Yesterday:
· Chit-chatted with a parade full of school kids dressed up as biblical figures
· Sat in the back of a South-Indian catholic mass. Words understood: zero. Friendly smiles/waves fielded: hundreds
· Got coerced into being the special guest presenter for some kind of Sunday school awards. Insta-celebrity status.
· Then got coerced into making a speech in front of the hundreds of expectant church-goers. I think I may have said something like “It’s great to meet you! In Washington we grow wheat!”
Today:
· Walked through elephant territory, around elephant poop, and hopped over rain-filled elephant footprints.
· Stopped for tea and wild honey with a woman who climbs treetops to harvest it.
· Climbed the ricketiest structure ever constructed, which happens to be an emergency wild-elephant-attack hideout
· Ate some tapioca with the self-proclaimed village head and exchanged songs (weirdly, the only song I could think of when he put me on the spot was ‘This Land Is Your Land.” It only later occurred to me that I should have busted out some Aretha Franklin or something).
· Watched hail pound from the sky down onto the jungle surrounding my room
· Held four-day-old baby rabbits while meeting the family of my independent study project adviser (they have a burgeoning rabbit farm)
After almost a week in the Indian village of Mangulam in the southern state of Kerala, I’m still reeling at the everyday absurdity that is turning out to be my month-long SIT independent study project. Quick re-cap- after two months in Jaipur: I’m now on my own to study a topic of my choosing as the capstone component of an SIT program themed Sustainable Development and Social Change. After leaving the program center in hot, deserty-y Rajasthan, I didn’t know what to expect about my destination other than the name and the fact that I probably would study organic cocoa and stuff. Here’s what I found after a 2500 km flight:
The village of Mangulam is tiny, overwhemingly agricultural, and very very secluded. The people seem just as shocked as I am that I’ve ended up here for a month. I am interested in it because I somehow found out that Cadbury procures their cocoa there for its superior organic quality, and my project will focus on third-party organic certification as a livelihood enhancer. The people of Mangulam are interested in me because I’m the only foreigner around for miles (they’re still talking about the one German lady who came to visit last year). I’m an exciting weirdo.
So far, this collision of village and weirdo has resulted in a daily series of absurd events that happen so frequently that I can only pretend they’re normal. Right now I’m loving it, but it’s only been a week. I may tire of being force-fed sugary foods and liquids every time I walk into a house, but the novelty hasn’t worn off yet. (if it is possible to gain 30 pounds in six days, I have succeeded beautifully).
Even if my novelty wears off and I’m no longer a village celeb, I still have this to look at everyday on my walk home:
