Jonathan came to visit this weekend. We had fun exploring some of the more popular spots around town. On Saturday, along with my roommate Laura, we caught a bus headed downtown. We finally figured out how to ride the local buses. It was much easier than I had imagined and it was nice to have Jonathan around since he is a little more experienced at riding the local buses. We then changed buses so that we were on a bus headed toward Srirangam Temple. Srirangam Temple is very famous and attracts many Hindus on pilgrimage and many tourists. We first had to walk through this very long market which was very interesting. You can truly buy just about anything in these markets: cheap plastic toys, incense, offerings for the temple, clothes, food, household items, etc. We finally made it to the temple and paid for a special rooftop viewing of the area. This man walked us up to the roof and we got a spectacular view of the surrounding area. You could see the whole complex that was the temple. The view was beautiful. This man then offered us a tour of the whole complex. He explained that the Brahmin maffia would try and bother us if we went in without a tour guide and also he would give us the history behind everything. We agreed to take his tour as it was a mere $6 (USD) for a complete tour! Once inside he introduced himself to us. He informed us that his name is too complicated to pronounce so people just call him Bruce Lee. Bruce Lee told us that he is a local college student studying history and geography and works at the temple as a part time job. He was very knowledgeable about the temple, his country, his religion, other religions, and other countries as well. He also added some humor along the way. He is an amazing tour guide and very intelligent, making our temple experience very lovely. I have attached a link below of pictures from the temple.
Once we got out of the temple area we put our shoes back on and conveniently, after our long walk in the hot sun with bare feet on hot stone, there was a juice stand. We each got some fresh juice which was delicious. I got pineapple, Jonathan got sweet lime juice, and Laura got orange juice. We gulped those down pretty quickly. After the temple experience we were all kind of exhausted so we caught a bus headed for K.K. Nagar (which is where I live) and ate lunch back home. After lunch Jonathan and I headed out for some tea at a local restaurant and then we walked to a local ice cream store that is very modern. The ice cream was delicious and it was nice to have something cold to eat.
Jonathan and I then decided to check out the local science museum and planetarium. It was very interesting. We arrived and there was a school group there and many men standing outside ready to shepherd us through the museum. We could not even read the signs in the beginning they were beckoning us to come in immediately. We paid and then once again attempted to read some of the displays but were pushed into this room with a theater. We were then given 3D glasses. We watched this very bizarre show, I am still not sure what it had to do with science or what it was really about - and it was in English! There was this bunny hopping around looking for something through this maze. I am still not sure if he actually found what he was looking for. Then the next mini show was this mad scientist magician. It was weird. The show ended and we then attempted to read some more displays but we were being shown that we should enter the planetarium. It was kind of sad and interesting all at the same time. The equipment was obviously very modern and high tech but the seating was so old and kind of scary. I didn't really want to sit in any of the chairs because they looked like they would break or I would get stuck with a metal spring. Jonathan and I finally got settled in the back row and next thing we know the whole school group comes filing in the room. The show was actually very nice despite the fact that it was in Tamil. The website had clearly mixed up the Tamil times with the English times based on the flyer they gave us as we were leaving. We then got to finally look at the displays, the experience science center (which was sad, rundown, and very outdated), and the environmental science center. Since we were a full 2km away from Trichy, it was very nice because all around the museum was just beautiful fields. We both appreciated looking out at them. We then got to play on a science playground. It featured many activities which let you see and experience science in action. We enjoyed ourselves on the playground for quite some time.
We left the Anna Science Center and started walking on the road back toward K.K. Nagar. Right outside the science center grounds there was a temple which had many people outside of it. It was very interesting looking and quite different from other ones we have seen. We also observed a few families where it looked like they were living out of a van. They had their little camp set up on the side of the road. The young kids waved at us and the young women smiled at us. We finally caught an auto back to the house to call it a night!
Sunday morning we were able to see some of the local kids and girls from the Children's Home participate in Tae Kwon Do. I also was able to show Jonathan my school building. We ate some curd rice and headed on our way to our next adventure! Today we had decided on seeing the Gandhi Market. We rode the bus to the city center and had some tea at a little shop. Then we caught another bus to the market. We wandered around for quite some time just exploring streets which we thought could be the market or could lead us to the market. Jonathan bought some jackfruit from a street vendor. Finally, Jonathan pointed out that we should head back toward the area where we had gotten off the bus and sure enough the market was right there! It was quite possible the coolest thing I have seen in India. It was filled with hundreds of people and vendors. People selling fruits, vegetables, flowers, grains, and spices. It was breathtakingly beautiful. There were tarps of various colors and lengths covering the vendors which created all this interesting and varying lighting. A few brave individuals tried their English on us. It is really hard to describe it. The moods and vibes of people was very lively. All the colors overloaded my mind. The smells went from rotting matter, to onion,to fresh fruits, to cilantro, to jasmine, within seconds. Jonathan spotted some sugar cane which he has had before at his site so we purchased some. He showed me how to eat it. It is difficult and has a mildly sweet taste, you kind of just chew on the middle matter and then spit it out as it doesn't really seem like it is digestible. After walking down many side alleys and main alleys we ventured out. We did buy two pomegranates for Ravanan. I remember one time he said he really liked them. They are pretty pricey by Indian standards so I am guessing that is why he never has any - he seemed very happy to receive them as a gift.
