india on the line

the kids talking with ammamma and appappan in india-sort of a conference call.

oncle!!!

in india, noble became enamoured with his uncle ("oncle") eric!

our baggage!

feeding techniques

behind the scenes: the auto rickshaw ride

the elephants

the famous fishing nets

traditional south indian dance

here are the dancers from a performance we saw at the kerala kathakali center. it showcased three different traditional dances found in south india.

our last full day-bye bye india!

morning view and sounds from the flat

shopping the new hip kochi!

fancy new store with impressive sari displays




















trend setting salwars at the convent junction shopping area




















so many stores with costume jewelry-here is just a small selection of bangles















and just in case you need some hemming done, see this guy on the sidewalk

favorite mahala quotes

i got a kick out of a few things that mahala has been saying: runner up is maybe a "you had to be there" sort of comment. we visited two houses in a row and indians are infamous for overfeeding you. so we had brunch and then about 15 minutes later at the next house, they served a snack which was really another brunch. mahala, with this absolutely confused look "WHY ARE WE EATING AGAIN?". but the real funny one was when i pointed out that mahala has mosquito bites on only one arm and not the other. she said "BECAUSE I AM HALF INDIAN AND HALF AMERICAN." by this she was implying that they only bite the "foreign" american side!

channeling the great yogis

check out noble's fantastic pose!!!

my dad's hometown

today we went to kolenchery, which is where my dad grew up (about 45 minutes from here). there is so much nechupadum family history there-many of his cousins still live there and the family has started a school and a hospital and it is the home of one of the largest spice producers (owned by his cousin). the land on which my dad grew up was recently sold and turned into basically a subdivison of small homes. my parents bought one as sort of an investment and so we got to take the tour. of course it was sad to not see the original home that we stayed in for so many visits when we were young-surrounded by rubber trees and coconut trees. we also visited the cemetary where my dad's family is buried-many generations of them. we visited two uncles, one of which has an impressive biodynamic farm and provides farmstay accomodations. we walked around the land and could have spent hours or even days there-it was beautiful and peaceful! the kids loved it. but alas, we always have too many things to do....so we went on our way for more shopping and lunch before heading back to kochi.