Goa: November 28 - 30 2011

Fort Aguada

We arrived mid day on the 28th in Panaji (pronounced Panjim) and proceeded north to our hotel in Arpora near Baga Beach. We had the day to ourselves, which I spent relaxing and a little exploring of the area. The next day we went to a few beaches (Anjuna, Vagator and Calangute), did a little shopping in Calangute and visited Fort Aguada.

On the 30^th our day consisted of morning sightseeing of Panagi, the capital city of Goa. We went to Dona Paula pier where the story goes, hundreds of years ago a prominent politicians’ daughter, named Dona Paula and her love committed suicide because their relationship was not socially acceptable. Goa’s own Romeo and Juliet… The rest of the day was spent relaxing and exploring the surrounding area. Goa is beautiful and I’m so happy I will be back here in a months’ time!

View off Dona Paula Pier

Mysore: November 25 - 27 2011

We arrived in Mysore on the 25 in the late evening. On the 26th we went to a wax museum, experienced a Hindu pilgrimage up the 1180 steps of Chamundi Hill to be greeted by a golden temple. It is said that the Goddess Chamundeswari killed the demon Mahishasura in a fierce battle that lasted several days. Next stop was the Saint Philomena’s Roman Catholic Church, the third largest in India. We also visited a palace that was converted into a hotel and the Brindavan Gardens which are along the river Kaveri; we even took a boat ride. The day ended at a jungle themed restaurant in the hotel. The next day we went to the Mysore Palace. It is a beautiful palace that was rebuilt in the early 1900's due to a fire that destroyed everything except the temple. It was rebuilt to ensure it would never burn again by integrating cast iron columns and stone floors and staircases instead of the usual wood. Elaborate glass skylights are present throughout the entire palace with mandalas and peacock motifs. Detailed Hindu Myths are painted onto the ceilings, contrasted by the intricate designs of the floors. The two headed eagle, elephants and lions are recurring images in doors, railings and on columns. The entire time I walked through I tried to imagine this palace as a home, the sheer size and extravagance of it made it extremely difficult. As we exited and retrieved our shoes we saw the full frontal view, took some pictures and made our way to the Mysore Zoo. We saw giraffes, monkeys, chimps, gorillas, elephants, lions, tigers and bears oh my!

We left in the evening for an overnight bus ride to Goa.

Last Few Nights in Kodaikanal

On Friday I will be leaving Kodai for my month long round trip of India! It is a bitter sweet moment. On one hand I'm very excited to get off this mountain and see India, but on the other I will miss the friends I've made and the familiar streets and faces. Kodaikanal quickly became my normal, comfortable in a way. I don't think I will ever forget this strange, exciting, exhausting and fulfilling experience. This hill station will forever hold a place in my heart somewhere between "that was awesome!" and "ya, that was...interesting to say the least". Looking back on it, my time here went by very fast, but present moments always felt longer than they were. I can't recall how many times I thought it had been half an hour or so and it ended up being only five minutes.

I've done life changing things, met inspiring people and seen spectacular landscapes, but I've also been bored and frustrated at times.
I've done some amazing stuff here including the KIS Green Team by planting (and pulling out) trees, worked with the Vattakanal Conservation Trust and the Palni Hills Conservation Centre, been to orphanages and old age homes, a rehabilitation centre, I've experienced an intentional community, learned (a little) Tamil/Hindi, taught English, an expert instant noodle maker, a semi successful bargainer and most importantly I was a learner. I've learned a lot here, not only about Indian culture, but also about Indian food, customs and beliefs. I learned a little more about myself and the ever changing world I live in and actively participate in. The main thing I will take from this journey is patience and trust in myself and the world. It has also greatly reinforced my mantra that everything happens for a reason. Everything is interconnected, nothing can exist independently, not even events; every action really does have an equal and opposite reaction.

What will I do next?
Mysore --> Goa --> Rishikesh --> Corbett National Park --> Delhi --> Agra --> Jaipur --> Hydrabad --> Chennai -->Goa (again)

Due to the uncertainty of internet connection during my travels I do not know when my next post will be. As usual I will be keeping a journal, documenting everything I do and see. Until then...
Goodbye Kodai, Hello India!

Dolphin's Nose

Ellie, Vanessa and me just hanging out

Ghandi Statue, Pondicherry

Ellie, me, Layla and Pooja on Independence  Day

Me and Dhanishta on Elliot Beach, Chennai

Woman at Mercy Home

Auroville Canyon System

Christmas in Kodai

Yes, I know, it's November, but we decided to celebrate Christmas early. Tonight we had a banquet with amazing food, candlelit tables and Christmas carols softly blending into the background. Of course it doesn't at all feel like Christmas but it was a nice opportunity to see everyone together one last time before we leave. In the coming days will be pandemonium as exams finish, people get packed and ready to head home for a well deserved holiday.

C.S.I Rehabilitation School

  

Today I visited the C.S.I Rehabilitation Center where they educate children who have learning disabilities, are intellectually disabled, have cerebral palsy, down syndrome or are blind or deaf. To assist older students they learn practical work skills such as paper bag making, recyclable plates and eco-friendly cups. These projects help generate funds for the center which helps them provide even more for their students

Machine the presses layers of paper and leaves to make plates

After Being Pressed

Final Product

Grassland Restoration

With the Green Team we headed to one of Kodai's marshes, were most of the fresh water is filtered naturally. At first we all thought we would be planting various grasses, as the name would suggest but we ended up removing saplings. That's right, the Green Team was removing trees. The trees we pulled out were the invasive acacia from Australia, which suck up thousands of liters of water out of the ground. By removing the saplings we made a tiny difference on the future of the marsh. Due to fact that nearly all the trees in that area are acacia there are very few animals that can live in this "desert forest". None of the species are native so they cannot support the local fauna. The VCT (Vattakanal Conservation Trust) is working very hard in removing the invasive trees to make room for indigenous grasses and trees. If only the cows would let them! In a country where cows have the right of way everywhere it is hard to keep them away from the young saplings and newly planted grasses. Hopefully they can bring the Indian government on to the scene in order to get some needed funds (fences, man power)...
Bob and Tanya are the founders of VCT, originally from the UK they moved to India and have now been working in the Palni hills for the past 25 years. Check out their website: http://www.vattakanalconservationtrust.org/



It wasn't all tree pulling though, we had lots of fun. We even saw a stick bug! I have never seen one in person, it was amazing how much it looked like a stick. One person did not believe us and was convinced it was a stick, until it started moving!



There was also lots of cool fungi.

Video

Check out the video I made about the Eco-Watch Field Trip to Auroville/Sadhana Forest
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzo9ElQZVzI

Ooty

On Wednesday all four basketball teams from KIS traveled 7 hours to Ooty, another hill station. Both girls teams made it to the semi finals but unfortunately we didn't make it into the finals. We played hard and gave it our all, but the other teams played harder, proving it by winning. We had a fun time, bonding with each other and getting to know some girls on other teams.
This tournament followed Kodai's own basketball tournament, Kodai open where the Super Senior team placed second.
I really enjoyed both tournaments and our weeks of practice. Even though some days it was cold, or rainy, or I was sore, I went for an hour and a half and always felt better afterwards. It was a great experience thanks to the entire team and our great coaches Beth and Linnea.