Happy Easter!

Hello All! I know it's been a very long time since I've written. I think my parents probably informed you all that I was going on a 2 week trip through the south of India. If you want to follow my progress on a map: We travelled from Mungeli to Raipur by car, where we caught a train to Bhubaneswar (in the state of Orissa). From there we took a shorter train trip to Puri. While in Puri we took a bus to Konark. From Puri back to Bhubaneswar and from there to Chennai for a day. From Chennai we took a train to Kollam (in the state of Kerala, on the western tip) and steadily travelled north to Allapuzha then Fort Cochin. Our train left from Ernakulam to South Goa (Palolem is the beach we stayed at for a day), then another train to Mumbai for a day, then back home to Bilaspur where we caught a bus to Mungeli. We left on Friday the 27th and arrived back Saturday night (April 11th). We were exahausted. It's now Monday night and I feel thoroughly recovered. I hadn't planned on travelling while here but because everything is so much cheaper here compared to America I was able to. We saw so many things, I hardly know where to begin this entry, so I'm looking at my journal as a reference.
I knew that this trip was going to be quite an experience right away.We arrived at the Raipur train station rather early and saw a Hindu temple under construction. We decided to go have a look and take some pictures and when we got closer, the men inside beckoned us in to have a look. The original temple had existed since the 50's but they had been adding on for the last few years. They took up up the flight of stairs to the very top of the temple, maybe seven stories high. It was adorned with colorful statues of the Hindu gods. It was a very cool experience. By the time I woke up on the train the next morning, my hair was frizzy. I coule feel the oppresive humidty that had set in and would remain for the rest of the trip. It was hard to adjust to. After we arrived in Puri that afternoon, we took a bus to nearby Konark, home of the famous Sun Temple. When I got my first glimpse of it, my jaw literally dropped and I gasped. It was so huge and beautiful!! The complex actually contains a dancing hall, a prayer hall, the sun temple (which is now actually mostly destroyed) and a temple for the sun god's wife. So what really made me gasp was the prayer hall (as I later found out). It wasn't colorful like the other Hindu temples we'd seen. It was all elaborately carved stone. I've never seen anything like it. It was built around 1200 by the king of Orissa at the time. He built it after a war with the Muslims to celebrate their victory and encourage reproduction (because of all the people killed in the war), which is why the prayer hall is carved with mostly kama sutra carvings. At first we were baffled by the fact that such carvings would be on a prayer hall, but it's a rather clever way to increase the population of your country. The prayer hall/sun temple is created to look like a chariot. At the stairs are seven horses pulling it and all around it are a total of 24 carved wheels.
Our hotel in Puri was very nice. The city is relatively small and right by the ocean. The place we stayed was mostly inhabited by fellow back packers and some European travellers so it was nice to get some travelling tips from them. The next day we went to Chilika lake which is Asia's largest brackish lake. They have dolphins there and we were lucky enough to spot some, though not lucky enough to get any pictures because when they surfaced they disappeared again so quickly. The boat ride was nice and we got to see the place where the lake meets the ocean. There was a beautiful view there.
Tanja and I woke early the next morning to see the fishermen go out to sea, but unfortunately it was too windy so we only saw 2 boats go out. We met a fisherman who had lived in the little fishing village there his whole life. He asked us if we wanted to see the village. I was unsure at first in putting our trust in a stranger, but we decided to go with him and we were very glad we did. We met his wife and 2 beautiful children and it was nice to see inside the village. His family lived in a one room house.
We travelled back to Bhubaneswar and saw several Hindu temples. We also visited some caves (though I forget the name) that were from before Christ was born. The monkeys are nice in Mungeli, but when I tried to get close enough to take a picture with one at the caves, it hissed at me and showed it's teeth. I was so scared! Since then I'm afraid to get to close to them (which is probably for the best). Luckily Habib got a picture in just the right moment on his camera. I look forward to showing it to you all - it's very funny.
