What We've Been Up To Recently

Last week we had Wednesday off for Gandhi Jayanti day so we decided to go to a nearby waterfall to hike and relax in the water.We had to cross a rickety free swinging wooden bridge with lots of broken boards and the sides missing in many places! Another adventure in India! The water was so refreshing and since we went early we had the area to ourselves for awhile. We had fun slipping and sliding in the water and trying to maneuver in current!

Enjoying the waterfall

For a field visit this past week we went to KCT- a nearby school- to interact with the students. It turned out that our students were seated in the front as a panel and were asked questions about culture and college in America!

Our group at KCT 

We have also had a gathering with our peer mentors where we ate good food and introduced them to the game of Mafia, gone shopping at a nearby  market, and seen beautiful sunsets from our apartment roof! On Sunday some of us attended a festival at church where we got to try many new foods including momo's, whole fish, byriyani, custard, and jello cups!

Jello cups at church???

Sunday afternoon we went to a Sikh Gurdwara to observe their service and learn about their customs and beliefs. We enjoyed a delicious meal with them afterward and experienced their generous hospitality.

The group at a Sikh gurdwara

This weekend we are headed up to Ooty- a beautiful hill station surrounded by tea plantations. We will be visiting various NGOs, touring a tea plantation, and GOING ON A TIGER SAFARI! Catch our update next week when we return!

Student Post:Weekend Home stays (Part 2)

Last weekend the students had the chance to go on a home stay with a friend from college. This is simply an extension of the last post- giving the students the chance to tell of their adventures in their own words.

Gretchen and Faith:

Outside their house

When we first came to India, we were “warned” about the hospitality—as in, be careful what you ask for, because they might actually give it to you.  This weekend, we discovered how true that really is.  Our guidebook related the phrase “the guest is like God,” which completely described our experience in Karuna’s home.  We experienced eating on banana leaves (only done for special occasions), receiving flowers for our hair every day, having multiple dishes prepared for us at every meal, being accepted as an “akka” (sister) by Karuna’s younger cousin, meeting Karuna’s extended family, having Karuna’s father come home from Chennai (at least a 7-hour journey) just to meet us, always being asked if we were comfortable, being fed all the time—and ultimately, having Karuna’s father buy saris for both of us at the end of our stay there!  Their hospitality was incredibly humbling, and although we saw some amazing things there (like a banana plantation) and got to bond with her family (playing card games with the girls), it was the hospitality that really made the weekend memorable for us.  

Our very hospitable home stay family!

Tayler and Tina: 

At the top of the hill we climbed

So, imagine you’ve just traveled on an Indian bus for five long hours. You step out of the crowded bus into the cool mountain air and you are in Kerala, “God’s own country”! We took an auto (a small three-wheeled “car” with no doors) to Pratiksha’s (our new friend) house where we were welcomed with open arms. While there, we never were hungry, tired or hot. We had a blast in Kerala. The first day we took an adventure up the mountain. Our journey started at the bottom of the hill and we made it all the way to the white cross at the very tippy top. Below we could see a Catholic church and hear music echo throughout the area. The long bus ride was worth it because once we made it to Kerala our eyes were able to take in so many beautiful sights that we know will stick with us forever. The second day we went to “church” which really means we went to a tea museum 2 hours away. We drank Kerala’s cardamom tea and were able to see how it was made (hands with dried tea in them). The best part was we also got to see a wild elephant while at Pratiksha’s uncle’s house (note the river picture)!!! We loved every moment spent there with Pratiksha and her family in our new favorite place: Kerala, India.

Dried tea leaves

Near where we saw the wild elephant

Home Stays (Part 1)

This past weekend the students had the chance to go on a home stay with students from the college. In order to hear their perspective on the experience, I'm going to let them tell about it:

Becca and Emma:

Temple

Our home-stay was spent at our friend Jennifer's home in Coimbatore. We were taken to the Perur Temple where we were given an extensive tour by a family friend and were even allowed into the rooms marked by golden archways where Hindus believe their gods live. Afterwards we drove to the foothills of the Velliangiri mountains and spent the afternoon at the Dhyanalinga Yogic Temple where we bathed in an underground pool made of solidified mercury and spent time in silence within the massive dome structure.  We also went to a horror movie, ate a chicken masala burger at McDonalds, shopped at the mall, and spent an afternoon at an amusement/water park.

