A note from Kenna at Amritapuri

January 19, 2007

Hi Dear Friends and Family.

Yes, we arrived a week ago and are very busy settling in. We were

relieved that we got to spend an hour on the ground in Teipei to

relieve the 27 hour ride from LAX to Sri Lanka. We arrived in

Trivandorum at 7:30 at night on Monday, January 8; and Vinay, Del's

son met us and we traveled several hours by taxi to our new home at

Amritapuri. He had brought water and bread and cookies for us from

the western canteen.

We have settled in a nice flat, beautiful view of the sea, but we

expect to move to the other side of the building after most of the

visitors leave in a few days. Our current flat is on the SW corner

of the building, which is really nice in many ways. But we

understand it is one of the hottest flats in the entire place in the

summer. The other side, facing the backwater, will be much cooler.

Vinay had 2 nice box beds made for us, with storage underneath. We

also expect to get a free standing closet eventually (the queue is

long and we have no idea where we actually are in it).

2 days after we got here, we travelled on our own to Kollam (about 1

hour), the capital of the district, to do the necessary registration

at the police headquarters as foreigners. That was quite an

adventure. We shared a taxi to Kollam with a nice man returning to

Bombay. After dropping him at the train station, we were dropped off

at a photo shop to get necessary passport photos for the

registration. We were told to come back in 2 hours. So we went

shopping, found some items for our apt. and had lunch. Then we

returned to the photo shop and waited over an hour. I keep thinking

how glad i am that i have spent some time in NYC recently because

that helped me realize how much patience it takes to live there. Now

to multiply it by 100. It is impossible to live here without

enormous patience and a sense of grace. Anyway, we finally go the

photos and took a rickshaw (motorized 3 wheeler) to the police

headquarters. Everything seemed to be going well.

Thanks to Vinay, we had all the right papers, photos, etc. Then we

were sent upstairs for the superintendent's signature. We were

seated in a waiting room behind a curtain out of sight. Humm. We

could hear all the voices and activities of the office but not see

what was going on. After waiting 2 hours, we were getting very

anxious. Finally someone came and told us we weren't there! Humm.

Then the confusion was cleared up by the man assisting the

superintendent. Soon after we got there he had called loudly IN

MALAYALAM asking if there was anyone else to see the superintendent

before he left. He was very apologetic and chatted with us a long

time while we waited for the superintendent to return. Meanwhile,

our poor rickshaw driver was waiting for 4 hours to take us back to

Amritapuri.

When we finally left the office, it was rush hour and the road back

the way we came was completely gridlocked. But the rickshaw driver

just turned around and took us all around it and we made good time

back. Only later did we learn that the registration can take several

days to accomplish. So we were grateful, despite all the challenges.

The next day, we walked across the new bridge and met with various

college officials to discuss where Del and I fit in.Believe it or

not there is a great need here for the very skills i've honed over

the past 20 years: communication, confidence building, emotional

support. I plan to start and English only table in the girls dining

area to get to know them. Rather than being a professor of English,

my vision is to be an Auntie who listens to their problems and

empowers them. Sounds familiar, doesn't it! So I'm really amazed

that i get serve in this way, get to know these girls, etc. There

is also a need for someone to help coordinate applications for

patents on bio tech developments. I may be involved in this as well.

Then we walked further to the new Engineering and Arts and Science

College, big parts of which are still under construction. We met

with key administrators and started setting up Del's office, which i

will be sharing for now as we can both have internet access here.

The next day we came with Vinay to watch him teach a values class on

anger.

It was his birthday and it was delightful to watch him in action. He

is quite brilliant and really kept the students attention, telling

great stories and engaging them very well. We both want to do more

observing to help us prepare to teach here. The system here is very

different from the US system. Things are much more formal. Girls sit

on one side, boys on another. All wear uniforms. When we enter the

room they all stand. But the idea is to bring the best of both

systems together and create a top quality education. So things are

in a very creative state, especially in the new Arts and Sciences

college. It should be fun to help it form. As some of you may know,

i love this kind of setting, making things up, putting things

together, networking, etc.

Just a note on the walk from the bridge to the college:

I've been taking the walk after Del due to other duties in the

morning. So that means taking the trip at noon. Not recommended. It

helps that the bridge is white, not black. But still it is metal and

there are over 50 steps up and 50 steps down. Imagine a humid,

middle of the summer temperature. So by the time i arrive on the

other side, i'm pretty sticky and really glad i'm wearing white. The

walk on the other side is a narrow path used by the village. On it

are goats and chickens and ducks and all kinds of exotic plants,

ponds, women in beautiful colored outfits, people on bicycles,

students coming and going. But often i have a little time to myself,

something i was afraid i would be missing once we moved here.

Realistically, these things, which have been here for centuries,

will be disappearing as the college grows and improvements are made.

But for now, i am enjoying the feeling of rural life, which i grew

up in.

We have been enjoying lunch in the faculty room here. Yummmm! Curd

and buttermilk with delicious curries every day! For breakfast we

eat at the Western Canteen, eggs and cheese to start with day with

protein, oatmeal with curd, and other good things from that kitchen,

such as idlies and coconut chutney. Then at night we eat out of the

college students area, which is similar to lunch. 2 nights ago we

had really good dosas. And again we can supplement from the Western

canteen (for example borscht or a fresh carrot salad). One public

program days there is also an Indian snack shop. The fried banana is

on my list. Then there is the fruit and juice bar where you can get

everything from my favorite little bananas to fresh pineapple juice

to some kind of frozen sorbet in a cone. And we just added the juice

of one tender coconut to our daily routine. After morning prayers,

we make our way in the predawn dark to a little stall just outside

the grounds where a nice woman named Prasanna chops of the end of a

tender coconut and provides a straw. The juice is full of nutrients

and is said to help us adapt to the heat if we take it regularly for

awhile. She is supporting her 2 sons in school with this stall.

We went to the tailor shop couple of days ago and i ordered a

couple of outfits since i hardly brought any clothes with me. The

cottons are so nice here! And the colors a delight.

One last note on animal life here:

A monkey recently moved onto the scene. It was a little fun at

first, but he's been very aggressive, even going up to someone

having a fruit drink and putting his teeth on her arm (fortunately

no biting). She wisely stayed very still. The forestry people are

trying to trap him, but so far he took the chocolate cake with

valium and failed to trip the trap. Then after that he wouldn't eat

the cake after sniffing it. They also fed him drugs in tomatoes, but

he only got a little drunk, didn't go to sleep.

There is also a sea eagle who perches in the breakfast area and

swoops down to snatch bites of omelets off people's plates, even out

of their hands. Yesterday one swooped down to Del's plate. Del had

his hands over the omelet and felt the eagle's talon touch his hand,

and it's wing brushed my face.

As you can see, life is not dull around here.

And i've just been informed that my official title at the college

is "Training Officer" and that one of my duties will be coordinating

information between the university and corporations.

Hope this finds you all enjoying a good start to your new year. We

keep forgetting it's January since it definitely feels like July.

And of course we can't imagine what July would feel like, thought

our plan remains to return there for a visit around that time. I

think by May we may very well be ready to take a break from what is

supposed to be an unusually hot summer.

with loving best wishes,

kenna

January 19, 2007

I am happy for you ! Be safe and pure....

ammastony

n2amma <a1driane (AT) swbell (DOT) net> wrote: