Entry Two: Getting out of the “Tourist-zone” and falling into the “New Normal”

The Tourist-zone (Duhn Duhn Duhnnnnnnn)

Now we are all aware of the friend-zone and how hard it can be to escape, especially if your name is not Ron (Ron Weasley and Ron Stoppable being two figure heads for those who have indeed escaped).

When you travel, “the tourist-zone” can be just as hard to escape, especially if you are only at the travel destination for a short period of time and want to see everything “you need to see.”

During my semester-abroad, we gave ourselves a couple weeks to “act like a tourist,” see all the sights and take all the pictures, but the end goal was to eventually blend in as someone who belongs there.

That being said, Aymanam and Kottatyam are not what you would consider “tourist hubs,” they are not necessarily on anyone’s bucket list, in most guide books they are glazed over and considered a layover for the greater adventure ahead. In sum, there was not much of a “tourist-zone” to escape, there was however a similar divide.

There were those that knew what they were doing, belonged and those that didn’t (a.k.a. us). Those that knew how to read the buses and the bus schedule and those that splurged on an “auto-taxi” (also known as a rickshaw) because they show up 40 minutes early for said bus. Those that look at the cost in rupees and those that calculate the price in dollars.

Now that we have been here for a little over a month, I can’t say that we have crossed the divide completely, we may have only scratched the surface. We still look different then everyone around us (not much we can do about that), therefore people still tend to stare at us as we walk around. We also still find our surroundings breathtaking, amazing, and like nothing we have ever seen before (It is SO green here). But at the same time, I do believe the divide is lessening as we have begun to fall into step with “our new normal.”

What everyone is so concerned about: water, food and safety

When you tell people that you are going to India, I noticed that people (friends, family, travel doctors and complete strangers) tended to be concerned about three things: water, food, and safety.

Quotes from real people: “Don’t drink anything that is not from a plastic water bottle, check the water bottle for tampering as it may have been replaced by bad India water.” and “I heard it was safer to drink beer in India then water.” And “You are going to poop your pants it’s just a matter of when” and “Don’t get attacked”

Now if I was not living in what would probably best be described as a host family situation, (I WILL REPEAT IT If I WAS NOT LIVING IN WHAT WOULD PROBABLY BEST BE DESCRIBED AS A HOST FAMILY SITUATION, meaning do not use this blog as a reason not to listen to your travel doctor) this advice would definitely be a set of rules that I would need to follow religiously and without fail. But I do live in a seminary, where most of the things they tell you not to eat and drink at the travel clinic are not served because as it turns out, the people who live here should not have it either.

In the case of water, don't drink from the sink, no one does. There are filter stations in the school and the seminary. The water is very heavily filtered, and someone who grew up here can drink that filtered water… but most boil it anyway as they drink their water warm (something us ice loving Americans find strange). As Americans with American stomachs we need to boil the filtered water, therefore not many plastic water bottles for us. And the boiling process is really not as tedious and annoying as you may think, it’s all within the new normal.

The same could be said with food, they tell you to be very, very, careful of what you eat. This is not a false statement, you do need to be careful. But 99.9% of the food that is given to us by the community (the teachers and students, people we know, the food served in the seminary) will not hurt you. Will you occasionally have a bad night of traveler’s “stomach pain,” yes and Imodium and hydration are sometimes necessary but it’s not an every meal occurrence, perhaps not even a once a month occasion. Plus, the food is so good that it would be a loss in experience to turn it down and if you don’t serve yourself it will be served to you.

Finally, a note in safety. Many were concerned about my safety when going to India because I am a woman, which is sort of a loaded statement. I am under strict orders from everyone to never go outside at night and to never walk around alone (two statements that are not necessarily false warnings back home either). Do I follow these orders yes…

but mostly because I have no reason to break them as I feel completely safe here in Aymanam. I am really always with someone, typically, Trey, and we always need to be back at the seminary by dinner at 8, though typically we are in earlier. So far, the only reason that I have had to “break curfew” was to see Antman and the Wasp at 9PM on opening night, a decision that was made and executed very quickly over dinner one night (7 of us: Fr Johny, Fr NP, Fr Santosh, Brother Jessel, Trey, and I all piled into the Jeep wrangler and sped off into the night to the theatre in Kottayam, easy peasy).

In sum, I am safe and making safe choices all within the new normal, so don’t you worry, I feel like you all need the reassurance.

You might be getting to the point of wanting to contact me

If you are interested, you can still reach me through I-message, Facebook message, Snapchat, email, the works, I do have internet (most of the time, unless the power is out). I also have a “What’s app” now with my American number. I can Skype and facetime if you so desire, please just factor in that it’s a +9:30 hr time difference (NY time). But I would love to chat!

My favorite thing so far (besides the fresh-picked fruit)…

Flood days, the tropical brother of snow days, we had school days off due to flood. The only down side is, we make these up on Saturdays instead of at the end of the year, so it’s less of a delayed penalty, though I’ve stopped minding not having Saturdays off.

However, there was this one time where we had the worst flooding they’d seen in 25-30 years, there was about a foot or so of water in most parts (excluding my room) of the first floor. That was definitely an experience.

Here are some pictures from the flood: