Kanuur/Parassini/volunteering... 16th November - 7th December, 2008

Volunteering...

A big smile from "Super-mama" Svetlana, our member from Russia!

At the state of Kerala the communistic party rules, pictures of Che are everywhere
reminds us that the fight for equal rights is continuous.

Our daily bus to school!

The Yoga College at Thottada, Kerala state.

A typical classroom at Yoga College.

The great Guru Dramamapooj Parmahamsa Pariprajakacara Swami Sadanada Saraswadhi of Pariprajakacara Yoga Vedanta Mission at Thottada, Kerala state.

Try to cook a spaggetti sauce at Parassini Tourist Home's kitchen (our hostel)!

Short tropical rains happen very often, Lilan is trying to take in our washings...

The ice-cream man...

Our neighbor at Parassini Home, she is going for work..

A daily visit at P. N. Panicker Souhruda Ayurveda Medical College at Kasaragod, Kerala state.

It was a big honor that they accept us and show us their college.

Some tools of Ayurveda treatment.

The teachers/professors at ayurveda medical college.

In the garden with the herbs.

In the classroom of the college during the lesson.

Our ayurveda teacher Dr. Madasudena, he was so kind and gentle.
For every lesson he had to do a long trip, two hours and a half by bus!

One of our daily dessert, the second was fried bananas! m.. miss them.

Our lunch or dinner.

Yeees, this is one of our daily breakfast..., the first days it was so difficult to use it.
At home I use to have only fruit salads with yogurt!

Alex (Russia)

The local market.

A jean advertisement with a sexy indian model!

Street art with chalks.

Pradeep and Shylaja are my best friends and I feel very blessed that I met them!

At their beautiful balcony.

Shylaja, yoga teacher's wife. A very beautiful and gentle person (and excellent cooker).

Pratap was our team leader, our "Charlie" (we were his "Angels"), during our stay at Parassini he was our "link" with the foundation, the indian society and our "earthly" matters. Always was there with a calm voice to hear our complains, problems and always founds a solution. I can still hear his voice "heey girls... what's up?"!! I miss him already...

In this photo from left to wright: Gisela (Spain), Olga (Ucrain), Mr. Pradeep (yoga teacher), Sara (Finland), Lilan (USA), Brigit (Austria), Alex (Russia), Pratap our "Charlie" the team leader, in this photo also missing Svetlana (Russia) and Samantha (Holland).

A fine yoga demonstration postures by our member from US, Lilan.

Pratap is playing hide-and-seek with my camera!

Life is like a tunnel, people and friends are coming in or leaving..





A daily excursion at St. Angelo's Fort at Kannur.

Another daily excursion at the goverment's hand loom factory which makes
excellent quality silk fabrics. Besides Kerala is best known for the famous hand looms!

posing!

Our yoga teacher Mr. Pradeep. Excellent teacher, thinker and activist.

Finally I found out that Obama junior was there incognito!

I also visit one of the biggest jewel shop (gold and diamond) at Asia, Lulu's shop. They invite me to see the diamond department, a special floor that they keep and demonstrate diamonds to the dealers and traders from all over the world. For a moment I thought I was locked in a bank's thesaurus (everywhere cameras and security guys and the doors and the windows were protected by electronic lockers and "eyes"). The employees are only men, because as they told me, men can shows diamonds to a lady best!

The blind's school. Since last year the blind students were sleeping on the floor with a sheet! as the school director told us the previous group of volunteers donate mattress for all the children!

They learned us how to use our senses except eyes.

Saint Mary's English Medium School at Parassini

The twins!

The days we spend at St. Mary's school we also had to paint fences and drawing themes on the walls for the students (a botanical scene, a cartoon aquarium etc).

The students had a three-day gym demonstrations.

Creative learning, time to have fun, enjoy and a chance for us to feel like children again!

Lot's of lovely children, the students of Saint Mary's English Medium School at Parassini.

Sister Anna (the soul of the school!) with Samantha (Holland).

At the end of the project we start leaving one by one..., it was so hard for all

and specially when we had to say goodbye to the kids.

We spend almost a month at this school, the children seems to be the happiest children in the world but only the school management, their parents and us know that 53 of them cannot pay the annual fees (about 2,000 irps) for learning, which are about 30 euros for us!