What special?

so week 2 in the house in murnad was pretty similar to the first week. no running water, power out between 6:30pm and 9:30pm, i did get a thicker bed that was much better for my bones :) i have attached a picture of some shops in the town. this man is wearing something similar to a skirt– it is pretty much like a piece of material wrapped around and then folded (like a sarong). a lot of men in the south of india wear them. they usually have a pressed button down shirt that they tuck into it. i'm not sure of the fashion rules, but the different patterns that are mixed and matched to me is kind of reminiscent of modern british fashion.

also, here is a picture of what reminds me of a prison bathroom in the house…my roommate stayed with us for a couple of days and said she was afraid something was going to eat her in there...

i am still getting stared at a lot – especially in a small town like murnad where foreigners do not pass through. i mean full on staring though, like people will stop a foot away from me and stare at me like they are trying to figure out if i am human or not…i either ignore them or smile. most of the time, they smile back - when they don’t – it’s just awkward.

again, we did 2 sites at once and got great pictures of a civet cat at one of the sites! so far all the pictures of the animals have been from the infrared camera except for one of a rat that was from the flash camera. i think that if an animal happened by the flash camera at night, it would take a great picture, but the animal would definitely not stick around. also, the motion sensors are triggered by leaves moving in the wind, so the flash camera could just be going off all night (and it does, i have many times looked through dozens of pictures of leaves…) and an animal would not approach that area if it is continually flashing. but i will continue to use both camera types and see what we get.

there is a water shortage in murnad, so the field team goes to the river a couple of times a week to wash some clothes, wash the dishes (which i am a little skeptical of), and the guys will bathe (not the women of course). sometimes the water that we do get has a yellow tinge to it and a couple of moths floating around. supposedly if you boil water it purifies it, but what about the moths? i try to figure out what i can use the water for – tea? pasta? rice? will it be boiled long enough? will bacteria seep into the food? in this region, tea and coffee are usually made only with milk. it is ironic that after doing research all day out in the coffee farms, we come back and have instant coffee mixed with milk.
at my apartment, i have water filter, but for my drinking water while out in the field, i buy 2 liters of bottled water a day – causing a buildup of plastic bottles for which there is no recycling and most likely will be burned. at home in the states, i carry a bph free reusable water bottle – it really makes you see how privileged we are to even have such a thing as the green movement. some places in the world do not even have access to clean water and we concern ourselves with the small details. not that we shouldn’t be concerned, i fully believe that we should do everything in our power to trend lightly on this earth and to use natural products without all these added chemicals, but also you have to take a step back and realize that it is only because our basic needs are met that we have the privilege to dive into the details.


after a hard week in the field, it is nice to come back to ponnampet. the neighborhood kids are so cute. they will come out of their houses to wave and say “bye” as i pass – even from the roof tops – it is really very cute. the women ask, “had your lunch? what special?” and want to look in my shopping bags. i am also learning to understand more and more the value of running water – turning on a faucet and water pouring out. i almost completely forgot the fact that at home hot water comes out of the tap. hot water is easy, you just boil it – right now i am just happy with running water.

last saturday, it was “college day” at the college of forestry. the first and second year students performed skits, comedy, songs, mimes, and dances. it was fun. they did some traditional coorgi dances that involved drums and building human pyramids. i don’t understand kannada, so the skits and comedy were lost on me. i took a couple of videos that i wish i could attach, but they are too large. here is a picture of me with asha before the festival began – i think it might be one of the only pictures of me where i am not in my field clothes and all sweaty!