Kerala

Ok, so I'm back in India. Real India. The India that I was introduced to when I got off the plane in Delhi 5 weeks ago. Goa wasn't really India, not the India that I had fallen in love with in Rajasthan anyway. It was beautiful, gorgeous actually, but it felt more like I was on a beach in Mexico.

We are in Kerala now. I love it. The 'Venice of the East' they call it. A few kilometers from the coastline the maze of backwaters can take you almost anywhere in the state. Today we hired a canoe and were taken on a 4 hour tour. It was simply incredible. Today was a great day.

I love it here. The people, the culture, the sights and the sounds. The Indians sure do love their music. They play it as loud as they can as often as they want. What I use to find annoying I'm starting to find soothing. We have had the opportunity to see some live music and each time I find myself mesmorized by the intricacy of the instruments and the lyrics.

I think they are more friendly in the South. Or maybe I'm just getting the hang of things? Either way I don't want to leave. Life it seems, is just so much more simple here. No meetings, no deadlines, no stress.

I've been thinking alot about my reasons for coming on this trip. When I was in Calgary I thought it was my curiosity, a need for change, an opportunity to escape. But here in India I find myself thinking about my future, considering fate and defining opportunity. In the five weeks I've been traveling and learning, I've thought more about what I want out of life than I have since beginning university.

I think India does that to you. It makes you recognize who you are and where you're going. I love it here.

It's different here from Rajasthan though. The language is different, the clothing is different, and people are different. The colors that the women wear are spectacular. Pastels of blue, pink, green and yellow. Many of the men wear a lungi, a single piece of cloth wrapped around the legs and waste in such a way that it can be worn long as a sarong or short like a skirt. Several men and women have approached us just to say hello and ask how we are enjoying our day or our trip. The stares of course are still common, but they are never malicious and I hardly recognize it anymore. Tomorrow we are catching a leisure boat ride to the next major city to the south. Eight hours in the Keralan backwaters, I'm excited