Pop pop IV

Janice: (Dec 27. 8:30 p.m.)
Laura wants me to tell you she is having a great time in India and
has made friends here.
It is warm and humid. This morning we went to an area of Kochi (about
a mile away from the hotel) and even though Chandran suggested our
walking over there we took our van. We went to the "Jew Town" (Yes,
that is its official name and there are signs). The Jews moved to
Kerala in the mid 16th Century when they were kicked out of Goa. The
Kerala king gave them asylum and they established an area in town.
When Israel was created, most of them moved to Israel but they left
lots of their stuff behind. So there are lots of antique stores. One
of stores had a reclining Ganesha (not an antique) and costs only
$5000 and I felt that we should have that in a specially designed
platform at Brockport. That is our anniversary present! Chiara, Sara
and Laura went shopping in that area. Chandran and I (and NIcky)
found an excellent book shop. Kochi is a touristy kind of town. The
number of westerners is quite large.
We had an excellent lunch (the best aviyal so far) and then we
returned to the hotel. To say I was sapped and just wanted to lie
down is an understatement. In the late afternoon, there was a plan to
go to a basilica but we wisely decided we won't. We went to a
restaurant called the Menorah for dinner (one of the few places with
wine and beer). As you can guess by the name, there was a menorah and
a rabbi came and said some prayers and lit the candles. The food was
very good. Even the wine was tolerable. Then they had live music
with a flute and tabla.
Tomorrow early morning (6:30 a.m.) we are off on an organized
outing where we first go to an elephant training camp (which is where
the elephants from Trichy are!) and then on a backwater boat tour.
Sara heard from Padma (who is in Kottayam) but looks like we will
not see them.
On Thursday, we are taking off for Coimbatore.
It was really nice hearing from you. Thanks for the pictures.
Couple of things. The film reporter for the Times of India is Mini
Anthkad-Chhibber! Could she be a relative? The couple we mentioned
last night (from Rochester): he is the youngest faculty member in the
department and so you may not know him. His name is Greg Halpern (not
sure about the spelling of the last name). Their parents came today;
they flew from Trivandrum to Kochi and it took them an hour and a half
to get to the hotel from the airport. The father is a professor at
SUNY/Buffalo and he knows Chandran's advisor! At this rate, we may
well find that they are an arm of the Riddle family!
We are generally having a good time. Chiara is a total saint! Laura
is very easy.
Say hello to everyone! Tell Noah that I really missed seeing him
and we will definitely see him in Senegal.
Love
ELH