A General Overview.

Well hello again.
I've decided that I haven't given you enough background information on my life here in India. There are numerous practical questions about where I'm living, what I'm studying, and who I'm with that I have failed to answer thus far.
There are 28 of us here from the University of Guelph. 26 students and 2 lovely professors, Chris and Mithila. Mithila is from Bangalore, India and she speaks 4 Indian dialects (Kannada, Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu), so she is very helpful to have around. The majority of the group is studying International Development back at Guelph, and many of our courses are in this line of study here. For those of us majoring in other areas (such as English), it is still really interesting. I am taking 2 independent study units. The first is an international development paper I am writing on education initiatives and the education system in India, and I've already been able to learn so much from the NGO's we've visited, guest speakers we have had, and my own solo visits to public schools. The second independent study is a study of Indian English Literature under an Indian professor of English who I met in Mysore. He is guiding a paper I am writing on the portrayal of children and the Indian family in post-colonial Indian English Lit. Professor Srinath is the director of Dhvanyaloka publications, as well as the Dhvanyaloka Centre for Indian Studies (DCIS), where our group just spent the last month. My roommate at DCIS campus was Peter Demakos, a fantastic greek man who I had met in first year but hadn't fully realized how funny he was. We laughed a lot together, and I can only hope my roommate in Jaipur is as great. In Jaipur we will be living with host families, which I am excited about.

At DCIS, I studied the three remaining courses in my schedule for our first of two four-week "modules."I was somehow enrolled in an Environmental Science course under Chris Hall (our fearless leader, who happens to be a science prof back at Guelph), Indian Science and Technology (a kind of I.Dev. course), and Indian Culture and Ancient Civilizations. The courses were all enjoyable and our exams just finished this past Saturday. It was hectic, but module #1 is now over. Module #2 will begin when we reach Jaipur (in Northern India) in March. Now we are on our second portion of crazy train rides, visiting historical sites, exploring on our own, eating amazing food, and visiting local NGO's and learning about development work that's going on in India.

So, we just left Mysore (Karnataka State, for those of you following along on a map) on Sunday, and we are currently in Madurai. A bustling city in Tamil Nadu State. Tonight we head to Pondicherry, on the East coast, then up to Chennai, where we embark on a li'l 36 hour train ride to Varanasi, where we begin our adventures in Northern India.

And there you have it folks: a general overview. Life is good, Eating meals off of banana leaves is sustainable, and infrequent showering is A-OK.
peace.

Dosa's, Dhoti's, and Do Not's

Hey everyone!
Here's some key information for your next trip to South India:
Dosa: super good fried bready thing served with yummy potato/veg mush. yum.
Dhoti: The man skirt. Sported by Eli, Remy, and yours truly.
...and now, the DO NOT's:
DO NOT miss the sunrise if you can help it. It's gonna blow your mind and you're going to remember that this mind-blowing occurence happens daily. One of our jokes on the trip occurs every time we watch a sunrise/sunset: "Don't worry guys, we're pretty sure this is on the itinerary for tomorrow."
DO NOT shave. The majority of guys in the group are decked out with some great hairs on our chinny chin's. Some have abandonned the cause, but those of us that have refused the razor are reaping what we have sown. (Or what puberty has sown?)
DO NOT ignore your gut feelings. On a biking adventure in Hampi this past weekend, 4 of us (Peter, Ronit, Michelle, and I) were trying to find some potential nearby waterfalls. We came to a fork in the road, and although some other people told us to hang a larry, Peter's gut told him to pull a randy. So we did. After a couple Km's of some sweet riding on our 1 speed rental bikes (the day rental cost us 75 cents...darn eh?), we met a British guy on the road who recommended we climb up to a nearby temple. It was the highest point around Hampi. It was breathtaking and the wind whipped at us in refreshing gusts after climbing a few hundred steps. I just stood on a slab of a massive boulder with a 360 degree view, assuming I would receive some sort of great epiphany or secret to the meaning of life. When no great revelation came to me, I just stood and enjoyed the moment. Later, when I mentioned this to Peter, he exclaimed that that in itself was a fantastic revelation about life: Enjoy it.

"Be joyful always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances..." I seem to remember someone writing that in a book somewhere...

I should probably post some photos soon. I'll try to get better with the whole writing thing as well. Hope all is well wherever you may be. Peace