Bus ride to Kannur...

I took a pretty hairy bus ride through the high country down into Kannur in Kerala. The bus driver definitely deserves a mention- he knows his bus and does some very good honking!

The country we passed through was stunning- tea plantations and palm groves with little tiled-roofed houses dotted about.
Our driver was Christian- You can usually tell from the type of shrines and religious paraphanalia at the front of the bus.

I had a front seat view of the precipitous drops at the edge of the road which didn't have any barriers or road markings.
It was a Muslim festival- Eid- that day and people getting on the bus were dressed up in their best clothes, going to the mosque or going visiting.

The state government in Kerala is the oldest, elected socialist government in the world. There is a minimum daily wage of 300 rupees (for state workers) compared with 50 rupees in Karnataka, the health service is good and there is a very high literacy rate (98%+). This display was for the local elections I think.

Elephant charges in Wayanad

My first stop on my 10 day trip between Mysore and Melbourne was a wildlife sanctuary on the Karnataka- Kerala border.

I took part in a bizarre day trip involving lots of excited Indian families and groups of friends, taking boats across one river and wading across another. Lots of innocent fun!

But mostly in Tholpetty, I went on game drives, morning, evening and night. I didn't get good photos of animals but we did see, lots of elephants, bison, sambar, spotted deer, snake eagles and a tiger print.

The landscape is quite heaviily wooded with clumps of bamboo. It's quite dry on the high ground but there are rice paddies, banana plantations and palms in the valleys.

I loved the little hick towns I passed through on the bus. And they have souped-up rickshaws to get up the hills and navigate the appalling roads.

Health and safety is not high priority in Kerala!

Err...?!?!

This is the kind of bus I took to do local trips- not brilliantly comfortable. There are no actual windows and if you're stupid, like me, and sit at the back you get literally thrown into the air at every pothole. Fun for an hour.

This is my gracious host, Vinnu, who cooked up a vegetarian storm at the Pachyderm Palace where I stayed.

Christmas in Melbourne

It all started off so well...Thomas got everything he wanted from (a rather deviant) Santa.We all wore our bestest clothes.Even Santa received some lovely gifts!??!Thomas and Grandad did some sensible reading.The table was beautifully laid and we all enjoyed a delicious Aussie/ British spread (seafood starter and beef or salmon for main course).Of course a tipple or two...Then something happened to Mal...

Ahoy there! The drunken sailor?!!

Leaving Party.

My students in Shanti Nagar and their teachers put on a fantastic leaving party for me. All the kids dressed up in fancy clothes and did some little performances of songs we'd learnt together. We had an excellent rendition of 'If you're happy and you know it'. Also lots of sugar-drenched food, some delicious chai (I'm missing it), photo opps etc. Luckily Jenny has stepped in to replace me and the kids will continue to have the opportunity to communicate in English twice a week.

Last days in Mysore

Some odds and ends from my time in Mysore-I finally made it to the Hanuman Temple near Gokulum and took some photos of the Monkey God and bits of the temple.

Here's a final rangoolie from the soul artist:

Teaching in Shanthi Nagar

Every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon for the past month, I have been taking a 20 minute rickshaw ride through Mysore, away from the 'Beverley Hills' area of privilege and massive houses to Shanthi Nagar, a predominantly Muslim area of little alleyways and tiny mud houses. Sheep and goats run around everywhere, the diesel fumes are overpowering and there are lots of smells and noises that I fail to identify easily! I teach a group of 6-14 year old school children for a local charity called Pratham which is funded in part by the charitable wing of the shala where I study yoga. These children have been identified as needing extra English to help them integrate into secondary school more easily. I teach them simple spoken English on such topics as animals, colours, parts of the body etc. Lots of games and songs and my favourite: animal noises!

My PC version of hangman which involves kids getting eaten by a shark.

Look at their adoring little faces! God knows what I'm doing?!

Simon Says- our favourite!

Me trying in vain to encourage some pairwork!