December 24

I'm home now! It's weird to think it hasn't been THAT long since I wrote my last post, since it feels so far away. The adjustment to being back is a lot harder than I predicted but I'm still really glad to be with family for the holidays.

Our last days in Kerala went really smoothly and Mumbai was great. I felt like I just needed to get through the last few days, since I was really focused on/excited by going home, but the days went by without any trouble. We made ourselves busy enough and had fun even though I couldn't focus on India as well anymore. It was really, really nice to see some of the girls I travelled with, since we all came in and out of Mumbai in an overlapping way. I didn't get to see Cheryl and Esaba since they left Mumbai the night before I arrived, but it was really still so great to see everyone else. I went to a museum and shopped for last minute Christmas gifts, and ate at some great restaurants. Mumbai is a really cool city. It has a coastal vibe the way North American coastal cities do- there was a main city beach where people go down for street food in the evening, there were tons of great restaurants, etc, etc. It really felt like a wealthy city but I've heard that's in huge contrast to serious poverty, which I didn't actually see while I was there. Lonely planet says 52% of the city's population lives in slums - but there is also a wealthy culture of fancy stores and shopping promenades and western influence.

Anyways, my highlights included an awesome Indian restaurant that made insanely good paneer tikka rolls. On our last night Ceinwen and Marie and I also went out for a great Italian dinner at some trendy restaurant that is the sister of the best (and fanciest) restaurant in the city.

It took over 30 hours to get home, and after a full day out in Mumbai - so I think my day was something like 48 hours by the time I got to my cozy home in Toronto. Since I got home I've been sleeping on a EST schedule pretty successfully, trying to catch up with people without getting too freaked out I'm not in India, and just generally adjusting to my new reality. I've been out to my dad's twice which I'm very happy about and I'm looking forward to going for sushi lunch special at New Generation about 10x over the holidays. Today is Christmas eve dinner but Chloe is sick so we'll have to postpone maybe till tomorrow night. Then going to Sudbury to visit for a few days. All is well and I'm grateful to say that. Just gotta make a slideshow for my family. . . . .

xo Clarke

Thanks for reading!

4 days left..

Hard to believe but I only have 4 days left in India! Tomorrow morning waking at like 5am to catch an express bus back to our first homestay, which is in Cochin. We wanted to get the early one because the next one isn't until 9am so the bus would be stopping all over the place for rush hour stuff.

Since my last post...
Dec 10-  met Anton and Coby (a couple we met at the first homestay) at the boat jetty to find a nice houseboat. Found a great one and since we split the cost for a double bedroom houseboat we were able to get a 'premium' boat. It was really huge and fancy. The package included a big lunch and dinner and breakfast. We spent the day on the roof of the houseboat that had a little patio, talking with them and reading and looking at the beautiful views. It was a great experience.
Dec  11- the next day, after a nap back at our homestay, went for a 5 hour canoe tour of the backwaters. It was not as exciting since we had just been on the backwaters, but it was calm and still so pretty.
Dec 12- after breakfast took a 5 hour government bus to Kumily, where the Periyar Tiger Reserve is. When we got here we went for an elephant ride and the for dinner. The hotel here is really nice and there is cable TV with a few english channels, so we've been watching movies and stuff.
Dec 13- today we did a full day tour of the Tiger Reserve. Our tour was a bamboo rafting tour with 6 other people and 4 guides and an armed guard. We did a few hours of paddling and many hours of walking. Saw black monkeys and some big squirrels and birds and things. No tigers (very rare to see) but we did see tiger footprints which was pretty cool. Also saw evidence of elephants but couldn't see any, which was too bad cause that's more common. Good to get some exercise finally!

Tomorrow we bus back to Cochin for 6 hours, and then we hope to go see the traditional Keralan dance and get a cooking lesson from our homestay. Then Saturday afternoon we fly to Mumbai, and spend 2 days before our flight. It's been a whirlwind since we left Jagori! Having fun though. I'm torn between not wanting to leave India and being super excited to get home and see everyone.

xo Clarke

Marari Beach

Today we went to Marari beach which was absolutely beautiful. Then back to our hotel to be picked up for an Ayurvedic massage (yay!) and then home for a nap. Just got back from a nice dinner out.

Here are some photos! Tomorrow off to a 24hr houseboat tour and then back here to the town of Alleppey for a day before heading to the Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary.

