One Week.

In one week, I will be in a plane flying across the ocean, back to America. Lots of reasons led to me to coming home earlier then expected, if you're interested just ask me about it. Before I leave though, I think it's important to show you what has been my home (by the time I leave) for 129 days:

Main road on campus

Shopcom (shopping complex) has food, a travel agent, a tailor, a shoe maker, and school supplies.

SN Fine Arts School aka where I go for art history class (over 2 miles from my hostel)

On the way to the SIP Building (Study in India Program)

SIP Building (down the road from my hostel)

Classroom example in SIP Building with Bhavani ji :) These are the nicest classrooms in the university.

On the way to my hostel...

My home!

Tagore

Since I have a room on the end, I have 3 windows :)

My closet... at the beginning of the semester!

Since I don't have a roommate, my room is the meeting grounds for all important discussions between my group of friends: The Room of No Judgment.

 I will show you what the other part of the hostel are like later this week. Time has gone way too fast here... the upcoming days are going to be hard saying goodbye to everyone.

Tamil Nadu/Kerala: Part V

April 8th and 9th: Kochi, Kerala

Once we arrived in Kochi, we hurried to find a hotel, and headed to the beach. (this was made by Megan)

Although the beach was great, it took us about 2 hours to get there, as it was on an island... but we did get to see the sun set, which was obviously amazing. We ordered room service in our overly luxurious hotel and crashed watching Bollywood music videos.

The next morning, we ate breakfast, then walked along the shore before our taxi was to take us to the airport.

The fish were still alive as they were plopped on the ice :( It was a bit horrific.

Fishin' nets!

Morning trash burnin'!

Our SUPER-LUXURIOUS-AIR-CONDITIONED-SHOWER-CURTAINED-CLEAN-SHEETED-SOFT-BEDDED hotel. They even provided shampoo, soup, toothpaste, AND a toothbrush!

In the airport, I went to the bathroom to try to braid my hair. A bathroom attendant noticed how horrible I was at braiding, so she just did it herself :) It was so amazing, I could not stop smiling.

The group after the trip: tan, tired, hot, hungry, exhausted, dirty, smelly, but very very very happy.

Tamil Nadu/Kerala: Part IV

Alleppey, Kerala: Backwaters

On our newly rented houseboat we: 1. Ate

2. Relaxed

3. Braided hair

4. Waved at people

5. Watched the sun set

6. Drank tea (Photo by: Jamie Bunker)

7. Chilled even more

At night, we had to dock, so: 8. Jamie climbed palm trees

And 9. I walked along rice fields (Photo by: Erin McConaha)

It was all quite wonderful, but we were so exhausted we decided to go to sleep early. The next morning, we woke up for sunrise, ate idlies, and hopped off around 10 AM.

Easter Sunday :)

Once off, we tried to find a church, but they were all done with services, due to the heat... so we hopped on a bus and headed to Kochi.

Tamil Nadu/Kerala: Part III

April 7th: Munnar to Alleppey, Kerala

5 AM came very early, as we walked to the bus station for our trip down to Alleppey. Buses in India= Cheap, Convenient, Slow, and Uncomfortable.

(Photo by: Erin McConaha) The bus was pretty enjoyable early in the morning: a cool breeze and basically the whole bus to ourselves.

Poor Megan...  after picking up a few dozen more passengers, seating became scarce, so a woman and baby sorta fell asleep on her. She was such a sport though and just laughed about it.

Something fantastic about riding the buses in India is the view... we got to see so much in our 5-6 hour journey... including the very wealthy side of India. Mansions such as the above lined the streets in one area.

(Photo by: Erin McConaha) Finally in Alleppey, we were attacked by house boat salesmen. We were all very hot, sweaty, hungry, grumpy, and tired. We found refuge in a small restaurant where we drank the absolute BEST milkshakes of our entire lives. I don't think I have ever enjoyed food as much as I did at that moment. We then went on the house boat hunt...

Tamil Nadu/Kerala Adventure: Part II

April 5th: Munnar, Kerala

 I think it is fair to say that Munnar was (if not the most beautiful) one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen in my life. It is located in India's Western Ghats. It is absolutely astonishing.

(Photograph by: Jamie Bunker) This sign pretty much describes Munnar.

(Photo by: Jamie Bunker) I have never disliked a car ride up a mountain as much as this one,but it was worth it.

Munnar is full of tea plantations. It is the most beautiful example of deforestation I have ever seen haha. It also has: towering mountains, creeks, lakes, waterfalls, a COOL BREEZE, wonderful people, cheap prices, TREES, wild flowers everywhere, jeeps, good coffee, STARS, great food, chilly nights, wild elephants (no, I didn't see any...), and FIREFLIES! It was the most magical place I have ever seen. We stayed in the most fabulous cottage outside of the main town called Zina Cottages. It was so cozy, I actually never wanted to leave. It was located on the side of a mountain surrounded by tea fields and mountains, with the city below it. FANTASTIC.

(Photo by: Erin McConaha) We ate at a local's favorite for lunch. I have never had so much fun eating. The place just vibrated with energy.

This is my favorite picture of Munnar. It's taken from the Hilltop Station (where the British used to hang out). We took a two hour jeep ride to it, which allowed us to see a lot of the landscape. By the end, we were exhausted and crashed in our wonderful cottage.

April 6th: Munnar, Kerala

 We had hoped to go to a wildlife reserve, but India changed plans again so we went on another adventure. We started the day with the sunrise and a FABULOUS breakfast in our cottage, served by the owner, who was great. The rest of the day was filled with hikes, shopping, and spectacular food.

Erin and I all bundled up for the sunrise :)

Erin, Jamie, and Megan on our hike through tea fields, mountains, and villages.

(Photo by: Erin McConaha) We saw waterfalls! We weren't going to get wet, as we thought it would be inappropriate, with all the men around, but after some Indian women told us it was fine, we got drenched!

After our long jeep ride, we decided to have lunch. I'm not sure what the name of this place was called, but it contained the most delicious egg biryani I have eaten in my life. It was so good, I couldn't even take a picture of it before it was gone...

After lunch, we took a nap, went on a sunset hike, ate some dinner, and walked around the town. We ate our very first street food and didn't get sick! It was wonderful... Kerala Paratha.

 Megan got the auto driver to let her drive his rickshaw on our way to our cottage and after we packed up a bit, we crashed for the night.

 Munnar is officially my favorite place in India, maybe even the world. It's impossible to convey how much I loved this place... my favorite part was the smell! In the Rockies we smell pine trees and fresh air, in the Ghats you smell wildflowers and rain. It was SO stunning, I never wanted to leave.

Tamil Nadu/Kerala Adventure: Part I

The following adventure will be divided by the cities I visited...

April 4th: Madurai, Tamil Nadu

The Beginning of the Journey... (Megan, Erin, Lilli, Me, Jamie)

   Our adventure began with a flight to Madurai. Once there, we checked into a New College House for the night and quickly noticed how nice people in South India are! We had a great time exploring the streets and trying strange deserts.

Strange Deserts (Photo by: Erin McConaha)

 We were so excited to sleep, but unfortunately, Madurai never seems to quiet down. It was a rather loud night.  Needless to say, we were happy to get up and hit the road early in the morning.

Our room was simple, clean, AND WE HAD A BIG MIRROR! (We haven't really seen our whole bodies in quite a while, so this was really a treat!)