With Jennifer at her house

Becca riding the sumo-wrestler ride at the amusement park

Stevie and Faith:

This weekend we went to Ooty, a city spread out in the cool lush mountains and segregated by tea and vegetable crops. The father of our host family is the pastor for Bread of Life Church, so we were able to sleep on site. The first evening we had the privilege of being welcomed into a tribal village and witnessing a miracle. Only a few of the people could speak English and everyone knows we can’t speak Tamil, so smiling and the mispronunciation of each other’s languages was the communication for the evening. As guests, we were welcomed to sit on the large bed in the hut and enjoy the delicious meal while our hosts watched us eat. After our meal, a mute man entered the room and fell at the pastor’s feet. Several minutes of intense praying by the pastor and the elder women in the hut, the man collapsed, seemingly unconscious. Within the next minute he sat up, stood up, put his hands to his chest and whispered “stotram” (praise the Lord). From mute to talking in under ten minutes, in this small hut, in the middle of nowhere. The presence of God was so powerful during our entire weekend but it was that night that made us feel truly blessed to be here.

Stay tuned for more stories from the rest of the student's home stay experiences!

Hostel night!

Friends. Food. Dancing. What more is there? Every Tuesday night the ladies of Batch 5 will have the opportunity to go over the girl’s hostel for dinner and a visit. Many of the ladies studying at BACAS live in a hostel nearby because their families live outside the city or even in the neighboring state of Kerela. Since our students are not actually taking classes with the Indian students, the only time to interact is during lunch time, so hostel night gives them the chance to really form friendships. The girls at the hostel are so kind to welcome our students in and have a great time showing their rooms and telling stories. This is a good time to get away from school life and see how much we have in common.

Not only are the girls very sweet, but Tuesday night is also roti night! In South India, rice is the staple, eaten at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. As you can imagine, it can be hard for us Americans to take so much rice, which is why rotis (like a fried tortilla) are so exciting!

Indian dancing is an art form and the girls at the hostel seem to have it pretty much nailed. They were kind enough to try to teach us a few moves and give us a demonstration. I think we will still need a little more practice but for now all we can do is try to teach them the Macarena and the Electric slide!

(photo credit to our very own Faith Boyle)

Student Post: Kellie Carstensen on Home Stays!

Recently, students had a home stay, when they spend a weekend with a faculty or student from the college to get a taste of what their lives are like. Read about Kellie's experience which encompassed everything from herding goats to overwhelming amounts of food and hospitality.

Guests of Honor

by Kellie Carstensen

Kellie here! This weekend we did faculty home-stays, meaning that we went in groups of two (or 1 in Jason's case) to a professors house for Friday and Saturday to experience the real Indian life. I went with Abby to Sir Samuel Lovelyson's house, who is a professor of social work at the college. Jason actually didn't go to a professor's house, but he got to go home with his roommate Benzo.

Although these home-stays are intended to give us a taste of real Indian life, because of the way hospitality works here we felt more like spoiled guests than just another part of the family. We did get to witness some typical Indian living, but we were certainly fed above and beyond the normal.

Abby and I got to Sir Lovelyson's house and were immediately given tea, then "breakfast" a few hours later, then a huge lunch of fish and crab an hour after that, and then snacks a few hours later, and then dinner around 9 pm. I have never met more hospitality in my life, and my stomach probably has an extra pound or two to prove it.

In between all the eating Sir Lovelyson would tell us all about the social customs and concepts of Indian life in regards to marriage, family, and other issues. We also got to herd some goats roaming near his property, play shuttlecock, and visit some of his neighbors. One woman even gave us pure butter fresh made from her cow that morning... that was a new experience for sure.

