Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Wednesday, June 10, 2009--Day 28

You are NOT going to believe this!!!!!!!!!! I asked Colonel Babu about having an elephant come here because I saw one in the pictures of the grand opening and because Dr. Baji said they used to do that. That was only last night! And do you believe...this morning about 9 AM an elephant came. We were able to pet it and feed it. Amelia rode on it! She had to climb up on him, and I didn't think I was that limber so I just watched. They are huge! This one is 35 years old and looks to be about 20 feet high. Of course, the Indian patients couldn't see what all the excitement was about. They see elephants at nearly every festival, and there are a lot of festivals. So cool. The trainers seemed pretty confident the elephant wouldn't do us any harm, but I understand that you never know. Lots of elephant pictures!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Speaking of the three patients from India--including the movie star and friend. They really get in to this servant thing. I'm sure that the two ladies probably have several servants at home. But poor Kirish is kept running with this, that and the other thing. I just don't care for the tone of voice they use.

And last night we had a fantastic performance by a group of drummers and cymbal players. They played for over an hour--never stopping. Groups like this and the drums they use are unique to Kerala. The Colonel and Dr. Baji stayed for the performance. There was lighting all around the stage by the yoga hut--not candles, but whatever they burn at the temples in the prayer candles. There were 6 drummers and two cymbal players. Small symbols. I first thought they might be lids from pans (like pots and pans), but they were real cymbals. 4 of the drummers kept the time, and the two main players would trade off or sometimes play at the same time. One would play and the other would copy it and so forth. It kind of loses something in my description, but it was really great!

Today is my last post from India. I leave tomorrow morning at 6 AM on a 2 1/2 hour ride to the Cochin Airport. From there it is 4 hours to Dubai, an 11 1/2 layover during which time Jeff's sister is going to show me around. Then I think David said it's a 14 hour flight to Washington, DC, and then on to Chicago and South Bend. I'm guessing it will be about 36 hours from start to finish. And I will blog whenever I can see straight about Dubai. I hope you have enjoyed reading these blogs. For me, it is writing about things when they happen so I will have a written record to go with my 200+ pictures.

Take care.

Love to all,
Mom/Peggy/Granny et al