Body Shock in Kerala

I feel my head is still not screwed on straight, and that I am experiencing everything through a thick haze of humidity and fog, so this post will be sticky and short. (Did I mention that it's about 32 centigrade here, which I've avoided converting, but I'm guessing is around 100?)

I arrived in India at 4:30 AM Friday morning, at Kochi Airport in the southern state of Kerala, after a 2-hour layover in Kuwait City, where I experienced my only stomache problems to date. I knew I shouldn't, but I couldn't not, so I ordered some chicken tenders at the McDonald's in Kuwait City Airport. My stomache registered complaints with my cerebral management for about 24 hours afterwards.

A driver from the homestay I had booked picked me up at the airport, which was brilliant, because I didn't feel up to navigating the crowds and my first taste of autorickshaws/cabs/public transport in the pre-dawn hours.

My main first impression was how many people were already awake, walking around, doing whatever one does at 5:30 in the morning. I soon realized that this is likely due to the insane heat and humidity here, which makes the thought of moving between the hours of 10 AM and 5 PM an utterly ghastly prospect. It seems it's high summer here, or on its way, building to monsoon rains in May and June. People have also said it's hotter than usual, which I also heard over the summer when I was in Israel and Palestine. (warming, anyone?)

Anyway, my time is short, so let me say, after two very mellow days in Fort Kochin, an old port/trading town, I hopped a train (which was only 30 minutes late) down towards the school yesterday. Thankfully, I booked first class, so I was actually in a separate car with only one other person. A two-hour train journey, 1st class, but not air-conditioned, cost 203 rupees, which is about $4 or $5.

The landscape was brilliant....much like rural Japan, China and Taiwan. But throw in cows, lazing and grazing and generally standing about. Rice fields, lots of palm trees, rubber trees, coconut, papaya and mango trees. Mainly it is the lush swaths of rice paddies that remind me of East Asia. Brilliant green everywhere.

From the train station in Chengannur, I decided again to be lazy and to get an autorickshaw instead of a bus, as I was lugging around a 22 kilo suitcase. So I arrived at the school, soaked through with sweat, at about 5 PM. Ahhhh, the town is small and the school, from the bit I've been here, seems like an oasis. It seems the students here are well taken care of, fed three times a day and given a tea break, and generally oriented, shown around, and helped out.

There are a number of houses around the school where we live and study. My house is near the end of temple road....I haven't made it to the temple yet, but will see soon which god it belongs to. But the road I turn onto to find home has another smaller temple to Ganesha (the elephant). When I went to my house last night around 9 PM, there was a puja happening at the temple, blocking our way to the road. Funny, as one of the attributes of Ganesha is remover of obstacles. :)

All my classes will be in the afternoon it seems. One on one yoga from 2-3, and then one-on-one singing from 3-5. I am mightily excited.

Now I'm about to head out to a nearby city to buy some proper clothing, both in terms of more suitable to the heat and more suitable to local custom. This seems to be a rather conservative town, as most small towns around the world tend to be, so the school encourages us to dress to fit in, which will mean covering up more, but thankfully with fabrics and designs better suited to the heat and humidity.

Oh, and last bit...school has a few computers with fast internet access. $1 an hour, so it seems I'll be in touch. :)