This weekend we went on a village trip to a place called Dharmapuri. We left on Friday morning around 10, and took a 4 hour train ride to get there. Having never been on a train in my life, it was an interesting experience! We got to ride in the first class, air conditioned compartment. Our seats were supposed to house 3 on each side, totaling 6 per cabin thing. At one point we had 9 adults and 3 small children in our cabin because in India, no one really pays much attention to seating arrangements. When we arrived in Dharmapuri, we were taken to our hotel to drop our things off and check in. Once that was done, we headed out to Kogenakkal Waterfalls. I have to say, the trip to the falls was the most fun that I have had on this trip thus far. It took us about an hour to reach the falls, and along the way we saw over 100 monkeys and some really beautiful mountains and landscapes.
We arrived a little before the sun was setting, and were immediately escorted to these little circular guided boat things that were to take us around the falls. It was absolutely magnificent as I'm sure you can tell from the pictures, and at one point I felt like I was at home in Michigan on a summer night, just floating down the river...the only thing missing was the people I love and a beer in my hand :/ but the falls definitely made up for my homesick feelings. Our guides were really funny as well, and spun our boats in donuts just to make us laugh! When we got off the water it was dark, and one of our guides had prepared some fish for us that was freshly caught. It was delicious! The water that we were on was over 80 feet deep, and the fish inside can weigh up to 50 kg!!! That's over 100 pounds...river monsters anyone??
After that we drove back and went to bed. Saturday morning we got up, ate breakfast, and headed out to the villages of Dharmapuri to collect milk and blood samples for our Brucellosis and Tuberculosis project. We collected 25 samples, and met some really, really cute kids! Whenever we see kids at the villages, we always give them pens as presents...after that, they are friends with us for life! Interacting with the kids is one of the most influential parts of my trip because these kids have never seen an American before, and it gives us a chance to leave a good and lasting impression of what Americans are like on them :) After we collected our samples, it was time to get on the bus to come back to Chennai. It was a semi-sleeper bus, which included seats that reclined. I can never seem to sleep on the buses here because they are so bumpy and the traffic is so loud. Needless to say, this morning we got back and I was super tired from being up for over 24 hours, but I still skyped with mom, dad, and Eric for a bit before hitting the hay. Now I'm up, and in a few hours we will be heading to an Indian dance recital that one of Dr. Mohan Kumar's friends is starring in. Should be fun!
We arrived a little before the sun was setting, and were immediately escorted to these little circular guided boat things that were to take us around the falls. It was absolutely magnificent as I'm sure you can tell from the pictures, and at one point I felt like I was at home in Michigan on a summer night, just floating down the river...the only thing missing was the people I love and a beer in my hand :/ but the falls definitely made up for my homesick feelings. Our guides were really funny as well, and spun our boats in donuts just to make us laugh! When we got off the water it was dark, and one of our guides had prepared some fish for us that was freshly caught. It was delicious! The water that we were on was over 80 feet deep, and the fish inside can weigh up to 50 kg!!! That's over 100 pounds...river monsters anyone??
After that we drove back and went to bed. Saturday morning we got up, ate breakfast, and headed out to the villages of Dharmapuri to collect milk and blood samples for our Brucellosis and Tuberculosis project. We collected 25 samples, and met some really, really cute kids! Whenever we see kids at the villages, we always give them pens as presents...after that, they are friends with us for life! Interacting with the kids is one of the most influential parts of my trip because these kids have never seen an American before, and it gives us a chance to leave a good and lasting impression of what Americans are like on them :) After we collected our samples, it was time to get on the bus to come back to Chennai. It was a semi-sleeper bus, which included seats that reclined. I can never seem to sleep on the buses here because they are so bumpy and the traffic is so loud. Needless to say, this morning we got back and I was super tired from being up for over 24 hours, but I still skyped with mom, dad, and Eric for a bit before hitting the hay. Now I'm up, and in a few hours we will be heading to an Indian dance recital that one of Dr. Mohan Kumar's friends is starring in. Should be fun!
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