Erode Village Homestay, Part 2

After lunch we took a 45 minute power nap.  After we woke up we were reading the newspaper and noticed that there was a picture of our ship on the front page.  How cool!  We left the house and went to the bizarre/market, where they sell so many types of vegetables.  We then walked around the streets, and 5 of us girls bought saris, the traditional Indian dress that women wear. 

 

After shopping we drove to our host’s sister’s house, who also happens to be the Vice Principle of the school.  Here, the women tied our saris on us.  We also were given bhindis and fresh, fragrant flowers for our hair.  We all loved them, and felt beautiful wearing them.  About 20 students from the school came and we had a question and answer session with them.  We also sang and danced for each other.  After this, the students left and we ate dinner.  Dinner included a soft fried tortilla-like thing, steamed sourdough balls, chickpea and spice chutney, a green colored coconut chutney, red onion chutney, sweet sugar sauce, and bananas.  After dinner the Vice Principle showed us her shrine, and taught us about Hinduism.  She also shared her thoughts and feelings about India and the world with us: “We are all fearful because our knowledge hasn’t soaked in yet”; “We need to let be.  That is that.”; “Poverty is not as much an issue as it is a mindset. When people label individuals as poor they become more poor at heart and less secure.”; “We need to create a global community of knowledge and come together to work towards a better world.”

 

After these words of wisdom, we left the house silenced, deep in contemplation of the days events.  We went back to our hosts house, and quickly fell asleep.

 

The next morning we were woken up at 6:45 am with a knock on our door and our host’s helper/cook holding coffee for us.  Yum.  What a good morning.  We said goodbye to our host and gave them some small gifts from home and stuff that we had picked up on the ship.  Wanting to give us something in return, Mrs. Shavari got her bangle (bracelet) collection and told us to take whatever we wanted.  Most of the bangles were too small for our huge western hands, but we all found something that fit.  They are beautiful.  She also gave us all bhindi’s for a safe journey, and we left with her spirit still souring in our souls and her coffee still warm in our bellies.

 

We drove back to Erode, where we went to the B.V.B. School.  This private school has 5,000 students, 800 of whom live on the premises.  Like the other school, 100% of these individuals go on to college.  At the school we ate breakfast: coffee, tea (which tasted like a tea latte), Dulce, omelet, dumplings, rice mash with spices, cauliflower chutney, and spice and potatoes chutney.

 

After breakfast we drove to the local temple.  There is a temple located on the outskirts of each community.  This temple honors a god who rides on a white horse and protects the community at night.  We also learned about swings that are in the temple.  People pray to these swings to ask for children, or other subjects dealing with children.  We watched a short ceremony to honor this god, and then we were given a packet of holy ash.  This ash is special because the ash burns, leaving nothing.

 

Next we went to the Bhavani Temple.  This temple was much bigger than the community temple, and is considered to be in a holy location because it is where three rivers join.  There is much color in, on, and around this temple.  It was beautiful.  We watched men bathe in the rivers, which are also considered holy.  We spent about 2 hours walking around the temple, learning about the different gods and goddesses.  Also, whenever you go inside a house or a temple you must take off your shoes, so we all walked around in socks.  Although this “taking your shoes off custom” caused your feet and socks to be very dirty, it is a custom to honor the gods.  Everything in Hindu culture, moreover, has a purpose and a meaning. 

 

After the Bhavani Temple we drove a few minutes to a weaving factory.  This is the last hand weaving factory in the area, and it was fascinating watching individuals make blankets.  For larger blankets, two individuals work a larger loom, and for smaller blankets one individual works a smaller loom.  There are also mechanic weaving machines on the premises.  These mechanic machines are used for fine materials such as silk, and are used to make intricate patterns as well. 

 

We then departed on our buses and went to the Erode Arima Society, a school that is the sister school of the B. V. B. School.  This school works with physically handicapped students, most of who have polio and have lost legs. They honored us with bhindis and flowers.  Some of the students had prepared two dances for us, and then it was our turn to entertain.  We did the Hokie Pokie, and they seemed to enjoy it.  After fifteen minutes of free interaction with these students we had to go.  We donated $300 to this school.

 

Back at the B. V. B. School for lunch, we had fresh watermelon juice, soda, dulce, rice, fried vegetable wanton-like thing, spice chutney, bread with fresh strawberry jam, and bananas.  We then went to the gym, where some middle school students performed a traditional N. Indian dance for us.  Again, we had to perform in return, and we dance and sang “Build Me Up Buttercup.”  They laughed and enjoyed it, although their performance was much better.  After embarrassing ourselves, we decided to embarrass ourselves a little more.  The girl’s basketball team challenged us to a game (they won nationals!).  While some individuals played basketball the rest of us tried to learn that traditional N. Indian dance, which happened to be very hard.  We could have never predicted what happened next.  About 1,000 kids swarmed us for autographs, handshakes, and pictures.  We were celebrities.  They followed us like paparazzi.  Many just wanted to know your name and see your face.  Some 11^th graders were mad because we were “too old” but said that I had “beautiful eyes.”  A younger student asked me to come back in 2 years (because that’s the age he can marry) and still another said “I love you very much.”  They were all too funny.  All the girls and boys were hanging all over us, and wanted nothing more than attention from the American kids.  They loved us.  As we boarded the buses they followed us, giving us high-fives out of the window.  These children are extremely happy, and I will never forget the smiles.

 

After we left the school we drove to another town to visit a drug manufacture.  Here was saw the 600 natural raw materials from all around India that they use to produce these drugs.  Next we saw the mechanical and hand held mixing system, that ensures the product is thoroughly blended.  A particular black mixture smelled terrible, and we came to later learn that it was bull horn (don’t ask me what they use that for!).  After the tour we had a meditation session before heading back to the B. V. B. School for dinner.  Dinner was more of the same food that we had been eating for the previous two days, but we also had an ice cream like desert that tasted like cake batter ice cream!  It was delicious, and just what I have been craving for the past 7 weeks!  After dinner we headed to the train station, where we caught the 10:30pm sleeper train back to Chennai.

 

Of my experience in India so far I can say this:  I have never met such loving and caring people in my life.  People with nothing will offer you everything; whereas in the States people will everything will offer nothing.  The culture is so rich, so deep.  Everything has its place and its purpose.  Everything is also so colorful, the clothing, the personalities.  It is impossible to not feel loved by everyone you meet.  The physical dirt of the country disappears as the culture emerges.  These people are rich.  These people have got it right.