Everything about the trip to Kanyakumari was magical. We decided to take a local bus from Trivandrum so it would save us $10 whole dollars. I can live for a day on that if I'm super frugal. The public transport system in India is both awesome and definitively an epic fail. It's overcrowded, chaotic, and disorganized to the extreme but somehow everyone gets to where they need to go. People press against each other like sardines, fresh-faced inquistive teenage girls,an the ubiquitous roach here or there, hanging on for dear life as I was situated in fron of the door which was open the whole time on the curvy bumpy road...these are memories I have of this four and half hour bus ride. Oh India. You are one of a kind. Two of the teenage girls took an interest ni my Western self and we chatted in spurts throughout the bus ride. The girls liked my princess leia inspired hairdo thinking I was a lady of high fashion. I laughed thinking I was a Geek and hardly what could be called high-fashion by anyone. Still, I blushed and it felt good. I told them that that self-adornment was a universal human trait and people all across the world love to dress up. Yep, that is me trying to start a philosophical conversation with some 6th graders on a bus in India. Classic. They laughed and I pointed out their matching bangles and pink and blue outfits. And so it was throughout the bus ride. It was a total blast.
At the beginning of the ride, I had no place to put my bags as it was standing room only and they offered to put them in their area. I had a moment of hesitation as I heard of child thievery rings, but decided to take the risk. There is an old saying "trust God, tether your camel" I decided to reword it as "trust people, don't be an idiot". Most people are basically good and it comes down to trusting one's intuition (something i struggle with as a victim of abuse but which I clearly need practice on). I wonder how it feels to be a resident of a third world country and have a bunch of Westeners come and treat everyone like their a would-be thief. I'd be pretty offended. I don't want to send that kind of message to the world, I want to be an ambassador of my country showing good faith, compassion, authenticity, and a sense of humor. This doesn't mean I need to be an idiot. I should lock my luggage, not walk alone at night in dark alleyways or accept food or drink from random strangers..but it does mean being open to receiving help, connecting to different people, and treating people like people. If someone isn't trustworthy, odds are you'll have an inkling of it.
Visiting a 3,000 year old temple dedicated to Durga is just well..awesome in every way. It's living history. I lucked out and it was Tamil New Years so there were all these black, gold, and red clad Durga pilgrims in town. What a site! I haven't seen that much concentrated black since I left San Francisco. :: wink :: I loved it. After buying offerings and shuffling through the dark stone carved temple (sorry no pics allowed) through beautiful intricate colored sand drawings and carved statues, i came face to face with Kanyakumari, one of the 108 forms of Durga, and the Goddess that rules over the Southern tip of India where the three oceans meet. I gave her flowers, red cloth, nuts, oil, and fruit. I felt a bit rushed as they like to do that where everyone goes quickly through the temple, but I was satisfied.
After leaving the Temple, I met a local woman at the bazaar who seemed to really like my black, red, and white outfit. She decided I was a devotee of Durga like her. She didn't speak much English, but I'm finding a lot can communicated between broken English and gestures. She had lived in Kanyakumari all her life, been a devotee of Durga since she was 15, survived the 2004 Tsunami (with many scars to prove it). She left for a little bit and came back and gifted me with a durga bead, similar to the one she had on a red string on her left arm.. presumably for left-hand path? It was awesome. I felt again touched by authentic connection with people in a culture so disparate from my own.
That night my heart radiated with love and I felt a strong sense of connection with this crazy country. I'm colorful, chaotic, friendly, mystical, insane, and wondrous too.
At the beginning of the ride, I had no place to put my bags as it was standing room only and they offered to put them in their area. I had a moment of hesitation as I heard of child thievery rings, but decided to take the risk. There is an old saying "trust God, tether your camel" I decided to reword it as "trust people, don't be an idiot". Most people are basically good and it comes down to trusting one's intuition (something i struggle with as a victim of abuse but which I clearly need practice on). I wonder how it feels to be a resident of a third world country and have a bunch of Westeners come and treat everyone like their a would-be thief. I'd be pretty offended. I don't want to send that kind of message to the world, I want to be an ambassador of my country showing good faith, compassion, authenticity, and a sense of humor. This doesn't mean I need to be an idiot. I should lock my luggage, not walk alone at night in dark alleyways or accept food or drink from random strangers..but it does mean being open to receiving help, connecting to different people, and treating people like people. If someone isn't trustworthy, odds are you'll have an inkling of it.
Visiting a 3,000 year old temple dedicated to Durga is just well..awesome in every way. It's living history. I lucked out and it was Tamil New Years so there were all these black, gold, and red clad Durga pilgrims in town. What a site! I haven't seen that much concentrated black since I left San Francisco. :: wink :: I loved it. After buying offerings and shuffling through the dark stone carved temple (sorry no pics allowed) through beautiful intricate colored sand drawings and carved statues, i came face to face with Kanyakumari, one of the 108 forms of Durga, and the Goddess that rules over the Southern tip of India where the three oceans meet. I gave her flowers, red cloth, nuts, oil, and fruit. I felt a bit rushed as they like to do that where everyone goes quickly through the temple, but I was satisfied.
After leaving the Temple, I met a local woman at the bazaar who seemed to really like my black, red, and white outfit. She decided I was a devotee of Durga like her. She didn't speak much English, but I'm finding a lot can communicated between broken English and gestures. She had lived in Kanyakumari all her life, been a devotee of Durga since she was 15, survived the 2004 Tsunami (with many scars to prove it). She left for a little bit and came back and gifted me with a durga bead, similar to the one she had on a red string on her left arm.. presumably for left-hand path? It was awesome. I felt again touched by authentic connection with people in a culture so disparate from my own.
That night my heart radiated with love and I felt a strong sense of connection with this crazy country. I'm colorful, chaotic, friendly, mystical, insane, and wondrous too.
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