A Journey to Well Known Places

Oh, the food here is soooo good and sooooo cheap. I am going to be in for some serious sticker shock when I get back. I just had a two egg omelet with spicy peppers, two chapattis (like Indian tortillas), a small saucer plate of vegetable curry, and a small pot of coffee for breakfast. The grand total was $1. Spending $3 a meal here is really splurging. Every once in a while I treat myself to a big plate of rich food at one of the nicer restaurants around and feel pretty decedent. The other nice thing (I think) about eating here is that everyone eats with their hands. Or hand as I should say. You are only supposed to touch the food with your right hand as the left is used for cleaning yourself after you go to the bathroom. This is not some hold over from a less hygienic past as it is in some places. Many restrooms provide have toilet paper or hose. Usually you just get a bucket of water with a smallish ladle and you literally use your hand. Then you wash your hands in the sink. Sometimes there is even soap. Eating with only one hand is a little tricky though. Tearing hot flat bread with one hand is something I am slowly learning to do. Since I have little packets of tissue and hand sanitizer I bring with me most places I sometimes cheat……much to the disgust of the other patrons who look away when they see me do it. Most of India is vegetarian, but the area I am staying in has a large Catholic community and they eat a fair amount of meat. My hotel is near a church and every Saturday and Sunday I wake up to harmonious chanting in Latin. It is neat. I am also not far from a mosque so at night I hear the call to prayer in Arabic and the Latin chanting in the morning.

My classes are going fine. I am scheduled to take my first certification test next week and I am studying furiously so I can pass. This occupies most of my waking time so I don’t have the chance to be bored anymore. I am looking forward to finishing up with the courses, doing a little shopping, and heading to the north of India for more sight-seeing before I go home. I hope everyone is well.

I am in Kochi taking computer classes. It is a coastal town in the state of Kerala. Kerala is one of the richest and most advanced states in India; which means there are no dead bodies or cows in the streets. The literacy rate is close to 98% and the state government is communistic. My classes are from 7:30am to 9:30am. Those who know me, know that this schedule is contrary to my convention and my constitution. Yesterday at the end of class my instructor told me that tomorrow there may be a bus strike. If there is a strike then there will be no class. “How will I know if there is a strike?” I asked. The reply was that if the offices are closed when I arrive then I will know there is no class. “Hmmmm, how do I tell if there is a strike without taking a shower, getting ready and coming all the way down here.” Oh, if there are no rickshaws there is a strike. If you see rickshaws there is no strike. OK, easy enough. Last night I went to bed at my usual time of 10:30, but I did not set my alarm. I woke up at around 8, put on some shorts and went into the hall way to look down onto the street. As I did I saw a rickshaw speed by. Thinking I was now late for class I got ready quickly and headed downstairs. It was immediately obvious that something was amiss. All the shops along the street were closed. Even the restaurants were locked up…..so no breakfast. I hailed a rickshaw and had him take me to my class; which was also closed. On the way there though it was like passing through a ghost town. There were a few people here and there, but the usual chaos and cacophony of my morning commute was non-existent. When I got back to the hotel I asked where I could get breakfast. “No, all closed” then man said. “Because of the bus strike?” I asked. “No, a general protest” he replied. It seems that things like food and raw materials have been getting more expensive in Kochi and the people got mad. So they shut it all down for the day. Restaurants, movie theatres, optometrists, bus service, everything but the airport and train station is closed. I have never seen the like. I am not sure what good it will do, but it is interesting to see the political process at work in foreign lands.