Raindrops on Roses and Whiskers on Kittens...

I started making a list of my favorite things in India and was soon humming the 'Sound of Music' song about favorite things. I'll probably have that song in my head now for a few days...oh well. Keep in mind, the state that I'm in, Kerala, is actually a nicer state in terms of poverty, education level, and job wages, so I'm really not exposed to the bad parts of India. Once I do see those parts, though, I will be sure to compare my experiences.In the mean time, here are some of the best things about India so far:

The Cows and Goats: 

Yes, the cows and goats roam around in the street. Not as much in my region, but it still happens. It is true that  traffic will stop or go around a cow in the road, they are respected just as much as other living things. It may just be me, but the cows seem to look happier here :)

Tropical Cows

This cow is right outside of my house, just taking an afternoon stroll. 

The Beach: 

That's pretty much self explanatory, I will always love beaches and being near the coast, a beach trip will always be in my near future for the next 5 months:) The only negative is I have to travel far to go to a beach that permits swimsuits. Some beaches you can still swim, but no one will wear a swimsuit, just their normal clothes. Also, the beaches that do have swimsuits, women usually only wear one pieces, so I will have to make that purchase soon.

The Arabian Sea

Cherai Beach

All of my fellow American classmates

The scenary:

 Everywhere I go there is something to be seen. While there is a lot of poverty and grime in India, there is always some beauty to go along with it.

Pond at Cherai Beach Resort

Fort Kochi Shore

Underneath a palm tree

The cheap stuff: 

Basically, going out to eat and getting a full lunch or dinner costs no more than 2 dollars. Bus rides are always around 25 cents or less. The exchange rate is approximately 57 rupies per dollar, So our money goes a long way here. Although, electronics and clothes are similar in price.

This was a buffet table at a  resort restaurant. It cost 300 Rupies for this buffet, which is approximately $5, and it was nice. 

Resort Restaurant

How nice people are: 

I'm sure I may be getting tired of people coming up to us in about a month, but for now, I'm fascinated at how happy people are and how they want to talk to us. Almost everywhere we go, people approach us just to say hello and ask where we are from and what we're doing. Sometimes it's led to some nice and interesting conversations with strangers, sometimes it's a hello and exchange of basic information. Regardless, I definitely am feeling the sense of community here, and pretty much feel safer here than in Baltimore.

Walking past these men, they smiled at us, said hello, and wanted us to take a picture of them. 

We were at a store buying clothes. In this store they have stage for entertainment. We were watching musicians and dancers perform and the next thing we know, they wanted the Americans to come  up on stage and dance.

People taking pictures of the Americans dancing

We were invited to this wedding even though we've never met the  bride and groom. 

The sustainable living: 

My campus is focusing on becoming a Zero-Waste campus and they are actually very close to that goal. When we eat in the cafeteria, we wash are own dishes and place them back in the pile to be used. We discard wasted food into a compost pile. We also sign up for our meals so our cooks know how much food to make, so there will be no waste. The trashcans on school always have a bio-degradable one next to it. They also don't use plastic. Unfortunately, most of India isn't as sustainable as this, but our school is working toward developing programs to help implement these concepts, especially since the sanitation here isn't great.

Biodegradable Trashcan on Campus

Good reminder to turn off the lights

The Playgrounds:

All the playgrounds I've seen in India look amazing. I only wish I had one like this as a child.

Right now this is all I can think of, but I'm sure there will be a round two of my favorite things to come.....