India Day 5 and 6

Day 5: Alleppey Backwaters

I spent the day on a 2 hour bus ride that took us to the Alleppey village where we took a ferry for two hours across the backwaters. We saw how many of the people lived and what they did as part of their daily lives. It was mind opening to see how others lived simply compared to how we live in the US.

These were the types of house boats we saw. There were different varieties depending on if the house boats would be used for both homes and for tourist trips to go across the water. It was fascinating to watch.

This was a race boat that some of the villagers had to do the annual race across the backwaters. There were roughly about 34 of them in different shapes and sizes depending on what the families could afford to make but the races are a big deal around august when they happen. It's normally a big festival type event.

This was one of many hindu temples in the area. This temple according to what the guide told me was a Sivite (Shivite) temple.

Day 6: The Ghazal concert

I only did a simple thing on the last day that was to watch the ghazal concert on board the ship. It was a trio of musicians who played music and the middle singer sang songs in Hindu from Urdu poetry that was written from 1300s to present. It was nice to hear the different sounds from the instruments. The Pakistani drums, a guitar and another instrument that i could not get the name of offhand. It was a pleasant experience to be able to be in India and experience it.  

I will be working on a reflection on everything up until this point from leaving Nassau to going to India. I then plan to work on a final one just for the ports from Singapore to Japan after i finish them. the crazy end reflection will come after i get off the ship and am able to process what just happened this semester! I am glad that i am getting so many comments for my blog! thank you!

India Day 4

Today was a simple day in that I took a harbor cruise that took us to see the Chinese nets and other villages that lay on separate islands of Cochin. There was a group of about 10 to 15 of us on a little ferry that spent about 4 hours of our time showing us what the normal person lives on daily and the apartments of the new Cochin. Oh I forgot to mention on the first day that there is an old Cochin and a new Cochin and they are separated by an island that is where our ship is docked. There are a number of other sporadic islands throughout the canal area. The small cruise itself was an eye opener as to the widening gap between the rich and the poor as well as what differences you saw in lifestyles. I learned that India, like the US is going through its troubles of higher than usual unemployment rates and trying to accommodate its market for the average of nearly 12 million workers who prepare to enter the workforce each year. It was a bit interesting to think about everything and put it more into perspective.

(Above) These are the Chinese fishing nets. There were a lot of these spread out in between the islands

Anyways, I hope you are enjoying the blogs! Email me if you have questions!

miranda.denny.s12@semesteratsea.org

India Day 2 and Note about Day 3

Oh my god such good food! It's a bit spicy though and didn't set too well with my stomach. We went to the home of Nalini Verma who teaches Kerala Cuisine in Cochin and other places in India. She is an amazing cook and her food was simply delicious! She showed us a few of the dishes  which included Fish Mappas, Cabbage Thoran and Avial.

This was our main food dish below which consisted of many items. Some of which were the following:

Fish Mappas, Meat Ularthiyathu, Pachadi, Cabbage Thoran, Sambar, Avial, Pulleshery, Masala Potato, Kochi chicken masala, Kerala Mutton Pulao, carrot and mango pickle,Vermicily Payasam and rice

If you want the recipes, email me at miranda.denny.s12@semesteratsea.org

www.keralacuisine.in or email nalini@keralacuisine.in

 

As far as day 3 is concerned, due to exhaustion and illness, I spent the third day in bed sleeping and resting to regain strength for the last three days of craziness in India. I am looking forward to everything coming up.

India Day 1

I woke up super exhausted this morning from getting sick off the food the previous night and immigration took a long time so all the morning trips left really late. I really spent the time resting on board from lack of sleep the last three days until my FDP this afternoon with my art history teacher, Professor Wilkinson. We went to the original palace of the Cochin king and the jewish synagogue in the older part of Cochin and then got to look at the spices in the newer city area.

I could not take pictures in any of these areas because they are still considered very important sights to the locals but the experience of going into the palace and seeing the entire paintings of Krishna, Shiva and Vishnu were just amazing. The walls in some of the rooms were entirely painted with scenes from the Veda texts describing items like the family of Krishna and Rama. I saw vibrant colors along the walls even though some had faded or been destroyed from the Portugese around the 16^th century. The Synagogue was something different. We could not go into the place without our shoes being taken off and we had to leave our bags with the people outside so that we could go in. Inside this synagogue, if you look at the floor, the art on the floor were depictions of nature and buildings which appeared to be Japanese homes which was an odd contrast to all the colors and gold in the room. These tiles were all white with the blue paint what I described. On the ceiling, the items hanging were almost chandelier like, but are made of what I remember him mentioning to be crystal. The way they were made was adopted from the Italians which was completely fascinating. I wish I could take pictures. It was truly amazing to go and just be able to sit in the synagogue and admire the work in the place.

Going to the spice market was an experience in itself because of just how you had to cross the streets and it could be difficult because the cars did not always stop for you. We went to several spice shops and I was just enthralled with how the spices smelled. It was just divine. Different types of cinnamon, cloves, pepper, and numerous other spices. I would love to just buy out that shop but I did not buy anything and I really just want to experience India and learn as much as possible.

Email me with questions!!! miranda.denny.s12@semesteratsea.org J