Cardamom Plantation

Tiji and I were invited by one of the Zero-Budget Spiritual Farming coordinators, Robin, to visit his cardamom plantation.  He is beginning to implement some Zero-Budget concepts and hopes to continue the conversion.  It was a lovely trek through the plantation on a cool, crisp, mountain morning and I enjoyed meeting the harvest workers and later, Robin's dear family for breakfast in their home.  Robin is a Rotarian, incidentally!  Here are photos: 

Too Cute to Be True?

Two nights ago I awoke around 3am realizing that I had just felt something scamper up my torso and over my face.  I flinched and then heard it hit my headboard.  I assumed it was a tiny salamander that we have all over the house and since it ran off, I fell back asleep.  A few moments later, I felt a nibble on my toe.  I turned on the light and saw a brown mouse jump down to the floor.  I checked my toe - no skin abrasion.  I went to the bathroom and when I came back, I couldn’t find the mouse.  I think it had gone out, probably the way it came in - through the balcony door I had left open all night due to the heat.  I called Jay, who instructed me to wash my toe thoroughly and apply eucalyptus oil, in case of rabies.  I wasn’t sure that the mouse was gone but I couldn’t find it under the beds so I knew I had to try to go back to sleep.  It was very difficult to fall asleep as I wondered if this bold little mouse might try another trick.  But I managed.  I went about my day the next morning, telling my housemates of my funny little tale, but eventually, I decided to do a little online research about rabies.  According to the World Health Organization, if one has been nibbled, without skin actually breaking even, one should seek the rabies vaccine.  Ugh.  Mannnn.  So I hopped an auto-rickshaw to the hospital.  At the ER I was told that because it was Sunday, they could not do anything for me.  Broken English.  No further questions.  Another hospital was a 10-minute walk away so I headed there.  In the ER, I was told to go to the main office to get a file started.  I soon had a hospital ID card and was walking my paper file on over to the ER.  The doctor there wrote a note and slipped it into the file and told me to go to the pharmacy with it.  Down the hall at the pharmacy, they printed me a bill and sent me to the cashier’s office where I paid it.  I returned to the pharmacy with the receipt and they handed me a small brown bag and instructed me to head back to the ER.  I did so and a woman there took me to a back room.  

I noticed on my pharmacy receipt that the vaccine I was given was tetanus so I asked the nurse if this was correct, being that I was there in case of rabies.  She said “Tetanus is enough.  It is enough.”  She then opened the bag, extracted a syringe and prepared it with the tetanus vaccine, and glovelessly injected me.  I was on my way, $2.72 later.  It was all rather speedy, I thought.  I really expected to lose half a day to it all but it was so quick.  On my way down the hill to catch a rickshaw, I began searching the net on my cell phone to figure out why I was given tetanus for rabies.  I found nothing.  I saved the page that asked “Is tetanus effective for rabies? NO” and another page listing the rabies vaccine I indeed needed and headed back to the ER.  I showed the doctor my phone and he said that for mice, one does not need the rabies vaccine.  So I then looked that up and found that indeed, it is extremely rare for mice to transmit rabies to humans.  It’s possible, but hasn’t been heard of yet.  Then the doctor explained that mice could carry tetanus so that’s why I got that.  Ok.  But had I gotten a better explanation I would not have taken the tetanus vaccine since I’ve had it recently.  But ah well.  Please join me in wishing and praying that I don’t have to be treated at an Indian hospital in the coming months.  Not because the quality is poor necessarily, but communication is such a challenge and it’s not fun to wonder and guess and trust gloveless people’s judgment.  But in the end, all is well.  I’ve confirmed with one American doctor and one Indian medical student that the course was the correct one.  As I was explaining the story to the med student today, the thought crossed my mind that I was possibly dreaming the whole thing up.  Gasp!  What if I did?!  The reason I wondered is because I remember the little brown mouse being so darn cute, almost cartoonish, and thought, “Waiiit...is that really what mice look like?”  Ummm.  Hmmm.  We may never know.  

Family News from Back Home

While at this conference, I received an email on my phone from my sister stating that her husband was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer.  It has spread to multiple systems of his body.  He was having some pain, went to Urgent Care, was sent to the ER, then checked into the hospital.  The next day, he had a tumor surgically removed, resulting in intense pain.  It has been a whirlwind for them.  He is recovering in the hospital and discussing treatment options with doctors.  Hopefully he will return hom in a day or two.  Please offer your prayers, positive thoughts and love for his recovery and for the well-being of the entire family.  Thank you.  

Rama Rajamannam, Tribal King

Today I met a tribal king.  Some local men at the class I’m attending offered to introduce my friend Tiji and I to Rama Rajamannam.  King Rama is all of 27 years old and has been king for one year.  His uncle was king before him and of all nephews, he was chosen by 12 leaders to succeed.  Nephews (sister’s sons, specifically), not sons, are candidates and voting is only done after the death of the king, so during childhood, King Rama learned that he might someday be king but it wasn’t definitely in the bag as his cousins were also in the running.  For future reference, King Rama does have a sister and she does have a son.  