On the train to Chennai we met a doctor and a 19 year old who has been in the Indian Navy since he was 16. He still has 12 years left to serve.The next day in Chennai was tiring. We hired an auto rickshaw driver for the day and went to Saint Thomas Mount (where Thomas was killed) and Little Mount. After that we found a place to eat by the beach which had hamburgers (I'd been missing them), it's not worth mentioning except for the fact that one of the burgers on the menu was called "Welcoming Obama". Everyone here loves him. Whenever I would say I was from America, it was practically the first thing out of their mouths. "Do you like Obama?" and then "He's a good man" or something like that. It made me so proud of America! I knew that his election would change the world's opinion of us but being here I have seen it first hand; I have proof of it. I'm on the other side of the world and that's the first thing everyone here associates with America.
So that afternoon we went to the Theosophical Society which is an organization that wants to unite all religions. They believe that all Gods lead to the same place. Being at Saint Thomas Mount and The Theosophical Society reminded me so much of Brookmeade! They had a beautiful garden with a 400 year old Banyan Tree and also had temples from all religions on the premises - Sikh, Farsi, Hindu, Buddhist as well as a "Liberal Catholic Church". I think most of the Christians in India are Catholics (though the fisherman we met in Puri turned out to be a Baptist). It's odd how many Christians we met on our trip, considering the fact that they only make up 2% of India's population.
Our train for Kollam (in the Southern state of Kerala - it's actually a Communist state) left the evening of April 1st. Our train was behind schedule and got in late the next morning and we barely made our boat to Allapuzha. After a few hours we got off early in order to spend a day at an Ashram. It was founded by Amma, one of India's most famous spiritual leaders today. It's like it's own community. They have a printing press, bank, and cooks who prepare food for everyone. My stay there for a single night (including 3 meals) was only Rs. 150 - approximately 3 American Dollars. Amma dedicates herself to the service of others all around the world and is famous for hugging everyone who comes to her in need. She wasn't at the Ashram while we were there because she was travelling in Europe. Some of the people at the Ashram had been there for 3 months and others had been there for 10 years. An older woman that I spoke to explained that many of the people there had been "hurt in past lives" which was why they sought refuge and were unwilling to trust. She said that most people who came there were looking to grow spiritually. Most of the people there were young westerners. Their days follow a strict schedule of chanting, meditation and self service to keep the Ashram in working order. The view from our room was spectacular. We were on the eighth floor. On the right side of our building was the ocean and on the left was a river and in every direction a forest of palm trees strectched as far as the eye could see. It was breathtaking.
The next evening we were in Allapuzha and booking a houseboat. Tanja really wanted to have a true backwaters experience. The houseboat wasn't able to go into the small channels and little towns though so when we anchored for the night we took a guide with a canoe and ventured into a channel. It was nice to see the villages up close. All the little girls threw us flowers! I also fished that night for the first time in my life. Tanja actually caught a small fish. I can tell you, having a house boat for 24 hours was about the last thing I expected to do in India!
The next morning we took a bus to Fort Cochin, which is famous for it's old-fashioned chinese fishing nets, which are difficult to describe. They're huge. On one side over the ocean there is a large net and on the other are ropes and heavy rocks. They lower the large net into the water and after a few mintues use all their manpower to quickly pull it up again. Tanja, Habib and I got to help them pull the ropes, but we were too slow so they didn't catch anything when we helped. But it was really fun. Habib was so enthusiastic that he got rope burns on his hands. The shore was lined with stands selling fresh fish, from Baracudas to giant red snappers. That night we went to the Kathakali Theatre, a traditional combination of drama and dancing, with emphasis on the facial expressions. It is performed by men who wear elaborate face paint and costumes. There is no dialogue so the story is expressed through dance, facial expressions, eye movements and gestures. The next day we saw Ernakulam (they were selling Barbie Dolls wearing saris), and the Jewish Town and Dutch Palace in Fort Cochin. Tanja and I went to see a South Indian violin and tabla concert. It was so amazing! The violinist and tabla player were so talented and the music was beautiful. They played 4 ragas. We bought a good-sized Red Snapper at the fish market and brought it to a restaurant which cooked it for us.
