Petting an Elephant and Sleeping at a Bakery

The reason I love India is because this country is full of surprises. Last week, as we drove along a road in Kollam, a parade of 40 elephants marched along! It turns out that pilgrims are making an annual journey to a nearby temple, and this is one of the ceremonial parts of the journey.

Another pleasant surprise...You wake up on a Monday morning and a couple of hours later...you are petting an elephant. We visited an Elephant Training School on Monday in Pathanamthitta, where 6 elephants live and work. The elephants are so friendly that you can pet them, and in typical elephant form, they love to check you out with their trunk.

And now, two days later, I am in the town of Thiruvalla, and my host family owns 3 bakeries here in town. Their house is attached to the main baking factory. I went on a tour this afternoon and yes, I was offered many free samples of the popular Indian sweets:) Shockingly, I do not seem to have a favorite. In my opinion, the best thing here in Kerala is the fruit salad because of all the tropial fruits available (especially pink bananas, mango, pineapple, custard apple and jack fruit!). Pictured is a custard apple. You crack it open and eat the inside -- not the skin!

I also learned last week about cashew processing, a major industry here in Kerala. Cashews are a tree nut grown in Africa (especially Tanzania and Ghana). They are shipped to southern India, where they are processed. Here I am with my colleagues at the cashew plant learning the methods of processing (ignore the very unflattering outfit, please!).

India also has its unpleasant surprises...

For example, the internet connections here are very slow at times, in part due to an electricity shortage. India relies on hydroelectric power from DAMS for much of its electricity. But the water levels are very low this year, so less power...Every night we have rolling blackouts, which mean that we lose electricity for 30 minutes per day. It usually happens around 7:00 pm at night. This is a big, DAM problem for India!

It is my goal to Skype with everyone! I am trying, but the internet access is hard to get at the right time of day (thanks a lot, time zones!). I cannot wait to talk with you about the classrooms I have visited here and how different 8th grade is for Indian students!

My best to all of you! Namaste.