Ramakkalmed with hostel, plus a ride on Mathew's bike!

Ramakkalmed with the hostel, plus a ride on Mathew's bike! Saturday, 27th January



Some of the girls and me (L to R): Anithamol, Sowmia, Priya, Priya (hugging me), Seetha, Sreedhanya (standing above Seetha)

On Saturday afternoon, we took the hostel kids to Ramakkalmed. Most of the boys had gone home over the long weekend, but for those who were there, we wanted to do something special. So, we arranged for the school driver to take the girls in the school van, while the boys, along with the Principal, went by jeep.
Ramakkalmed is about 15km away from the school. The part of Kerala we were in is extremely hilly, and Ramakkalmed is one of the hills. The special thing about Ramakkalmed, though, is that it can be extremely windy (so windy you could lose anything you don't hold on to - like very light students. We were rather worried about Sasikumar and Rajeshwari, two very small 6th standard kids). :) Plus, Ramakkalmed is right on the border to Tamil Nadu, so you have a beautiful view of the flat plains of our neighbouring state (it's amazing how completely different each state's geography is. You cross the border, and it's a different world, not just culturally and linguistically, but also geographically). Because you can't get there by walking, the hostel hardly ever goes to Ramakkalmed, so it was really special for all of them. We had lots of fun (and didn't lose a single person).



Me behind Mathew, on his bike!

Afterwoards, I got a ride on Mathew's bike (Pratheeba got a seat in the school van). I sat sideways, the way Pratheeba sits in her saree. It was an interesting new perspective, although I was a bit worried when we went around corners, because I felt like I would fall off forwards or backwards if Mathew ever lost his balance. Fortunately he didnt, and I had an awesome 30 minute ride, turning heads all along the way. :)