It was pitch black when I woke up and I had absolutely no idea what time it was.
The only sound I could register was the whirling of the ceiling fan in the room. The really, really loud ceiling fan. :)
I figured I had probably slept for about 6 hours or so as I was feeling somewhat rested, and decided to just relax and enjoy some quiet. All of a sudden the skies opened and monsoon rain hit- the sound of massive amounts of water falling was as loud as the fan, and it was wonderful. Within about 30 seconds of the rain starting, the temperature dropped and I had to pull my sheet up to stay warm, which was a huge upgrade from the sweaty humid air that I woke up to just a few minutes before.
As the rain stopped, the sky started to lighten. It's amazing how fast it gets light here! As the darkness faded, the jungle outside my room started getting louder, but instead of rain, it was crickets, birds, bugs and I think monkeys. I laid in bed, relaxed and listed. I was so absolutely content knowing that I was going to be settled in one place for two and a half weeks, that I didn't have to move my very overpacked, huge suitcase up the crazy flight of steep, narrow stairs for a while, and that since it was going to be a down day hanging around the house, I had a day to acclimate and relax. I was about to cross the line from content to smug. It was blissful.
We learned late last night that there is a government strike going on across Kerala today (something to do with both political parties fighting over something, not sure what tho), which means that pretty much the entire city was going to be shut down. Busses, schools, basically all government offices were shuttered, plus there were possible protests happening 20 km away in Kannur, which means our regular routine was out the window, and we were hanging out around the guesthouse.
To be honest, after taking four days to get here, I was really, really happy to be able to chill out, get stuff unpacked and put away, and spend time getting to know the people in the program with me (aka the people I'm stuck with for the next three weeks :). Even with a lot of (much appreciated) downtime, it has been a memorable first day with the program.
After a traditional Indian breakfast (rice pancakes, potato curry and hard boiled egg), one of my fellow volunteers and I took a quick walk down the river and I had my first opportunity to snoop around the village we are staying in. The guesthouse is right along the river and the neighborhood is unbelievable picturesque and beautiful, even with the grey clouds and overcast skies. Here's a couple quick photos I grabbed as Eveline and I took our walk.
Walking back Eveline (my new Dutch friend and roommate) and I got caught in a downpour and ended up completely soaked. I took a photo, but it's horrible and I'm entirely way to vain to post it. OK, well, vanity be damned.. here it is... exhausted and soaked. #achievement unlocked: getting caught in a monsoon rain.
With the strike going on, the place we'll normally have lunch (the Ayuverdic institute) was closed, so we went to the local temple and ate with what felt like the entire village. We took our shoes off and left them outside of the entrance to the hall. Rows of very low benches (6 to 8 inches off the ground) were lined up across a hall with concrete floors. Women and children went in first and sat together, then the men came in and sat down together, segregated from women and children. An older man passed banana leaves to everyone, one at a time, and we inspected them and placed them on the floor, shiny side up. A few minutes later another man walked down the rows carrying a large woven basked of very hot basmati rice and, using a silver metal bowl, scooped rice onto each banana leaf. I was trying to blend in so I did what everyone else was doing- attempted to make a little mound of rice with a dimple, which i did just in time before a giant scoop of curry was ladled into my edible bowl. you could say I was a little, um, nervous? doubtful? curious? reticent? all of the above! about using my hands to eat off a banana leaf on the floor, but hell, there were easily 100 people doing the exact same thing so I just went for it. When in Rome, right?
After a few deep breaths I went for it.. learning how to use your hand as an eating utensil is somewhat new to me, but I got it sorted :) The curry was really good- not too spicy, not too hot, just right. When we finished we picked up our "plates" and walked out of the hall, tossing the used leaves into a big concrete pool to (I assume) be washed, inspected and used again. All in all it was a very memorable experience- I was entirely way to chicken to take a photo (more nervous about being totally conspicuous) but if we eat at temple again I am so grabbing a snapshot- it's something you sorta have to see to believe.
In other news, it has been raining on and off all day today. It alternates between a fine mist and light rain to torrential downpour. I have to admit I really, really love relaxing and listening to it.
This is probably not a very coherent post- waking up around 5:30 am and finally settling down from four days of travel are taking its toll. Hope to sleep a very full night so I can be fully awake and on my game tomorrow!
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