Log 25

Now I am going to tell you about the programs I did while in India. On the first day, we were taken on a tour of Fort Kochi. This isn’t the kind of fort you would automatically think of with stone walls and guard towers. This is more of an area of land that people inhabit. Much like Fort Lee, Virginia. So anyway, we got to see the Chinese fishing nets, which was awesome. It is a great way to fish for a community without overfishing. I got a really cool picture of it, which is now the background photo of my laptop.

We also got to go to the Dutch Palace. Okay now this may seem a little weird, but this isn’t actually a palace. It is more like a fort with stone walls and guard towers. And the Dutch Palace is located in Fort Kochi. We were able to go inside, and see the common dress of royalty, the weapons that were used during war, and even the famous moral painted in the master bedroom. The disappointing part is that photography was not allowed. I guess that means that if you are interested in seeing it, you’ll have to come to India yourself.

Another stop was Jew Town. Now in the U.S. this would probably raise some flags. But there is actually a legit reason for Jew Town in India. So a long time ago, there was a very small Jewish population that came to India. They established Synagogues, and made a home here. Now, there are only five families that are Jewish, and only one functioning synagogue. The shops around the town are all influenced or run by Jewish culture. And many of the profits go to the Jewish community.

One thing to keep in mind is that while Hinduism plays a large role in Indian culture, that is not the only religion in the area. You have Judaism, Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Christianity, Bahaism, and I am sure there are some that I am either forgetting, or that I just don’t know about. The very first Catholic church to ever be established in India is St. Francis Church, and it is in Fort Kochi. Interestingly, that is also the resting place of Vasco De Gama. On just one street, you could pass a church, temple, and synagogue all within five minutes.

The last thing we did on the first day was the Spice Market. Now I think mom may have died if she went in there, because of all of the smells. When we opened the door to the spice market, it was almost as if someone shoved our heads into a bag of mixed scents. It was a lot to take in all in the first three seconds. They had almost every spice you could think of, and some you probably never heard of before. But spices are India’s thing. As a whole country, if there is one reason to come to India, it would be the spice market. I would also go as far to say that if you came to India for some other reason, like visiting the Taj Mahal, that your stay in India would not be complete without go to a spice market.

Now the second day I was independent traveling my cabinmate and another friend. This is the day that we were speaking Spanish all day. We took a tuktuk around the area to see the local life. A tuktuk is basically a rickshaw with a motor. Anyway, I saw some of the same things as I did on the first day, but it was nice to get to see more shops and local life without being part of a massive group of Americans walking down the street.

The third day I had another program. This one is called Missionaries of Charity. We went to this school that was run by nuns. But it wasn’t what I was expecting. At this school, there were 40 children, ages 5 and up, all of which had some sort of mental or physical disability. Some were subtle, and the kids would be in school during the day, but some had disabilities so extensive that they couldn’t even move. Now, this school isn’t meant to be an orphanage, but that is basically what it is. When a family has a child with disabilities, but cannot afford to care for the child, they can leave the child with the Missionaries of Charity. It is complicated though, because some of the parents visit their children, and play with them, and make sure they are okay, but others just leave their children there and never see them again. So most of the child are orphans, but not all of them exactly. We took a tour of the facility. Outside, there was a playground. Then inside, there was an exercise room, with some really cool light settings and music. There was a bigger area where all of the beds were. Of the beds that I saw, they were all crib style. Then one of the kids lead me to another room. This was there prayer room, and there was a painting of Jesus on the wall. We had an hour remaining where we were allowed to play with them. You could tell that they were have so much fun. I am sure they don’t get visitors all the time. The one like to play patty cake, another like to draw, and almost all of them liked to dance. But not all of them were really little. There was one girl there that, if I had to guess, what maybe around 14 years old. She didn’t know a lot of English, but the one Sister said that she was learning. She seems to help with the really little kids. This experience was very moving. Disabilities are everywhere. Some more obvious than others. And I don’t just mean every in India, I mean everywhere around the world, and they exist for all different reasons. But to a family in India where their entire livelihood depends on working fields, making pottery, weaving cloths, or even using leaves to make thatch, yoga mats, and other trinkets, it is understandable that the family would not be able to care for a child that can’t help with the family business. It is just sad that the situation exists.

Another part of this program was that we got to donate soccer balls to a local soccer team. We were able to meet the team and hear their stories, and at the end, we gave each of them a ball. It was an interesting experience, and it was nice to see how happy it made them, just to receive a ball. It really grounds you into the culture.

Yesterday, our fifth day in India, I went on a tour of the backwaters. We went to a weaving house, and watched the women tirelessly make these cloths. We also toured a small village that hand makes a lot of stuff. But there were a lot of parts to this village so I will be sure to show pictures and explain those when I get home. And my favorite part of the trip was our “lazy river” tour. We boarded these really sketchy boats that were pretty much canoes with plastic chairs in them. It was still fun nonetheless. I got some pictures of some very adorable children, water snakes, birds, cows, and a really cool picture of the trees. I apologize for talking so much about the photos I’ve taken. I feel like it is sort of a tease, that I tell you about them, but haven’t posted them. I should be able to post them in South Africa. We are supposed to be in a very busy area, so there has to be WiFi somewhere.

So those were pretty much all of my adventures in India. I would definitely like to come back and visit the northern part of India. Everyone says the north and the south are completely different. That just gives me a reason to come back.

Oh before I forget, my post should be coming more regularly from now on. Instead of reading five of them at a time, you will be mostly in sync with me. I taught mom how to upload them, so I am just going to send them to her over email, and she will put them on the website for me. I hope this makes the experience even cooler for you.

Days until I come home: 45