Welcome to Kerala! 

Forgive me for not writing earlier; jet lag is a beach, beckoning the weary traveler to be lulled to sleep by the waving sounds of bus, car, and auto-ricksaw horns, men calling Muslims to prayer from nearby mosques, at 4:30 in the morning, and "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" first in Malayalam, followed by Hindi. I'm sure next will be one Tamil, but I've fallen fast asleep dreaming of the differences between   N and n, R, r, and zh, which sound the same to me. Waking up too many times in the night, I look forward to daylight and asking passengers in passing buses, "Statue? Statue?", awaiting the head bobble that I still have to remind myself means yes, but by the time we're half-way through the first class I'm trudging through pronunciation drills, barely able to keep my eyes awake until tea time. I tell myself, no going home after class, no napping. It will only confirm my body's insistence that it's the middle of the night, so I go shopping for clothes I desperately need. Seriously, I need to go shopping, because wearing anything besides a churidar or sari says look at me, I don't belong here. So I make friends with shopkeepers who giggle when I say the few words I know in Malayalam. Then, too exhausted to continue, I start asking passengers in other buses "Kaudiar?", reminding myself, head wobble means yes not maybe. I walk half a kilometer from Kaudiar junction to my house and lie down for an hour before my host mother asks me to not lie down and put my hair up for an hour while she performs puja and finishes making dinner. At 7 pm I eat, wash my plate, fall into bed, and think to myself. Jet lag is mono on steroids. I hope these two weeks pass quickly because I'm ready to experience India outside of this dream-like haze that rivals the pollution floating down the street. 

Luckily, the two weeks body adjustment period has ended. Now I'm starting to explore the city, find out that calling home is not as easy as in other parts of the world, and keeping an eye open for that sanctuary I need to write and study. For the time being, it's European-style coffee shop, Cherries & Berries, with free wi-fi that has allowed me to Skype with my parents for nearly an hour. The first full conversation I've had with anyone from home in almost a month. I've also been able to upload photos, which will help fill in some details until I can write more. For now, paying for overpriced ($3) coffee, is worth the internet access, AC, and moment of relaxation that I haven't yet found elsewhere. Bindu Teacher is helping me find a library or somewhere quiet I can study, so I hope soon to be able to fill all of you in on more of my India experience. It's not at all what I expected, which is of course, what I had been told and had hoped for, so in short I'm happy and excited to be here. 

Now for some photo:

Down the street from my school SRK welcomes me and tells me to say hello to  his biggest fan, my mom!

Karen, Malar, and I have run out of clothes and had to go shopping at Pothy's for ready-made outfits.

The living room of the apartment where I'm staying.

My room.

The view from my room.

Malar, Karen, and I at the zoo entrance.

Damon, Malar, and Karen at the zoo.

Women who make hand embroidered saris and other wonderful items.
I bought a smocked nightie from them that I absolutely love!