Monday 3 December - Tuesday 4 December

We arrived at the Provincialate in the evening and had supper. Again I had a good night’s rest and woke this morning feeling great. I thought Maski was hot...  Kerala is HOT and HUMID! After breakfast we drove by car from Angamaly to Mannakanad. The drive was incredible. The roads are in much better condition and the landscape is breathtaking. I’m not sure whether it is just me getting used to it, but people seem to drive a bit more orderly here too. Our driver spoke a little English and he enjoyed pointing things out to me along the way. Sr. Lissy came with us for the drive. She is the former Kerala Sponsor Site Director, before Sr. Deepa.

The climate here is tropical and it is very green with beautiful flowers everywhere. Along the way we stopped at a stand. The smell of fresh pineapple was mouth watering. We had a treat of pineapple juice, made right before our eyes! It tasted even better than it smelled!
For the drive we had a treat of sliced pineapple rolled in chilli and salt. Trust me when I say it was one of the best things I have ever tasted; sweet, spicy, salty – all at the same time! We seemed to be driving up, up, up and the roads were very curvy. We stopped a couple of times to look at shrines. One was at a church where they put a shrine for St. Anthony. There was a tree they cut down to do so but it grew again. The tried 3 times to get rid of it, even using acid to destroy it. However the vines kept growing, so they incorporated it into the shrine. People come from all over to see it and say a prayer to St. Anthony. Our driver and the Srs. pointed out some rubber trees, pepper trees, and various kinds of fruit trees that I do not recognize. The smells are something I wish I could describe. The air is full of sweet things – exotic flowers, fruit, spices. (Though sometimes there are the unpleasant smells of diesel, burning garbage and manure).

When we arrived at Mannakanad the children were all waiting for me, along with the Sisters who work here. They have a dispensary and a school for differently-abled children and adults. Here they refer to them as mentally retarded (MR) or handicapped or challenged. It’s uncomfortable for me to use those words, but they are not meant to be derogatory or degrading. I received a garland of jasmine flowers – my favourite so far! I have it hanging in my room and it smells so sweet. The children marched me to the Convent with loud drumbeats and celebratory music! What a welcome! 

After I was shown my room I visited the Skills@Chalice centre here. Along the way I saw how rubber trees are tapped. There is a slit cut in the tree and a small bowl attached to catch the milk of the tree. They put little plastic skirts above the bowls so the milk does not become diluted. From this they make sheets of rubber by pouring the milk into trays to dry in the sun. These sheets are sold and to be turned into various things we use. Many of the poor people in this area work for rich landowners and tap rubber trees. Some are lucky enough to have a couple trees on their small plots of land to tap and sell.

At this Skills@Chalice centre they run 3 types of courses for differently-abled young men and women. We visited the book binding room first. The young men learn how to fold large sheets of paper, sew the spines. Then they are given a cover and cut to size to be sold. They were very happy to show me what they are learning.

The next stop was candle making. It is not a Skills@Chalice course, but I got a demonstration on how the candles are made from start to finish. Next was the tailoring room. Here I saw how they are learning how to do simple stitches on handkerchiefs; next they will learn how to use the embroidery machine to decorate things. Finally we visited the jewellery making and fabric painting room. The jewellery was very beautiful. The students learn to string the beads to make necklaces, earrings and bangles. The fabric painting is also very nice. They put pictures on plain t-shirts and also make beautiful pictures on cloth that can be framed.

As a snack we shared a huge sweet lime. It was very good. The Skills@Chalice programme here runs for 6 months instead of 3 to give the students enough time to learn the skills. I asked how they are matched with the right course. The Sr. in charge of the courses, who is trained as a special education teacher, said that it depends both on the level of the students’ abilities as well as their interests.

After visiting the different skills rooms the teachers sat with me and Sr. Deepa. I saw so many things I wanted to purchase for myself and as gifts. I placed my order and it will be ready for me when I leave in 3 days time. The tailoring and jewellery-making teachers took great pleasure in dressing me in a saree! I will buy (at least) one, as well as some churidars (local dress – beautiful and very comfortable) and wear them during the rest of my visit. I will have to be taught how to put a saree on so I can also wear them back home in Canada. It seems very complicated to me, but the women here do it so easily. The Srs. will give me a lesson and I will take a video. Sr. Deepa and I will go shopping in a few days. I can’t wait to spend some money! 

After lunch I had some time to myself. My first stop was the shower that is in the bathroom attached to my room. I took the most luxurious, cool shower I’ve ever had! Until now I’ve only been able to wash with water in a bucket. I’ve had hot water only in Bangalore. There is no water heater here but even if there was I would take cold showers only. For those who know me well, that’s saying something as I love long, scorching hot showers! (It’s so humid here that a few hours later I didn’t feel like I had showered at all!) After my shower I decided to read for a while. Then I took a short nap. After the craziness of the first few days this slightly slower pace is a welcome break. Before dinner I wandered outside to visit the grounds of the convent. I met JoJo, who became my buddy for the rest of the time I was here. He attends the special school and the Sisters pay him to deliver things from the convent to the parish priest (mainly food). He is at the convent early each day and in the evenings. His sister works in the kitchen. I visited their home and met their aunt. I’ll tell their story in my next post. I also met 3 sweet girls who come for extra tuition with the Senior Sister at the convent (she’s also the tailoring instructor – not the Skills@Chalice class, but the advanced class). The girls danced and recited some speeches for me. Their smiles were so bright and it was really nice to meet them.

This evening I went out with the Sisters to two churches in nearby towns. On the way Sr. Deepa showed me the house where she grew up and her school. At the first church, we visited with the priest and stopped in for part of the mass. There is presently a feast celebration so the church is decorated very beautifully. I kept being given food and finally I had to stop eating (though it is very difficult to make people understand that I am simply full)! My stomach is warning me to take it easy for the next little while and I think I’ll listen! 

Before returning back to the Convent we stopped at a church dedicated to Our Lady’s Mother – St. Anne. The church is so beautiful and compared to the feast celebration at the other church was totally calm and peaceful. We stopped to pray at a grotto dedicated to St. Anne that was beautifully decorated and lit. The Srs. told me some of the stories about this church. Once there was a boat full of merchants who were caught in a storm. They prayed to St. Anne to protect them and they made it home safe.
They vowed to honour her so every single year since that time (hundreds of years ago) merchants from surrounding villages come to the church to carry a replicated boat in a procession around the church yard. Another interesting story: Each year during the Feast of St. Anne all of the people in surrounding villages come to worship, despite their religion. Hindus from a nearby temple come and they always brought the temple elephants to walk up and down the many stairs beside the church in the procession. One year they decided not to take the elephant. During the procession time the elephant broke his chains and went on his own. From then on they always bring the elephant!

Back at the Convent we had a very light supper. There are scheduled power outages throughout the day so I’ve decided to read and go to bed early tonight (thought it’s already past 10... my laptop battery will die very soon). Tomorrow we have another hectic day of visiting the children in the school, visiting some houses and meeting the families of sponsored children. I know I will enjoy my time here very much. I’m already thinking of how I can come back again!