Then in the evening he took us for a ride to the nearby "forest"(much drier foliage than how you would picture a forest) in this awesome Jeep:

His two kids came with us everywhere and loved having new friends to play with.

The sun set on the mountains around us and set an amazing landscape. We were right outside the limits of Coimbatore, I think, and the mountains gave us incredible views of the city below.

One of the mountains also has a Hindu temple on top of it, with a long set of stairs to climb to get there. We didn't actually go in the temple since it was almost dark, but we climbed the stairs to see the view.

That's me! And yes I got some weird looks because I had my scarf wrapped around my head, but it was mostly to protect my face against the ever persistent mosquitos.

By Friday night we were exhausted, so after dinner we conked out early in order to get a good nights rest. It was necessary too, because the next morning was Indian Republic Day so we had to get up by 7 am to have breakfast and go see the festivities. Republic Day is similar to Fourth of July in the U.S. since they are celebrating independence from British colonial rule, gained in 1947.

Sir Lovelyson's wife works at an elementary school nearby so we went there to watch the flag-raising ceremony and interact with the kids. It was fun to meet them all, but I will admit that for an introvert it got overwhelming very quickly. We were surrounded by the kids nonstop and they asked our names at least fifty times each, plus the constant attention is a lot for me to handle. We managed alright though and enjoyed their funny questions.

The rest of the day was followed by even more food. Once our host found out we loved fresh fruit we were lavished with every kind imaginable, including palm fruit which we had to squish out of the actual large nut with our fingers:

They also surprised us by taking us to get henna at a nearby shopping center. It happened rather quickly, but before I knew it I was plopped on a stool and had some guy piping beautiful designs onto my arms. I can't complain, but it was definitely a funny confusing moment. There again Indian hospitality beat us in any attempts to return the favor.

Overall it was a crazy two days, filled with more food than I could possibly ever eat and funny moments to last a lifetime. I am basically exhausted after all of that socialization, but that is an element of Indian culture I am still trying to adjust to. Thankfully, today we get some down time to do homework and relax. I am procrastinating a paper right now actually, so I am planning to go work on that next.

Bye!

Student Post: Brooklyn Walker on "A Servant's Heart"

The greatest among you must become a servant. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted. 

-Matthew 23: 11- 12

God calls us to be humble and serve others. One thing is for sure, Indians know how to serve.

Every day I am in awe of the kindness, respect and hospitality shown by the people here in Coimbatore. Their kindness is not dependent on race or religion. Their kindness is genuine and pure. It is something we can all learn from.

There are so many stories I could share about professors, students and everyone else going out of their way to make our groups feel welcome and comfortable.

I am doing an internship at a local school. I had two student guides who came with me, named Christy and Jennifer. They are both Masters' students at BACAS and missed a whole day of classes to help me on my first day of my internship. They were the best guides ever, and I loved spending the day with them. At the end of the day, I thanked them for coming with me. I could not have done it without them. Seriously, they held my hand as we crossed the busiest highway I have ever seen, they answered all of my questions and they even taught me some Tamil (the local language.) Then, they got mad at me for thanking them. I wish I could remember word for word what they said, because it gave me the chills. They basically told me that there was no other way for guests in their country to be treated, and that they would do everything possible to make sure I was comfortable and safe. The most beautiful part was that they truly meant it. They do not just ask questions and help to be polite. They truly care.

A few days after my first internship day, I ran into Christy and Jennifer in the mess. As we were talking one of them asked, "How are Sam and Taylor?" At first, I was caught off guard. But then I remembered her asking about my family the day they helped me nagivate my internship. We didn't spend a lot of time talking about my siblings that day. In fact, the one asking spent more time telling me about her family and showing me pictures. I even met her brother as we were walking back to college that day. Do I remember any of her family members' names? Nope. These two girls are a small example of the unselfish love and giving hearts of the Indian people. 

Christianity may be a minority here, but Christ is clearly visible in all of the people.