Day 364: Days 14 & 15 of Our Indian Adventure

Last night, we arrived in Kerala. It was a long day of traveling. Although Goa is only a two- or three-hour plane ride from the airport in Cochin (Kerala’s biggest city), we had to layover in Bangalore. So our three-hour journey took us most of the day. By the time we arrived in Cochin, we were just exhausted. But we were reenergized when we saw Thomas John (or, as we lovingly know him, Achen) waiting for us with open arms. I ran right up to him and gave him a giant hug - the hug of two very close friends who haven't seen each other in years. Brandon was surprised when Achen embraced him after he'd let me go, but I wasn’t at all. Not only is that just the Indian thing to do, but Achen must feel he’s known Brandon almost as long as he’s known me. No, Brandon wasn’t physically here with me, but he was certainly a part of my year in India.

Speaking of which, I am now home. Aluva, which is about 20 minutes from the airport in Cochin and a relatively small city in Kerala, is where I stayed when I was here five years ago. It is where I have friends and where I know my way around. It is where most of my memories are and where I am capable of noticing the changes that have occurred since I made those memories. Back then, when we were feeling a little bit fancy, we used to eat at a restaurant called Taal, and I was looking forward to taking Brandon there. I noticed today that this restaurant is now called BreadWorld, and it appears to be a combination bakery and restaurant. I’ll still take him there, but it won’t be quite the same.

Some things haven’t changed much at all, though. My favorite bakery was called Royal. I used to get cakes, candies, and other snacks there. (Life in India was so much about the little joys!) Royal Bakery is where I ordered my birthday cake, which I shared with the children in the dalit community. Even though I gave them the correct spelling of my name, the cake said, “Happy Birthday, Shallot.” I still smile when I think of that. Royal Bakery is also a place where Jenika, a volunteer who lived on the other side of Aluva, and I used to meet each other often for lunch or coffee or ice cream. I must have visited Royal Bakery several times a week while I was living in Aluva. I remember taking my parents there for Royal’s version of pizza when they visited. And I took Brandon there for lunch today. They still had the pizza. He liked it but thought it was on the spicy side! I love it, mainly because it was just like I remembered!

On our way out of the bakery, my hands loaded down with Tiger cookies (Brandon just HAD to try those later), I saw recognition in the eyes of one of the workers. I certainly recognized him, although I never did know him by name; but when I smiled and said hello, I was shocked to learn that he actually remembered me. “It has been long time,” he said. Brandon got a real kick out of that. Five years later, I’m still remembered as a “regular” at this bakery! I guess I earned it!

So, full and happy, we went onto our next activity – a trip to the elephant preserve. Nearly six years ago (at the very beginning of my first trip), Achen had taken our group of six volunteers there. We’d ridden the elephant in groups of three that day. Six months later, when my parents visited, they rode the elephant together while I took their picture. Today, I wanted Brandon to ride the elephant too. I’d warned him to wear pants because elephants are not nearly as smooth as they look in pictures; in fact, their hair is long and coarse.

Brandon followed my advice, but it wouldn’t have mattered. The elephant was being given a day off from rides today. When the ticket-taker told me this in his very broken English, I just couldn’t believe it. I was sure I'd misheard him, but I absolutely hadn't. In our hallway at home, we have a picture of me on that elephant nearly six years ago. I’d been planning for years to put a similar one of Brandon up right beneath mine, but now it will never be. To say I was disappointed is a gross understatement. Brandon was, of course, disappointed too. He’d said no to the camel ride in Pushkar in anticipation of his elephant ride in Kerala. And where else in the world is he going to get to do this?

We also spent 600 rupees to get there, and there is simply no time for us to come back later in the week. The whole thing seemed like a big waste of time and money, but we made the best of our time there – taking pictures of a baby elephant, posing with a bigger one while trying not to slip in his giant piles of poop, and watching as the teenagers followed their mom to a work site, where they would haul big bunches of leaves and grass from one area to another.














After this, we killed some time in the “zoo,” where there were simply too many monkeys for my taste. Brandon liked them, though.

On our way home, we pondered our failure of an afternoon. It sure hadn’t gone according to plan, but as we talked it through, we realized that this was really the first time in this big, crazy adventure, that our plans hadn’t worked out. It was the first time that we'd really been unlucky. So we had to laugh it off, and we had to live with it. What else could we do?

In any event, Brandon did get to see this place that I've talked about hundreds of times. He got to see the baby elephant up close, and he got to witness the bigger elephants earning their keep at the preserve. Plus, he really enjoyed those monkeys!








Tonight, after a just slightly disappointing day, we will spend our second of seven nights in Chacko Homes. Chacko Homes is the retirement community where I lived when I was a volunteer. That year, I had one tiny room with a bed, a desk, a chair, and a chest of drawers. This time, we are staying in a three-bedroom apartment that even has an air conditioner. It's not all that nice, really, but it is a huge step up. And it's costing us about nine dollars a night.

It's not necessarily comfortable, but it is India. And some things will never stop surprising me!