Once chosen, one has the ability to deny the role but once they accept, there is no turning back.  When asked how he felt when he was chosen, I caught the word “santosh” in his response; happy.  King Rama presides over 40+ colonies (making him an emperor, actually) comprised of 108 families from multiple tribal groups.  Because the colonies are spread out, in the past, messengers were sent for communication, but today, cell phones suffice.  King Rama is the only remaining tribal king in the northern half of Kerala, as other tribal groups have opted out of their monarchy systems over time.  He wears a silver band that has been worn by 17 kings now.  

Tribal communities have received land from the government but over time some land has been taken away from them due to corruption.  The threat of losing land continues.  The Mannam tribals no longer live in the forest, but in homes.  Most of the community members are physical laborers at the large tea plantations in the highland area.  They have a festival in February each year.  Festivals are the only time they wear traditional attire.  They celebrate with traditional dances and music.  Traditional medicine exists but most community members seek allopathic medicine today.  With the system of 12 cabinet members, King Rama says that their governance works very well and fairly.  They have a criminal justice system in place and depending on the severity of the crime, it is handled at different levels.  King Rama personally handles the most severe cases.  If a man is charged with disrespecting an elder, he is to bend forward and hold the weight of heavy rocks on his back for a period of time.  If a man is charged with abusing his wife, he will have to make a vow to discontinue and will be monitored by others.  Twice weekly, workers visit each home to assess things like this as well as health and other aspects of family well-being.  Sounds like social workers to me!  

(I wore my finest sweatshirt for the occasion...Not prepared to meet a King!)

Another day, another adventure & learning experience.  

Zero-Budget Spiritual Farming, Day 2

It’s day 2 of the Zero-Budget Spiritual Farming workshop and the day’s seminar has begun but the speaker is speaking in Malayalam.  I’m feeling a bit restless.  It’s a cool morning and I crave coffee.  Anyway, I’m trying to settle my mind by writing.  

Yesterday was really lovely.  I didn’t get much sleep the night before but got up early to hop a bus to meet my friend Tiji.  She is a PhD candidate from my department researching food security in Kerala.  We then took another us up into the gorgeous mountains for 3 hours.  Somehow after about 20 minutes, the conductor’s seat at the front of the bus freed up and I was nearest so I settled in.  It was incredible.  Sitting solo in front with panoramic views of the sun bursting behind palm trees with gigantic, hazy mountains in the background.  I felt blessed by the opportunity.  I’m a lucky lady.  

Really.  I’m so incredibly fortunate.  I don’t know exactly where my opportunistic nature ends and luck begins but I’m very grateful.  My frequent wish, however, is that my eyes cad live camera mode and you could all experience this with me, visually at the very least.  But even that is not sufficient as it is best for all senses to be engaged in a place like this.  But eyecam would do.  I bet I can find an Indian engineer to work on that.  

The workshop has been great thus far.  Zero-Budget Spiritual Farming by Subhash Palekar.  As he spoke in English I felt giddy because I could actually learn new, interesting information.  Somehow Tiji signed us up to be “delegates” which means we do not have to pay the 750 rupees if we take down and submit notes each day.  It took me two hours in the evening to type my notes and there are 5 more days of this.  I might prefer to pay the $15.  But the pressure of writing notes helps me to engage and better understand, I think.  

Wherever I go, people are curious about the foreigner.  Here it’s been nice because when I meet people I can ask about their interest in Zero-Budget Spiritual Farming and share information about the system of food and agriculture in the US.  

Conversations are engaging.  I’ll probably make a separate blog about the content of the workshop when it’s finished.  For now, this delegate is enjoying.  

The food has been good.  The past 3 days at home we had no cooking gas so I only ate salads, fruit and sandwiches.  It’s nice to have hot vegetarian meals.  Rice 3x/day.  I’m gaining weight, and quite quickly, I think.  This week, I ate 19 consecutive meals of rice and curries like the one here with zero utensils!  It was great practice so hopefully I'm a little less awkward.   

The weather here is cool.  Too cold at times.  It’s a reprieve from sticky-hot Kottayam.  I bought a “Michigan Physical Education” sweatshirt at a shop here yesterday.  But cold-water bucket-bathing is pretty intense when it’s cold outside.  I did not so much enjoy that.  

From Challenge to Change

I haven’t written in awhile. I hit the 2-month mark.  At the preparatory Ambassadorial Scholar orientation seminar, I recall previous Rotary scholars warning us of the 2-month mark - where all the awe and intrigue fade to annoyance and frustration.  When I first arrived, I could sit in utter chaos, in a state of confusion for hours and kind of love it.  Now, the charm of such situations has warn off a bit.  In fact, last week, things hit a point where I questioned if I could do this.  Thankfully, my despair gripped me for only about two days before I came up with a plan to make some changes and that refueled me.  The major contributing factors to my worries were (and please don’t read these as complaints, just challenges and explanation of my experience)...

