December Diary

I’m sorry for not giving you all an update in so long! Because so much has happened in December, I decided to outline the highlights with some photos. Enjoy!

Tuesday, 5. December
Cristy’s 21st birthday!
In the morning, Cristy was surprised with 21 little presents from our anyathi (‘little sister’ in Malayalam) Simi (she lives below us; her family owns the whole house).
School hours were spent handing out sweets to the children. It is customary that, when it’s a student’s birthday, he / she hands out sweets to his / her class, and to all the teachers. So, Cristy handed out sweets to every single student in school. Plus, Pratheeba made a huge (I mean it!) vessel of Payasam to give to the teachers.
In the afternoon, I surprised her with a Piñata (in the form of a cow, because I’m Swiss, and because I couldn’t draw a donkey) :)
In the evening, we concluded the celebrations with a photo shoot in front of ‘zee wall.’ (NB: When we feel like it, we take lots of silly photos in front of the only white wall in our house).
The only downside of that day is that I got sick pretty bad the next day. A combination of lack of sleep and too much sugar (Payasam! – the electricity went out that morning, so we thought we’d have to finish it all so it wouldn’t spoil. In the end, the electricity came back in the evening, so we could have saved it in the fridge – had there been any left) isn’t very healthy… But it was worth it, because Cristy enjoyed her birthday.



In the evening...



Friday, 8. December – Monday, 11. December
Our weekend trip to Goa!
Because my dad was on business in India, Cristy and I were able to meet up with him over the weekend…in Goa! It was great! Cristy had wanted to be at the beach for her birthday, and it was really nice to be away from busy school for a bit, as well as to catch up with my dad.
We had a relaxing couple of days (which flew by way too quickly!)!



(NB: This photo is contraband in Nedumkandam; only wear spaghetti-straps and shorts in Nedumkandam if you want the whole town talking about you!)

Wednesday, 13. December
I made the 5 hour bus journey down to the airport at Kochi for the third time in less than a week, except this time I was alone. I flew to Bangalore (in the state of Karnataka – look it up on a map) to spend 3.5 weeks with my friend Nisha, whom I know from UWC.
We’ve been having a great time!

Friday, 22. December
We made the 14 hour drive from Bangalore to Goa. Tiring!

Saturday, 23. December
My first Goan wedding! Nisha’s cousin got married. The fancy Catholic wedding was followed by a reception with good food and lots of dancing (Goans love to do two things: eat and dance…). It was lots of fun.

Sunday, 24. December
Sightseeing in Old Goa, which has lots of impressive churches in Portuguese style. For dinner, we were invited to Nisha’s grandmother’s house, who is a very sweet old lady and an excellent cook / baker. She made delicious marzipans, which we gulped down in no time. And guess what else she did: having been told half a year ago that I’d be visiting, and that I’m a vegetarian, she bought ‘The Vegetarian Bible’ (a cookbook) specially so that she’d be able to cook for me!
We also went for midnight mass to celebrate Christmas.



Thursday, 28. December
We drove from Goa to Mangalore (south of Goa, a city in the state of Karnataka). It took us roughly 8 hours (I think! – these times are normal for India, by the way. It takes a long time to get anywhere. The 5 hour drive from Nedumkandam to Kochi is nothing).

Friday, 29. December
We spent the morning sight-seeing (there isn’t that much to see in Mangalore; it’s really small, actually). In the afternoon, there was a Ros for the bride (the second wedding was on Saturday, 30. December). A Ros is a ceremony performed in Mangalore and parts of Goa before a wedding, for both the bride and the groom (but they each have their own Ros, and they’re not allowed to see each other’s Ros). It’s supposed to be a very formal occasion, on which the family members bless the bride / groom, as well as the bridesmaid / best man, and prepare them for the wedding by pouring coconut milk over them, which is very good for skin and hair, so that they’ll ‘glow’ for the wedding. However, Nisha’s family isn’t too strict on how to perform the Ros, so by the end Nisha (who was the bridesmaid) and Nicola, the bride, had eggs, tomatoes, beer and more in their hair, on / under their clothes and in their faces. It was really fun to watch (I videotaped the whole thing). :)
In the evening, Nicola had a hen party with some of her friends, some of her cousins and me. We spent most of the time talking and eating.

Saturday, 30. December
For the first time in a week, I actually had half a day to myself. I had a relaxing morning and early afternoon, before we went for the wedding mass at 6.15pm, which was followed by the reception in a hall adjacent to the church. Mangalorean weddings are very different from Goan weddings (definitely more conservative), but the food was good and in the last 15 minutes, there was some dancing, too. However, Mangalore is very strict about when parties have to end, so at exactly 10.45pm, a bell rang and the electricity for the band went off. By 11.00pm, everyone had to be out of the hall – and they actually managed to enforce it! It was a short reception (nothing compared to the Goan reception, which lasted until 2.00am). The reason for them being so strict is because the crime rates are much higher after 11.00pm, so to control those rates, they want all parties to end by then, unless you’re having a party in your home, in which case you can party as long as you want.
It was a nice reception. The most special moment was when the bride and groom were taking photos with the bride’s family. I was sitting on a chair, watching the huge, loud, funny and friendly family arrange themselves on stage, when the bride’s older sister came and pulled me up to be in the photo with them. It was really special to be so ‘adopted’ into the family that they’d want me in the photo, and it meant a lot to me.
Nisha’s family has been really sweet, open and friendly. While many people say that Indians are open and friendly, Cristy and I haven’t really experienced that in Nedumkandam (apart from our neighbours, both next-door and below us). Don’t get me wrong: I’m not saying Indians are unfriendly. But in Nedumkandam, where foreigners are very rare, being friends with us, or even just being associated with us immediately gives a person a higher status, which is why so many people want to know us. But Nisha’s family didn’t treat me like a foreigner or an outsider. They were always very concerned about me, so much so that for fear of me not getting enough food, they actually overfed me (I think I’ve put on weight since I’ve been with Nisha, even though I hadn’t put on any since in India). :) When it was time to say goodbye to all of them, they told me that I have to come back to Goa to visit, and one of Nisha’s cousins even told me she’d like to invite me to her wedding (even though she hasn’t even found a fiancée yet – at least that’s what she tells everyone). They all made me feel at home, and were very kind, warm and friendly. I definitely won’t forget my time with them.



Sunday, 31. December
In the morning, we drove from Mangalore to Bangalore via Mysore, where we spent exactly 45 minutes in the famous Mysore Palace. It was really interesting, even though most of the palace is not accessible to visitors (sadly!).
We arrived in the evening, on time to go to a neighbour’s house to celebrate the New Year. We burnt the old man (he symbolised the year 2006 – we wrote on him), and then crashed into bed.

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Since then, we’ve been terrorising Bangalore, visiting many sights, and doing a lot of shopping (I’m not sure how I’m going to fit it all into my suitcase…). :S
We’ve had fun moments, too, and not-so-fun moments, like when foreigners have to pay Rp 200 and Indians only have to pay Rp 100. Worse: one place, I had to pay Rp 100, while Indians only have to pay Rp 5. What a rip-off! Anyway, this Sunday (7. January) I’ll be flying back to Kochi, and then making the 5 hour bus journey to Nedumkandam. I’ll be sad to say goodbye to Nisha , especially since I don’t know when I’ll see her next, but I’m also looking forward to seeing my kids, Cristy and my familee.

Well, I think this post will keep you busy for a while, so it’ll probably be quite a while before I update again. Enjoy!