Walking from the main road to the beach

Entrance to Marari Beach

Kerala

Hi everyone!

I can't remember when I posted last but I think I was in Delhi. Yes, I had just posted photos of the golf club. My last day in Delhi was nice and then I boarded a plane to Kochi, Kerala - Ceinwen got on a plane from Jodhpur and she found me easily in the airport, waiting at the gate. Our flight was a bit delayed but the airline (Jet Airways) amazingly gave us meals for every part of the flight! Ceinwen got food from Jodhpur to Delhi, then we got food from Delhi to our stop in Chennai, and another meal on the last stretch to Kochi. The flight was about 4 hours once we took off.

In Kochi we had to take a rather expensive taxi to the homestay we were at because it turns out the airport is 45km from Fort Cochin, where we stayed. We arrived in the evening and settled in and went to bed. In the morning the couple who runs the homestay, Sheeba and Ashley, served breakfast on the rooftop patio. It was very nice and yummy and we met the other travellers at the homestay. Then we walked to town - it was such a beautiful walk! Kerala is quite wealthy I think and the streets were so clean and the town is so pretty! There are Chinese fishing nets lining the shore and lots of shops and restaurants, cause I guess Fort Cochin is a touristy place. We took a public ferry to the next island over (Fort Cochin is on an island) and then a hour-long city bus up the island to Cherai beach. The beach was beautiful and very long and we swam in the Arabian Sea! It was sooo warm. We then ate a buffet lunch at the Cherai Beach Resorts (only place to eat- good but sort of expensive) and went back to the beach for a bit. We got back to Fort Cochin before dark and got fruit shakes at a cute little place before going home to shower. Then walked to Oceanus (restaurant) for a seafood dinner. Sort of another expensive place but I'm learning Kerala is a real tourist spot unlike most of India so the prices are closer to home standards. Kerala is also a democratically-elected communist state, which is super cool, and it has a matriarchal society. When you take the bus, all the women use the front half and all the men the back half. It's so cool because in Dharamsala there is a rule where 33% of seats are reserved for women but NO ONE follows it and often all the men sit while the women stand. It was an issue our NGO was targeting when we left, but it's great to see it working well here - and not just 33%, but a fair half!

We also spent a lot of the day with a man named Andy who we met that morning at the homestay, and who was going to the beach as well. He is from London and living in Thailand, and quite a nice guy. He showed us the shake shop. ALSO - he was telling us how he's waiting for some friends and their kids to arrive because they are all doing some fancy vacation over Christmas. I thought it was cool that he would stay in a little cheap place like ours and then go to their fancy resort when they arrived. Anyways, to the point! He told us that the night before he had met his friend's sister, who lives in Cochin, for dinner and she took him to this fancy hotel in Fort Cochin for drinks and he was saying how it was all so boring cause everyone was stressed at a meeting on their iPhones, and then he told us  that in the group was M.I.A. and John Abraham (a Bollywood star). And he was whining about how he didn't want to go to dinner with this woman again!! Ceinwen and I stalked the hotel a bit in the evening but didn't see M.I.A.

Today we woke up and took a rickshaw tour of Jew Town, which is near Fort Cochin. Then we took a taxi to Alleppey, a town 1.5 hours away. We were going to take the city bus but we luckily found a couple at the homestay who were also going and we split the cost with them. We are going to do our overnight backwaters houseboat tour with them also cause we will save 500-1500 rupess ($10-30) by taking a two-bedroom houseboat. That will be Monday/Tuesday. When we got here we checked into our homestay (not as cute as the other place but there is wifi and that's a big plus!) and walked to find food. That took a while of walking back and forth and it made me feel like a real traveller again, not being able to find things and all. We eventually found our way to the beach which is 15 minutes walk from our place. We found a nice place to eat and had masala fish and prawns. Mmmm. The beach was so beautiful and we walked on it as the sun started to go down so it cooled off an we could walk in our bare feet. No one was swimming (our Lonely Planet says it's dangerous but doesn't elaborate so we are gonna investigate why it's not safe) except some teenage boys playing frisbee and stuff. It was cool to see lots of locals there with their families enjoying the spot. It was very clean and made me happy there is more wealth here. I love to see the people who belong in a place enjoying its amazingness.

