Returning to the School

Returning to the School

Monday, Oct. 23, 2006--Trivandrum (Cont.)

I stayed in the room all afternoon. I took a Tylenol and started feeling better. It relieved the flu-like symptoms. Went across the street and ate a masala dosa for dinner. Rain was coming, so I rushed back to the hotel.

Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2006--Trivandrum to Varkala

When I was in Vietnam, all the men looked younger than they really are. Now that I am in India, I have noticed many times that the men look older than they say they are. The tailor in Madurai a few days ago shocked me when he said he was 46; he looked older than I am. Today, I met a man who was 30 and looked 45.

Met a nice young man on the train this morning. Actually, he helped me on the platform to make sure that I was in the right place for catching the train and that I got the right one. He has an MBA and works for ICICI Prudential. ICICI is a large banking corporation, and they have a working partnership with Prudential Insurance. Anyway, the young man spoke English very well. In fact, he was reading an English-language newspaper. We sat together on the train and he let me know when my stop was approaching.

I went back to the same hotel in Varkala where I stayed last year. It's a nice place--maybe nicer than anywhere else I have stayed in India. I got a good room in front with two windows to allow light inside. It has cable TV and is VERY clean. They found my entry in their register from my visit last year. It was almost exactly a year ago that I was here--Oct. 21 vs. Oct. 24 this time.

Went to a restaruant my guidebook recommended for good western breakfasts. But they don't serve them any more. I had to settle for a masala dosa. It was very good--better than the ones I have been getting. But I am so tired of eating the same foods over and over again. My table overlooked the temple tank--a concrete-lined swimming and bathing area, so I was able to watch the kids swimming while I ate. To go with the lunch, I asked for juice. All they had was fruit-flavored sodas, so I asked for a lemon soda. A moment later, however, the man came back and asked if I would like papaya juice. When I responded positively, I saw him take a machete and go out to a nearby papaya tree and cut down two fruits. When he came back to my table from the kitchen, he had a glass filled with thick, rich papaya pulp. It was so good. It had not been watered down the way most fruit drinks are here with sugar water.

It was a beautiful day at the beach. And many local people were there. That's because it was a holiday for the end of Ramadan. Most of the people were muslim, but some were hindu, too. I walked the trail that connects the three beaches here so that I could see the people on each beach enjoying themselves. I did that twice. Once around 1 p.m. and again late in the afternoon around 4:30 p.m. I took photos, since I had lost the ones from my visit last year due to the computer virus that destroyed my film card at the school afterwards.

I ate dinner at a seaside beach restarant. I had wanted to go to an Italian place and have something that wasn't Indian. But it was dark when I passed it. There are about 3 restaurants right on the beach, so I chose one of those. I ordered chicken biriyani and got better than I expected. It was freshly made and with good ingredients--raisins, cashews, onions, tomatoes, etc., mixed in with the rice. And it had chunks of pepper to give it a nice spicy taste. The waiter suggested a hot ginger lemon to go with it, and it was perfect, too. It was a tall glass of lemonade with chunks of ginger in it and a big dollop of honey. It tasted so nice and was a new experience for me here.

Oct. 25, 2006--Varkala

I had a surprise in my bathroom this morning. There is a mouse living in there. When I switched on the light and walked inside this morning, he ran from the back of the toilet to his hiding place in the base of the sink. He didn't come out again, so I just paid no attention to the fact that he is living there. From the droppings I could see behind the sink, however, he has been there for a while. I wonder what he eats?

It was actually cool last night. Indian hotels seldom give two sheets. There is just the base sheet on the mattress, so one sleeps uncovered. Sometime in the night, I turned off the fan. Then later, I reached for my towel and used it to cover me partially, because it as so cool. I slept well, however. It must have been after 9 a.m. when I awakened.

There is activity outside today. They are cutting down a tree just outside my room. Three men are doing it. Two hold ropes attached to the portion of the tree being cut. These ropes are draped over branches of a nearby tree to form a pully-effect to brace the part that will fall. The other guy climbs up the tree branch and hacks with a machette until it is almost cut through. Then he backtracks and the other two pull their ropes to break it free. Also, out on the street is an elephant going back and forth moving branches of trees that are being cut down elsewhere. It must be tree-trimming season here.


Note: Tomorrow, I will go back to St. Joseph's International Academy, the school where I was a volunteer last year. I understand that I have installed broadbank Internet since I was there, but I don't know if it will be available to me. If it is, I will post as I have regularly done. If not, it may be 4-5 days before I can post again. Just wanted to forewarn you so no one would worry if there are no posts for a while.