I would first just like to apologize for not updating more frequently. The internet in the hostel in Basel was terrible and I only had an iPad and I figured that people really wanted to hear about the other countries I am visiting anyway. The rest of Basel was good. We ate a lot of cheese, a lot of chocolate and a lot of bread. We also learned a lot about a field of alternative medicine called Anthroposophy. We first visited an anthroposophic hospital which was actually really nice and interesting. People would go to this hospital to be treated for everything from depression to heart trouble and would even go there to give birth. It was shocking that something so nice actually was paid for by the public Swiss health insurance. The second anthroposophic place, called the Goetheanum, was built by Rudolf Steiner in the early 1900s. It is a massive building, built in such a way that it does not have corners (similar to Gaudi but more imposing and less attractive.) The whole experience was bizarre. There were clearly Christian religious idols scattered about the building, yet our tour guide kept insisting that nothing was religious. After I saw a painting of Jesus surrounded by the seven disciples painted on the ceiling and the tour guide proceeded to claim that it was a Native American man surround by some of his followers, I had had enough. It was an interesting experience but probably not one I will repeat anytime soon.
I am currently sitting in Kovalam Beach which is one of the most famous beaches in India, about 35 minutes from where we are staying in Trivandrum (or as it is traditionally known in India, Thiruvananthapuram.) I seriously cannot believe I am sitting in a tiny internet cafe in INDIA right now! This is all so surreal.
All of us had the great fortune to arrive in Trivandrum at the beginning of one of the biggest festivals here, called Onam. The festival is ten days long and began on Friday, the day before we arrived. Yesterday, despite the rain (we are also here in the middle of monsoon season), we went to the center of all the festivities. There were huge masses of people there, some going on rides, some staring at the beautiful elephants adorned with gold head plates, and some staring at us because we stuck out like sore thumbs. The staring might be a little hard to get used to since people are staring at us constantly and shamelessly. But I guess I would stare at a huge group of weird looking foreigners too, so who can blame them. Right before the end of the festival, some of us watched a group of dancers with incredibly elaborate and large headdresses dance to some drums in a little area sheltered from the rain. It was amazing that they could stand up straight with such big head pieces on!
Right now, we are all staying a Christian center, kind of far from the main part of the city but we move into our homestays on Tuesday and I am really looking forward to that! I seriously love it here and I will put my pictures up ASAP so everyone can share in some of the sites of the festival and the city!
I am currently sitting in Kovalam Beach which is one of the most famous beaches in India, about 35 minutes from where we are staying in Trivandrum (or as it is traditionally known in India, Thiruvananthapuram.) I seriously cannot believe I am sitting in a tiny internet cafe in INDIA right now! This is all so surreal.
All of us had the great fortune to arrive in Trivandrum at the beginning of one of the biggest festivals here, called Onam. The festival is ten days long and began on Friday, the day before we arrived. Yesterday, despite the rain (we are also here in the middle of monsoon season), we went to the center of all the festivities. There were huge masses of people there, some going on rides, some staring at the beautiful elephants adorned with gold head plates, and some staring at us because we stuck out like sore thumbs. The staring might be a little hard to get used to since people are staring at us constantly and shamelessly. But I guess I would stare at a huge group of weird looking foreigners too, so who can blame them. Right before the end of the festival, some of us watched a group of dancers with incredibly elaborate and large headdresses dance to some drums in a little area sheltered from the rain. It was amazing that they could stand up straight with such big head pieces on!
Right now, we are all staying a Christian center, kind of far from the main part of the city but we move into our homestays on Tuesday and I am really looking forward to that! I seriously love it here and I will put my pictures up ASAP so everyone can share in some of the sites of the festival and the city!
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