Instead of just getting a bus back to the city center we walked down this street which was boring and seemed like a kind of industrial side of town. We caught a bus at the end of the street headed for the city center again. We jumped off a little early and decided we would explore. Well, we found the train station on our own but thought we were lost temporarily until we found the greatest thing ever in the eyes of Jonathan: A used book store with English books!!! We immediately went in and sure enough there were hundreds of books. We both bought some. We were both kind of dehydrated by this point because for some reason we had decided earlier in the morning that we only needed one bottle of water - mistake! We decided that some fresh pressed juice would cure us! We found a sit down place that made juice and we each downed a pineapple juice. After that we headed on our way home to have some lunch and prepare to send Jonathan on his way! It was a beautiful weekend and I was glad to finally have a companion to accompany me to the many sights of Trichy which I have eagerly been waiting to see. I am always glad to have time to spend with Jonathan - I enjoy our visits very much. Now I am enjoying a relaxing evening and about to settle into my new book, Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison. I hope everyone else had a lovely weekend!
Temple and Science Museum: http://s1150.photobucket.com/albums/o602/kyliejedwards/Srirangam%20Temple/
Gandhi Market: http://s1150.photobucket.com/albums/o602/kyliejedwards/Gandhi%20Market/
A few weeks ago Derka (the woman who cleans our house and does our laundry) and her mother put henna on our hands. They just did it out of the blue. Derka is always visiting with us. I enjoy her company and I can tell she enjoys ours. Her husband is not a very nice man which Ravanan has confirmed to me which leads me to believe it is pretty bad. So I love when she is visiting with us later in the evenings, it makes me feel like she is safe and happy. Also, on another night a few weeks ago Ravanan brought home a jackfruit. It is so large and requires some skill and dedication to get to the fruit. Ravanan gave me the first piece, probably because I was excitedly sitting there watching his every move! I didn't care for it, but of course I didn't tell him that since he was sweating from all that hard labor and looked so excited for me to try it. I think in order to describe it I must first tell you how I feel about papaya. To me papaya tastes like dirty feet. Instantly upon eating the jackfruit I was reminded for some reason of papaya. I quickly pinpointed why: jackfruit tastes like dirty feet! Here is the link to the pictures from those two experiences: http://s1150.photobucket.com/albums/o602/kyliejedwards/henna%20and%20jackfruit/
Once we got out of the temple area we put our shoes back on and conveniently, after our long walk in the hot sun with bare feet on hot stone, there was a juice stand. We each got some fresh juice which was delicious. I got pineapple, Jonathan got sweet lime juice, and Laura got orange juice. We gulped those down pretty quickly. After the temple experience we were all kind of exhausted so we caught a bus headed for K.K. Nagar (which is where I live) and ate lunch back home. After lunch Jonathan and I headed out for some tea at a local restaurant and then we walked to a local ice cream store that is very modern. The ice cream was delicious and it was nice to have something cold to eat.
Jonathan and I then decided to check out the local science museum and planetarium. It was very interesting. We arrived and there was a school group there and many men standing outside ready to shepherd us through the museum. We could not even read the signs in the beginning they were beckoning us to come in immediately. We paid and then once again attempted to read some of the displays but were pushed into this room with a theater. We were then given 3D glasses. We watched this very bizarre show, I am still not sure what it had to do with science or what it was really about - and it was in English! There was this bunny hopping around looking for something through this maze. I am still not sure if he actually found what he was looking for. Then the next mini show was this mad scientist magician. It was weird. The show ended and we then attempted to read some more displays but we were being shown that we should enter the planetarium. It was kind of sad and interesting all at the same time. The equipment was obviously very modern and high tech but the seating was so old and kind of scary. I didn't really want to sit in any of the chairs because they looked like they would break or I would get stuck with a metal spring. Jonathan and I finally got settled in the back row and next thing we know the whole school group comes filing in the room. The show was actually very nice despite the fact that it was in Tamil. The website had clearly mixed up the Tamil times with the English times based on the flyer they gave us as we were leaving. We then got to finally look at the displays, the experience science center (which was sad, rundown, and very outdated), and the environmental science center. Since we were a full 2km away from Trichy, it was very nice because all around the museum was just beautiful fields. We both appreciated looking out at them. We then got to play on a science playground. It featured many activities which let you see and experience science in action. We enjoyed ourselves on the playground for quite some time.
