Some photos

Finally, a few photos to give you a general visual feel for life in Kerala as I'm experiencing it. The first photo is an old Chinese fishing net.  These line the shores of Fort Kochin and are the tool of choice of local fishermen, though they are no longer Chinese.  The green fields are everywhere near Arunmula; I took this photo from the train when I was arriving from Fort Cochin at the nearest train station to the school.  The vehicle is an autorickshaw, a much more humanitarian, motorized version of the human-powered rickshaw.  I have heard that up to six people can pile in one of these puppies, but the closest I've gotten is four passengers plus the driver.  The house was a particularly idyllic spot in Fort Cochin.   The last two photos are from last weekend's trip to the backwaters.   When our boat docked at about 6 PM for nightfall, a smaller boat paddled up and asked us if we'd like to take a ride.  We were literally about two inches away from the water, and the boat's size allowed us to paddle through very tiny channels...this is the blurred photo is from.  The last photo is a view at sunrise from where our houseboat was docked.

As for updates, yoga is killing me.  We went from 1 hour daily, much of which was talking, to 2 hours, almost all of which is asana practice.  My whole body hurts.  I'm waiting for the pain to turn positive, but right now, it's just pain.

It also seems to be getting hotter, which I knew would happen, but I still just can't believe it.

I'm having an ongoing battle for territory with my cockroach, and am wondering if we have some karmic connection that keeps the roach coming back again and again.  Thus, I have not killed it.  I am contemplating getting some paint and marking the roach, in order to confirm my suspicion that it is a repeat visitor.

National elections are coming up, scheduled for a number of different dates throughout April.  Workers are spraying slogans and symbols for the communist party on the main walls in town, as Kerala is a pinko state.  It still sends a small visceral shock through me to see the hammer and sickle painted on walls or flying from red flags.

Not much else for now.  Slowly starting to learn more about the way marriages work here, as well as caste.  Still no luck with the language.