how do you feel god's country?

a slightly frustrating day yesterday, involving many miscommunications, as well as non-communications, a lot of time in the van, headaches and several bad bathroom experiences was redeemed today with a trip through the famous backwaters of kerala on a traditional indian houseboat.

these houseboats are carved from wood and held together with a coconut husk material called coir (chances are you have a doormat made out of it). they look sort of old school from the outside, but there are western toilets inside (a true christmas miracle), bedrooms and a kitchen. the front of the boat is like a deck, with a coir awning and chairs and tables, and the driver sits on a little stool at the front of the boat, holding an umbrella to shield himself from the sun, while he navigates with one of those ship wheels (do you know what i mean? do those have a name?). it was the most relaxing, wonderful, stress-free indian day, floating along, eating fresh pineapple and fish, soaking up the sun and making new friends. i think it was just what we needed. now i feel like i can honestly say kerala is god's country.

i would also like to add a caution to anyone listing hobbies for any sort of introductory purpose. we put together a little brochure about our team to hand out to rotary members we met here, and i made the grave mistake of listing "singing" as one of my hobbies. i have now performed "i'm a little teapot" in two rotary schools, "you are my sunshine" in the van at least three times, and "the star-spangled banner" at practically every rotary meeting we've attended (which is more than a few. the first time it happened we all sang together but i burst out laughing when scott aimed for the high notes. since then, melissa and i have been rocking a pretty decent harmony that seems to do the trick). today's boat ride turned into an impromptu sing-along with requests including "country road" by john denver (why indians know this song i have not a clue) and "another day in paradise" by phil collins, which i could not deliver. that did not deter one particularly adamant rotarian, however, from asking about 12 times if i could sing it (no joke) while singing the same off-key line over and over. finally i asked why he didn't just sing it and the subject was finally laid to rest. we did manage "adelweiss" and a few other songs from "the sound of music," "more than words" and "leaving on a jet plane." once they had a little whiskey and club soda in the veins, the club hosting us on the boat was more than willing to perform several traditional indian songs, complete with stomping, clapping and some suspect hand motions. it was one of the best days in india so far, marred only by the phil collins fan saying to me, "your voice is so melodious. but you need more practice." we're chalking that one up to miscommunciation as well.

we are also having a great time together as a team. with two weeks under our belts, the gloves have come off and we do a lot of laughing these days. when you are dealing with language and culture barriers all day every day there is a lot to laugh about, but i am not sure you would find it very funny. so i'll give you some pictures of our past few stops instead.



receiving a garland from the resident elephant at krishna puram temple in tirunelveli. i thought a wet spot on my shirt was from the fresh flowers but when it dried it was brown, so i'm guessing it was elephant snot instead. well worth it.




me at the very southern-most tip of all of india. not pictured: the swarms of unwashed pilgrims on the beach behind me.



an ancient chinese method of catching fish by net, still used here in kerala. the net is raised and lowered by several men using a massive v-shaped wooden lever.



fishing boats on the shores of another kerala beach, which was minorly affected by the tsunami. fishermen live in huts close by and leave their boats right on the shore.



palm trees in god's own country.