1. My classes have been held only about 50% of the time because instructors do not come.  The idea is that we are to spend all day in the department library and if a professor comes, we have class.  The library has a wealth of books but the routine was wearing on me.  I see the effect on other students, too.  Some juggle school and work and it pains me to see them sitting idly while they could be attending to other aspects of their lives.  Others take buses and trains for hours to reach campus...and then they wait.  There are days we have no classes at all.  I celebrated a day where all 4 classes were held for the first time only a week ago.  Attendance is low and I’ve even found myself blowing off an afternoon or a day here and there, as I figure the likelihood of no class.  The university is cracking down on student attendance but when professors are absent, it affects motivation of students.  
2. One the occasion that we have class, I have a hard time identifying the value to me for a couple of reasons.  Some content is relevant and interesting and some professors are passionate while much of the content I have surpassed and some of the professors don’t seem to have a passion for teaching.  Also, much of the content is taught in Malayalam.  The instruction at the post-graduate level is to be in English, but in reality, it’s often not.  The inability to understand and participate has been stifling.  
3. Due to various circumstances beyond my control, I haven’t yet gotten involved with Rotary here.  First, it’s problematic as I have duties to fulfill as condition of my scholarship and second, I was looking forward to getting involved in service projects.

All of this resulted in a feeling of lack of purpose and diminished hope as things only seemed to be worsening.  After my two days of “I want to go home” self-pity, I sprung into plans for action.  When I regained my energy, I recalled, “Oh yeah.  This is what I do.”  A short period of down & outness, then springing into ideas and action.  

So my idea was to approach my director and propose a course of independent study which would allow for more meaningful activity and cultural exchange.  I wrote up a letter and proposal and he approved.  He was very understanding.  Success!  So I can now spend more time reading, learning in the community, touring local NGOs, taking morning yoga classes, etc.  And before I left his office I had plans to attend 2 weeklong seminars; one this week on Zero-Budget Spiritual Farming (a grassroots, social movement), and a Gandhian philosophy camp over Christmas break.  Hooray!

Incidentally, things with Rotary also picked up.  My sponsor counselor apologized for his unavailability and assigned a new counselor who called me immediately and enthusiastically assured me that he would help me get involved upon my return next week.  

Things are shifting and looking up.  

Aside from these concerns, I want to assure everyone interested that I am incredibly grateful and enjoying my time here.  Each day is filled with beautiful moments and exchanges.  Every moment presents flashes of unexpected beauty and complexity.  

Today

I know.  It's an unoriginal blog title (see last post).  But it takes the pressure off to aim at summarizing one day versus attempting to catch up on all kinds of tales and observations.

To share about today, hmmm....  

There was a bus strike so I took an auto-rickshaw to class.  But, as I had expected, there were no classes, because there were no students.  But I spent a couple hours in the library researching for a paper I'm writing.  I've procrastinated on the paper (and am as I write this now even) and dreaded researching "the evolution of social sciences" cockily thinking that I've studied these things in the past, but as I read about the roots of psychology, sociology, economics, whatnot, I'm finding that I'm actually learning things.  Philosophical things.  Historical things.  Things!!  

While at the library, I read today's copy of The Hindu and was excited to find an article on Richard Davidson's work researching the neurological effects of meditation at UW Madison.  That was a little surprise from home.  And how is it that I have only read The Hindu maybe 3 times in the past two months of being here and one of the days happens to be when this story runs?  Unless there's Wisconsin news in the international papers, like 5x/week.  That could be.  It's nice that it's nonviolent news this time.

Here's the article: 

I really wished I had a to-go cup or thermal mug of coffee while I read the paper this morning.  But coffee here only comes in tiny glasses or teacups at tea stands and doesn't seem to be available "to go."  Also, it isn't real coffee.  I don't know what it is.  Cappuccino mix or something?  I think I'd look like some kind of freakish ogre if I walked around campus with a huge thermal mug of coffee (more than I already do for various reasons).  It would definitely seem like overconsumption here.  I guess getting to be barefoot in the library will have to suffice as consolation for the lack of coffee.  

I met up with friends in the afternoon and Sho from Japan demonstrated and provided lessons in chopstick use.  Jusip from Kazakhstan, Arun from India and I practiced a few times.  It's funny that in our little group we represented 3 very different styles of eating.  Jusip and I can manipulate food like no other with our silverware, Sho with his chopsticks, and Arun with his trusty right hand.  

Then, due to the bus strike and not wanting to seem like a wuss by taking an auto-rickshaw, I walked home from school with Arun.  It took a 1/2 hour.  Not bad at all.  When I got home, I decided to make a snack but was at a loss to think up what to make with limited ingredients.  I soon felt like such a genius when I realized that I could make delicious rice pudding.  This involved hand grating cinnamon and de-podding some cardamom and grinding it with a large flat spoon.  It was worth it.  It might just be a regular treat I cook up.  

Then there was an incredible monsoon rain for about an hour.  It was compulsory to stop everything and admire it.  I made a video of it.

This is my life, for today anyway.