Now we are back in our room showered uploading photos etc. I think my mom and sister may call tonight which will be nice. Oh! Another nice surprise was that Sheeba, at the last homestay, offered for us to leave some stuff behind for the week, since we'll be back there the night before our flight to Mumbai. So I left my big backpack and took just a day pack and a canvas bag!!! It will be so nice moving around without the pile of parka and boots and souvenirs.

Me at the Lotus Temple

Lotus Temple

Walking to Old Fort Cochin from the homestay

A church in Fort Cochin (there are lots of churches all over in Kerala because it was a colony)

The ferry to Vypeen Island to go to Cherai Beach - split men in the back women in the front 

Vypeen Island

Vypeen Island - these are Chinese fishing nets

On the rickshaw ride to the beach

Cherai Beach

In the backwater canals behind the beach, on the island

More of the canals

Sun setting on the ferry back 

On our rickshaw tour this morning

at a ginger warehouse

a blurry photo taken by our rickshaw driver

On our taxi ride to Alleppey our driver spotted an elephant coming up the road and pulled over so we could take photos. Look at it!!!

Alleppey Beach (Ceinwen and a family)

Me at Alleppey Beach 

Me again

A big fancy church in Alleppey

the church's cemetery



xo can't wait to see you all! 17 days till Christmas!!!

Delhi in December (day 3 of 5)

Now I'm in the midst of my post-ELE (my course is called an ELE) travels - essentially I'm on holiday now which I try to keep reminding myself because I think it will make me feel a bit lighter on my feet.

Since my last post a lot has happened. I got sick again (first time was on my way to Dharamsala in an Amritsar hotel) which was unexpected and unfortunate. I was out of work for about 4 days and drank a lot of Appey juice boxes and lay in bed. Once I got better there was just enough time to finish up all of my work, which came together really nicely. Ceinwen and I finished with a full nutrition manual including 6 lessons with activities etc. to facilitate teaching the women's and youth groups about nutrition, and also an 'internal report' documenting our work to make the manual, including preliminary interviews and surveys and things. Our curriculum is apparently going to be published which is really really exciting. Navneet promised to email us progress on the nutrition program which I'm happy about.

We had a farewell party the day before we left which was really nice. We were able to see all the Jagori staff and have homemade pakoras and ice cream (not homemade) and we had good hugs and goodbye talks with everyone. Saturday was a weird day because we were in limbo- packing bags and waiting for our bus. We took an overnight bus to Delhi which was actually quite a nice bus but I found it rather rough. Got pretty sick and ended up sleeping as soon as I got to Ekta's place. Ekta is a good friend of Chloe from Waterloo that lives in Delhi. She's taken me in for 5 days and it's so wonderful to be here. She and her family are amazing hosts and I'm really glad to see Delhi from a new perspective.

On Sunday I laid low and slept and ate, and then Monday while Ekta was at work I went to meet Christina (a fellow volunteer from Jagori who is in town to pick up a Chinese visa for the holidays) and Dhru (a good friend of a coworker from Jagori who lives here in Delhi) for the day. We went to some markets - Delli Haat and Janpath - and then to Dhru's place to watch a movie. Then Christina came back to Ekta's for dinner. Today I went for a haircut in the morning (600 rupees! or about $11) and then to the IDRC office, a Canadian research agency, where I met a staff member there who is friends with a family friend of mine. I learned about her work in India and talked a bit about my program, and then I took an autorickshaw (on my own! which was a fun independent thing, amidst many spoiled drives with Ekta's driver) to the Delhi Golf Club to meet my great aunt and some of her friends (and some more relatives) for lunch. The golf club was beautiful and really cool to see some high society of Delhi. Everyone was all dressed up in fancy clothes and the parking lot had many nice cars and everything. Meeting Billy Massi (my aunt) was so nice. She seems very well and it's nice to be connected with my grandmother's close family. I'm excited to come to Delhi again and hopefully see more of them. Now I'm back at Ekta's relaxing and waiting for her to come home from work. Not sure what I'll do tonight and tomorrow, but on Thursday I fly to Kerala to explore with Ceinwen! It will be fun to see her after a few days apart, hear about her time in the desert (all the other girls went to Jodhpur) and tell her about my time here. And to see Kerala!

Got to empty my camera's memory card so there's room to take more photos of my travels!

The view of the valley from Lower Dharamsala - my house would be in here somewhere. There was a beautiful snowfall a few days before we left, which I was happy to see. 

The view again, from the Police Grounds where the non-violence event for Jagori's 16-day campaign to stop violence against women was held. It was our last work day and such a nice view to see all day.