We had another long train ride to Palolem Beach in Goa. We arrived around 7 am and just spent the day relaxing on the beach. Because it's a "tourist beach" we actually got to swim as well. Indian men rarely swim and the women never do (it would be considered improper to wear so little clothing). We tried to enjoy our time there as much as possible because we knew the rest of our trip would be crazy, and we were right. Our train left at 3 pm the next day and arrived at Mumbai at 4 am. We checked our luggage at the cloak room at the station and took a taxi to Sassoon Dock, where the fish market is located (it's also a military base so photography was not allowed). We got there around 5 while it was still dark. When we were first venturing in I was a little bit skeptical, it just looked like an alley with tons of trucks parked along the sides - and also it smelled really horrible - but when we reached the actual dock I was amazed. There were so many large fishing boats tied to the dock. In fact there were so many that they were all crowded together around it, about 5 or 6 boats deep because there wasn't enough room for them all. The men on the boats were sorting through their day's catch and other men were bringing up basketfulls more from below deck. I've never seen that many fish in one place and it wasn't just normal, everyday fish. They had small and large sting rays and red-eyed fish that looked like eels, baracudas, large fish the length of one of my legs, baby sharks. As we wandered around the dock we saw something I will never forget. I'm still not sure what kind of fish or shark it was. It was more than 12 feet long. It had two huge fins on either side of it's bodyand one large fin on top. The lower half of it's body was covered with tarps and burlap to keep it moist. It's mouth was wide with tiny teeth and had huge yellow eyes. But the most remarkable thing was the attachment coming off it's nose, right above it's mouth. It was maybe 3 feet long and on either side were about 12 sharp teeth (it looked like a chainsaw). I think it may have been a sawtooth shark. It was a monster! Habib called it a "killing machine". The fishermen had shot it and were trying to sell it, but it was so huge I can't imagine who would buy it! I've never seen a creature like that, let alone stood right next to it.
So after all that excitement it was about 6 am and the sun was rising. We wandered in the general direction of the Gateway of India and arrived there just as the sun was coming up. Across the street from it was the Taj Motel, the site of one of the terrorist attacks on November 26, 2008. We had our whole day planned out of what we should see in the city when a guy pulled up on a motorbike and asked if we wanted to be extras in a Bollywood film. After some consideration we decided to abandon our site seeing in favor of the opportunity which we figured was once in a lifetime.We met several other tourists outside the Salvation Army Hostel and were taken on a train to a Studio where we were put in makeup and some horrible costumes. We were all laughing at how surreal it was. The other tourists there were very nice - I met Americans from Colorado, New Hampshire, Florida and California. The greatest thing was that it's a huge movie and it's supposed to go international. It's called "Kites" and stars one of India's biggest heartthrobs and actors, Hrithik Roshan. Tanja and I both got to stand right next to him! He actually has 6 fingers on his right hand. We had a really great time and were glad we'd decided to go. That evening our train left Mumbai to return to Bilaspur, and finally back to Mungeli.
The last few days I have been teaching computer classes to the 20 or so nurses visiting here from Tilda. They are so eager to learn! The course covers basics of computers, computer parts, Microsoft Word and Excel. Next week Rambo Memorial English School will be back after exams so I'll be juggling teaching between the two places. I teach the nurses here at the hospital. Above the Outpatient Department are several classrooms. We were able to get a hold of a computer to use there which makes it easier for them to learn. I'm trying to focus a lot on practicing on Word and Excel, the two programs they're likely to use the most in the nursing field.
I'm sure all you UCC'ers have heard about Anil's mother Nancy's condition. She fell from a train upon arriving from a trip to Orissa and was severely injured. Anil has felt a lot of stress trying to keep up with his hospital obligations as well as take care of her, not to mention planning his upcoming trip to the US. He is currently visiting his sons for their birthday because Nancy's condition is stable. The hospital has also been very busy as of late. Please keep Nancy and all of Anil's family in your prayers. I've visited her a few times. She is in a great deal of pain and needs a lot of rest right now.
So I guess this is all for now. I know it's a long entry. I'll try to keep you all updated on what's going on here at the hospital.
Love, Lauryn