Kerala

Friday morning we woke up at 4:45 and went to the airport. A few hours later we were in Kochi, Kerala. Then we drove to the backwaters and got on a house boat and rode around the backwaters all day. We were served several types of fish along with chicken and duck. We also had pineapple, fried bananas, and tapioca.

Saturday morning we toured the palace. For lunch we ate at a revolving restaurant. Then we went to Jew Town and walked around all the little shops. Some men here wear something called a dhoti which we have been calling a "man skirt" when describing it and one of the guys finally got one. He had a lesson on how to wear it but as we walked down the street everyone smiled and then came up to him and said that he wasn't wearing it right and then tied it in a new way. We came to the conclusion that everyone wears them a different way. But basically you can wear it long or if you want to show more leg you can fold it in half and tie it again.

Sunday we drove about three hours to the hills. We stopped at a waterfall for a little while and we were able to climb up it and get behind the water. Then we stopped at tea plantations and walked through the tea plants.

Mocha Mojo's

Last Friday a few of us went to a Hookah/Coffee Shop called Mocha Mojo's that some people in our group recommended. The food was amazing! It was a nice break from Indian food, which is good but was starting to taste the same.

Pondicherry

This weekend four of the Auburn students traveled 2 and a half hours South to Pondicherry with 6 students from Michigan state. Pondicherry is in a different state than Chennai making it okay for them to have cheaper alcohol and beef. Pondicherry was also colonized by the French so it looks different from the other Indian cities. We arrived late Friday night and stayed at a hostel that was a little outside of the city's center. Saturday morning we moved to L'Escale guest house on which was a much better place and was run by a British man so less communication errors. We went to the beach and then enjoyed steaks for dinner. Sunday we went to Auroville which is this utopian type area outside of Pondicherry where they do a lot of experimental things with food and housing. It is also where Matrimindar is located (giant gold dome ashram) but it was closed by the time we got there. There were some neat shops that sold crafts and food products including Kombucha (a health promoting tea made from fungus).

This Week

On Monday we went to the wedding reception, everyone dressed in sarees and kurtas. We were slightly overdressed for the South Indian style. Everyone stared at as when we walked in and some people asked to take pictures with us. One thing I have not been able to get used to is the stares. People shamelessly stare at us all the time. I have gotten the habit of just looking down when I walk to avoid all of them.

On Wednesday we went to a restaurant called the Rice Bowl and it had great food but it took a long time. One of the guys in our group is working with some people from Michigan State and we had a chance to meet them there. They seemed to be having a very similar experience to us and I think we are traveling to Pondicherry with some of them this weekend.

Yesterday at work we had presentations to update everyone on our projects. One thing that is different in presenting here is that the higher up people will interrupt you in the middle of a presentation to ask questions. The way that I am used to doing presentations is to go all the way through and then go back depending on questions. The Indian way seems to take longer, like most things over here.