Although we have only one species of banana in the United States, Kerala has at least five of varying sizes, colors and sweetness. My fellow YAVs and I are constantly corrected when we call any variety of plantain a “banana;” we have to recognize that each fruit is unique and wholly different from the others. There are no English equivalents of the different types of plantains, and so we are learning, at a turtle’s pace, how to distinguish and appreciate each fruit we eat. My favorite is about the size of a small sausage, is very sweet, is deep yellow in the middle and the peel turns a rust color when left out—it is quickly becoming my favorite fruit.
Starting off with meditations on different “bananas” might seem a little weird, but I can think of no better way to describe the experience of an American coming to India. India is a land of diversity, even though in our Western minds we lump all of the different cultures, languages and peoples together. We think of Indians as a unified people with a singular shared tongue, dress and society. Contrary to this popular belief, which I admit I held, India is made up of a myriad of cultures and peoples unified only because of the British Empire. Living in Kerala gives me the chance to understand a part of India, to connect with Malayali culture, but my Kerala experience should not be taken as an illustration of India as a whole country.
We landed in Cochin on September 2 at 3:00am. The airport was already packed and there were about a thousand people waiting outside to greet their friends and relatives. Thomas John Achen (our site coordinator) was waiting with a big smile and warm hugs for all the volunteers. We call Thomas John “Achen” (“father”) because he is a pastor in the CSI church. After a brief rest at Achen’s house (we started the day at
The rest of the orientation week was less exciting (except for my small bout of food poisoning, but that was over quickly), but more informative. Every day started with prayer, songs and a Bible study. Achen has a great theological mind and his interpretations of scripture were always meaningful and thought-provoking. We learned about Kerala culture, the political history of India and how to behave in this new culture. There are more restrictions for Cynthia and I: we sit on a different side of the church from the men, we cannot wear clothing that does not cover our knees and shoulders, we should not walk around town after 6:00pm, etc. On Sunday, we attended Achen’s church where he gave the sermon and we (just the volunteers) sung “How Can I Keep From Singing” and “It is Well with my Soul.” The service (all 2 hours of it) was in Malayalam, and we had no idea what was going on most of the time. We ended up taking communion and passing the peace incorrectly (it’s possible), but the congregation was forgiving.
Exactly a week after arriving in Kerala we packed up and traveled to our sites. Well, almost all of us. Because Bishop Moore College was still out for Onam holidays I was to stay with Cynthia for five days. Tyler was the first to be dropped off at Mandiram’s Society in Kottayam. Mandiram’s Society is a hospital/nursing home for the elderly with an orphanage attached. Tyler will be staying in the staff quarters and will spend his days being a companion to the elderly and teaching the children. After a special breakfast, we said goodbye to Tyler and went to CMS College in Kottayam, where Cameron will be staying. His and my work will be very similar. We are to get to know the students and staff at our respective colleges and help the students improve their communicative English skills. Once Cameron was settled in, Cynthia and I traveled to Thiruvalla where the Nicholson Syrian Girls’ school is located. Nicholson is a boarding school for girls from 5th to 12th grade. The girls are made to live a very simple life under a very strict schedule. For the first five days, Cynthia and I met the girls, the teachers and the headmistresses (the “kochammas”). We also had the opportunity to stay with the keyboard teacher in town for the weekend and participate in fellowship with the Marthoma church community.
On September 14 I was finally brought to my site: Bishop Moore College. I am staying in the women’s hostel (what we would call a dormitory) with about 50 girls, who are very friendly and eager to speak English and to teach me Malayalam. Here, I will offer English conversation hours three times a week, help lead prayer services and have a lot of fellowship with the students. The matron (Ammama) and warden (Maria Kochamma) have been very nice and helpful. They will be my main supervisers/supporters in my work at the hostel. My supervisors at the college are Dr. Matthew Koshy (principal) and Dr. Sherly Annie Paul (chemistry professor). There, I will be working with all of the departments, taking free classes (classes that do not have a professor that day) to help the students improve their communicative English skills. All the courses here are taught in English, but the students and teachers will usually speak in Malayalam outside of the classroom. As a result, the students are very hesitant to speak English because they have had very little practice. In past years, the volunteers have worked primarily with the English department, which resulted in only some of the student body gaining confidence in the English language.
This past week I took a few free classes and met most of the professors, who are all very friendly. Leelama George, chairwoman of the Malayalam department, was especially excited about my being at Bishop Moore. She runs a women’s empowerment program at the college and we talked for over an hour about the problems Kerala women face and how Bishop Moore College is trying to meet the needs of the women students. The most pressing issue is the culturally ingrained notion that women are inferior to men, that they cannot perform as well as men in the workplace and that they will never have a career. Many women here will marry as soon as they graduate and within a couple of years become housewives, because that is what their mothers did. Leelama is trying to encourage these young women to strive for economic independence and to have ambitions of their own. For two Saturdays a month, the College offers programs like communicative English, women’s health, gardening (vegetables and fruits), and motivational seminars for the women students. I, of course, told her that I was eager to help in any way possible.
In conclusion, Kerala is keeping me busy. My next post will hopefully be less narration of my activities and more reflection on the culture and my own experience. The picture at the top is a photo of all the volunteers (Me, Cynthia, Cameron, Tyler) and Thomas John Achen at the CSI church in Aluva. I'm trying to upload photos to a photobucket or flickr account, but haven't been able to find a computer with a strong enough connection to do so yet. Hopefully within the next week I can share all the sights of Kerala!