We left the Anna Science Center and started walking on the road back toward K.K. Nagar. Right outside the science center grounds there was a temple which had many people outside of it. It was very interesting looking and quite different from other ones we have seen. We also observed a few families where it looked like they were living out of a van. They had their little camp set up on the side of the road. The young kids waved at us and the young women smiled at us. We finally caught an auto back to the house to call it a night!
Sunday morning we were able to see some of the local kids and girls from the Children's Home participate in Tae Kwon Do. I also was able to show Jonathan my school building. We ate some curd rice and headed on our way to our next adventure! Today we had decided on seeing the Gandhi Market. We rode the bus to the city center and had some tea at a little shop. Then we caught another bus to the market. We wandered around for quite some time just exploring streets which we thought could be the market or could lead us to the market. Jonathan bought some jackfruit from a street vendor. Finally, Jonathan pointed out that we should head back toward the area where we had gotten off the bus and sure enough the market was right there! It was quite possible the coolest thing I have seen in India. It was filled with hundreds of people and vendors. People selling fruits, vegetables, flowers, grains, and spices. It was breathtakingly beautiful. There were tarps of various colors and lengths covering the vendors which created all this interesting and varying lighting. A few brave individuals tried their English on us. It is really hard to describe it. The moods and vibes of people was very lively. All the colors overloaded my mind. The smells went from rotting matter, to onion,to fresh fruits, to cilantro, to jasmine, within seconds. Jonathan spotted some sugar cane which he has had before at his site so we purchased some. He showed me how to eat it. It is difficult and has a mildly sweet taste, you kind of just chew on the middle matter and then spit it out as it doesn't really seem like it is digestible. After walking down many side alleys and main alleys we ventured out. We did buy two pomegranates for Ravanan. I remember one time he said he really liked them. They are pretty pricey by Indian standards so I am guessing that is why he never has any - he seemed very happy to receive them as a gift.
Instead of just getting a bus back to the city center we walked down this street which was boring and seemed like a kind of industrial side of town. We caught a bus at the end of the street headed for the city center again. We jumped off a little early and decided we would explore. Well, we found the train station on our own but thought we were lost temporarily until we found the greatest thing ever in the eyes of Jonathan: A used book store with English books!!! We immediately went in and sure enough there were hundreds of books. We both bought some. We were both kind of dehydrated by this point because for some reason we had decided earlier in the morning that we only needed one bottle of water - mistake! We decided that some fresh pressed juice would cure us! We found a sit down place that made juice and we each downed a pineapple juice. After that we headed on our way home to have some lunch and prepare to send Jonathan on his way! It was a beautiful weekend and I was glad to finally have a companion to accompany me to the many sights of Trichy which I have eagerly been waiting to see. I am always glad to have time to spend with Jonathan - I enjoy our visits very much. Now I am enjoying a relaxing evening and about to settle into my new book, Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison. I hope everyone else had a lovely weekend!
Temple and Science Museum: http://s1150.photobucket.com/albums/o602/kyliejedwards/Srirangam%20Temple/
Gandhi Market: http://s1150.photobucket.com/albums/o602/kyliejedwards/Gandhi%20Market/
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A few weeks ago Derka (the woman who cleans our house and does our laundry) and her mother put henna on our hands. They just did it out of the blue. Derka is always visiting with us. I enjoy her company and I can tell she enjoys ours. Her husband is not a very nice man which Ravanan has confirmed to me which leads me to believe it is pretty bad. So I love when she is visiting with us later in the evenings, it makes me feel like she is safe and happy. Also, on another night a few weeks ago Ravanan brought home a jackfruit. It is so large and requires some skill and dedication to get to the fruit. Ravanan gave me the first piece, probably because I was excitedly sitting there watching his every move! I didn't care for it, but of course I didn't tell him that since he was sweating from all that hard labor and looked so excited for me to try it. I think in order to describe it I must first tell you how I feel about papaya. To me papaya tastes like dirty feet. Instantly upon eating the jackfruit I was reminded for some reason of papaya. I quickly pinpointed why: jackfruit tastes like dirty feet! Here is the link to the pictures from those two experiences: http://s1150.photobucket.com/albums/o602/kyliejedwards/henna%20and%20jackfruit/
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