Home in Uh-merica, land of one cheese and one god.

Kitty was home waiting for me to give me love, she acted like I had only been gone for a long weekend (she seems HUGE after seeing so many skinny cats).  What an experience to be gone for the last four and a half months, was it the longest summer ever or just a dream?

I think this is a good place to end this blog, although I may go back and repost some video.  Thank you for following this, I should have a more refined article or more coming out about my experience as a sociologist.

Happy New Year!

France, Land of 365 Cheeses

On my way home from India, I took a short stop in France to have Christmas with Neuilly and my future in-laws.  This is my third visit here and I now consider myself a serious francophile. I was only here for eight days, so my observations come mainly from decompressing my Indian experience in another foreign culture that is much more familiar to me as an American.

The French are famous for their demonstrations, revolts and strikes.   This is a protest, in the airport, by airport security workers.  They are on strike over pay, hours, working conditions.  Their US counterparts, TSA screeners, are legally prohibited from striking in the US.  The French are also famous for not working. Nobody seems to work here, yet they are one of the most productive countries in the world, making the best wine, airplanes, bicycles and frog legs.  I think the world can learn a lot from the French, even though they sometimes seem a bit smug on the world stage (perhaps with good reason). I love France.

Here is me as a FOB in Nantes.  I felt very out of place on this day and I only had the clothes I took from tropical India.  One of the first contrasts I noticed in my reverse culture shock was how grey and black everyone was dressed, perhaps they were in morning over Kim Jong Il.

Another reverse culture shock coming from India was going from using my hand to eat everything, to being presented with an insane number of eating utensils to eat very elaborate and succulent meals.  I also gained several kilos in just a few days going from a diet of rice, vegetables and spice to a diet of heavy cream, pork and wine.  I think my innards are foie gras now.

Neuilly took me on a wonderful evening dinner on a boat cruise on the river Erdre. She did most of the ordering and talking to wait staff (on account of my French language deficiency), this is in contrast to Bangalore where the wait staff only talked to me, even when she paid, apparently because of gender norms.  

Neuilly's outfit matches nicely with the French flag, drapeau tricolore. 

French cities and towns are lovely, but they have broken stuff too, just like in India and the US.

Posing on Christmas Eve.

Top-10 Gifts I Take From India

Top-10 Experiences from my four months in India

10. A chance to sharpen my own sociological imagination and become a better sociologist interacting with Indian students, acedemics, clergy and community leaders. 

9.  Never a dull moment learning to navigate the bustling streets of Bangalore, especially in an autorickshaw

8.  Yoga, meditations and Buddhist thought in the country that invented all three

7.  Ripping a page from Slumdog Millionaire in seeing the glittering city of Mumbai

6. Sampling a large selection of some of the most tasty cuisine on the planet

5.  Seeing Metallica perform on the Bangalore Palace Grounds with a rockin’ group of new Indian 

friends

4. Climbing Adams Peak starting at 2AM to watch a breathtaking sunrise in Sri Lanka

3. Leisurely floating the backwaters of picturesque Kerala on a houseboat

2. Relearning the value of experiential learning with a great batch of students

1. Engaged to Neuilly in Goa on the beach next to a perfect Arabian sea sunset

These gifts are so precious to me, I hope I gave something back in return.  Thanks again India!

Kerala: "God's Own Country"

I ended my stay in India with a train trip from Bangalore to Kerala to see sights, sample more delicious cuisine, and relax after a whirlwind of a term. Kerala is a state on the southwestern tip of India.  The region has some of the highest social indicators in India, including low infant mortality, high literacy, good access to healthcare and lower rates of poverty.  It is also a very beautiful area, with water logged costal areas to beautiful mountain vistas and forests. 

My first sight of Kerala was by train in the early morning on a sleeper train.  Despite not sleeping, it was a glorious morning, every visitor to India must try the train at least once!

The area has much natural beauty, spending time in the mountains was the best, plenty of clean air, sunshine and humane temperatures.

Kerala is apparently the only state in the world to vote in and out a Marxist-Leninist government.   The CPI was very active here with a very politically mobilized populace.  One big issue is a 100 year-old dam that may break at any moment. 

We were given access to watch actors prepare for Kathakali, a classical  Indian dance-drama famous in Kerala.

A performance of Kathakali.  The eye movements were very striking as well as the dance.  As in many acting traditions, men play the roles of women as it was not considered proper for women to exhibit themselves on stage.  I did not follow the entire plot well, but it ended with the woman being killed.

In the tea fields, a big difference from the Palouse.  The smell was dreamy.

This driver seems to have all his bases covered with icons from all three of the dominant religions in Kerala, Hinduism, Christianity and Islam.

We took jeeps up to the highest peaks that separate Kerala from Tamil Nadu.

A tea worker.  Women make INR 120 a day (about $2.50), men make about INR 150 (about $3) for the same work.

Here I am posing on a boat touring the "Venice of the East."  I am wearing a typical South Indian dhoti, I called it a "man-skirt" or mirt if you prefer.

Typical Keralan houseboat on the soggy "backwaters" of an amazingly beautiful region.

The canals are the primary means of commerce and transportation in this area.  It is also a very fertile agricultural region.

Boat crew watching the sunset, I would kill for this job.

Doing the wash just outside the front door

Chinese fishing nets off the harbor.

Poetic tribute to my last sunset in India.  I am very privileged to have had the opportunity to come here and experience so many wonderful things.  I have learned many lessons from my visit here and will share these experiences as much as possible.  Thank you India and to all the people I met along the way! 

Indian Signs That Make Me Laugh to Myself

Here are a few snapshots of some signs I found humorous in my last few weeks in India.

It may be a little bit hard to tell what is going on here, but it is a warning not to be drinking and driving.  This is a sculpture of a man who has crashed his two-wheeler while holding a bottle of rum.  Apparently a big problem in India... like many other places.  

Indian style is definitely much cleaner than "Western Style"

No comment...

List of officials exempt from security and tolls in Kerala.  I saw this list several times, it may also be interpreted as a top-10 list of most corrupt offices.

Depiction of dam mentioned in prior post on the verge of breaking.

Mysore

I am behind on my blogging since I had a special visitor out here for the last two weeks.  In the interest of trying to get caught up, I am positing a few pictures from our group trip to Mysore a couple of weeks ago.  The city of Mysore and surrounding areas is full of grand temples and monuments to the maharajas (royalty) that once dominated the region.  The regal heritage and beautiful architectures makes it a city definitely worth seeing.  The Mysore Palace was the main event on our tourist agenda.  Mysore was the first city in India to be fully electrified, as such, the palace is lit up with tens of thousands of bulbs, unfortunately, they did not turn the lights on the night we were there because they were conserving power (as per prior posts, energy is in short supply here).  

The next day, Neuilly arrived (more soon)

Jack and Matt demonstrate wrestling to the kids in the sandpit, the children loved it.

A view from the top of a mountain where a temple was situated, this area is famous for sandalwood 

Kitty cat!

Street-scape of Mysore.

Looking toward Mysore Palace near the city center.

USAC Evening Program

We had an assessment delegation from USAC visit our program here in India.  We spent much of the week showing them around and having them observe the various aspects of our program.  Friday was a program that featured traditional indian dance, food and fireworks.  I was told a half hour before the program began that I would be the MC of the event.  I was fine with it as this is the kind of thing that I do, but there was a very short prep.  In all, it was a great evening, the next morning we left for historic Mysore.