The goodbye party after the non-violence event, at Jagori TARA centre. This is my friend Vandana from the SATH team. 

Me and Gaytri, who runs the Green Leaf vegetable market out of SAFAL team. 

Yesterday in Delhi after watching a movie at Dhru's house, his driver took us home in their Mercedes! It was so crazy and I've definitely had some culture shock coming from 3 months in a village to the big city!

On the way home last night!

Today, taking my solo ride from the IDRC office to the Delhi Golf Club. This auto was brand new which was kind of cool. 

At the Golf Club - the view from the outdoor eating area. So beautiful! Especially with some of these old buildings to set the picture.

Again, the golf course.

Lunch with Billy Massi (in green) who looks great! And Bittu (my dad's cousin) and some of their family and friends. Another beautiful old building in the background.

At lunch!

xo can't wait to be home for Christmas, but there's lots of fun to be had between now and then. 

Coffee Shop

Just as a small ancedote to tell you how my life looks here:

Today is our day off, and I usually spend my day off doing one of two things. 1) I go to McLeodganj (over 1 hr bus each way) and shop and eat and eat and socialize with my fellow volunteers and some of their friends who live in that town. 2) I lay low- sleep in, eat breakfast, shower, do laundry, then go down to Sidhbari to the coffee shop and hang out there.

Today I am doing number 2. Funny thing is that I guess my housemates and I pretty much follow the same routine, because two of them left this morning at 930am to go to McLeodgang, and the other two did EXACTLY the same thing as me. We all woke up late, ate, showered, and did laundry in various orders and then in a span of 2 minutes all left our places uncoordinated (but still very coordinated) to go to Sidhbari.

I walked down with Cheryl and Ceinwen was a bit ahead of us. I got a brownie and milkshake (I asked them to combine their offers of banana, coffee, and chocolate shakes and it was pretty great) and we are all sitting at individual tables doing things on our computers. We're the only ones here which makes it sort of funny- it's like we transported our house to here.

So, I'm working on setting up a research project for a course I'm taking next semester. I just ordered a ginger-lemon-honey, which is exactly what it sounds like. They have them all over here and they're so good and always make me feel cozy, especially when I think I'm coming down with a cold.

Tonight I'm going to a wedding which will be nice (of course). In the meantime just hanging out and trying to get some work done

9 days to go.. talked to Ekta (Chloe's good friend from Waterloo, who lives in Delhi) who is having me at her house for 5 days at the beginning of December. She said she has lots to show me so I'm really excited to see it all! It will be great to see Delhi from another perspective, especially of a young person who lives there. Maybe I'll get a sense of what it would be like to live there.

xo 

Poster Day

Today we all got called from our regular schedules to help put up posters for the One Billion Rising Campaign (Feb 14 2013) and 16-day campaign to stop violence against women (starting Nov 25 - this Sunday). At first I was a bit disappointed but in the end it was best (as usual) to get out of the office. We split off into teams and covered different areas of the local villages - my team walked through Sidbhari and the neighbouring Yol Cantonment (military zone village) and then went to another town by bus. We used a mixture of flour and water to paste the posters (3 in each spot, all very beautifully printed) which I was pretty impressed by although to be honest I don't know how well they'll stay. At least it never rains here! (The other day we had the first cloudy day actually since monsoons, which I think is nuts!).

I leave the NGO and Sidhbari on December 1 so things are starting to wrap up. We are all finishing our projects and starting on Sunday will all be helping with the 16-day violence campaign. I'm trying to make plans with all of my new friends here so that we have some fun before I go. Tomorrow two of the other volunteers, Eva (from Germany) and Christina (from Boston) will come over to play cards and watch movies so I'm excited about that. I hope to spend some time with the permanent Jagori workers too. I feel like I'm getting close to my landlady and she invited us to two weddings this week, so I'm going to be sure to go to at least one. I think I started over-eating again but I really can't care less right now! As long as I don't upset my stomach. The wedding will have good food so that's why I'm thinking of it. They will likely be Nepali weddings so that will be a first-time experience for me.

Last thought -- today I had fast food for lunch while out on poster day and I decided once-and-for-all that Indian fast food is very superior to Canadian fast food. I'm not really into donuts and pizza and...McDonald's? but oh my gosh how I love momos, chow mein, and samosas. Those are actually the main fast foods here! So amazing!

Love you all
Clarke