/native craft center. There were different areas representing different areas and cultures within southern India and in each area they had reconstructed homes representative of the people who live there and their lifestyles. It was quite interesting until I began to get belly cramps and had to leave the others waiting for me while I went in search of the “toilet”.

Note: They don’t use the term “restroom” here. It’s either toilet or bathroom. This one had a big sign pointing to it saying “toilet”.

Ruth offered to go with me but I decided it was time to take the bull by the horns and be a big girl. I could do this….. and I did. I approached the small building and easily located the universal sign for women on one half of the building. There were three small rooms with doors. I opened the first one and got my first view of a real Indian toilet, a keyhole shaped hole in the floor. I decided to take a chance on door two and found the same, but door three was a winner with a “real” toilet behind it. It was clean and everything worked except the flush-er. There was a water spigot on the wall and a bucket under it so I assumed this was the way to flush. There was even a little trash can in there (for baby wipe disposal).

I gut ache didn’t fully subside but I felt a little better as I walked back to find the kids waiting for me. Ruth asked for the bathroom report and we decided we should institute a rating system using a one to ten scale. It was hard because I hadn’t seen a ONE yet, although we decided the hotel would be our basis for a ten. We gave a 5 just for having a western toilet. Toilet paper boosted it to a 6 and a trash can would give it a 7. Other rating factors would be cleanliness. This one got a 7 but since the flusher didn’t work, we dropped it to a 6. Overall it was acceptable, but not close enough to the hotel standard to get much more than a 6 inspite of the trash can.

I decided to sit for a bit and catch up with the kids later which seemed to be just what I needed to get my gut in check. So, I missed touring the Tamil Brahman home but got in on the Tamil agricultural home. Most of the homes had a central area that was depressed, a step down area that had no roof over it. It sort of looked like a little wading pool without the water, and the rest of the house was built around it with open areas as well as small enclosed rooms. Some of the homes had intricate wood or stone work. Others were more modest. Many of the homes were made to house extended families.

One home was a potter’s home where we got to see a man make a clay pot on a potter’s wheel. It was amazing to watch him quickly transform a lump of clay into an intricate little vase. At another home there was a woman who painted an intricate design on my hand with a henna mixture. It was thick when she painted it on and had to dry about a half hour before I could chip it off to reveal the pretty lacy looking stain beneath it. They say that the stain will last a couple weeks. I think that this is used mostly for celebrations…I know it is a part of some Indian marriages and that Ruth has requested it for hers. I love it! I would love to have it all over my body1 It’s mostly used on the hands and feet I think. By the time Ruth’s wedding rolls around, I will be ready for more…maybe on my feet also next time.

As we headed for the car to leave, it began to rain (again) and I had to be careful to protect my new art work. We stopped for lunch at a beautiful hotel on our way to where Pretty was going to show us an ancient temple (or maybe it’s called a shrine) that was carved completely out of one very large stone. We got a little lost trying to find it, but we found another area that had some smaller shrines also each carved from one very large stone. I’m talking about structures that you can walk inside of….. all from about the fifth or sixth century and all quite intricate. To see them, we got out of the car and hiked up a small hill. They weren’t protected by fencing or anything, you could get right up or inside of them. Other large rocks that hadn’t been carved into structures had pictures and writing carved into them.

The hill side was also populated with local goats and people trying to see us trinkets. It’s not easy to ignore these people, but that is what I’m told I must do. If you even speak to them, they keep following you and begging you to buy their things. It’s irritating and it’s sad. I may have liked to buy one of the little stones that I saw several young boys trying to sell, but I was a little afraid to even try. Ruth says that if I am interested in something then I should go ahead and buy it. I think will need to understand my Indian currency better first though. Also, bargaining is expected here and I am a horrible bargin-er.

I watched Praveen negotiate a deal with a person selling stone carvings in a little booth when we later walked to the beach. It was quite a lively exchange and even when Praveen handed over the money and we were walking away with the carving, the man was hollering at him for more money. I guess it’s just part of the buying/selling game that is played. By the way, I think Praveen got the statue for “only” 1200 or 1300 ‘dollars’ which is about 30 bucks US. I think it started at 2,000.

During the trip, I got to see LOTS of cows on and near the roads. Once there was a group of about 20 of them, some standing, some just laying down in the road. I wanted to take a picture of them but it was too difficult from inside the moving car.

And…back to that traffic thing…. No, I’m still not freaking out but got close yesterday when it was dark AND raining and there were headlights coming towards us as we wove in and out of the menagerie, often on the wrong side of the road. As before though, it was all in slow motion. Most things are in slow motion around here except for the way they speak. THAT is not slow.

By the way, Ruth and I awarded the “toilet” at the hotel where we ate lunch a TEN. We even considered giving it an eleven on a ten point scale.

My feet were still swollen when I woke up yesterday and got more so during the day but this morning when I woke up they only looked slightly “chubby”. I’m hoping they stay that way but if they don’t I might go see Praveen’s mom’s doctor when we arrive at their home later today.

We fly out for Coimbatore this morning where I’m looking forward to seeing Prasanna and Santhana. I am NOT looking forward to getting all my stuff rounded up and crammed back into my suitcases. (but that is exactly what I will have to do as soon as I get this entry posted)

PS There are more photos on Ruth's camera, but I can't post them until she puts them on the laptop. So... you won't see many photos of me until that happens... And.... then you will get to see the fancy artwork on my hand!

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Photos

Ruth & Praveen
This was taken at the hotel where we had lunch.

Deer at the College
Aren't they pretty?

A View of the Ocean
Ruth and Anond walk towards the ocean from the hotel where we had lunch. It was beautiful!

"Pretty" and Anond
This was taken at the hotel where we had lunch.

Deer at the College
They are everywhere, all over the college grounds.

A BIG rock
This huge stone was just sitting there. I don't think I'd be walking under it.

Ruth in a Shrine
Can you believe this structure is carved from one large chunk of stone? It is.

Goats in the Shrine
Local goats liked to hang out in the ancient stone shrines.

Goats in the Shrine
This one too, is carved from one piece of stone.

Comments

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Toilets, Swollen Feet, and Cows
I finally had the time to sit and "enjoy" your journals and pics. Fun and interesting to read and beautiful pics! Thank you for sharing. Looking forward to reading/seeing more.