India, Day 7, May 20,2009

Wednesdy, May 20, 2009

Hello,

I took my malaria pill today. Haven't seen that many mosquitoes, but...
There is some kind of insect which enjoys biting me at Yoga. Don't know what it is. Doesn't itch, but leaves a red spot. Today I puton DEET before Yoga and it seemed to help.

It is a delightful day here. Not too hot. Low humidity (It's all relative.) Went for a walk this morning. One of my masseuses (sp) invited me into her house during the walk. Again, the children love to say "hi". Mothers encourage them, but generally do not talk with me themselves. Smiling goes a long way here. The children and young men and women will speak and/or wave. Middle-aged men generally do not respond. Don't know if it's against the rules, they don't trust Americans, or they are just not friendly. Whatever.

Yesterday we had quite a talk with Colonel Baji and Dr. Baji. It seems like they like the stimulation of discussing things/issues with foreigners. We learned that Kerala is one of the wealthier states/provinces in India--especially outside the cities. 70% of the families here have a family member working in the Gulf--I took that to mean Dubai, which was mentioned several times in the conversation. Uneducated persons from here can work in Dubai and send money home (like our Latinos) without paying an Indian income tax. This law was passed some time ago because India was short on income so it encouraged people to work outside India. These people make more than 10 times what they could make on a bad day here--$50,000-$70,000 a year. Trust me when I tell you that the average Indian does NOT make $5,000 per year. Far from it. Maybe educated people make $2400 per year. David could probably tell you more about the numbers. (He spent a lot of time calculating rupees to dollars to Euros for all of us. Euros because Emelia is from Austria.) Anyway. These people buy land and build beautiful houses on it, but rarely live in or even see the house. They get a relative to housesit. They work two years at a time and then get a month off to come home. Dr. Baji was telling us that one of the respected medical books similar to Gray's Anatomy (Yes, there really is a book like that.) has a new chapter on Gulf Syndrome. The fathers cannot afford to house and feed their families in Dubai, which is why a lot of money flows back this way. Since the families are separated-children and wife/husband-, there are a lot of physical illnesses and mental illnesses occurring which have no other answer as to what might be causing them. Vague symptoms, etc. Lots of depression, etc. on both sides of the water. Basically, they are selling their souls in order to better support their families and be able to educate their children. The marriage breaks down, there is virtually no relationship between father and children, Dad isn't happy with the way Mom is raising the kids. He is trying to earn money for their education, but when he comes home he doesn't think she is doing a good enough job for the children to gain entrance into the good schools. Marriage in India is generally for life--no matter what. So these problems manifest themselves as physical and mental disorders. This information certainly helped me make sense of the really nice houses (Indian) I've seen on my walks.
Although many things are outlawed now, like getting jobs based on caste membership or dowrys, they still occur. The parents oftentimes go into deep debt for their daughter's wedding and dowry. You may recall hearing that if the groom's family isn't happy with the dowry she comes with, she has a kitchen "accident" with kerosene that "occurred so fast no one could save her." Better known as bride-burning. By Indian statistics, it happens once every 100 minutes. I think I'd think twice before being wife #2. This is a no-no topic of conversation, but Emelia is fearless so we will probably find out more over the coming days.
I forgot to tell you yesterday what a great bathroom I have. I know I described it, but I didn't compare it to what Indians have. If they are lucky, they have a ceramic hole in the floor. If not lucky, they may have two bricks to stand on on each side of a pit or bucket. Amazingly enough with the heat here, there is only an occasional whiff and that's generally when I'm out walking.
Side note: I'm thinking the male gender probably has a lot more fun with this setup than the female gender.
Haven't seen any animals/amphibians other than squirrels and dogs and geccos. Or geckos if you prefer. Love those geckos. They eat the bugs. Heard a sheep and a cow this morning--first time. Lots of birds. Some very colorful. Will try to get pictures. The most noticeable by sheer volume alone are the crows. If ANYone is having a fight--like in birds--the crow apparently feels obligated to add to the fracas. And just generally, the crows are quite vocal as are the cuckcuckos.

I was going to tell you about our rough schedule, but I'll wait until tomorrow.

Please keep in mind, if you don't hear from either one of us in any given day, the internet is down. I feel perfectly safe here -both at the "hospital" and on all the walks I've taken. The people everywhere around here have been very friendly--except the middle-aged men. And they aren't UNfriendly exactly.

Love,
Mom/Peggy/Granny