Prior to
coming to India, I decided to search for Kerala. Images came up, and I'd look
at how beautiful they looked, but soon realized these images were filled with
photoshop. It almost felt too good to be true. Also, Kerala felt different to
what the media portrayed of India. When we think of India, we think of Northern
India, so looking at the images online threw me off a little.
Anyway, as I remember from a two hour drive from Tissa's Inn, I
remember looking at the many green palm trees that paved the way for our trip
here. Women walking in their saris, children drinking out of coconuts, canoes
floating across rivers, and a vast land dedicated to growing rice crops, all
things that are parts of what makes Kerala unique. So when we arrived, we soon
decided to take a canoe to go across the river. The canoe was not small, but it
wasn't large either. I wondered how we wouldn't drown by fitting all of our
suitcases and around 20 people on it. Soon enough, our host told us, "Here
in India, we fit up to 100 people here". From there, I felt a little
better. So we crossed the river in around 5 minutes, and then arrived to where
we were staying. Three beautiful white homes, with palm trees around, along
with the sounds of native birds and certain insects following in harmony to its
surroundings. It was quite amazing.
We were soon given our rooms and told to tour around. Then, Ms.
Bilodeau, Ms. Dardani, Jordan, and I decided to walk around the community using
the free time we had. We walked around, taking pictures of ourselves, almost as
if we were in a Bollywood photo shoot.
So we continued walking, stopped, went the other way, and saw a
little girl. She was in a white dress, barefoot, with a braid following her
spine, and she was holding a small yellow balloon in her hand.
Her sweet little smile intrigued us and we greeted her. We asked
to take pictures of her because she was too cute. Since I have a fond love for
small children, I decided to get a picture with her as well. I asked her if she
could give me a high five, and we took the picture.
When we were done, she handed me the yellow balloon she had in
her palm. She said, "pencil". I asked myself why she said pencil with
her palm out showing me a yellow balloon. It soon made sense that she was
asking for a trade. Her small, yellow balloon for a pencil. It was a
deal. I traded my only pencil in return for a small, yellow balloon that would
soon deflate. One of the most memorable trades I have ever made.
We continued walking and I asked myself why she wanted the
pencil. Making assumptions, I thought about the possibility that she wanted it
in order to have a pencil for the next day in school. To award her education,
and continue learning. It made me think about how at such a young age, the
only thing she wanted was a pencil. After teaching in different
countries, being asked for money, ice cream, and food, this time I was asked
for a pencil. And after all we had seen, it wouldn't make sense to me she
only wanted a pencil. From that moment, it made me think about pencils. Pencils
and Kerala.
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